Helo Pilot

So the primary reason she cancelled was her fear of being near any man who made her feel that way when there was no chance of ever being with him. She realized she was in a very vulnerable place in her life, and were Nathan Simmons to show her any more of the same kind of caring and concern he just had, she might say or do something foolish; something she would surely regret almost as soon as it happened.

So as much as it hurt her to decline his invitation, it was the only thing that made any sense.

"So she's not coming over?" Andrea asked even though that's what her brother had just told her.

"No, she's...she's a very...personal person," Nathan told her, aware of his having kind of used 'person' twice in a row.

"Maybe she just has better things to do. I mean, what teacher would want to hang out with a former student, right?"

Andrea wasn't being mean, she was just offering her 16-year old perspective on a situation she wasn't old enough to understand.

"Right. I'm sure that's it," he brother said, as he forced a smile. "Hey, you wanna go out and maybe get a pizza or something?"

"I'm still not very hungry, but I'll go with you if you want," she told him.

"Naw. That's okay. I'm not really hungry, either," he replied, even though the truth was he'd been very hungry until Marissa called.

With everything else going on in his life, Nathan wasn't willing to spend time sitting around trying to analyze how he felt about a woman he hadn't seen in over five years, but he was very aware of the strong sense of disappointment he was experiencing due to the cancellation.

Perhaps the real truth was that he'd let himself think there might be something more there than just a friend offering some advice learned the hard way. Regardless, that was behind him now, and he had a ton of things to do before he could leave the area. The bad news was there was still nothing he could do other than clean up the house until the...paperwork...arrived.

It took five more days before his parents' attorney called to let him know the death certificates were available. He let Nathan know he'd ordered ten of each—just in case.

"And they're ten bucks a pop?" he asked to make sure he'd heard correctly. "So...$200 for death certificates?"

"Sorry, Nate, but you'll need one of each everywhere you go, and I think you'll be glad you have that many. I have your power of attorney ready, too, and that lets you act as the executor of the estate. You'll need that, as well, to close accounts, withdraw funds, and deal with the insurance company. Oh, and to sell the house, of course."

"Okay, thanks. We'll stop by in an hour or so if that's okay."

"Sure. And if I'm not here, my secretary will have the paperwork for you in a folder."

Nate hung up then let Andrea know what was going on, and she told him she was ready to go.

An hour later they had the paperwork in hand.

"Don't you think we should call Marissa?" Andrea asked as they walked out of the attorney's office.

"I'm not sure she really wants to do this," Nathan told her.

"She said she did, and it would sure make things a lot easier if she helped out. Don't you think?"

Nathan couldn't argue with her. He'd never done any of this, and even though he now had a general idea of how to proceed, he really wasn't sure what he should first or why.

"I guess I could give her a call. If she doesn't want to help out, we'll stumble along the best we can."

Marissa almost didn't answer the phone when she saw who was calling. When she finally did, she wanted to beg off again, but she'd given her word she'd do this, so she forced herself to say 'yes' as long as they could wait until the following morning to get started. She just didn't feel like getting in the shower then doing her hair and makeup for what was left of the day, which was still most of it. It wasn't that she couldn't, it was just her way of putting off the inevitable as long as possible.

"Sure. Tomorrow will be fine," Nathan told her sincerely. "And Marissa? Thank you."

"See. She doesn't hate us," Andrea said, her old smile returning, if only just briefly.

Nathan smiled back then went to put his arm around her.

Andrea pulled away then said, "Hey! We're out in public. I don't want anyone thinking my hot brother is like...my boyfriend or something."

"Wait. You think I'm hot?" Nathan said, pretending to be offended it wasn't obvious.

"Not to me, but all my friends say you are," she admitted, the smile returning for a bit longer.

"Well, I think it must run in the family, because I've showed your pics to some of my Army buddies, and they told me you're hot, too. For my little sister—in a sisterly kind of way, of course."

"Dork!" she said with a laugh.

"Nerd!" her brother replied.

Andrea laughed even louder, and Nathan put his arm around her again. But this time she didn't pull away.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Starving," she told him.

"Really? You feel like eating?"

"Yeah, I think I do," his sister said.

"Come on. Let's go get something edible while we're out in town. My treat."

"It better be. I've got like seven dollars to my name," Andrea told him with another laugh.

"No worries. I'm loaded," Nathan told her.

"Do you make a lot of money?" she asked, showing her first signs of any interest in his career.

"I don't know. It's more than enough to live on, but it isn't a lot. Why?"

"Just wondering. Do you make enough to be able to, you know, to afford having your kid sister live with you?"

She was so serious it surprised him.

"Yes. I make more than enough for that. And don't you ever worry about money again, okay?"

Nathan stopped her then turned to face her.

"I will always be there for you. Understand? Always."

"Okay. Don't go get all...melodramatic on me. Jeez!" Andrea said with a twinkle in her eye.

As they started walking again, she asked, "But do you make enough to like...get married and take care of me?"

"What's with all the questions?"

"I just don't want to be the reason you don't do things, you know? Like dating or getting married or..."

"Andi, I'm 21. I'm not even looking yet, so give it a rest, would you?"

She didn't respond, but she did smile at him, and seeing any sign of recovery in his sister was good enough.

After lunch, they drove to McChord Air Force base, and Nathan was surprised at how easy it was to get his sister declared his legal dependent. Her birth certificate, along with the other paperwork, allowed them to leave with Andrea having a dependent's ID card and all that came with it.

The next morning, Nathan was just finishing his run when the rain started. The gorgeous blue skies from the last few days were gone, and in their place came the thick, heavy blanket of dark gray that often covered most of the western half of the state for weeks at a time. By 9am, it had rained well over an inch but stopped just before Marissa arrived at ten.

Nathan was waiting for her and opened the door.

"Oh, thank you. I was just about to knock when..."

"Open, sesame happened?" he replied with a smile.

Marissa still hadn't wanted to drive out to Maple Valley, and she nearly called and cancelled again. But Nathan had this way of cheering her up, and his 'open, sesame' comment caused her dark mood to lift as she stepped inside.

"It turned chilly overnight," she said as she started to take her coat off.

"I guess we were lucky to get a few nice days in a row," he replied as he took her coat.

"You just never know, right. And I agree. Around here, any nice day is a wonderful thing. Sometimes I get so sick of the gray and the rain I could go crazy."

She laughed then said, "And lately, that would be a very short trip."

Nathan correctly assumed she was referring to her mental state since the loss of her husband but didn't comment.

"Can I offer you anything? Some more tea? Maybe a cup of coffee?"

"Oh, coffee sounds wonderful," she told him.

Nathan was too polite to stare, but he found himself once again admiring Marissa's amazing body as quickly 'checked her out' in the white sweater and black pants she was wearing. Whatever part of him had given up on thinking about her as anything but a former crush was making its presence known again in a very 'big' way as he quickly adjusted things when she wasn't looking.

Andrea came downstairs and after saying 'hi', told Marissa how pretty she looked.

"Well, that is so nice of you to say, because you look very nice yourself."

Andrea had also chosen a sweater, something girls routinely wore nine or ten months out of the year there because it was always so chilly. The only difference was she was wearing jeans.

"And for that matter, your brother looks very nice, too."

Andrea laughed then said, "Right. My...hot brother."

Marissa gave her a puzzled look which Natan saw, and she prayed he couldn't read minds or know what she'd been thinking that day she'd spent some time with him.

"Andi's referring to a conversation we had yesterday," he explained before adding, "so...don't ask."

"Ah, an inside joke. No problem," Marissa replied, relieved to know it was nothing more than coincidence.

She sat down by Andrea on the sofa and waited for the coffee to brew and asked what they thought they wanted to do today.

Before Nathan could respond, Andrea said, "Stay home and text with my friends?"

Marissa laughed and told her she'd miss out on all the fun.

"Fun. Ha-ha. Very funny. Walking around Maple Valley then waiting around everywhere we go. Yeah, who'd want to miss all that?" she said, her teenage attitude showing through.

"You don't have to go, you know," Nathan told her.

"Seriously?" his sister replied, suddenly perking up.

"Mom and Dad left you alone starting when you were 13. Maybe for just an hour or two, but by the time you were 15, they could spend an entire evening out, so I don't see why you couldn't hang out here, if that's what you want to do."

"See? That is why Nate is the coolest brother ever!" she said to Marissa as she jumped up to give her brother another hug.

"Is it okay if Courtney comes over?" she asked.

Nathan gave her the 'skunk eye', and Andrea said, "Okay, okay. Don't get all weird on me. Sheesh!"

She ran upstairs singing a song, and Marissa said, "She seems to be doing better."

"I agree," Nathan said as he set their cups on the coffee table between them. "I know she's still hurting, but I'm seeing little signs here and there, so yes, I think she is doing better."

Marissa thanked him for the coffee, took a cup, then asked, "How are you doing, Nathan?"

He'd just finished a sip himself and said, "I think I'm okay. Considering."

Marissa was going to reply but knew he wanted to say something else so she took another sip to give him time.

"I have to admit, I feel a whole lot better whenever you're here," he told her with a gentle smile, hoping that didn't come across the wrong way.

"Thank you, Nathan, but don't you think it's more a matter of just having someone else around you who cares?" she suggested as she once again realized how handsome he was.

"No. I don't think that's the case," he told her with a smile and without any further explanation.

She smiled back then asked what was first on the list.

"I was thinking about starting with the bank."

"Good choice. That's where you find out the proverbial 'bottom line' as to the state of your parents' finances. Once you know, you can move on from there. So you have the...paperwork?"

"Yes. Everything."

"Then this shouldn't be overly painful," she told him. "At least in terms of getting things done, anyway."

They talked some more about the weather as they finished their coffee, then Marissa asked to use the restroom before they left the house. She hated using a bathroom anywhere out in public and, like many women, would do so only in the case of a dire emergency.

She came back and announced she was ready to leave, so Nathan helped her with her coat then walked her out to the car where he opened her door.

"Nathan? You are truly a gentleman," she said with a smile as she got in.

The roads were wet, and there were huge puddles of standing water everywhere. Nathan slowed each time they drove through any in their lane which caused Marissa to smile and then say something.

"Eric used to speed up and splash the water as high as he could," Marissa told him somewhat wistfully. "He'd scare me half to death, but I always ended up laughing."

There were no cars coming, and there was another 'lake' just ahead so Nathan gunned it and said, "Like this?"

The water flew up well over the roof of the car, blotting out their view of the road, and Marissa shrieked and laughed and instinctively reached for Nathan's arm as the tires hydroplaned and the car swerved a bit before regaining traction.

"Be still my heart!" she said, her right hand over her chest as her left hand clutched his arm.

She then realized what she'd done, and quickly let go and apologized with another laugh.

"That was so much fun!" she told him.

"Yeah, it kinda was, huh?" Nathan replied, referring to seeing her laugh and to her having grabbed him arm while she assumed he'd enjoyed it for the same reasons she had.

Nathan pulled up in front of Chase Bank on the Maple Valley-Black Diamond Highway and shut off the car and grabbed the folder with all the paperwork just as Marissa started to open her door.

Nathan saw her and sharply-but-politely said, "Uh-uh. Don't you dare!"

Marissa pulled her hand away like the door handle was a poisonous snake and put both of them in her lap as she smiled at him.

Nathan ran around and opened her door then helped her stand up. They were momentarily face to face when Marissa looked up at him and sweetly said, "Thank you, Nathan."

He didn't say anything, but something, some kind of unspoken connection, happened between them in that brief moment.

The teller knew Nathan and immediately said hello and let him know how sorry she was for his loss.

"It was a beautiful service, Nathan," she also told him. "So how may I help you?"

What he needed required the bank manager's assistance so she called him over, and he, too, said how sorry he was about the young man's parents.

"Such good people. Loyal customers for over 25 years."

It didn't take too long to close accounts, reopen them in Nathan's name, and look through a safe-deposit box. The bigger issue was with the mortgage his mom and dad had with the bank.

The house had been paid nearly off three years ago when his parents took out a second mortgage to remodel their home. They still owed $20,000 on the first and as of that day, another $32,000 on the $50,000 second, and they had less than $10,000 in the bank between savings and checking, leaving the estate, meaning Nathan, just over $80,000 in the red.

Marissa reminded him he'd need some of the cash in the accounts to pay the final electric, water, and any other bills that came in.

"You could put the rest toward the balance on the loan or just leave it there until you find out about the life insurance policy and how much you'll get for the house."

Nathan opted to leave most the money in the bank, only it would now be under his name. He wasn't legally responsible for the mortgage, but in order to sell the home, it would have to be paid, so Nathan asked what his options were.

The manager told Nathan he'd work with him, but he would have to have a payment within 45 days or he'd have no choice but to put the account in arrears. The payment was actually due in a week, and the extra time was the best he could do.

"But if we don't receive a payment within 90 days, I'll have no choice but to take the first steps toward putting the property into foreclosure."

The manager was apologetic, but Nathan knew banking was a business, not a charity.

"No, I understand," Nathan told him. "I'm not asking for favors, but thank you for giving us a little more time."

"Us?" he asked as he looked at Marissa. "Are the two of you..."

"Oh. No. We're...we're just..."

"Friends," Marissa said. "I'm only here to help Nathan through the process."

When they walked out of the bank, Nathan had $2,000 with him, money he intended to use to pay off the attorney on their way to the insurance company which, like pretty much everything in Maple Valley, was only a few blocks from anyplace else.

First, they walked across the street and paid the attorney in full, leaving him with just under $300 which he'd need to buy groceries and gas very soon.

The weather began clearing, and Marissa said she'd like to leave her coat in the car if they were going to be walking, so they headed back across the street where Nathan opened the door for her again so she could lay her coat on the seat.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked as they headed toward the State Farm Insurance Office.

"Oh, yes. I'm very comfortable if we're walking," she told him.

Nathan opened that door for her, too, and inside they met with the Simmons' agent, a middle-aged man named Mel. He, too, offered his condolences, then told Marissa she looked familiar.

"Oh, I taught high school here for several years."

"Yes. That's right. I knew I remembered you. I seem to recall you had a tragedy of your own," he said sympathetically.

"Yes. That's true," she said, her smile fading in an instant.

Nathan wasn't happy about Mel bringing that up, but what was done was done.

"Okay, so..." Mel began as he laid out the paperwork.

"The bad news is your parents cancelled the policy on your mom three years ago, and took the cash value from it. The good news is they kept the policy on your dad, and that's worth $50,000. Now that we have the death certificate, I'll have a check for you within seven days."

"So that's it?" Nathan asked.

"Yes. That's all there is to it. I'll give you and your girlfriend here a call when it's in, or you can..."

"No. Um...she's...not my girlfriend, Mel. We're just friends," he told the older man who was looking at Marissa. He noticed the diamond ring on her left hand, making him feel slightly foolish for assuming.

She weakly smiled at him but didn't say anything this time.

"Oh. I'm sorry. You two just seemed like you were, you know...together. My apologies. I really didn't know."

"It's fine," Nathan said as he stood up and shook Mel's hand.

He then pulled Marissa's seat out so she could get up, and Mel smiled.

"That's the kind of thing that confused me," he said in his defense with an odd sort of smile.

"We're definitely not...dating or anything, but Nathan is very much a gentleman," Marissa told him.

Mel walked them out and again assured them he'd call the moment the check came in. Mel smoked, so he stayed outside and lit up as Nathan and Marissa decided what to do next.

He turned and looked at Marissa and asked if she was getting hungry. There was a cafe directly across the street next to the attorney's office, and she told him that sounded very nice.

As he turned back around, Marissa was stepping off the curb when Mel hollered, "Watch out!"

Nathan saw the approaching car on his left and reached for Marissa's arm. He grabbed it and pulled hard, bringing her back onto the sidewalk while at the same time stepping in front of her and, like some kind of human shield, covering her with his body, as a huge splash of water whooshed up from the passing car.

Nathan literally wrapped his body around her and held her close as the water soaked the back of his shirt and pants.

"Are you okay?" he asked Marissa who was still nearly bone dry.

"Oh, my goodness. Nathan. What just happened?" she asked as she came out of the 'protective cocoon'.

Mel ran up and asked if they were okay just as Marissa answered her own question.

"I saw you step into the street and thought you were a goner," Mel told Marissa while seeing just how drenched her 'knight in wet clothes' was.