The Book Club (18+ Only) [COMPLETED]

9: In Which She Wears Black [Part II]

9: In Which She Wears Black [Part II]

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“No offence, but Erin was a freak,” Prince remarked. He quickly looked skyward. “A gorgeous one, rest in peace.”

“Shut it, Prince,” I cautioned, shoving a whole shelf of sex toys into a big black refuse bag I’d mentally labelled ‘RUBBISH’. Who would want second-hand dildos?

“Jan, if you don’t mind my asking... why isn’t her family packing her stuff up?”

“Because I’m her family,” I snapped, losing my patience with him. If he didn’t want to help me pack up Erin’s place, why did he come?

I should’ve just called Stephen, I thought, then dispelled the thought with a shake of my head.

Our relationship, whatever it was, was already extremely compromised. I didn’t need to be further complicating things by having him present for something so personal.

Prince, fortunately, got the hint and began to pack things up in silence. Maybe I shouldn’t have invited him either. I knew for a fact that Erin didn’t particularly like him and would probably be rolling in her grave watching him touch her underwear. The thought gave me a giggle. Prince looked up from a box he was sealing, arching a brow.

I turned my attention to Erin’s bookshelf. She’d always been a reader, especially in college, although her interest – much to my dismay – was mainly in Mills & Boon novels, books I’d abandoned in high school. Even now, I spotted a few well-thumbed erotica books in her reading list. The sight brought a smile to my face.

“Jan? Uh, I think you should see this...” Prince’s voice trailed off.

“What?” I strode around the bed and peeked at what he was holding. “You shouldn’t be digging in –”

“Shut up; I wasn’t digging.” He shoved the pamphlet into my hand. “I was trying to empty this drawer.”

Adopting from Russia: What Single Parents Should Know

“She didn’t mention this to you?” Prince asked me.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Her lifestyle wasn’t exactly child-friendly.”

“You might have to consider the fact that you probably didn’t know her,” Prince said softly, closing the drawer.

“Thanks,” I whispered, knowing how true his words were. “Thanks for making me feel so much better.”

There was something I had to do.

 

*

It was time to read the coroner’s report and when I finally did, there was absolutely no closure. Accidental overdose, they said. Accidental? Erin had accidentally taken one too many sleeping pills? How did they know that? Were they there the evening she’d decided to dip into her stash of pills?

But perhaps that was what I needed to quell the overwhelming guilt I felt inside – confirmation that she hadn’t wanted to go. This guilt was only heightened when I made dialled the number at the back of the Russian orphanage’s brochure. A woman called Sasha Romanov confirmed that yes, Erin Thomas had been interested in adopting; had even been planning a trip to Moscow very soon. I’d had the displeasure of informing her of Erin’s untimely demise.

“That is awful,” Sasha had said in a heavily-accented voice. “We’d never met, of course, but she sounded so...so vivacious. I could tell that she was desperate for a child. I am sorry for your loss, Miss Jones.”