Page 23 of Standing Still
“What can I say?” I shrug. I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan my whole life. “He likes you.”
“I bet you like everyone, don’t you, handsome boy?” she gives him an extra scratch before straightening up. “Sorry, I should have said hi to you, too.”
“You’re welcome to call me a good boy any time you want.”
Her eyebrows pop right up her forehead but I just wink then tap a hand at my thigh and Jedi immediately gets up and stands at the ready.
“He’s so well behaved,” she says, taking a set of keys from her pocket then side eyes me. “Not like his owner,” she turns away, but I see a smirk on her lips.
I allow her to get halfway up the stairs to the front door before I head up after her. Jesus, those jeans are doing all kinds of great things for her ass. She hesitates for a moment at the front door, and I suddenly realize how hard this must be for her. I step up and hand her the leash. She looks up in surprise. But I take the keys and she doesn’t argue.
I’ve been here regularly over the years, more so when he was ill and needed more help. Nothing much has changed inside from when we were kids and I used to come here for a very different reason. I let us inside and Jedi trots along happily beside Elle, who I notice has put her hand on top of his head, gently stroking it. If she is taking comfort from him, then I’m not going to stop it. Jedi, for his part, looks like he’s in heaven having such a gentle touch.
I flick on the lights in the dark hall, and she closes the door, looking around. There is a piece of paper propped up on the hallway table. It has Elle’s name on it. I hand it to her wordlessly and her brow creases. It’s likely from Susan. I know she has been here doing some clearing out. As much as she is trying to remain upbeat, she is missing Acer. It has to have been hard for her coming in here, but she will have wanted to do it, probably to spare Elle. That’s just the way Susan is.
Elle takes the letter and I unclip Jedi’s leash and he heads off to investigate. I chuckle when he finds himself a spot on the sofa, curls up and rests his chin on the arm looking over at us, his eyebrows raised as if to question whether we have a problem with it. I try not to focus too much on Elle as she reads the letter.
“It’s from Susan,” she says, confirming what I thought. “She’s cleared out a lot of stuff but left some things she thinks I mightwant, and she hasn’t touched my room.” She glances over and smiles a little at Jedi, who has now settled so well. He is asleep. The walk over must have taken it out of him. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to her for long the other day, but she seems nice. She insinuated she was seeing dad, but they were friends?”
“It was a kind of loose relationship, in the sense that they kept their own identities and houses, but yeah, they were a thing. Never really put a label on it, said they were too old to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but they were happy.”
“It must be hard for her. I should go and see her. Thank her for everything.”
“She’d like that,” I nod. “Shall we see what else needs to be done, if Susan has done a lot of it?”
“Let’s see if there is any coffee first,” Elle says, stepping around me and cutting through the living room to the kitchen. Jedi briefly opens his eyes to keep an eye on what we are doing but settles back down. I follow her. “You want one?” She sets the coffee machine going when I nod my thanks.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, I cross my ankles and push my elbows back so I can grip the edge at my hips. “So, in the interest of being transparent, I went to see a lawyer yesterday.”
“Oh?” she turns, so she is side on to me, looking over her shoulder.
“I wanted to know where we stand on the way Acer has drawn up the will. If there was any way around it or if we were able to make any changes.”
“And?”
I shake my head. “He’s really put us in a situation.”
She turns back to making the drinks. “Do you plan on taking it down the legal route?” I frown as she passes my coffee. She didn’t ask how I took it, but it is the way I like it.
“I think you and I both know I’m not in a position to do that,” I cradle the mug against my stomach. “It was pretty much confirmed to me that my life is in your hands.”
She looks into the living room, her eyes roaming over everything and stopping on Jedi. “I hate this,” she whispers.
“It’s a tough choice,” I say.
Her head whips back to me. “It’s an impossible choice,” she huffs out a laugh. “I either follow the will and make a decision about my life that I never wanted to make, or I ruin yours and countless others, taking away your jobs.”
“Yeah, I got that part,” I say. I’m not making it easier for her. “Any thoughts?”
She sips her coffee and her nose wrinkles. “I forgot about the sludge dad drinks.” She sets the mug down.
“Would it be so bad?” I ask softly. Her eyes turn to me, and I try to convey how much she could hurt us if she makes this choice. It’s not fair, but I have to think about myself, and my employees and Jared’s words are still whirring around my head. “Being back in Mystic for a small part of your time?”
“I don’t know.” she bites her lips, and my eyes track it. When I look back, she’s watching me. “I left a lot of things behind when I moved away,” she stares intently at me. “It wasn’t an easy choice, but when I made it, I never expected to have to come back.”
“If it helps, I got over it a long time ago, Elle. I know you needed to leave and go after your dream, just like you knew I needed to stay. We were kids, and we had to make a difficult decision but, in the long run, don’t you feel like you made the right choice?”
“I do,” she nods, but she looks a little lost, too. “Doesn’t mean it was easy to walk away.”