The Gift
Chapter 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lainie Matthews stared into her bathroom mirror and sighed. Her eyes were puffy. Too much crying. She really shouldn't be crying. She should be happy. He was in a better place. He wasn't in pain anymore. In her head, she knew it, but her heart just wouldn't let her think that way. All she could think about was the fact that her best friend was dead, and she'd never see him again.
She had come to work for old Edward over two years earlier. She had been hired over the phone as his private rehabilitation nurse by his great-nephew, whom she had never even met. She received her paychecks right on time every two weeks, but the nephew had never even visited in the two years she had been there. He occasionally called to check on his uncle's progress, but it was always the same report. Edward had a stroke. He couldn't walk anymore. He had his good days and bad days. Over the years, she had grown close to Edward, who was nearly 70 years her senior. It was Edward who encouraged her to lose all the weight. She had a little chuckle as she thought back on Edward's nasty comments whenever she started to eat a donut or some potato chips.
"Girlie, you know your ass grows another inch with every donut," he'd say. "Why don't you go for a walk instead of eating that shit."
Edward was a crotchety old man, but Lainie had grown to love him. Oh, not romantic love, mind you. Edward was her best friend. Her confidant. Not that she really had anything to confide. She had very few friends. Not many secrets. And her love life was non-existent. Completely non-existent. She had been self-conscious all her life, and nothing had helped. Not even losing 80lbs. She had always been fat. Big-boned, as her mother would say, as she scooped out another huge bowl of ice-cream for Lainie. When she had moved in with Edward to care for him, the first thing he did was comment on her weight.
You know, you'd be kinda cute without all that baby fat.
Lainie laughed. It had been difficult, but with Edward's constant encouragement, if you could call it that, she had lost 80lbs in a year. Despite his gruffness, Lainie loved being around Edward. He was just so funny. He amused her with stories about his family, and about the Great War, and his adventures as a young boy growing up in the slums of New York.
"Got laid for the first time by a big, fat Puerto Rican whore when I was 13 years old. Got myself a terrible case of the clap, but what the hell. I had fun."
Lainie always blushed when he talked like that. But that was just Edward... brash... irreverent... eccentric. Now he was gone. And she was alone in the world again. Lainie Matthews. 23-year-old-and-never-been-on-a-real-date-much-less-anything-else Lainie Matthews. Oh, not that she hadn't had offers. Since she lost the weight, she was always getting stares at the grocery store. And Chip, the cute guy who never knew she existed in high school, was always bugging her to go out to dinner whenever she saw him. Chip was now the manager of the town's Wal-Mart, and whenever he saw her come into the store, he was all over her like white on rice. She had always had an excuse to say no before... Edward. She had to take care of Edward. She knew she used Edward as a shield between herself and the outside world, but... she couldn't help it. The hurtful things that the children had said to her when she was growing up stuck with her, and she was so afraid of being hurt. She'd rather be a hermit and never come outdoors than set herself up for that kind of torture again. Now Edward was gone. Her shield... her best friend... was gone.
She thought back to the terrible moment three days before, when she had gone in to wake him up for his morning medication. But he didn't wake up. He was gone. He went in his sleep, just as he had always said he wanted. Lainie sat on the bed and held his cool hand for the better part of an hour before she called the sheriff to let him know Old Edward had passed. She had stayed in the room while the coroner had put Edward into that horrible black bag, but she couldn't watch as they zipped it up. It was just too much to bear. That's when she broke down and cried. She had cried all day. And all night. And off and on the next day. But the next day, she was able to smile again at the memories she shared with Edward. She thought about leaving the house. It reminded her too much of Edward. But where would she go? She certainly wasn't going home to mother. No way was she going home to mother. She'd start looking for an apartment after...the funeral.
She stood up and smoothed down her pretty black velvet dress. Edward had ordered it for her from the Home Shopping Network. He had a habit of doing that kind of thing. If he saw something that looked good on the models on tv, he assumed it would look good on Lainie. Fortunately, he was usually right. Edward had excellent fashion sense for the most part. The dress fit her perfectly. It hugged the curves of her thin body without being too revealing. She smiled at her reflection. She carefully applied her makeup and brushed her long, straight honey-brown hair. Her hair was her best feature, or so she thought. Edward had always said she had beautiful eyes and great legs, but she had never believed him. Her eye color defied definition. They were light brownish -blue, if you can imagine. She took a deep breath and ran to answer the phone.
"Hi Lainie, this is Mike." Mike Brewer was Edward's attorney. Very cute. Very single. "Do you have a minute?"
"Sure Mike. What can I do for you?" Lainie said, sitting on the barstool in the kitchen.
"Listen, Lainie, Edward's will is to be read next Wednesday at my office. He's made you and his great-nephew his only beneficiaries, so I think you two will need to be present. Can you make it? Say 9:00 Wednesday?"
Lainie laughed sadly. "Well, seeing that I'm now unemployed, I don't see that there will be a problem with that."
"Good. Oh, and the great-nephew called me today. He'll be coming into town this morning for the funeral. I assume he'll stay until the will is read."
"Oh joy," Lainie muttered. "I finally get to meet the ingrate."
"Excuse me?" Mike laughed. "Ingrate?"
"Never mind," Lainie said, embarrassed. "It's just... I don't know... the guy never even came by to see him in the two years I've been here. I just don't understand why Edward... ugh. Never mind. Just forget it."
"Lainie," Mike said, gently, "you know he's been pretty busy for the past few years. He's been traveling pretty much constantly."
"I know, I know. But still. I guess I just can't understand why someone would not want to know their family. Especially someone as great as Edward."
Mike guffawed. "Unfortunately, most people just didn't appreciate Edward's personality like you and I did. He was a little harsh for them."
"I know," Lainie snickered. "He could be a little... um... nasty sometimes."
"Yes, he could. Well, listen, I've got to run. I'll see you at the funeral home, ok?"
"Ok, I'll see you there," Lainie said.
"Oh, one more thing," Mike said quickly. "Do you think you might want to have dinner with me tonight? We could try out the new Mexican place over on Keller."
"Oh... uh.. I don't think so, Mike," Lainie stammered. "I've got to... do laundry tonight. And I think I'm coming down with a cold."
"Sure. Maybe some other time," Mike said, trying to hide his disappointment.
"Yeah. Some other time," Lainie agreed.
********************************
Lainie made her way into the funeral home, greeting the visitors as if she was Edward's family. Actually, she was the closest thing to family Edward had at his own funeral. How sad. It made her sick to her stomach. He had eleven nieces and nephews, countless greats and who knows how many great-greats, but none of them were there. Everyone offered her their condolences. They knew how much she cared for the old codger, even if he was the meanest man in town. Nevertheless, as in most small towns, when one of the town elders died, the entire town came out to show their respect.
Lainie took her place, alone, on the front pew. As the minister began to speak, she looked down at the floor, trying to hide her snickering. Edward had really not liked this preacher. He called him Old Squarebritches, and said that the man's voice reminded him of a dial tone, with a personality to match. She couldn't stop thinking of the funny things Edward had done... the time he ordered a truckload of cow manure to be dumped in his neighbor's yard after the neighbor had let his dog crap in Edward's begonias. And the time he had hired a few neighborhood kids to roll Old Lady Ennis's yard after she had cut in front of Lainie at the Piggly Wiggly. Lainie clutched her handkerchief over her mouth as her shoulders shook with laughter. God, please let everyone think I'm crying... She sensed someone slide into the pew beside her, but she didn't look up to see who it was. She was afraid she would burst out laughing.
"And now, Edward Carter's great-nephew, Nick, would like to say a few words about his uncle," Reverend Travis said, smiling down at the congregation.
Lainie looked up, startled, as the person slid off the pew and walked up to the front of the room. She stared up, open mouthed at the man who stood facing the crowd. Nick Carter. THE Nick Carter. His brilliant blue eyes shone with emotion. He was impeccably dressed in a black Armani suit, even if he did look uncomfortable in it. He looked down at the floor, then back up at the congregation. When he spoke, he sounded like he was a little choked up.
Big faker, Lainie thought, scornfully.
"What can I say about Uncle Edward? He didn't come across as the nicest guy in the world, but he did have a big heart. I'd venture to say that very few of you knew the real Edward Carter..."
Yeah, I'll bet you didn't either, Lainie thought. Ingrate.
"But those who did can attest to the fact that he truly cared for people. He set up several scholarship funds for nursing students at various schools in the state in honor of his friend, Lainie Matthews..."
What?? He did WHAT??
"He was also a major contributor to several environmental causes, as well as a sponsor of Camp Tekawitha, which is camp for terminally ill children..."
I never even knew that. He has to be making this up, Lainie thought.
As Nick went on, Lainie found herself realizing that she really didn't know the real Edward any better than anybody else. Her tears came again, and she dabbed her eyes. When Nick finished, he sat back down beside Lainie. The minister finished the ceremony and everyone was invited to the cemetery for the graveside service. Lainie walked out of the church and to the limousine that was waiting to take her to the grave site. She sat down on the soft leather seat and rested her head back. She closed her eyes. This day was too long. Nobody should have to go through this. The limo door opened again and Nick crawled in. He sat across from her and looked at her, surprised.
"Are you Lainie?" he asked quietly. She opened her eyes and stared at him. Up close, he was breathtakingly handsome. She nodded silently. She couldn't speak.
"I'm Nick. It's nice to finally meet you," he said, smiling sadly. "Sorry it had to be under these circumstances."
"Me too," Lainie said, looking away from him. She couldn't look at him. Too much. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.
"So... you and Uncle Edward were close, weren't you?" he asked.
"Yes. We were," she answered. For some reason, she was unable to form longer sentences. Her throat felt like it was closing up on her.
"I used to be really close with him when I was growing up. Since all this stuff started happening with my career, I haven't been able to spend much time with him. I missed him."
"You missed a lot," she said softly, looking out the window. "He was a great man."
"I know," Nick said, looking down. "I feel so guilty for not being there."
"Well," she said, looking at him, "he died happy. I can tell you that much. I hope that makes you feel better."
"It does. I'm glad you were there for him," Nick said, wiping a tear away. "I appreciate it."
Maybe he wasn't an ingrate after all. Or maybe he was a faker.
When they reached the grave site, Lainie took her place on the front row of covered chairs. Nick sat beside her. As the minister recited Psalms 23, Lainie began to weep. Nick reached over and held her hand. She appreciated the gesture, but it really didn't diminish her pain. When the minister concluded, Lainie stood and walked to the casket. She placed her hand on it and said a silent goodbye. She got back into the limo and sobbed. Nick followed her. Once inside, he tried to hug her, but she didn't return the hug. This was too weird. She had never let any man besides her daddy hug her. Frankly, not many guys had ever tried to hug her. Growing up, they were too busy taunting and teasing her to see her as a person worthy of a hug. By the time she became "worthy" of good attention in their eyes, she was so conditioned to the bad things, she never let them get close enough to touch her. After a few seconds, Nick released her.
"I'm sorry," he said. "That was presumptuous of me. I shouldn't have done that. Some people just don't like being hugged. I've been told I have no concept of personal space."
Lainie shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It's ok," she sniffed.
"It's not you," she said. "I just... oh never mind."
Nick nodded his head and looked down at his hands. Manicured nails. Buffed shoes. Armani suit. This was so not him. Why had he let Howie talk him into wearing this stuff? All he wanted to do was go straight home and change into his sweats and a t-shirt. When they pulled up to the Uncle Edward's big old antebellum home, there were tons of cars parked on the street and in the driveway.
"What's this all about?" Nick asked, looking a little concerned.
"Obviously you don't know much about funerals in the South. When somebody dies in the North, people send flowers. When somebody dies in the South, they send casseroles."
"Shit," Nick muttered. "I'm tired. This has been a long day."
"I know. Just a little longer," she said, dragging her tired body out of the limo. She was drained. Physically and emotionally. Lainie made her way though the crowd, greeting all of the guests, making sure everyone had drinks, and cleaning up plates and cups as fast as she could. When the last visitor left, she collapsed on the couch and looked around. The place was a mess. Really a mess. Empty cups and paper plates all over. There was a stain on the carpet from God knew what. The kitchen was a wreck. This was just wrong. People invited themselves in, trashed the place, then left her to clean it up. Unfair, unfair, unfair. Nick sat down in the chair across from her and sighed.
"Well, do you need me to take you home?" he asked.
"This is my home," she said without thinking.
"Huh? You live here?" he asked, confused.
"Well yeah. That's the general idea of a live-in private nurse, isn't it?" she said grouchily, getting up off the couch to begin cleaning.
"Oh... damn. Well, I guess we're gonna be roomies for a while," he said quietly, standing up to help.
"We're... what??" she gasped.
"We're gonna be roomies. I'm staying here. You don't expect me to stay at the Davis motel, or whatever that place is called, do you?" he laughed.
"But... but... people will talk! You can't stay here with me... alone!"
"Sorry, babe. I'm staying," he said, smiling.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2