Page 77 of Pity Present
A chill shoots through my body that starts at the top of my head and zings down my arms. “I’m sure anything that gives his parents hope would be amazing.”
“It’s hard though, right? I mean, you don’t want people to lose hope, but they still have to prepare for the worst.”
“When do you think Ward and Francie will find out if Ben qualifies?”
“They’re supposed to hear before Christmas,” she says. “Heath has offered to sponsor them in New York if they get in.”
“You two are really amazing, do you know that?” I ask her. “So many people don’t even know how to begin to help others and you guys are doing it on a huge scale.”
“We’re lucky that we can,” she says.
“Yes, but a lot of people who can, don’t. You two should give a seminar and teach them how it’s done.”
Trina smiles modestly. “If you have any more ideas like this, please let me know. In the meantime, you and Blake, huh?”
“I can’t even believe it,” I tell her. “I thought he’d friend-zoned me the second we met.”
Crossing one long leg over another, Trina leans back in her chair. “He isn’t the kind of guy I expected to sign up for one of my events.”
“What does that mean?” Does she suspect he’s here to steal her ideas? Does she know something about him that I don’t?
“He hasn’t spent his time with just women. He’s been talking to everyone like he’s interviewing them or something.”
If she only knew that’s exactly what he was doing, but I’m not going to tell her. I don’t think Blake’s getting ideas will take anything away from Trina’s business, but she might still feel like he’s ripping her off.
Veering the topic away from why Blake’s here, I tell her, “I think he and I might have helped to get Thor and Krista back on track today.”
“Nice.” Then she says, “I hope the two of you will keep coming to our get-togethers. If for no other reason than to show the others what’s possible.”
“Oh, we’re coming,” I tell her. Turning my head, I see that Ben and his family have walked into the room. “I’m going to give Ben his frame.”
Trina holds up one finger before standing up and walkingtoward the Christmas tree. She removes one of the bags underneath and hurries back to me. “We put a bunch of staged presents under the tree. Why don’t you put the frame in here?”
“Thank you,” I tell her as I slip the frame back into its box and then insert it into the bag. “Do you want to come with me?”
She shakes her head. “No, this is your gift to them. I’m going to go to my office and get to work on trying to hire a photographer. If I’m lucky I might be able to find one to start right away.”
“That’s fast!”
“This is the perfect time of year to capture some beautiful memories,” she says. And then she’s off.
I’m amazed there are people like Trina and her fiancé, and I decide in this moment to do more for charity than I have. If everyone did something small, the whole world would be the better for it.
Approaching Ben’s family, I smile and wave. Poor Ben looks rough this morning, but as soon as he sees me, he smiles brightly. “Molly!”
“Hey, buddy.” I wink at him and lift the bag. “Your gift for your parents arrived this morning.”
He takes it enthusiastically before turning to his mom and dad. He tells them, “Molly helped me get your Christmas gift.”
“It was all Ben’s idea,” I tell them. Francie and Ward both look like they’re about to cry. Then I lean down and whisper in Ben’s ear, “It’s a digital frame. I already put in the pictures we took yesterday.”
His eyes open wide with excitement. “Seriously? Can you show us?”
I lead the way to a small seating area near the fireplace. Once we’re all seated, I tell Ben, “Let your parents open the bag and then I’ll show you.”
Francie’s hands start to tremble as she unties the bow on the bag. Then she pulls out the box with the frame. “Oh!” she exclaims. “What a wonderful gift!”
“Open it up!” Ben encourages her.
