1990

Suzy considered his question and said, "I would really like to postpone things until March at the earliest if possible. The weather between now and then is too unpredictable and I would hate to get stranded someplace in a blizzard with Lily."

"I think that's a reasonable request," Finch said. "I'll push things out as far as I can. Do you know any attorneys out there?"

"No, I haven't needed to speak to one so far. Why?"

"It goes back to residency and who has jurisdiction. Your current will and revocable living trust were drafted here, based on the probate laws of Missouri. We should try to find you an estate attorney familiar with the probate laws in New Mexico so that you can get new estate documents created and filed there. I'll reach out to some other attorneys and see if I can get a recommendation for you."

"Thank you," Suzy said.

Her mother and father had always claimed that their Suzy was an "old soul". From a young age, she exhibited maturity and took responsibilities far beyond anyone's expectations. Suzy excelled at math and was often found reviewing work that her CPA mother had brought home, frequently identifying mistakes that had been missed by others. The estate planning practices learned from her parents' examples had not been lost on Suzy. Within weeks of learning of her pregnancy, she had met with Mr. Finch to draft the will and trust documents that would protect her wealth for her child. She would follow Mr. Finch's advice and review her estate planning with an attorney familiar with New Mexico probate law.

"How soon can I expect to know whether I can get an extension on the court date?" Suzy asked.

Finch didn't hesitate, "I'll review the petition as soon as I receive it this afternoon and draft an extension filing to present to Judge Cronk tomorrow morning."

"Who's Judge Cronk?" Suzy asked. "I thought the Probate Court was run by Judge Helline."

"Old man Helline had to retire last November due to his health," Finch explained.

"You're not talking about Preston Cronk, the lawyer down in Joplin, are you?"

"That's right. Do you know him?"

Suzy sighed, and said, "John Capshaw divorced his wife, the mother of Grant and Carrie, for having a three-year affair with her boss, Preston Cronk. The lawsuit that my stepfather filed against his law firm resulted in Preston losing his partnership and having to start out on his own. Isn't there some conflict of interest or anything for him to be presiding over a case involving the kids of his ex-lover, if they are 'ex'? Maybe they're still carrying on."

"Jesus," Finch said. "I'll get the investigator we use to look into this possible relationship issue. I better get started on things if we hope to get an extension filed in the morning."

"Please keep me posted," Suzy said before disconnecting the call.

Lily had crawled to the side of her playpen and sat smiling at her mother. Suzy smiled back and then went to retrieve her daughter. Returning to the sofa, Suzy leaned back and bounced Lily on her knee while she studied her features. She had done this hundreds of times since Lily's birth, noticing subtle changes, such as Lily's hair color getting lighter and her smile growing wider.

Suzy had tried attributing different features on Lily to the person that she felt it was shared with. Lily's gradually lightening hair was on a path to be very close to the medium brown color of her own, while her large brown eyes were shared with Chet. As she studied her daughter, Suzy pondered whether her own mother and father had ever done likewise with her when she was an infant.

She knew that she had always been shown more love, adoration, and attention than any other child that she had known while growing up. Both of her parents had made it a point to be as involved with Suzy's school and social activities as they possibly could. She had never questioned their love and devotion to each other or her, and she wanted Lily to have the same experience.

Her father had been a police detective who worked almost exclusively on robbery, burglary, and auto theft cases, which is how he had met and become friends with John Capshaw through his various auto dealerships. It was this friendship that had morphed into a relationship with her mother after her father's death and once John's divorce from his unfaithful wife was final.

As much as her mother had loved her father, Suzy wasn't shocked or surprised when two years after his death, her mother started dating John Capshaw. She knew that the feelings between her mother and John Capshaw were nowhere near as strong as they had been between her and her father. There was never the same twinkle in her mother's eyes when she looked at John that was always there with her father. They didn't display as much affection towards each other, but there was a peaceful comfort and contentment that her mother and John enjoyed together. They had been happy and looking forward to growing old together.

The ringing of the phone startled Suzy, but Lily took it in stride. Continuing to bounce her daughter on her knee, Suzy used the remote to mute the television, and then picked up the handset and answered, "Hello?"

"Good morning, I'm Xavier Longo," a man said. "I got this number off of a flyer posted on the bulletin board at Super D. Are you the person who does bookkeeping and tax work?"

With the money that she had taken with her from the trust account, Suzy didn't need to work, but she had become bored just sitting in the cottage with Lily. With the first of the year at hand, she thought that she might pick up a few clients that could use her accounting skills. She hadn't obtained her certified public accountant license yet, so she would have to stick with jobs that didn't require a CPA's skills, such as an audit, so she had purposely tried to target individuals and small businesses by placing flyers at the grocery store, the laundromat, and similar locations.

"Yes," Suzy said. "My name is Suzanne Ferguson and I placed the flyer at Super D. How can I help you, Mr. Longo?"

"Please call me Xavi. I own the Las Cruces Bowl on East Amador Avenue. Do you know of it?"

"Near South Solano Drive?" Suzy asked.

"Exactly. My former bookkeeper resigned last month when her husband's job transferred him to Albuquerque and I need to get my year-end income and expense records straightened out for taxes. Would you be interested in some part-time work?"

Suzy didn't hesitate to respond, "I would be happy to discuss it with you, Xavi. When you say 'get your year-end records straightened out', are you talking the full year straightened out, or just since your bookkeeper quit?"

"I'm confident that the records are sound up until December," Longo replied. "I've never seen any issue with them, but reviewing them for the full year while compiling the year-end summary might indicate that some 'I' didn't get dotted or some 'T' didn't get crossed. It happens all the time in business."

"Yes, I know," Suzy agreed. "When would you like for me to come by to meet with you?"

"My manager is off on Thursdays, so I'll be too busy tomorrow," Longo said. "Are you available any time on Friday, the 5^th?"

"What time were you thinking of?"

Longo paused before saying, "I typically arrive around 7:30 in the morning, but we don't open for business until 9. Could you stop by around 8 am?"

"As long as you don't mind if I bring my seven-month-old daughter with me. She's a really great baby and will not be a distraction for us at all."

Longo laughed and said, "Bring her. I love kids. In fact, I opened a daycare center here so that parents could bring their kids when they bowl."

"That sounds wonderful," Suzy said. "Should I just knock on the front door? I assume it will be locked if you're still closed for business."

"Park around the back of the building," Xavi directed. "The back door to the kitchen is unlocked for deliveries and you can come in through there."

"I'll do that, Xavi. Thanks, and I'll see you Friday at 8."

"I look forward to meeting you and your daughter. Goodbye."

Glancing at the clock, Suzy smiled down at Lily and asked, "Is my little Angel ready for some lunch?"

Lily gurgled back, which Suzy took as an affirmative response. She carried Lily into the small kitchen and got her situated in her highchair with one of her chew toys. Lily had been teething for the last couple of months and so far, she had handled the process like a trooper. As long as she had something firm, yet soft to bite down on, she seldom complained.

Suzy knew that she had also been blessed with a baby who was developing faster than normal and not a finicky eater. Lily had her favorites, such as almost any fruit, but didn't turn her nose up at anything that Suzy had presented her to eat. Suzy quickly prepared a small plastic bowl with cheddar cheese cubes, sliced grapes, and small crackers. Lily's own little meat-free charcuterie board. All things that Lily enjoyed because she could feed herself while her mother watched over her.

Although Lily's motor skills had developed earlier than was typical for an infant her age, allowing her to feed small pieces to herself, Suzy never ventured more than a few feet from Lily while she was eating, fearful that she might choke. Lily had never so much as gagged while feeding herself, but Suzy would take no chances. Lily did tend to knock her bottle off the highchair tray when she was eating, so Suzy sat in front of her, holding the bottle to present to Lily when she indicated that she wanted to take a drink, although she was usually content to wait until after eating to want her bottle.

While waiting for Lily to finish her lunch, Suzy considered once more when Chet may be done with his assignment and able to return home to them. Of course, he didn't know that he was returning home to "them". Suzy couldn't bring herself to tell him about her pregnancy or Lily through a message delivered to him by someone that she didn't even know. She also hadn't wanted him to feel compelled to worry about her. She wanted him to focus on whatever his mission was and return safely to her.

Not knowing when that might be was her biggest concern. What if he returned, received the message that she had moved, and then came here to find her gone during the time when she was required to appear at the Probate Court back in Missouri? She gave this scenario some thought as she cleaned Lily up after her lunch and put her back into her playpen.

With Lily settled once more, Suzy found the card with the strange number in her purse and dialed the phone. "Good afternoon, General Scowcroft's office."

Suzy checked the clock and then remembered there was a two-hour time difference. That would make it afternoon where she was calling to. "Good afternoon. I was informed that I could leave a message for Chet Diego at this number."

"Identifier number please..."

Suzy read the sequence of numbers from the card and waited for a response. There was silence for several seconds before the man on the other end asked, "What is your message?"

Suzy hoped that the man's pause was due to him verifying that Chet was still alive and able to receive messages. Why accept a message for a dead man? "Please tell Chet that Suzy has left a key for him, along with his name, with the woman who lives in the house in front of hers. If he comes home and Suzy is not there, he should let himself in and wait for her to return."

The man read the message back to Suzy. When she confirmed that her message was correct, he abruptly disconnected the call. Suzy picked Lily up out of her playpen and carried her into the kitchen where she retrieved her spare house key. "Come on, Sweety, let's go visit with Mrs. Gomez for a few minutes."

Monday, January 15, 1990

Chet Diego studied the streets from the backseat of the taxi as they drove them. It was after dusk, and it had been more than nine years since he had walked and played on these streets, but he still recognized a few familiar sights, such as the Little League baseball field.

He reflected on how much had happened in his life since he and his parents had lived in this neighborhood. For most twelve-year-old boys, being forced to relocate to a strange new town would have been challenging, but not for Chet. And, it had been Suzy Ferguson who had made his relocation so much easier. Suzy had once confessed that as soon as she had seen him in the front yard of his new house, which was next door to hers, he had claimed her heart and she had staked a claim on his.

His arrival at Lamar Middle School while holding the hand of the most popular seventh-grade girl there had paved the way for his immediate acceptance by most of the other students. His subsequent athletic achievements in almost every sport played by first the middle school, and later the high school made Chet a hometown hero in his own right.

Suzy. His best friend since the age of twelve, his lover since the age of eighteen, and his soulmate for the rest of his life. He pictured her on the first day they had met. Her sparkling blue eyes were large and welcoming. Her lips were full, with just a hint of an upturn at the corners that gave her the appearance of a constant impish grin. Her medium brown hair flowed casually in a ponytail past her shoulders, with loose strands framing her face in an easy, relaxed manner that bespoke of someone who didn't spend hours primping. Together, it was an image of someone friendly, kind, and at ease with the effect they had on the opposite sex. As a stunningly beautiful twelve-year-old, developing girl, Suzy was already someone who didn't feel the need to pursue compliments and didn't choose to use her looks as a way to impress others.

He had noticed immediately that Suzy didn't even need her mouth to smile. The expression in her eyes seemed to radiate happiness and joy. She had this way of making the world seem a better place; just one simple little kiss and suddenly all was well with the universe. It was her gift to Chet, and from their first encounter in his new front yard, she always gave it generously to him alone.

Why had she decided to move from Missouri to New Mexico? Chet remembered how entranced she always appeared to be when he had shared stories about his growing up in Las Cruces, but he had always assumed that her interest had been in him sharing what he had done as a kid or experiences of others that he related to her. He never thought that his descriptions of the area itself would be an enticement for her to come here.

Chet checked his watch. It had been a long day of travel, made more challenging after learning from Suzy's message that he would have to cancel his previous flight reservations into Joplin and figure out flights that would get him to El Paso instead. There were several times during his travels when he wondered how much more cooperation he would have received from the various airline employees if he had been wearing his uniform. Military personnel in uniform were typically shown significantly more deference by the airlines since many of their employees were former military themselves. The direct flight time from Miami to El Paso was typically just under four hours. Unfortunately, having to take two connecting flights with more than five hours of combined layover between them, Chet had spent over twelve hours on this trip.

He wouldn't complain, though. The trip had been only a minor inconvenience when compared to the prospect of being with Suzy again. He wanted to spend the next three weeks making up for the months that they had been apart. Hopefully, Suzy would agree with his plan for them to go to Las Vegas to get married next weekend so that the remaining time before he was due to report back to Fort Bragg could be used for their honeymoon.

~~~

Before answering the knock on her door at 7:35 pm, Suzy lifted the blinds on the front living room window and looked outside. She couldn't see the porch, but she did see a taxi cab backing out of the driveway. Walking over to the front door, she raised her voice and asked, "Who is it?"

"Suzy, it's Chet."

She was so excited that she fumbled with the deadbolt latch twice before hearing it disengage. Finally pulling the door open, she smiled up at the handsome man smiling back at her, "God, it's good to see you. Come in, come in."

Suzy was glad that Chet had announced himself to her because she wasn't certain that she would have recognized him. His skin was so tanned. That, combined with his long hair, made him look like a person from deep in Latin America. He still looked as strong and physically imposing as she remembered, but somehow more sculpted; more toned. At six-foot-three inches, Chet looked like a bigger, stronger, and more rugged version of the actor, Andy Garcia.

Chet followed her in and closed the door. He dropped the duffel bag he was carrying and swooped Suzy into his arms, "I've missed you so much."

Raining kisses all over his clean-shaven face, Suzy finally paused long enough to ask, "Why didn't you call to let me know you were coming?"

"Have you tried using the phone today?" he asked.

When Suzy shook her head, he said, "Long-distance calls have been down most of the day. Apparently, AT&T had some software problem or something. I tried calling you from the airport in Saint Louis, and again from El Paso. Once I was close enough to Las Cruces for it to be a local call, I was practically already here. Did you know that I used to live just two blocks from here?"

Suzy took his hand and led him to the sofa, but he remained standing. She asked, "Would you like anything to eat or drink?"

"No thanks. I had something at the airport in El Paso before catching a cab."

Noticing the playpen folded up in a corner, he asked, "Are you babysitting for someone?"

Suzy beamed and said, "Yes, for you. Would you like to meet your daughter?"

Not waiting for a response, Suzy hurried into the bedroom to get Lily from her crib. She had been placed there just minutes before Chet had knocked on the door, so Suzy knew that the baby wouldn't be asleep yet.

Lily was awake and alert when Suzy carried her in to meet her father. Chet was speechless as he watched them approach but eagerly accepted Lily into his arms when Suzy offered her to him.

Finally finding his voice, Chet spoke softly to Lily, "Hello beautiful. What's your name?"

Lily smiled up at him and gurgled as her little hands stretched up for his face and she placed one on each of his cheeks.

"I named her Lily," Suzy informed him. "Lily Kristine Diego. She was born last August but I didn't know how to let you know about her."

"She's so precious," Chet said, practically in a whisper. "What a wonderful welcome home present! She must have been born around the same time that I got my secondary zone promotion to sergeant."

Suzy beamed at Chet and said, "I didn't know that you had been promoted! Congratulations."

Lilly yawned and laid her head against Chet's chest. Suzy noticed and said, "It's past her bedtime. Why don't I put her back into her crib so you and I can talk? I wouldn't want her to start getting cranky the first night that she spends with her daddy."

Chet started exploring the cottage while Suzy put Lily back into her crib. He walked into the small kitchen area and smiled at how almost hygienically clean it appeared to be. Suzy had always been neat and tidy, but she had also always had what bordered on an obsession where the cleanliness of her kitchen was concerned. It was one of her traits that he found endearing, and he never teased her about it, though sometimes he had been tempted.

His thoughts were interrupted by Suzy's question, "Can you tell me where you've been?"

"South," was Chet's one-word answer.

Putting her arms around his waist and looking up at him, she asked, "Can you tell me how long you'll be able to stay?"