I give him a shake of my head.
The girl between his knees continues to work it as he glowers at me.
“That’s it, baby!” Jamie calls over the music.
I tear my eyes away from Grim’s and find Jamie headed toward the door of his adjoining room, toting a giggling Amilia under his arm like a ragdoll.
So, at least that worked out.
I close my door and head to the corner of my room for my guitar. There’s been some new lyrics threading between my brain cells the last few days and they finally feel like they’re ready for a tune.
As I jot down the bones of what I have in my head onto the hotel notepad near the phone, it starts to take shape. I play the notes and listen, then make some tweaks. That electric current starts in my chest and soon I’m buzzing all over with it. I lose myself in the process and the noise from the suite fades away until it’s just me and the music. Finally, as the first light of morning begins to streak through my window and paint the wall yellow, I lay back and doze with notes and words braiding themselves into patterns in my dreams.
#
It’s after noon by the time I pull myself out of bed. When I head out into the suite to brew a cup of coffee, there are still a few stragglers passed out on the couch. Just as the coffee maker sputters out the last of my cup, Jamie’s door opens and Amilia comes out, smoothing last night’s dress over her hips. She detours when she sees me and swipes the coffee cup from my hand, then turns and slams out the door without a word.
Jamie comes out as I’m brewing another cup. He grins ear to ear when he sees me. “It’s always better with a fucking movie star,” he says, then gives his balls a scratch through is boxers. “You don’t know what you’re fucking missing, dude.”
But I do. I know exactly what I’m missing. And the truth?
I don’t miss it at all.
Chapter 22
Shiloh
Billie was a little frustrated that the first time the lawyer was able to meet with us is over a week after we visited McCall. School started Monday and she’s spent every day since muttering about how far behind I’m going to be.
“Have a seat,” she says when she shows the guy into the family room, where I’m on the couch watching TV. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water would be perfect,” the lawyer, a fairly hot Hispanic guy about Billie’s age, says as he takes the chair across the coffee table from me. “You must be Shiloh,” he says to me as Billie turns for the kitchen.
I click off the TV and nod.
“I’m Christian,” he says, reaching across the table for my hand.
I shake it.
He looks at me curiously for a second. “This must all seem pretty overwhelming to you, after living your whole life in the system. But it should go smoothly as long as you’re sure this is what you want.”
Billie sets Christian’s water on a coaster in front of him and sits next to me. “We’ve talked about it and I think we’re both excited for this,” she says, then squeezes my knee. “Right, Shiloh?”
I nod again. The truth is, I’m way more nervous than I thought I’d be. I don’t even know why except so much has changed in the last year, and now it feels like the only thread connecting me to who I really am is about to snap.
Christian reaches for his briefcase and opens it in his lap. “There’s paperwork, of course, because anytime you’re dealing with the courts, that’s the case,” he says, as he thumbs through the folders inside. He pulls one from the stack, then closes his briefcase in his lap and uses it like a desk. “We have the guardianship petition, and the guardian consent form…” He reels off several other names as he lifts forms one by one from the folder and sets them in a pile on the coffee table. He looks up at Billie. “Because Shiloh has substantial monetary holdings, you’ll actually need to file for guardianship of an estate, which takes a little more paperwork. Most of these are for you, as the adult, but there are a few places Shiloh needs to fill in information too. Where we need your information is marked with yellow sticky tabs, and Shiloh’s is marked with pink.”
I’ve always hated pink.
“How long will it take for all of this to go through?” Billie asks.
“The part that often holds things up in cases like these is the court requirement of giving notice to all relatives or agencies involved. In Shiloh’s case, where there are no known relatives, that should go quickly. Once the papers are filed with the court, they’ll set a date for a hearing. Depending on how busy family court is, that could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.”
“Then how long until we hear?” Billie presses.
“In an uncontested case, if the minor agrees to the guardian, the judge will often make his determination at the time of the hearing.”
Billie’s nodding the whole time Christian is explaining. “So it may only take a few weeks?”