Chapter 7. The Ultrasound Picture Was No Longer In My Purse

It took a minute for her words to sink in.

"My help?"

She smiled ruefully and gestured to the front of her dress. For the first time, I noticed the damp brown stain that looked like coffee. "I...ah...had a little accident with the coffeemaker."

"Oh." I said, nodding slowly, not quite sure what that had to do with needing my help.

Elisa blinked her elf-like blue eyes. "Aiden told me I could borrow you some clothes.

I was holding my clothes ready to put them into my suitcase but her words left me frozen on the spot.

When his lover spilled something on her clothes Aiden remembered he had a wife--which was me. That made sense. I reassured myself.

I stepped aside to let her come into my room, trying not to inhale the scent of her perfume because I didn't trust my stomach not to revolt again. I didn't want to end up with my head buried in the toilet bowl for the third time today.

"You can find it here..." my voice was a bit shaky.

"Thank you," Elisa breezed past me, her eyes scanning over the room. I shut the door and turned to watch her, feeling slightly self-conscious at how untidy my room was due to my packing.

"You're a size ten?" She gave me a once-over, taking in my proportions while I tried not to squirm under the critical gaze. Then I checked myself, wondering why I let her get to me. I straightened and met her gaze steadily, already guessing where this was heading and not sure I liked it.

"Twelve," I replied, reaching for the last pair of my underwear and stuffing it in my suitcase. "Elisa, I'm not sure I have any clothes that might fit you, certainly not designer ones." I had also left single-digit sizes behind since my sixteenth birthday when I had a growth sprout and moved seemingly overnight from a size eight to a ten and I had never gone down since then. Plus, Elisa was a svelte size four, so there was no chance in hell that my bigger clothes size would be flattering on her.

honey-blonde hair. "I just need a shirt, luckily the jacket and skirt are fine. I can work with a shirt your size. Aiden offered me one of his shirts, but I can't possibly wear any of his, they're way too big."

Of course, he did. I pursed my lips in disapproval and looked away, not wanting her to see my emotion. Idly, I wondered if she had ever worn any of Aiden's shirts before and almost threw up again at the mental image of Elisa, barefoot, hair mused, dressed in nothing but Aiden's shirt, being held in his arms while they....

Stop torturing yourself. I scolded my mind and forced those images away, hating the bad aftertaste it left in my heart.

I waved vaguely toward my walk-in closet. "Sure, help yourself."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to be careful with it." She gave me a grateful smile and wandered over to the closet to start looking through my clothes while I returned to my packing. this time too distracted to pay much attention to what I was shoving in there.

"The turnout for the funeral will be impressive, I'm sure," Elisa said, trying to make idle conversation. "After all, Mr. Brown was a well-known and highly respected figure in our society, a lot of people will be there to pay their respects."

"Yes, that's likely," I replied reluctantly. The last I wanted was to carry out idle chitchat, not when there were so many things weighing heavily on my mind.

Done with packing, I looked around for my purse, then remembered it was in the closet. For some reason, Elisa had suddenly gone quiet. Curious, I walked inside, wondering if she had found a shirt. She had her back to me, head bent, looking at something in her hand.

"Did you find something to wear?" I asked.

She started and whipped around, her face unusually pale. "Uhhh....what?"

"A shirt. Did you find a suitable shirt?

"Oh She looked flustered for a moment as though she'd forgotten why she was in my closet. She looked around, and picked up a pale pink shirt, and held it up with a bright smile. "Yes, yes. I think this will fit just fine."

I nodded, then gestured to my purse which was sitting on the shelf behind her. "Could you pass me that black purse, please?"

"Of course," her laugh sounded so high and strained that I wondered what the hell had gotten into her. She handed me the purse and brushed past me with quick steps. "I'll just go change, I'm sure the guys must be ready to set out by now."

I watched her hurry towards the door, but then she paused and turned around. "Thanks for the shirt, I'll be sure to get it back to you in one piece."

"Yeah, no problem."

The hour long trip to Skye Manor passed in relative silence, the only conversation in the car was between Aiden and Vincent and mostly revolved around business, Elisa was uncharacteristically silent, staring out the window with a faraway expression.

I leaned back against the headrest, nausea playing in my stomach from motion sickness and I spent the trip with my eyes closed, praying I wouldn't haul all over the pristine leather seats. To distract myself, I listened to an audiobook on my phone and nibbled on some saltine crackers, ignoring the look of disapproval on Aiden's face at eating in the car.

Mercifully, we were soon turning into the long driveway of the Manor, and I sat up to watch the passing scenery, nostalgic at the familiar and comforting sight of the tall cypress trees that lined each side of the gravel drive, the glimpses of well tended flower gardens and just over the small hill to the west, was Lake Maria, named after Julian's first wife and Aiden's mother. A whimsical smile played on my face as I recalled many a happy memory in my teens spent running and messing around the banks of that lake, I would spend my evenings daydreaming about Aiden, imagining him holding me in his arms, kissing me, reassuring me that I would always be the only woman he would ever love.

How naive. I looked away from the glistening water, unable to stomach how foolish my dreams had been. Cars lined the driveway, and a few early guests and family lingered outside, all dressed in somber clothing and I felt the sting of tears at the reminder of the reason we were here.

Julian was truly gone. I would never hear his booming laugh, or see the twinkle in his eyes as he rambled on about whatever had caught his interest. I would never feel the warmth of his comforting hugs again.

He would never meet his grandchild.

Tears slipped down my cheeks and I dug in my purse for a handkerchief. Finding one, I pulled it out, then frowned down at the contents of my purse. A quick search confirmed that what I was looking for was not there anymore.

The ultrasound picture was no longer in my purse.