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I make a slight detour downtown. This shouldn’t take long at all.
I pull up to the empty gallery space that I purchased and am glad to see that the owner and Tom are both talking together in the gallery next door.
“Chad! How are things going at the hospital?” Tom asks looking happy to see me and receive an update. “Any idea when Seraphine and the babies are being released?”
“Not yet,” I say. “But they are all doing well.”
“What brings you by?” the building owner asks. I realize that I was in such a rush when I bought the place that I never even asked for his name, which I quickly find out is Eric.
“There’s something that I would like you to do for me,” I say. “And actually, Tom, since you are here too, I could really use your help and expertise as well.”
Tom looks at me quizzically.
I tell both Tom and Eric my plan and ask them if they are able to do it.
“I mean yeah,” Tom says first. “I can definitely do it. It's just a matter of time and cost.”
“I'm not concerned about the cost,” I say. “In fact, here.” I pull out two platinum credit cards and hand one to each of them. “Get whatever you need, spend whatever you want. I don’t care. Just make itincredible, and get it done as soon as possible since I don’t know when I will need it ready by yet.”
The two guys both look at each other and exchange excited glances.
“This is going to bereallycool,” Tom grins.
I give them both a few directions, and then give them creative liberty to make the rest of it all work. That, along with an absolute shitload of money, makes the two of them more than happily agree to get straight to work on my request.
When I get back to the hospital, I see Lorna standing outside Seraphine’s door.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Oh yes, everything is fine,” she smiles. “I was just going to go and check on the babies, and also letting your daughter spend some time with Seraphine. Those two girls seem to like each other awholelot.”
“They do,” I smile. “I think that Seraphine is so good for Lilly.”
“Agreed. And I think that Lilly is good for Seraphine too.”
“Really?” It’s nice to hear and nice of her to say. I know what a wonderful girl my daughter is, but I guess I hadn’t really thought of her relationship with Seraphine being reciprocal. Since Lilly doesn’t have a female figure in her life—or at least shedidn’tup until Seraphine came along—I always figured that it was more one-sided, with Seraphine really being what Lilly needed.
“I think that I may have been wrong about something,” Lorna says as her voice takes a more serious tone. “I’ve been around a long time—been through a lot, seen a lot, and have gotten pretty comfortable with knowing that I am a good judge of character. But I think that I might have been wrong aboutyou, Chad.”
“How so?” I ask, unsure whether this is a good or bad revelation on her part yet.
“I don’t think that you’re the dented, gluttonous, billionaire bachelor that I thought you were.”
“Youthoughtthat of me?” I ask, trying not to take it too personally.
“Of course,” she says bluntly. “We all did. But now I think that I can speak for almost everyone in town when I say that you have truly surprised us. You were there for Seraphine and those babies, and you haven’t left her side.”
“I don’t intend to ever leave her side again,” I say. “Not unless she asks me to.”
Lorna smiles broadly and the deep wrinkle lines in her cheeks form wise, aged crevices of a life well lived.
“Lorna, can you do something for me?” I ask as I lower my voice to nearly a whisper. I pull out a wad of cash from my wallet and hand it to her, but she doesn’t take it yet.
“I don’t ever agree to anything or take any money until I know exactly what I’m getting myself into,” she says.
“Smart.” I lean a little closer to her and whisper a few things. Then, Lorna reaches out and happily takes the cash in my hand.
“Yep, I know for a fact that I am right this time,” she chuckles as she starts to head down the hall. “You’re a good man, Chad.”
