And now what?

3. The following day

The weak morning light filtered through the partially closed bedroom curtains. Grace turned over in her bed and looked out onto their large back garden. The garden was Grace's pride and joy.  They had a gardener who came once a week to cut the grass, trim back the hedges and prune off the trees but the flower beds were her domain.  She loved going out in all weather's even during winter she found things to do, tidying up here or there. Obviously spring and summer were her favourite seasons. It was quite therapeutic milling around the different flower beds, pottering around the water displays and the little rockery gardens. She sighed, she must get out there again, but not today, today she had to get the children to school and then go on to the lawyer's office.

She struggled out of bed, wrapped her silk kimono over her nightie and walked silently down the hallway to Annabelle's room. She knocked on the door, 'Annabelle are you awake honey, it's time to get ready for school'

'Of course I'm awake, I do have my own alarm you know' came the rather rude and gruff reply from her daughter. Grace sighed again, not wishing to start the morning with an argument she simply replied that breakfast would be ready in ten minutes and padded across the carpeted hallway to her son Luke's room. Here she entered calling in a soft voice, 'Morning Luke darling, are you awake, school time!'

Luke grunted and pulled the duvet over his head, 'Come on sleepy head, I know we all went to bed late last night, but you must get up now'

She walked over to the windows and opened up the curtains, the sun light was stronger now and filled the room. 'Come on, breakfast in 10 minutes'.

Grace walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.  The kitchen was one of the warmer rooms in the house, not just in temperature due to the very large agar which ran down the side of the back wall of the kitchen, because the agar was permanently on, the room as always warm and inviting. It was large, bright and airy, overlooking the garden with large windows. Masses of cupboards, a large walk in pantry and a large wooden table in the centre.  The house did have a formal dining room which was hardly ever used. 

Grace put the kettle on and started making herself a coffee, popped on the toaster and started bringing out the butter, jams and milk from the over full fridge.

Fiona, Grace's cleaner had already filled the fridge with all the left over food from the funneral's reception. There was enough food left over to feed an army, which under the circumstances was good as Grace really didn't feel like cooking.  In fact she hadn't cooked a single meal since Gregory's death. They had lived off toast, sandwiches and cereal.  She knew she would have to start cooking again, it wasn't right for the children not to eat proper food, over these last two weeks she had lost a lot of weight, she started to worry for the children.  'Maybe I should ask Fiona to stay a couple more hours and cook something for them' she thought, looking at the overstuffed fridge she decided it wasn't a decision she needed to make today at least.

The children entered the kitchen

'Oh great, toast again, yippee!' Annabelle threw her bag on the floor by the door and flopped onto the chair reaching for the butter.

'I like toast' replied Luke taking his chair opposite Annabelle. Grace sat down wearily clutching her coffee and pulling her kimono tighter around her.

As they ate and drank in silence Grace looked at her daughter, she understood her anger, she felt it to, but her anger was directed at her late husband and that boy, Annabelle for some reason was directing it at her. 

Grace took a sip of her coffee, she knew she wasn't being a good mother at the moment, but so much had happened so suddenly, she really wasn't coping very well.

'I'm going to the solicitor's this morning,' she said out loud.

'Why?' came Annabelle's rather sharp reply.

'I'll have to sign some papers, sort out the insurance money, the house will have to come into my name, just legal things like that'

Luke sat quietly munching at his toast. Annabelle looked out the window at the swaying leaves of the large oak tree in the middle of the garden. She then looked across at her mother, sitting there with no make up on, her kimono tightly pulled around her. She was looking frail, tired, old. Annabelle felt guilty for giving her a hard time this morning, but all she was trying to do was to try and get her to pull out of this depression, to start being normal again.

'Will you be alright on your own' asked Annabelle after a time, 'why don't you ask someone to go with you?'

'I'll be fine, thank you' Grace answered with a smile, 'it shouldn't be too long, I assume Mr Greyson will have all the documents ready and I will only need to hear the will and sign off. I know your father left me everything and the insurance is in my name so as I say, it will be quick and easy. Thank you for thinking about me' she added.

'Come on Luke,' Annabelle turned, a little embarrassed from her mother's need to have thanked her, 'we'll miss the school bus'

The children hurried up, picked up their bags and trotted to the front door, 'Bye' they called in unison as they walked out the house and down the path.  The school bus collected them at the gate of their house each morning.

Inside Grace finished her coffee.  The house had taken on an eerie silence. 'Come on' she told herself, 'time to shower and leave.'

She put the plates and mugs into the sink, Fiona had her own back door key and she would be in soon to clean and tidy. Grace slowly went upstairs to her empty bedroom and started to get ready.