There will be plenty of opportunity for that after he’s gone.
“And when do you leave?” I ask her. “I know the family was just here through the holidays. It’s a new year, so I figure you’ll be getting ready to head back to London soon.”
“Next week.” She cringes. “Tash, if you want me to stay for a little while longer while you get used to the new normal—and let me just say that I hate that phrase—I will.”
“You have your own kids, a family, and duties that I can’t even fathom, Aspen. I’ll be fine.” I sound way more confident than I feel.
But it’s true. I’m going to be just fine.
“What do the kids think?”
I bite my lip and remember Kelsey’s big alligator tears when we told the kids the day after Christmas. “They don’t fully understand. Hell, I don’t fully understand, and I’m an adult, you know? It’s not like he’s dying. He’ll be home every other week, but all they know is that someone else they love and rely on is going away.”
“That’s so rough,” Aspen says. “Why don’t you tell Sam that you don’t want him to go? That it’s best for all of you if he stays?”
I shake my head with a sigh. “Aspen, I’m not going to be the reason that Sam doesn’t take his dream job. That’s a lot of pressure, and he’s worked hard for it. We’ll just have to make it work. It’ll suck at first, but we’ll figure it out.”
“You’ll find a groove,” she agrees. “And maybe you and the kids will end up moving with him at some point.”
I frown. “I’d thought of it, honestly. But the kids have already lost so much. I don’t think it’s fair to ask them to lose their entire community, as well. To pull them away from their friends and the adults they trust and lean on. I don’t have any sort of support system in Spokane to help me.”
“I get it. It’s a tough spot to be in.” Aspen wipes down the counter. “Vicki’s about to come in for the afternoon. Do you want to grab lunch or something?”
“I would love to, but I have to go to the attorney’s office before I pick up the kids from school.”
“Attorney?”
“Yeah. Sam and I had some new wills drawn up, just in case. We have the kids now, and we share custody. His job is scary.”
I shrug, and she nods in understanding. “It’s best to have that under control before he leaves.”
“I’ve just been adulting all over the place.” I chuckle and take another sip of coffee. “But let’s definitely get together before you leave, okay?”
“You got it.” She winks and waves as I walk to the door.
Her comment about us joining Sam in Spokane wasn’t off the mark. I’ve thought about it several times, in fact. But we don’t know anyone, and Sam’s job is about to become even more demanding.
Maybe, down the road, it will be a viable option. But today, it’s not. Instead, I’ll just have to come to grips with the fact that I’ll be without Sam fifty percent of the time.
But I’ll have him the other fifty. And time moves so swiftly, that he’ll be here before we know it.
With that pep talk under my belt, I walk down the block to the office of Ty Sullivan. Ty doesn’t usually do wills and family law, but he made an exception for us.
His assistant waves me through to Ty’s office, and I see that Sam’s already seated in front of Ty’s desk when I walk in.
“Am I late?” I ask.
“No, Sam just got here,” Ty says and nods to his assistant, who closes the door behind me. “I think you’re both smart to have this all wrapped up before Sam goes to Spokane. It’s pretty simple, really, but necessary in the event of the unimaginable.”
“We’ve been through the unimaginable,” Sam reminds him. “And because my sister was smart, things were pretty seamless, legally speaking. We want to make sure that we have the same thing in place.”
“Good idea.” Ty nods and reaches for a folder full of papers. “Let’s go over this, and then once you’ve signed off, we’re good to go.”
I sit and listen as Ty summarizes what he’s drawn up in the papers. That in the event of one of our deaths the other would retain sole custody of the children, and inherit all the money left behind.
In the event we both die, custody goes to Fallon and Noah.
Once he’s finished with all the legal jargon, and we’ve signed off, Sam and I walk hand-in-hand out of the office and take a deep breath on the sidewalk.
“Well, that’s depressing,” I mutter.
“We won’t need it,” he assures me. “It’s just there, in case.”
I nod. “I bet Monica and Rich didn’t think they’d need it either.”