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“Are you working tonight?” Tim must have noticed her brief glances at her watch.
“Usually I start at three, but today we have a staff meeting at two.”
“Do you always work the late shifts?” His inquiring gaze peered into her eyes.
“Afternoon and night shifts pay better.” She was earning a good salary for an associate nurse, yet money was tight in her large household.
Tim considered her pensively for a brief instant. “Erin, did you file your insurance claim?”
How she wished! “I left a voice message with the airline, but they never returned my call.”
“The airline… Huh… There’s a form you download, fill out, and file with the airline. It’ll take several months for the inspectors to determine if the crash was due to mechanical failure or act of God, such as weather, but I haven’t explained myself clearly. I was referring to a life insurance policy. Did your husband have an insurance policy?”
“Yes, he got one for twice his salary after Rachelle was born. Two years later, he became eligible for an enhanced life insurance at a reduced rate when he was promoted to sales manager atGlobal Items.”
“Good. Did you contact the insurance company?”
“Oh God.” She shook her head, deeply embarrassed by her lack of business sense. She’d been so engrossed in her pain and so busy at work and looking after her children that she’d totally forgotten aboutthatinsurance policy.
“It’s not too late to dig out the policy and talk to the insurance company. They’ll probably ask you to file a claim.”
“And then?”
“They’ll verify that your husband was covered by the insurance policy and pay you. Do you know where he kept his official papers?”
“Yes, his desk is now in my bedroom.” She’d had it moved from the guestroom he used as an office to make room for a bed for her mother. She winced, her breathing labored. “I haven’t had the heart to look through it yet.”
“I’m the same.” A sheepish grin betrayed his distress. “I’ve never touched Annette’s dresser. It still hurts too much. But your insurance policy is too important to ignore.”
“I’ll look for it tomorrow morning and call the insurance company.”
The twins chose that moment to wake up, shake their playpen, and call her with strident cries.
“Coming babies. Don’t demolish the place.”
“Erin, please call me if you have any trouble handling that task.”
“I will.” She smiled, trusting this man implicitly.
“Meanwhile, I’ll email you a copy of the form I submitted to the airline for an insurance claim. Enter your information and email it to the address at the top of the page.”
“Thank you, Tim. You’re a life saver. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I’d better run upstairs and change while Mom and the kids set the table.” She called the children. “Everyone in. Wash your hands and set a table for nine. The twins will be at the head of the table with me and Granny, and Coach Tim on my left.”
Her heart lighter than it’d been in a long time, Erin collected her twins and carried them upstairs to change them.
Once again, Tim had solved a crucial problem for her.
***
Tim followed the young mother’s exit with a look of admiration and compassion. To be thrown into the dual role of mother and father all of a sudden required patience and strength of character as he’d learned. He wished there were more he could do to help her, but he worried about injuring her pride.
The kids, including Brianna, washed their hands and lined up in the kitchen to receive plastic plates, glasses, and paper napkins from David and place them around the table. The boy brought out the silverware and set it next to each plate.
“We can sit and wait for Mom,” David instructed.
Impressed by the show of discipline and the ease with which his previously difficult daughter had learned to obey, Tim approached the grandmother in the kitchen.
“Can I take these heavy pans?”
