Love Never Dies (14 page)

“And what problems were those?” asked Angie, never hesitant to
ask a direct question. She sampled the olive and cream cheese appetizers never once removing her searching brown eyes from Simon’s gray ones.

Simon’s breath released in a sharp hiss and the
trio swore a flush of embarrassment stole over his pallid cheeks. “We had a fall out over a woman,” he said reluctantly. “I mentioned we had similar tastes and well, my brother was seeing someone and then...”

“Don’t tell me anymore,” said Julia abruptly.
“I get the picture!”

Simon turned toward her, obviously relieved. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that in the last few months of his life, from about Oc
tober to January, Seth wrote me more often, sending me an occasional e-mail from work and indicating he’d met someone and was very serious about her. He told me he was living with her brother and was extremely happy with the arrangement. Seth even suggested I fly down for Easter to meet all of you. I could tell he’d gotten over much of his animosity toward me and was content to let bygones be bygones since he and I were all that we had left.”

“I thought you have a cousin?”

“That’s true, but Lucas... well, he’s a wild one and God knows where he is now. He’s a photojournalist and one week he could be in Kenya and the next, somewhere in the Northwest Territories taking pictures of stinky musk oxen. I’m lucky if I get an e-mail from Lucas every six months. Since our family was spread out I wanted to reestablish my relationship with Seth. Lucas’ parents died when he was just a teen, and then, well, my mom...”

“We know the story,” said Paul breaking in.
“Seth told us about your mom dying of ovarian cancer and what happened with your father.”

Julia could have sworn that Simon let out an extended sigh of relief.
“So he told you that? Well good for him. For years he wouldn’t even talk about it. Anyway, when they read Seth’s will, we discovered he’d divided up his holdings in Toronto.”

“
Toronto? Why would he have holdings in Toronto?” asked Julia bewildered, speaking for the first time.

“That’s where we lived before
coming here.”

“I thought he was from
New England?”

“Well we did live in
New England; several places as a matter of fact. But we have dual citizenship. We stayed in Connecticut for a while and New York later on, before our parents moved to Toronto when we were teenagers. My brother liked it so much he bought a condominium on Lake Ontario. After his death I sold the condo as per the will’s instructions, and... um... have the proceeds. I thought that maybe...,” he floundered, clearly embarrassed by the whole situation.

“Simon, it’s time for a glass of white wine.
California makes some pretty nice ones. Why don’t you relax for a few minutes and we’ll talk about the will later.”

Mira whined from Julia’s bedroom, desperate to be let out.
“I’m sorry,” apologized Julia. “But I need to attend to my dog. Please try some of the appetizers. I made them this afternoon.”

Simon s
ampled one of the delicious snacks and sipped a glass of chardonnay as Julia checked on her overeager dog. Angie and Paul engaged Simon in a conversation about the weather and he chattered on about how lovely the weather was in Santa Barbara compared to the east coast and Canada. By the time Julia returned he’d launched into a clever story about how his and Seth’s preference for old time rock ‘n’ roll had nearly driven his jazz-loving dad to gray-haired distraction. Finally, after a few minutes, he sighed heavily and reached for his satchel.

He handed a piece of paper to Julia.
“Unbeknownst to me, Seth rewrote his will to include you, sending a certified and witnessed copy to our family lawyer in Toronto. You can see he left half of what he owned to me and the other half to you.”

“I don’t really...
Julia sputtered. “I don’t want it!” she cried, suddenly panicked.

“I knew you wouldn’t want the condo and since I couldn’t bear to keep it I sold it to a friend in the real estate business.
It netted me about three hundred thousand Canadian dollars, which is roughly two hundred and twenty thousand U.S. dollars. Half of that is one hundred and ten thousand dollars and I had the bank draw a check in U.S. funds payable to you. It’s yours Julia. It’s what he would have wanted.”

Julia stiffened
in her chair, knuckles turning white on the fine wood armrests. “I don’t want the money,”she cried, suddenly rising and batting away Simon’s hand and the embossed cashiers check. “I just wanted your brother, not his money or anything else. You take it. Give it to someone else, anyone! Please! I don’t want it at all!” She bolted from the suddenly quiet room and a few seconds later they heard the slam of her bedroom door.

Simon placed a hand on his forehead, turning even whiter than his previous unhealthy pallor.
“I thought perhaps if I waited... if I gave her a little more time she’d be better about this. I was wrong I guess.”

“You have to understand Simon that your brother and my sister were inseparable.
I have never seen two people more compatible or more in love. They spent every minute they could together and sometimes I swear they could read each other’s minds. Neither one cared a whit about money.”

Simon’s head jerked up and he ap
peared almost fierce, the pale scar pulling at his lip as he scowled. “Good God, they became soul mates didn’t they?”

“We believe so,” said Angie sadly.
“He told us the story about your parents’ belief in soul mates late last October. That’s when he related how your dad killed himself.”

“I prayed
that after what happened to my dad, Seth would be smart enough never to pull that stunt. It’s amazing Julia survived. She... ah... never contemplated...?”

“No,” shot
back Paul. “She believed Seth wouldn’t have wanted her to do that. Rest assured she’ll never kill herself, no matter how lonely she becomes.”

Simon studied his Rockports.
“She must be one tough lady and that is admirable in itself. Look,” he said rising. “I don’t want to take up anymore of your time and I’ve certainly upset Julia enough. I’m planning to remain in town for a while since Seth’s firm wants me to look at some of the projects he started and hadn’t been able to complete. I’ve taken three months off for my health and thought I might be able to help them out. About the money; I don’t want it or need it, and hell... it’s really hers after all. Please Paul, could you make sure she takes it. I don’t really care what she does with it.”

“I’ll tell you what,” said Paul
, walking the taller man to the door. “Would you mind if I handed this check over to my mom and dad and explained the situation to them? They have a trust account for Julia that my grandfather started, which totals about fifteen or sixteen thousand dollars which she’ll inherit when my grandma dies. My Grandmother Rose has been adding to it for years and is such a steadfast old bird I’m certain she’s not going to meet her maker for a long time. What if I take this money and place it into that account? It’ll earn interest and a few years down the road, when things are more tolerable, it’ll be waiting for her.”

“You’d do that for me?”
asked Simon, so clearly relieved his cheeks flushed with gratitude.

“I’ll take care of it tomorrow. Y
ou can give me a call later to guarantee the money is invested. Hell, I’ll even send you a statement and you can check on it now and again to see how it grows.”

“I trust you implicitly.
If you were a friend of my brother’s then I know you’re a man of honor and integrity because my brother was. I, on the other hand, well that’s another story. Do you think Julia will mind if I call upon her in a couple of days to see how she’s doing?”

“Don’t just stop in to see her,” blurted out Ang
ie defensively. “Phone her first. You’re a bit of shock since you look so much like your brother.”

Simon stuck out a hand to Angie and Paul.
“I’m very glad to have met you after all this time. My brother only had wonderful things to say about you in his e-mails. I’ll be giving Julia a call in a couple of days and see if she needs anything. If you want to contact me, this is the number of Seth’s firm.” He fished a pen out of his briefcase and wrote down a number and address. “This is where I’m staying; it’s one of those suite hotels equipped with a little kitchen. If you’d like me to speak to your parents I would be happy to do so.”

“I’ll keep in touch,” responded Paul
, who held true to his word.

A few days later Simon called Julia at seven in the evening
during a short October squall.

“How are you doing Julia?” he asked tentatively.

“I’m much better now.
I’m sorry if I was rude the other night but I was so overwhelmed at the moment I didn’t know how to deal with you. While it’s been over nine months since he died, in many ways it feels just like yesterday.”

“I understand completely. Would you mind if I drop by and give you something?
I didn’t feel comfortable handing it to you with your brother and sister-in-law present. Seth sent me something and I made a few modifications and would like to present it to you as kind of a memory of him. I also want to talk to you about something that’s been bothering me.”

“Alright,” said Julia evenly, sounding calm
, although she actually trembled at the idea of meeting him again. Her chest burned in warning. “You can stop by now if you like.”

Within thirty minutes Simon stood upon her doorstep.
He’d dressed casually in blue jeans; his dark hair parted in the middle to allow the dark strands to hang freely down instead of combing it back as he had before. He resembled a rock ‘n’ roll star, not a staid architect, and Julia smiled. The resemblance between him and his brother had diminished greatly and she was certain Simon had planned it exactly that way. Simon entered her apartment and lowered his satchel onto the floor beside him before sinking down onto the soft cushions of the cream couch.

“Would you like something to drink?” she asked politely.

“Yes, that would be nice. Do you have an iced tea or something?”

“Yes, but I also have a very nice cognac.
In fact, it’s one your brother gave me.”

“An iced tea will do.”

Simon reached inside his satchel and handed her a folder after she returned with the glass of icy peach tea. He sipped at it politely as she gasped at the pictures inside.

“He sent these photographs to you?”

“Yeah, I thought they were lovely.
That’s the dog I heard the other night?”

“Yes, she’s out on the balcony.
Would you like to meet her? I’m afraid she’s not an adorable puppy anymore and now weighs almost forty pounds. I suggest you brace yourself since she’s quite friendly.”

Julia moved to the screened patio door and Mira dashed into the room, circling the couch twice before taking two strong sniffs of Simon.
She leaped upon the cushions beside him and placed her silver head into his lap.

“Wow,” he laughed.
“She’s friendly alright, and has certainly grown since that photo. Are you able to keep up with the food bills?” he joked.

“Luckily she’s nearly full grown.
I’m awfully glad she didn’t get bigger since this place is fairly small for a dog. I have to be certain I walk her every morning and night.” She fingered one of the prints. These photographs are truly lovely. I remember when Seth snapped this one at the ice rink, but I have never seen the other. Who took that?”

“I think it was your brother Paul.
He probably gave it to Seth. I had all of them blown up as a gift from me to you. It’s all I really have of him after he moved down here. I hope you don’t mind, but I made some doubles. I was supposed to give him the negatives back.” Simon reached into his bag and handed her the photo envelope.

“Thank you very much,” said Julia, Seth’s soul expanding in her heart.
She watched Simon sip his iced tea.

“This is quite good.
You’ve done a very nice job with your place and I just love the southwestern photos and all the houseplants. I wanted to compliment you the other night but everything seemed too awkward at the time.”

“I understand perfectly.
So how’s it working out with you at Bastam, Hughes, and Glickstern?”

“I’m only going to be there a couple more days.
Lenny Glickstern wanted me to help out with some sort of quick market project Seth was working on. I know my brother always enjoyed Mediterranean architecture so I was able to give them a few pointers though it’s extremely uncomfortable working there. Everyone stares at me and whispers behind their hands so I told Lenny I would help out until the end of next week and then take off.”

“And where are you planning to go?”

“I’m not sure. There’s actually a firm in Sacramento I’m looking into. Like my brother, I’m getting a little weary of the weather on the east coast and my girlfriend... let’s just say I’m a bit of a free bird so to speak.” The wrinkles at the sides of his eyes crinkled in laughter as he mildly mocked himself.