Page 50 of Ashes of Us

The weekend was spent packing up what Danica wanted to take to the condo with her, which wasn't much, her clothes, personal items and a few things belonging to Jasper that were important to her.

She did take the bedroom set because it was only a few years old and she picked it out specifically for her comfort after Jasper said he didn't care what she bought, which she believed because he was still sleeping on the double bed he had taken from his bedroom at his parents house when she moved in with him, and one of the three sets of dishes they had been gifted when they got married.

Everything else was taken care of with a trip to IKEA Saturday evening and a full day of cursing and swearing between her and Emilia while Gracie watched movies and cuddled and played with Indie on Sunday.

She left most of the furniture and the remaining items that belonged to Jasper, which no one had asked for, in the house for Cecil, letting him know that she had found a place and the house was empty and available when he came back from his vacation.

They made plans to sit with a lawyer and come up with either a rental agreement or a rent-to-own plan when he came back, and to also figure out the garage issues.

Danica didn't have anywhere to store all her tools, and with Cecil's now needing homes in the garage, they were going to have to go through all of it and figure out what to keep and what they were going to have to sell or give away.

Xavier and Alex had ducked out to go for a motorcycle ride, after a discussion during breakfast Sunday morning where they planned out a six hour drive along the Cape Ann Coastal route and took Benny and Delilah with them for the day to help distract them from their sadness over losing Jasper and spend some time doing something fun, having planned various stops for the kids to get off the bikes, explore and play to keep them from getting bored.

Benny, in particular, had been very close to Jasper, and both Xavier and Emilia were worried about how he was handling the loss.

He'd withdrawn, spending more time alone in his room than usual, shutting himself off in a way that concerned them.

Danica had given him the remainder of Jasper's Hot Wheels collection and one of his signed basketballs, two things they had bonded over most. Benny had accepted them quietly, thanking her with a nod before carefully carrying them to his room.

Later, Emilia told Danica he had created a small shrine to Jasper in the corner of his bedroom, hidden beneath a blanket.

Inside, he'd placed the basketball, the cars, and a few photos he'd taken from his sister's scrapbook.

Delilah was also heartbroken over losing her “Uncle Jasper,” but her grief was more open.

She asked her mother to help her create a scrapbook in his memory, and she often wanted to talk about him.

Finding something personal to give her had been more difficult.

While Jasper and Benny had bonded in the garage and on the basketball court, his connection with Delilah had been gentler, quieter and more in tune with her sensitive nature.

He would watch cartoons with her, cheer her on at dance recitals, and let her do his hair, makeup, and nails without complaint when Danica and Jasper would take the kids for sleepovers.

In the end, Danica gathered every photo she had of Jasper and Delilah together and printed them for the scrapbook.

She also gave her one of Jasper's necklaces to keep.

Gracie had been a bit easier. She had never truly warmed to Jasper, more because of her neurodivergence than anything else, but there was still a quiet comfort in their dynamic.

Whenever she visited with her mother, she would go straight to the bedroom to find Jasper's old Grumpy Bear Care Bear plushie.

She'd curl up on the couch, holding it tightly under one arm, while she sucked her thumb and watched TV.

So, Danica had given her the plushie and another one of Jasper's necklaces, which Emilia had put away to give her when she was older and better able to understand what it was for.

Jasper was the first time the kids had experienced the loss of someone close to them, and even though they were only eight and six years old, Emilia and Xavier had been very (age appropriately) blunt about death, answering their questions and providing reassurance when needed.

Emilia explained to Danica that they were using Jasper's death as a teachable moment since her parents were getting older and her father was in poor health, so she had already been gently preparing them for their grandfather's eventual passing.

It had been Jasper's relationship with Benny and Delilah that had convinced Danica to want to have kids with him.

He had been very much the fun, but firm and fair uncle to all the children in his family, and it would melt her heart every time she saw him interact with kids.

He always met them on their level and engaged with their interests and hobbies with the same level of enthusiasm, whether he was actually interested in them or not.

He would have been a fantastic father, but after everything that had happened in the last few months, Danica found herself feeling almost thankful that both her pregnancies had ended in miscarriages.

She knew she wouldn't be able to handle raising a child on her own, and she now firmly believed that Amy would have tried to get custody of any child she and Jasper would have had.

It had been a little surprising to see how quickly the people in her life had accepted that Alex was going to be around.

Danica had caught Emilia smiling several times while she watched Danica and Alex interact throughout the weekend.

Xavier and Jasper had never been close friends, but they would hang out and spend time one-on-one before Xavier's mother called Amy out at Jasper and Danica's wedding.

After that, they were polite, but there were weird parental loyalties that drove a wedge between them, and they stopped spending time alone with one another, which Danica and Emilia thought was ridiculous.

Xavier and Alex, on the other hand, despite the very evident disparity in their backgrounds, financial situations and careers, had become fast friends.

Emilia said they had spent the last week texting each other so much that if she wasn't sure it was actually Alex Xavier was texting, she would have thought he was having an affair.

“What are they talking about?” Danica asked curiously as they put together the dining table and chairs, pushing a lock of sweaty hair out of her face.

“Motorcycles, potential road trips, the hotel renovations, and Alex has been giving him business advice.” Emilia sat back as she looked over the instructions again and then asked Danica to pass her the hammer.

Danica furrowed her brow in confusion and passed her the hammer she requested.

“Business advice?” Xavier was an electrician by trade and worked for a large construction company as the lead Electrical Safety Officer, but she knew there had been talk about him starting his own electrical inspection and safety compliance firm as an independent consultant before Emilia had gotten pregnant with Gracie, but it had been put on hold when Emilia found out she was pregnant, and the hold had been extended indefinitely when it became evident she was special needs.

Emilia nodded. “Yeah, now that we have a diagnosis for Gracie and have an intervention plan that's helping her, he's been putting together a business plan for his consulting firm. Alex offered to help since it's his thing.”

Danica nodded. That made sense. Alex was a great businessman, and since he had taken over the hotels, she had already noticed an uptick in revenue. “It's been confirmed Gracie is on the Autism spectrum?” She knew they had been testing her but hadn't realized it had been officially diagnosed.

“Pretty much.” Emilia sighed, her eyes drifting over to where Grace was watching some show about puppies, Indie curled up beside her.

“We're waiting for the 'official' evaluation results so we can access some of the help available, but the psychologist is sure she is, and the more I learn about the tics and quirks that are common for people on the spectrum, the more I agree.

She does think she's at a level two right now, but with the proper interventions and therapy, she will be able to be a mostly independent adult.” She smiled, but Danica could see the worry for her youngest child in her eyes.

“Well, anything you need help with, you know you only have to ask.” She focused back on the table, finally managing to get the base and legs put together.

After four bookshelves, six chairs, a desk and a computer chair, she was over putting together furniture for the day.

“Want to get out of here and go grab some ice cream when we're finished this?” She stood up, balancing the leg upside down on the tabletop while Emilia screwed it in place.

“We can walk to Glenn's and then take Gracie on the Children's Wharf Harborwalk until she tires herself out.”

“Yes, absolutely.” Emilia nodded eagerly. “She needs some time away from the screens.”

A little over an hour later, they were walking slowly along the Harborwalk with Gracie and Indie.

Grace was in her wagon, happily babbling nonsense as she checked out all the painted cows.

She didn't want to get out of the wagon and play with the other children, but she loved watching them and occasionally waving cheerfully.

She would also giggle loudly whenever Indie jumped in the wagon with her and squeal when she jumped out.

Emilia was watching her with a huge smile and shook her head as Gracie wrapped her arms around Indie's neck and hugged her.

“Be gentle, Gracie.” She reminded her before looking at Danica.

“I can't thank you enough for letting Maverick come to Jasper's memorial.

Gracie's therapeutic recreation therapist has been saying for months that she would benefit from a therapy dog, but Xavier was really digging his heels in.

Watching Gracie approach Mave and Watson on her own and ask to pet the dog by pointing at herself, and then Watson made him reconsider his stance on his no pets rule.

We're going to call first thing tomorrow morning to set up an appointment with the K9 Comfort Foundation to see about getting a dog for her.”

“That's amazing.” Danica took a large bite of her strawberry shortcake sundae and smiled back at her.

“I have to go sign the paperwork to foster Indie tomorrow, but I'm honestly thinking I should just adopt her.” It had been very comforting to have the affectionate dog with her in her new place, and Danica was enjoying the routine and physical exercise of walking her twice a day.

Maverick had taken her shopping at his favourite pet store before he left Saturday night to head to Salem and see Toni and his sisters, making sure she had everything she would need to keep Indie happy and healthy, including a large porch potty for the balcony so Danica didn't have to bring her all the way downstairs and out to the green space across from the condo building late at night, explaining he had one for Watson in his apartment and he wouldn't know what he would do without it.

“I agree.” Emilia looked back as Gracie squealed and clapped again, and Indie ran up to walk beside Danica for a bit.

She was constantly making her rounds between people when the others were over at her apartment, making Maverick's reason for her failing out of training that much more evident.

“She's such a little sweetheart, I can't imagine having her stay temporarily and then giving her up to another family when you can keep her with you.”

Danica grinned as she leaned down and scratched the Corgi's head. “Yeah, I'm already pretty attached to her. I don't think I can give her up. Besides, she's keeping me sane with everything that's coming up.”

“Right!” Emilia came to a stop next to a bench and sat down. “Court is Tuesday. How are you feeling about it?”

“Really good.” Danica sat beside her and helped Gracie out of her wagon so she could sit between them and eat her ice cream.

“David is thrilled with the evidence we have and has a long list of people willing to testify, including Lucy's best friend, Elena.” She smiled.

Maverick had been worth every penny she spent on him as far as she was concerned. “They don't have a chance.”