I.
My father died when I was 17. My biological mother was out of the picture, and the will stipulated that my legal guardian would be Vanessa, a friend of the family's living in a small town about twenty miles away from ours. I hardly knew her. My parents, actually, had few really close friends, and I had only seen Vanessa a few times in my lifeβand not recently at that. My plan was to bide my time and be as little trouble to her as possible until I turned eighteen and started college. I wasn't thrilled about moving away from my friends and imposing on a forty-five year-old woman I barely knew. I had probably missed the wrestling try-outs at my new school, so I would not even have that outlet to work off my grief and excess physical energy.
Vanessa seemed pleasant enough, from my vague recollection of her. I knew she had been a sorority sister of my mom's. She was the type who wore a lot of make-up and had a bit too much to drink at my parents' parties. When I was a little kid I hated it when my mom's friends would leave lipstick traces on my cheek. I would run to bathroom to wash them off as they laughed at me. I half remembered that Vanessa had been the ringleader in this harmless fun.
After packing up a few things I waited by the front door for her to pick me up. An attorney would take care of selling the house and other details. A distant uncle would be the trustee of my father's estate until I turned 21. As we drove to her house Vanessa talked about the bond she had had with my mother in college. She hoped she could help me through the next nine months or so before I graduated from high school, and even after that... I didn't have much to say but I had the presence of mind of thank her, at least, for taking me in. I told her that I would clean up after myself and not give her any trouble. She told me that she ran a bed and breakfast a block from her house, with her daughter Rita, and that they had plenty of room for me at her house.