by Zi'ere
This time when I fell asleep instead of dreaming of a perfect life for myself, I dreamed of my grandparents. In my dream they were no longer in their elder years, both of them were younger versions of themselves. I had never seen them look so young except in the old photo albums they had. Simply put, they were beautiful. They embraced me and I felt them all around me. After a small conversation, they kissed me on the forehead and then walked away. I felt secure in what was to come in the future.
After church services Sunday afternoon, we were forced to eat yet another meal in a restaurant. Sunday’s were always the day we had dinner with our grandparents since we had gotten the new house. On the way home I couldn’t help but go check on their condo. Their parking garage was full of people. As soon as the four of us got out of the car, we were surrounded by pillars in the community. The people vowed to keep a watchful eye on us and be there in our time of need. I had never received so many hugs in all my life.
I had to receive condolences in their home like any respectable family member would do. I allowed the older individuals to fuss over the four of us. Not a moment too soon all of the visitors were soon on their way to tend to their own personal affairs. The kids and I were not prepared to stay in the condo a minute longer than we had to. As soon as the coast was clear we locked up and left for the comfort of our own home.
One of the visitors at the house had been our grand- parent’s attorney. He had presented me with several sealed manila envelopes, I assumed the envelopes held the documents I would need to gain full custody of the kids and continue to pay our bills. Grand-dad had told me what to do with the papers whenever I would receive them, so that part wasn’t a surprise to me. I was in no way prepared for the contents of the other envelopes.
I had wished with all my heart I had taken the time to talk to them about the way they had chosen to leave their affairs. I thanked God I was now done with school. I had to get the kids to school of course, but I would need all the free time I could find to handle the contents of all of the folders. In the middle of the tranquil silence of being in the house alone, I almost had a heart attack when my phone began to ring. I didn’t recognize the number and I really didn’t want to talk to anyone I didn’t know, but considering the circumstances I figured it best I go ahead and answer.
“Hello?”
“My mom and dad are gone now Angel. I’m going to need my money as soon as possible.”
I had not seen or heard from Angel since the day at the spa. How she had gotten my number was lost on me. I had no idea how to explain to her the way her ‘dad’ had given me instructions to handle his final wishes.She was probably smiling but I was about to turn it upside down.
