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Ever since Vernon came to her, day by day, Abby started to get better. She started to not stay in her room all day, she started to clean and take care of the children herself and talked to people outside of the house. She was concerned about Salomi when Gabriel called her but all she could do was talk her through it. Mrs. Andrews suggested having a memorial service for Vernon before she left for California. Abby also set up arrangements to sell the house. She was putting a ‘For Sale’ sign on the lawn when Vernon’s attorney came by the house. There was a period where she didn’t answer her phone or his letters. She let him in and they sat down in the living room.

“We have been very anxious to get in touch with you. You haven’t been very easy to get a hold of”

“Yes I know, I apologize. I wasn’t ready to talk about what he was leaving us because it made him being gone so real”she said quietly,”Its been very difficult for me”

He nodded sympathetically,”And I'm very sorry ma’am. I came here so I can know your wishes on these matters. We usually just do a formal reading of the will but I figured that wouldn’t be appropriate right now”he said,”Basically all you need to know right now is that he left everything to you and your children”he said as he told her the huge dollar amount, she gasped,”He didn’t have any special requests. He trusted you and feels that you should use the money as you see fit. There are no special conditions, you can give your children all of it now and watch them run wild if you want to”he said with a small smile. She was starting to cheer up but was still in shock. “He also left a decent amount for his niece, Salomi Jane Squires”he said as he read her that amount.”He said for you to make sure that she gets it. There are no special conditions on that either. She can have it now or later, as long as you think its best”

Abby sat there stunned. Where did Vernon get that kind of money? With this and whatever she got from selling this house, she could probably buy a nicer one in California, right on the water, and still have plenty of it left over. She would still need to find work of course, but at least she didn’t have to bust her ass somewhere because they weren’t taken care of. They were more than just taken care of. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of how caring Vernon was, how much he loved them. “Thank you for coming by. I never would have answered your calls or letters…”she sighed,”I'm sorry. I just love him so much”

“And he loved you just as much I'm sure”he said to her,”I’ll keep in touch with you. I see that you are moving. Is there a set date?”

She shook her head,”No, whenever I find a decent buyer is when we will leave” They talked some more and she promised to keep in touch and when she waved him goodbye, she heard little Abby squealing. She walked into the room and saw Vernon Jr. and Vivian playing with her. She smiled, they looked so happy.

Vivian noticed her and asked,”Who was that man Mommy?”

“A friend of your fathers. We were talking about arrangements and what I should do since Daddy is in heaven now”she said as she picked little Abby out of the crib and held her as she sat down. She needed to tell them. “Now that Daddy is…”she stopped and tried to compose herself,”Now that things are different, I feel it is time for you all to meet your grandparents. My mother and father. They are anxious to meet you”

“Where are they?”Vivian asked her

“In California, which is a long way from here. Its where I grew up. The sun is always shining and there are lots of beaches and you can see the Pacific Ocean. Its very beautiful”she said to them,”Your father grew up there as well”

“Why are we leaving?”Vernon Jr. asked her

She decided to be honest,”Well I have been thinking about it for a long time and I had a dream about your father, he told me it was the right thing to do”

“I had a dream about him too”Vivian said with a huge smile on her face.”He gave me a kiss and he told me to behave and that he loved me very much. Is he an angel now?”

Abby stared at her 4 year old daughter in awe. She must have seen him the same night he had visited her.”Yes Vivian, he is”

“I had a dream too”Vernon Jr. said,”He said I'm the man of the house and I should take care of you, Mom”

Tears filled her eyes,”He said that?”she asked him and he nodded. Then little Abby murmured with a huge smile on her face, like she had a story to tell about seeing her father as well but couldn’t get the words out,”Did you see Daddy too Abby?”she asked her as she tickled the baby and she squealed with laughter.

Vivian laughed,”She's always laughing now”

“Yes she does”Abby said as she pulled her three children close to her. Little Abby was like a little ray of sunshine, the last gift that Vernon could physically give her. “Now all of you remember that Mommy loves you. Daddy loves you too and hes an angel now and whatever he says, we should do, because he knows best. I'm selling the house and once someone buys it we will move to California”

“Is your mom and dad nice too?”Vernon Jr. asked her

“Yes they are very nice and they love you too. My dad is very quiet but my mother is just like me”

“Is Daddy coming to California with us?”Vivian asked her

Abby nodded as she felt a slight breeze from the cool September air come through the window. It was him, she knew it. “Yes, he will always be with us. Wherever we go”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

A few days later, Abby held a memorial service for Vernon at the nearby grave site. Friends, neighbors and co-workers of his were in attendance. Salomi had actually come out of the house for it and she was the only one who sobbed all the way through, which made everyone worry about her. She seemed pale and she still wasn’t eating even after stern arguments with Gabriel, its like she didn’t care anymore. Abby held onto Salomi’s hand as Gabriel held her. She didn’t cry much anymore, Vernon came to her in a lot of dreams and it was like he was just an invisible being but always around. Like he never left. Of course she would never say that out loud, she didn’t want anyone to think she was crazy.

Days after that she finally found a buyer with a good price and once the paperwork was done, the family started to pack. She considered taking Salomi with her but didn’t know if the 4 day train ride would be good for her. She barely came outside anyway, but she did come to the train station to see them off.

“Everyone's leaving me”Salomi said in a small,sad voice as she hugged Abby,which startled her a little. She sounded like she was 5 years old again when she didn’t want to be left alone in a dark room because she was afraid of monsters.

“You can visit anytime. Once you have the baby of course, it would do you some good. Its going to get very cold here soon, you don’t miss that California sunshine?”

Salomi shook her head,”No…there's only memories. I cant, I'm not ready”

Abby nodded, she understood. “Well if you change your mind, just call or write me alright? Please take care of yourself huney I'm worried about you. Gabriel is too” Salomi only nodded as the conductor shouted,”ALL ABOARD”. Salomi kissed the children and they all said their goodbyes and got on the train. Salomi waved to them until she couldn’t see them anymore. Abby did the same. She then sat back and watched as New York faded into the distance. New York was just a chapter in her life that just ended and now she will start over and start anew in California with her family.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Salomi was quiet on the way back to the apartment. Gabriel didn’t know if she was still upset over Vernon, upset about Abby and the children leaving or just plain sick. He laid her down and she didn’t say a word to him. He asked her if she was hungry but of course she refused. He sighed,”I’ll be out in the living room, if you need me”he said to her and turned to leave.

“Do you think I should go to California too?”Salomi asked him

He turned to her,”Just because Abby’s going?”

“No….”she said as she rubbed her stomach,”Ive been thinking about…now that Vernon is….”she sighed as she struggled to try to find the words. He sat down next to her and stroked her arm,”I feel like I have no family left. But when Abby said she was going back to California so her children could be with her grandparents, I started to wonder about mine. They are still alive and they live in the same place…”

“You want to meet your mother’s parents?”he asked her,”Why? I thought that you hated them for abandoning your mother”

“Oh I do…but I feel like I should show them you know? Show them that even though their daughter died, her husband raised me just fine and now I'm having a child of my own. I want to prove them wrong”

“Well maybe we should save all this pride for after the pregnancy”Gabriel said to her

“No, I want to do it before the baby’s born”

“Why? No…Salomi you cant. It’s a 4 day trip. You are already stressed enough and you aren't taking care of yourself. Why would it be a good idea to trek across the US?”

“Once its born we really wont have the time to make any trips. Look, once this baby is born, I wont have the freedom I used to have. I wont be able to just jump on a train whenever I feel like it. I have been thinking about this for awhile now. Please Gabriel, please?”

“We’ll have to check with Dr. Livingstone. He’ll say no, of course, because you haven’t been eating-“

“Fine we’ll set up an appointment with him and I’ll start taking care of myself. Then can we go?”

Gabriel looked at her dark brown and pleading eyes. He didn’t understand this sudden decision but he knew that it was very important to her. He sighed and then hugged her close,”Yes, we’ll go”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Surprisingly, Salomi kept her promise. She ate well, she even slept well most of the time and never argued with Gabriel over little things, she didn’t even defy him by leaving the bed. She was actually on bed rest. Once Dr. Livingstone checked her out, he said that she was healthy and advised them that if they were going to make a trip, do it now before she gets any closer to her due date. Salomi paid for the train tickets with the money that Vernon left her and soon they were making their way to California. She smiled at him as she held his hand. Gabriel had a huge smile on his face too.”What are you so happy for?”

“Well you seem to be very happy about this. And I'm excited, Ive never been to California. Are the streets really paved with gold?”he asked her and winked

“I wish. If it were, we wouldn’t have had a reason to ever leave California 5 years ago”Salomi said and then held his hand tighter,”Is it crazy to say that I'm scared?”

He shook his head,”No…this has been a long time coming. Even though you dislike them very much, I know that you are curious about them. I know you wanted to see them in person one day, just…well not so soon…”he said and laughed.”You aren't crazy. Your scared of their reaction, well…me too”he said. He hoped they wouldn’t be rude to her.

Salomi slept most of the way and soon they were in California. They took a cab to the closest motel and stayed the night there. The next day, Gabriel asked her if she wanted to see her grandparents. She decided to wait until the next day and they took a cab all the way there. Their house was on the top of a hill, it looked to be like an old plantation with high, steep steps leading to a large green door.She took a deep breath and then knocked on the door.

A maid answered the door and Salomi said,”Are Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln around?”

The woman nodded and as she did so another woman walked up to the door and gasped. Salomi sucked in a deep breath, it was her grandmother. There she was in the flesh and she looked very shocked to see her.

“It cant be. Salomi’s dead”she said as she closed her eyes

“I'm Little Salomi, her daughter, your granddaughter”she said to her

Her grandmother waved the maid away and asked,”How…how did you find us?”

“Abraham kept your address. We used to drive past this street when I was little. He never had the courage to speak to you”

She seemed to cringe when she heard his name,”Where’s your father?”

Gabriel frowned, it was so sad that she knew nothing about what was going on in her granddaughters life. He hoped that it would change now.

“He died. On the Titanic. He’s with mother now”Salomi said

“I'm sorry to hear it. You’re an orphan. Where are you staying?”

“A friend of my fathers took me in and has been taking care of me. We live in New York City. Her name is Dorothy Gibson. Shes a film star”she said, she then turned to Gabriel,”May I also introduce you to Gabriel Brewster. He’s the father of my child”

“Your….pregnant?”she asked her in shock

“Yes-“

“You cant be no more than 16-“

“17 and a half actually. 18 in January. I understand if you don’t remember, I haven’t gotten a birthday card since I was 5”Salomi said bitterly

“Are you married to this boy?”she asked, still in shock

Gabriel closed his eyes, he didn’t want her to say it but she did,”No. We’ll marry when he proposes and when I actually say yes. He proposed when we found out we were pregnant but I wanted to marry out of love, not convenience”

Her grandmother cleared her throat,”I'm sorry that my husband isn’t here. He is at work-“

“Oh its fine”Salomi said, she had a feeling that she didn’t want to stay any longer and this would be the first and last time she would see her in person. Her father was right, she was a very cold, judging and intimidating woman. No wonder her mother ran away. She was looking at her with disdain since she was the offspring of a man that she despised.”I just wanted to come by to say that I'm doing fine. Vernon Greene, a friend of my fathers past away recently and he was like a second father to me. I sat back and thought about it and I thought to myself..I have no one left, no family, no blood relative. But then I thought of you and…your husband”she said, she couldn’t call them her grandparents or grandmother and grandfather, they certainly didn’t earn the title.”So I come here, by train, 4 day trip mind you, to meet you, to see what you are all about. And I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all”

“Salomi maybe we should get going. I don’t want you to stress-“Gabriel tried to pipe in

“No I have to say this”Salomi said,”I see what you are all about and you are all about closed doors. You haven’t even opened up your home to me and the man that I love. You never accepted my father who loved your daughter more than anyone and you abandoned my mother because she fell in love with a man that wasn’t rich, one you didn’t approve. You know, she died in a cold cabin giving birth to me because the midwife didn’t have the proper instruments to give a proper birth because my parents were so poor. Whose fault is that?”she asked her.

“Are you saying its mine?”she asked her with a look of horror on her face

“It was a rhetorical question but now that you mention it….”but Salomi stopped herself

“Well I'm sorry to have disappointed you. Why….why don’t you two come in?”

“No we’re fine. I really don’t like to be put in awkward situations or in places that I'm not wanted and I'm sure you don’t want to be obligated to serve cookies and tea to the daughter of Abraham Squires”she said as she took Gabriel’s hand. “My child’s due date is January 20th of next year and I'm going to be there for my baby. And you know what? Even in death, my mother and father will even be there for the baby because I feel them, all around me, all the time. Watching me, taking care of me. I'm going to show this child how real parents are supposed to treat their children. I also know now that my family is right here”she said as she squeezed Gabriel’s hand. “And I'm just fine with that”she said proudly. She gave her a card and some flowers, she felt stupid because she felt that they didn’t deserve it but she didn’t want to just carry it around and she couldn’t return it,”These are for you”she said as she gave them to her and she took them with shaking hands,”Our address is on the card as well, but as I said before, don’t feel like you need to be obligated to write me. I'm used to it anyway. Have a nice day Mrs. Lincoln”

She could only nod as she struggled to make her way down the stairs as Gabriel helped her. As they did so a car pulled up and a man with silver hair got out of the car. He came up to the staircase and stared in horror at Salomi,”You look just like her”he said with a smile. An actual genuine smile. Which was something that Salomi didn’t expect. Maybe she just had an evil grandmother.

“She does, doesn’t she?”the woman said bitterly,”Shes her daughter….Abraham’s daughter”she also added

“Abraham?”he asked with a frown. Then he looked at Salomi with the same disdain as his wife. Salomi sighed, no she was wrong, they both were evil and still hated Abraham to this day and they will continue hating him by also hating her.

Salomi looked at him with the same disdain,”Have a nice day. It was so nice to finally have met you”she said sarcastically as they walked to the cab that was waiting for them. Salomi made sure to have the cab driver stay just in case the visit didn’t go so well, which it didn’t. They both got in and left the property and didn’t look back.

Gabriel sighed,”Baby I'm sorry. We traveled all this way for nothing”he said as he grabbed her hand.

Salomi shook her head and smiled through her tears,”No don’t be. Its very sad but I got exactly what I wanted”she nodded,”Yes I got exactly what I wanted”

*_________________________*









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