Page 55 of Luci’s Lullaby

Reese and Walker take me home. Riley came with them to drive my truck back to Cherry Grove. Lea, Chord’s sister-in-law, gave them her plane to fly up to me. I’m numb.

I don’t remember them taking me to their house. I’m not even sure how long I’ve been here. I do know after several shots of Patron, I finally got some sleep. I’ve been sitting on Reese’s porch since dawn.

“Mars Bar,” Reese rubs my head as she joins me in the swing, “you should be resting.”

“I guess I need to make arrangements,” I mumble.

“Have you given any thought of where you’d like to take them?” She reaches over, taking my hand.

Tears well in my eyes. “I don’t have a fucking clue of what to do, Reese. I’m sure Shelley has some kind of burial plan, but I’m not positive.”

“Do you think you may want to take them back home?” She leans in, laying her head on my shoulder.

“Probably, I mean, that’s where they lived. I have considered here because of the baby.”

“She’s beautiful, Alden. They say she’s doing great.” Her thumb rubs circles in my hand. Such a simple thing offering so much comfort.

“So what’s the lawyer in you tell me to do?”

She sighs. “I have a list.”

“Of course you do.” I rub my cheek into the top of her hair.

“You’re gonna be alright, I promise.” She answers every silent thought I’ve had over the last few days.

“How long has it been?”

“You’ve only slept a few hours.” She releases a heavy breath.

“Well, I guess I need to get started.”

She holds me back when I try to move. “We have time, it’s six in the morning.”

We sit there, her holding onto me, letting me know I may feel alone but I’m not. Once things open we get to work making plans for their services and where to have them.

“It looks as though Shelley was set but Cid didn’t have much. The baby will get assistance due to their deaths and at some point, you’ll get insurance money.” Reese reads the list we’ve made so far.

“The money they have in the bank will cover Cid’s service. If so, I want to keep them here. There’s no one back home, and we’ll be here.”

“I agree. We need to find a funeral home and a cemetery,” Walker adds. “I’ll call Mom, Sallie and Silas are in the same one. Chord’s just getting the girls home, so I won’t bother them.”

“You still need to file the correct papers for everything and let Shelley’s work know. There’s also the college, we should tell them. You’ll also need to clean out their house or at least get the baby’s things,” Reese says.

“Most need obituaries to process anything, so we’ll take care of everything until it’s straightened out,” Walker says as Reese takes his hand.

“And this is why I love you so much.” She kisses his cheek. “One more thing before we get started. The hospital called, she needs a name and they need notification of your legal rights as guardian.”

“They have a will, I guess it’s in their safe deposit box.”

“Let’s get that and anything else we need from West Virginia today.” Walker nods.

“How can we do all of this today?”

“Lea,” Reese smiles, “we have anything she owns, or we need at our disposal.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. “How do people do this alone?”

“I have no idea.” Reese takes my hand. “And you need not to worry, you have me.”