“I have trust issues,” I said.
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” Amanda said. “Are we still heading to the courthouse today? To get things settled on that end?”
“Is that what the dress hanging up in the living room is for?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s the only one I have right now, but it has matching shoes.”
“It’s a beautiful dress.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I woke up to a message from Tanya. One of her boys is sick, and she’s at the doctor with him. She won’t be able to come back in until he’s taken care of, which might push things into next week.”
“That’s fine. As long as that doesn’t jeopardize anything with Lanie.”
“It shouldn’t. We don’t have to have the paperwork ready until the first date of court, and my lawyer doesn’t have a date for me yet. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still doing well.”
“Sounds good to me,” Amanda said.
“Morning.”
Lanie’s voice caused Amanda to jump back.
“Morning, sweetie,” I said. “You ready for some breakfast?”
“Milk?” Lanie asked.
“Coming right up.”
The three of us sat down to eat breakfast while talking about what we would do for the day. Lanie wanted to get outside since she’d been cooped up because of the cold, but Amanda tried to sway her away from it. Lanie was insistent. Amanda tried to bargain, and in the end, Amanda caved to Lanie’s wishes. I grinned as the two of them went back and forth with each other, studying them as I ate my eggs.
They fit each other well. If no one knew any better, I’d almost think Amanda was her mother.
“Oh. Hold on.”
I watched Amanda pull her phone from her pocket before she left the kitchen table. She took the call down the hallway as Lanie craned her neck back, and I trained my ears onto the conversation. She wasn’t doing much of the talking, but the talking she was doing sounded upbeat. She came back a few minutes later with a massive smile on her face, and I readied myself for whatever good news she had to share.
This house needed some good news after all the shit it had seen.
“You’ll never guess who that was,” Amanda said.
“I won’t. So you should probably tell me,” I said.
“That was the owner of Gleeson’s Galleries here in Asheville.”
“I like where this is going,” I said.
“I have a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss them hanging my artwork!”
I got up from the table and wrapped Amanda in my arms. She looked so happy, and my chest swelled with pride. I spun her around as she clung to me while Lanie clapped her hands in her seat. Everything inside of me wanted to kiss her, but I held myself back since Lanie was at the table with us.
Neither of us was still sure of how to go about any of this with my niece, so we were keeping it out of her sight for now.
“That’s incredible, Amanda. I’m so happy for you.”
Then, my phone rang. And when my phone rang nowadays, it was never good.
“Fuck. Hold on,” I said.