Page 86 of Forged Forever

“Cool. Thanks.”

“How are you doing, darling?”

“Not bad, actually. Mostly neutral, some sad, a lot of fond memories.”

He gives me a hug, telling me to make another trip through the house. I do, and find a few small items to add to my keep pile. A bottle opener, Mom’s lucky charm, and a small box of cards and notes that E found in the hall closet. With the 9 of us, we have most of the house boxed up by dinner.

I jog over to let Belinda know we’ll be back tomorrow and invite her for dinner at the hotel before we split into two vehicles and head out. Luckily, the restaurant isn’t busy, so we slide a few tables together to eat. Belinda tells stories of me growing up, with Seb digging for dirt on me and Jake. Although she has some funny memories, we were good kids, so there’s no blackmail material.

Hugging both ladies goodbye after dessert, we take the elevator up to our suite. With each minute passing, my body weight grows, expanding like a balloon. I’m leaning on Seb by the time we enter. “Go shower, Sunshine. You’re exhausted.” Seb kisses my head, directing me to my door.

I shuffle to my bag and drag myself to the bathroom. Stripping, I take a fast hot shower. Eyes half closed, I dry myself and dress in pajamas. Yawning, I walk back into the common area to find a water bottle. Dad, also freshly showered, hands me a bottle and kisses my head. “I’ll see you in the morning, darling.”

“Night Dad. Thanks for your help today.”

I get into bed with the door open to wait for the rest of the guys to shower. Alex and Bay join me first. Jake and Seb are next, followed by Nick and E. The guys want to watch a movie, so we squish into the two beds. I end up between Nick’s legs with Jake on my side and Seb lying across the end of the bed. Alex, Bay, and E are on the other. I fall asleep within minutes.

I partially wake, feeling the bed shuffle as I’m moved, then I’m out again.

Chapter 48

I wake up warm and cozy. Yawning, I crack an eye open to a hard, tattooed chest. Nick. I’m half on top of him, but wait, there’s an arm under my head too. Craning my neck, I see Jake behind me. He’s on the bed, but one arm and one leg are hanging off.

I attempt to crawl down the bed, but Nick wakes. Smiling at him, I go to the bathroom and get dressed. Nick gets up right after me, kissing my cheek.

Seb is unconscious on the other bed, and I find Alex and E in the living room. “Morning, guys.” I grab a cup of tea from the service Alex must've ordered.

Once everyone is up, we go downstairs to transfer the boxes to the moving truck Dad arranged. I hop in with Dad, and the guys file into the SUV. We meet Sue at the diner for breakfast.

Sue is already seated when we arrive, so I slide in beside her for a side hug. “Morning, Sue.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. What is the plan for today?”

“The house first, then Mal and the cemetery. I’ll hire a cleaning crew next week to do a deep clean of the house so it’s ready for new tenants. I appreciate you working with Belinda to find a family.”

“Happy to. I told the book club ladies to put feelers out for someone.”

Smiling at her, I listen to the guys discussing breakfast options, and Dad reminds Jake of who Sue is. Seb sets a chair at the end of our table to join me, Sue, Dad, and Jake at our booth. The rest of the guys are sitting in the booth behind us. Seb makes breakfast a lively affair, teasing Sue.

Bellies full, we drive to the house. Jake walks through the house with me to search for any other items we want to keep. I find Lily bee’s silver bracelet Mom bought her under her dresser. She was a little careless with her possessions, but she was just a kid. Jake suggests taking a few of the paintings that are hanging on the walls, so we choose two Grandma bought decades ago and three smaller ones Mom bought.

Sue, Dad, and Seb help me tidy up the house while the rest load up the donations and bring them to the Salvation Army. The garbage gets piled by the door, and Belinda assures me she’ll have it put out on garbage day.

Sue has been washing linens and towels yesterday and today, so we remake the three beds with fresh sheets and blankets and fill the bathrooms with clean towels. The bedrooms look empty now, but fresh and clean with all the furniture remaining. Hopefully, this home can provide a new start and sanctuary for a deserving family.

I’ve been debating taking one of the chairs from the house since we arrived yesterday. It’s a retro swivel lounge chair Mom cuddled us in as babies that now resides in the living room. Jake sees me staring at it and walks over. “Take it, Sum.”

I ask Dad if it'll fit on the plane, and he assures me it will. There’s a luggage compartment I forgot about in the plane’s belly. Jake and I shrink wrap it and carry it outside, and I think that’s it.

We relax in the backyard until the guys return. Loading up the items from today, we make our way to visit Mal again. She still can’t get over Jake being here, walking and talking.

We stop at the florist next to pick up bouquets for Mom and Lily bee and then drive to the cemetery. Luckily, they’re open on Sundays now because I completely forgot what day of the week it was. Everyone gives Jake and me a few minutes alone as I show him where they rest. We wrap arms around each other after placing the bouquets down. Both of us have tears falling silently down our cheeks as we talk to them. I hope wherever they are, they can see us here together.

When we’re ready, I invite the group forward. Sue and Dad step up to our sides as the guys each place a single flower around the headstone. More tears escape at their thoughtful gesture. They must've stopped at the florist when they were delivering the donations. They form a semicircle around the headstone as I introduce them.

We stay for close to an hour chatting on the grass before Dad announces we need to drive to the airport, so I link arms with Sue to walk back to our vehicles. I hug her and thank her for her help this weekend. Waving goodbye as she pulls out of the parking lot, I get into the rental truck with Dad, and Alex drives the SUV.

We grab a bite to eat near the airport and then load the plane with the chair and boxes. It’s a lot of stuff. Someday I’ll whittle it down, but for now, it’s nice to have parts of them with me. We're going to store as much as we can in the garage upstairs, and Alex will store anything that won't fit in his garage.