To a new beginning!

Part 5

  Susan's eyes never wavered as she watched the coffin lowered into the ground. An image of her father in the coffin popped into her mind. He had on a White Tom Ford suit and a black fedora laying on his chest.

Looking so grand and proud even in death.

    Susan could have sworn she had seen her father's lips curve in approval when she stood staring at him earlier in church before the casket was closed.

   She rubbed the heel of her palm against her chest to ease the dull pain she felt.

    Her heart hurts.

  She didn't get the chance to say goodbye because he had taken that choice from her. She felt a sharp jolt of anger but she pushed it down, it was no use getting angry now, there was no outlet for that anger and she wasn't going to let it stop her grief. 

   He had been a good father, despite everything. And that had been surprising for a while because She had thought the reason he'd shipped her to Atlanta at 13 just a few years after her mother left them, was because he didn't want her anymore.

   But he'd stayed in touch with her, through every stage of her life before his demise, not once did he miss any event in her school or her life that required him there.

   Her love for and trust in her father  had been the one constant in her restless nature. He was always there for her, not so much a port in the storm but a hand to hold till the storm was over. His consistent presence in her life had almost made up for her mother's absence. Almost.  

  But now, more than ever, Susan craved for that presence.

   Tears don't come easy for Susan, no matter how much she hurt, so her eyes stayed dry, which was a contrast reaction to Bee and Hanna's as they both silently wiped their wet eyes with handkerchiefs.

   Her mother's reaction on the other hand was.....bland, Susan observed, her eyes were empty and her face revealed nothing. Susan wasn't sure why that surprised and pissed her off at the same time, what else was to be expected from a woman who abandoned her family for years?

   Or maybe she'd been hoping her mother would shed a tear or two, a crack in that stoic expression on her face, anything to show she cared, or once cared.

  Irritated with herself, she crouched down and filled her hand with sand. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, an image of her father cooking for her  two Christmases ago in her small kitchen in Atlanta danced in her mind.

  "Till we meet again Daddy" she whispered to herself, opened her eyes and threw the sand.

  After a long twenty minutes of condolences from her father's colleagues, associates and family members she couldn't quite frankly remember, Susan was grateful to be back in the car and on the way home.

  "The lawyer will be at the house in 10 minutes" Hanna said to her after she got off the phone. "Sammy can you step on it? He mentioned he had other businesses to attend to" She told the driver.

  "Why today?" Susan asked warily.

"Upon your father's request, the will is to be read today" Hanna reached over and patted her hand in sympathy "It will be done as quickly as the lawyer can manage so you can rest, i know it hasn't been an easy day honey"

  No, it hasn't, Susan thought to herself and closed her eyes.

  When they pulled in, Susan noticed the black Toyota Camry in the compound, and guessed the lawyer was already in the house. Good. She just wanted to be done with all of it and be back in Atlanta as soon as possible.

  Bee's car pulled up behind theirs, she got out and caught up with Susan before she went into the house.

  "Hey, you okay?" She asked.

  "I don't know. But i will be, thanks for driving Martha here, i don't think i could have handled being in the same space with her with all the emotions swirling inside of me."

They fell silent when Martha caught up with them.

"Thank you for the ride Bee"

  "I was just about to tell Susan its no bother. Go on in Martha, get some rest, you look pale" Bee said worriedly.

  She did look pale, Susan noticed. But she refused to curse herself or feel guilty for the lack of concern and attention she'd shown her mother since she got back. She owed her nothing, Susan decided, set her jaw defiantly and avoided her mother's eyes.

They waited till Martha was in the house.

"I'm gonna go Sue, i heard the lawyer is here, figure you might need privacy and all and i have some dresses i need to finish up anyways"

Susan stared at her incredulously.

"Bee the reading of the will concerns you as much as it concerns me. You're not going anywhere but in that house. Don't start" Susan snapped when Bee opened her mouth to argue. She turned and stormed off.

  Bee sighed and followed.

"We will start as soon as Mr. Gbadebo  joins us" The lawyer said when they were all seated in the lounge.

Susan frowned and looked over at Hanna in question.

"Mr Gbadebo is the acting CEO of Shaw's citrus. He has been since your father was hospitalized." Hanna explained.

  "So? Why does he have to be here?" Susan asked the lawyer this time.

"Your father requested it. That's all i know" he answered. "Ha, here he is"

Susan shifted her gaze to the man who'd just walked in and lost her train of thought for a minute. She'd seen her fair share of drop-dead gorgeous men, they were everywhere in Atlanta, so it wasn't the fact that he was gorgeous that caused her to almost drool, it was the sheer maleness of him.

  The way he'd swaggered in was the sexiest thing she'd seen in a very long time.

He was tall, and so was Susan in her full 5'8, but she was pretty sure she'd barely reach his chin if they stood together.

His shoulders, draped in the three piece gray suit he had on was broad, her eyes traveled down to his long lean torso and all the way to the legs that seemed to go on forever.

She lifted her eyes to his face and flushed when she saw him looking at her with a raised brow and an amused look on his face.

She would have glanced away quickly, but he'd caught her checking him out so there was no point. She held his gaze until he finally glanced away.

"Its thoughtful for you to decide to finally join us" the lawyer continued.

  "I apologize for being late. I had a family emergency." He moved swiftly to Hanna. "Hey Hanna" he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry i couldn't be at the funeral. I hope you got my flowers?"

  "Oh, its okay. Yes we did. Thank you."Hanna said patting his cheek.

  "Martha" he repeated the same gesture. "How are you?" Susan frowned again when she saw real concern in his eyes when he asked.

  "Hanging in there, good to see you Numi." She said with a smile.

    Numi. Hmm.

  "You must be Susan. Its a pleasure to finally meet you, your father spoke highly of you all the time. And he wasn't exaggerating when he mentioned how beautiful you are."

  "Thank you. I'm afraid he didn't mention you. At all." Susan said, hoping to wipe that cool smile off his face.

   "I'm sure he had his reasons." The smile stayed in place, annoying Susan even more. "I'm sorry for your loss" he said and found a seat across from her.

  "Let's begin, shall we?"