Sweet Magnolias Autumn

Morning Chats

Helen

"Morning, Helen," Maddie calls as she walks into the Spa.

"Morning, Maddie," I respond as I am finishing up an email on my laptop. 

"Alright, Ms. Decatur, what got your attention on the computer of yours?" Maddie questions as I look up from my laptop. 

"Trotter emailed me today; his friend Christopher sadly passed away a week ago. He and Ashley will be back in about a week; they just have to pack the kids up. He said that he won't be coming back to work for a week or two but he does want to stop in." I tell Maddie. "I told him that all of them are in our prayers and to take his time. There's no rush for him to get back; he's where he needs to be right now." 

"He is where he needs to be, but I am sorry to hear about Christopher; that couldn't have been easy," she says. Did that email just come in? I didn't see it when I checked this morning?" 

"Oh, no, no, no...he sent an email to me personally; he wants to check a couple of things regarding the guardianship process since they will be moving the kids to Serenity, which means that the kids' main residence will change, and their home state will change from Georgia to South Carolina," I tell her. "Don't worry; you're not missing anything. You are on top of it all, as always."  

"Thank you," she says before sitting down with me in the cafe's lounge area. "Lawyer question/business partner question for you."

"Well, I am all ears, then, Ms. Maddie; how can I help?" 

"We currently have the child care tent set up outside; autumn is coming and then Winter. How do we want to handle that? Do we want to find a place inside to move for when it is cold, or do we want to look at outside heaters for the childcare center? What zoning bylaws do we need to be aware of?" she asks 

"That's a lot for first thing in the morning," I tell her and chuckle. "Cece and I can start to look into the bylaws for the different options," I tell her as I add bylaw research to my to-do list. "But you are right; it is something we need to start planning for. Maybe Trotter will have some thoughts when he is back." 

"And we definitely need to wait for Dana Sue before making any major plans or decisions," Maddie adds. 

"How many times has she called since yesterday?" I ask more seriously. 

"Annie three times that I know of, and she called me twice and sent a bunch of texts checking it," Maddie says, looking down at her hands before looking bad at me. "Both her and Ronnie are pretty worried."

"That's understandable. I mean, they weren't Jackson's biggest fans to begin with, but he showed up out of the blue when they weren't there. It would raddle the best of people. What did she say?" I question.

"She wanted to know if I thought Annie was doing okay or if she was just putting on a brave face. She asked no less than five times if they should come home," Maddie tells me with a slight frown. 

"What did you tell her?" 

"I think Annie is okay, given everything. She was having a good time last night during dinner and Monopoly. She was laughing with the kids.  I did catch her looking at her hand, the bruise most likely." she gets up and walks over to the cafe. " Truthfully, I think Dana Sue and Ronnie coming back will freak her out more. Make it seem like a big deal that it is. Besides, if Jackson tries again, she won't be there." 

"Probably, but I am going to keep a close eye on the situation; Jackson's behaviour is unpredictable right now, and that can create problems," I tell her. 

"Do you think this will become a legal problem?" Maddie asks. 

"No, but just in case. I never thought I lived to see the day that Jackson asked for permission to take someone out on a date. From what I know of their relationship, he was decent for a while with Annie." I tell her truthfully.