“When’s the last time you saw that scoundrel?” asked Malcolm. He knew what was down with my Uncle Jim.
“Like 10 years or something. I wasn’t older than seven, that’s for sure,” I looked over at Tammy, and for her benefit told the story. “I’m pretty sure it was the summer before you moved to Settler’s Cross. Anyway, he ran off with our TV and Granny’s heirloom sterling cutlery. Drug money, apparently.” I gently punched the seat in front of me. “Good thing he didn’t come back too. I would’ve given him hell. It took Granny and Mom a whole month to save enough money for a new TV.” That was back in the day when my mom and I still lived with Granny; what I liked to call BBS, “before Bobby’s shit.”
“Anyhow, I reckon if Uncle Jim’s anywhere round, he’ll show his ugly mug if he thinks there’s any money to be had.”
“You mean nobody even contacted him to let him know his mom died?”
“Can’t. Nobody knows where he is. Heard not even a hair about him since he pulled all that back in the day.” I nodded. “Ya know though, he’d be the one watching the obituaries for years, just waiting.”
“So, what time you heading out?” Tammy asked as we gathered up our belongings, the bus turning into the school drive.
“Lunchtime. Mom’s picking me up.”
After making our way down the stairs, Tammy pulled me over to the side. “So, how about you come over to my house tonight so we can talk?”
“I don’t know Tammy…”
Tammy took a look around and in a whispered hiss continued her tirade. “Listen, if your granny has unfinished business, she might not be able to cross over. You don’t want her doomed to an eternity of restless wondering, do you?”
“Tammy, you’ve been watching too many ghost hunting shows,” I said, leveling my gaze at her. “Besides how am I going to get over there? How much longer are you grounded from driving, again?”
“Oh, I think I got another week before I get my car back. Ask your mom to drop you off after you get back from that lawyer’s.” I started to walk off, sighing deeply.
“I’ll be waiting,” Tammy called out after me.
I threw my hand up in a nice gesture to reply. I knew she wouldn’t take it to heart.
Chapter 6
The Pillsbury doughboy. I nodded to myself ever so slightly. Yep, that was it. If the Pillsbury doughboy had a grandfather, this was the guy. I’d been wracking my brain, listening to the drone of the lawyer’s aristocratic southern drawl, trying to figure out who in the heck he reminded me of. He was by far the palest human being I’d ever laid eyes on, his skin a pasty white color as if it’d never seen the light of the sun. His hair, what little he had of it, floated in wisps around his otherwise bald head. And he was round. His face was round and so full that he only hinted at having any kind of neck, and his eyes appeared beady from the excessive skin about them. His body was round, and the buttons on his shirt were just short of bursting, begging for release. I wondered if he’d chuckle if I poked him in the belly, and I had to hold back a laugh.
My mom sent me a look of daggers, popping my little balloon of daydreaming. I sat up straight and tried to pay attention, but it was useless as my thoughts floated on to more interesting things. Like what was for lunch? Because I hadn’t had any. Mom had picked me up before lunch, and she had so much on her mind, I guess, she hadn’t even thought to pack me a PB&J.
I looked up when someone loudly cleared their throat. They were staring at me with expectant faces: my mom, Bobby, and the lawyer, all waiting for me to say something.
So I decided to say the obvious. “What?”
“Young lady,” drawled the lawyer. “Do you understand what this means?”
“No,” I sighed. “I apologize, sir. I don’t even understand why I’m here.”
“Perhaps, young lady, had you been listening, you would know why indeed you are.”
“Well, let’s have it,” I said.
My mom was staring at the fancy carpet. Bobby was staring at the lawyer. Kind of like he wanted to strangle him, actually. What had I missed?
“Your beloved grandmother has seen fit to leave her legacy to you. Her homestead, the possessions therein, the property, with the exception of the parcel of land with the trailer your mother now inhabits, her car and her monies, belong to you. You will be given a monthly allowance for keeping up the homestead until you reach the age of 21, at which time, you will gain total control over your finances. She has also paid in full, tuition for you to attend the Arthur-Findley Collage for up to a year upon your graduation from high school. She requests that you attend for at least a semester.” He paused for effect. “So, you see, young lady, how impertinent your attendance today.”
I was speechless with shock. What could I say? I somehow felt like I’d let my mother down. I struggled to breathe as the lawyer stacked a pile of paper work together.
“I do have some papers for you to sign, Miss Haggart.”
I forced myself to stand from the fancy gold and burgundy settee I’d been perched upon. I could feel Bobby’s deadly gaze follow me as I sat down in front of the large mahogany desk. The rich brown leather chair was surprisingly comfortable as I settled in to sign my life away page after page, not bothering to read a word, doubting my eyes could even focus for a second, my hands shaking precariously. I looked at my mother.
“I’m so sorry, Mom,” I said looking into her defeated face. “I had no idea Granny was going to do this.”
“Don’t be sorry, she loved you with all her heart. Besides, it’s probably for the best anyhow, and at least I own the land and the trailer now,” she stole a glance at Bobby. Read between the lines, Granny didn’t want her money and possessions wasted away on drink. Gotcha.
After several minutes, I scrawled my last signature, passing it to the lawyer.
“Young lady, do you have any questions?”
“I can’t think of any right now.”
“I’m sure you will.” He passed me his card. “When you do, please give me a call.”
I looked over the embossed card, probably made of the thickest, finest card stock available. I wondered if the letters were gold leaf or just made to look that way.
Richard Nome & Associates
Richard Abernathy Nome
I pressed my lips together. What an odd name, I thought as I scanned the contact information on the front. I flipped over the card where I found an after-hours emergency contact number.
“Um, thanks,” I said, reaching for Mr. Abernathy’s hand. His handshake was firm, and I was mildly surprised at how warm his hand was.
“Ready?” I asked, looking at my mom. She nodded, reaching out her hand to help me up. I guess she knew I could use it. “Where’s Bobby?”
“He needed some air.”
“Oh.”
The sunshine outside was blazingly bright after leaving the darkness of the lawyer’s office. We squinted as our eyes adjusted. No Bobby in sight. I sat out front the office a good 10 minutes while Mom walked up and down the street, looking for any sign of my step-dad.
“No luck, huh?”
“No, hunny. Let’s get on home. I’m sure he’ll show up when he cools down. He always does.”
Chapter 7
At least Bobby’s absence gave us a chance to have a heartfelt talk that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible. It had been borderline painful. I was riddled with guilt about Granny leaving me with so much. As I spoke with my mom, I began to realize how much money was really involved. Granny had always been so frugal about saving and so forth, I’d never realized she had hundreds of thousands of dollars hoarded away. Apparently, neither had my mother. I know she had to feel hurt knowing her mother truly had the means to help us out those times the going had been tough, and for whatever reason, known only to my granny, had not. But on the other hand, Granny had been terribly generous at times too. She’d cleared out a couple of acres and had the trailer put on it so my mom and I would have a stable place to live after mom got married to
Bobby. And she’d always made sure we had food to eat, no matter what. I begged my mom on the ride to see if we could get another lawyer to try and overturn Granny’s will, at least, so she could have most of the money. But Mom wouldn’t hear of it. End of story.
“Well, I am actually thrilled that I’m getting the house and car,” I shared. “I can’t wait to move in. And finally be able drive to school.” Even if it was in Granny’s old boat of a car. Or maybe I could buy a new one? I wondered what my allowance would be.
“Krystal, you haven’t even had your seventeenth birthday. You can’t move out yet. You don’t have the maturity to live on your own and make adult choices.”
“Yeah, because yours have been so great.” Once the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I thought for sure she was going to slap me.
“I’m going to let that slide because I know the tremendous amount of stress we’ve both been under. But, Krystal Abigail Haggart, until you reach the age of 18, I am responsible for you and your wellbeing. And until then, you are not moving out. I will think about letting you drive the car. Am I clear?”
“Crystal.”
Bobby wasn’t at home either when we pulled up to the trailer. My mom let out a big breath, and her knuckles were white from giving the steering wheel the squeezing of its life. I was really glad the longest ride home in history was finally over.
I grabbed the keys from Mom’s hands, saying, “I forgot Tammy wanted me to come over this afternoon. I better go call her before she gets to worrying.” I ran up the rickety steps two at a time and unlocked the door, leaving it open behind me for my mom.
I immediately dialed Tammy’s number, and she answered on the first ring.
“Girl, where are you?”
“Well, hello to you too. Look, Tammy. I’m not going to make it over today.” I lowered my voice. “I don’t want to leave Mom alone right now. The lawyer’s was crazy, and Bobby’s done run off.”
Tammy sounded like she was choking on something.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Um, yeah,” she paused before continuing. “It’s not like Bobby’s never done that before. Don’t you think you’re over reacting?”
I peeked out into the living room. I didn’t see my mom and since she hadn’t walked by me to get to her room, figured she was still outside, probably smoking a cigarette. She had quit a couple years back, but I knew she had a secret stash for times like this. Still I kept my voice low in case she came in.
“He was real mad. He looked like he wanted to kill the lawyer and then me, one after another.”
I heard Tammy’s breath catch on the other end. “Oh, did that loser uncle of yours show up?”
“Oh, Lord, I forgot about Uncle Jim,” I groaned. “Great, now if he shows up, he’s going to be all after me for the money too.”
“What!? What money? What are you talking about?”
“Well, Granny sort of left most of everything to me.” Silence. Still Silence. “Tammy are you there?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?” She asked tentatively.
“I guess. It’s a lot of money though. And her house and her car too, the land. The only thing she left Mom was the trailer and the couple of acres it’s on. Apparently, she ended up writing Uncle Jim off ‘cause nothing was said of him at all. Thank God he didn’t show up. I can tell Mom’s really upset. Bobby, well, he looked furious.”
“I’ll bet he was just counting all the liquor bottles in his head he was gonna buy. I know that must be a big reason your Mom wasn’t left the money. Your Granny just didn’t want it drunk away. Your poor mom, though.” She paused a moment before I heard her break into a smile. “You know what this means though, don’t you?”
“I’ve got real big problem on my hands?”
“No, Krystal, you’re one rich bitch. Soooooo, when you moving out? Admit it, you must be psyched ‘bout not having to live with Bobby’s crap anymore.”
“Well, I was happy about moving into Granny’s. At least I was until Mom said I can’t ‘till I turn 18. Can you believe it?”
“And you agreed with that?”
“What was I supposed to do? Legally, she’s right. And I feel so bad about everything already. I tried to talk her into letting us get another lawyer so we can, like overturn all this, but she won’t have it. I am excited about the car though.” I let out a little squeal as it finally sunk in. “I finally have my own bona fide car!”
“Well, girl, you can just get a new one if you want, seeing how that Buick is ancient. I might not be able to ride with ya. I do have my standards,” she laughed.
“Well, I doubt it, at least till I find out what my allowance will be.”
“You’re on an allowance?”
“Till I turn 21. Supposed to be enough to keep the house running and stuff.” That reminded me of something. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. She left some sort of scholarship for collage after I graduate too. For the life of me I can’t remember the name….”
“That’s cool. So, Krystal, where you reckon she got all this money from anyhow?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” And I had to admit to myself, it was nagging at the back of my consciousness. Where did this money come from? What had my granny really been up to all these years? I couldn’t help but wonder.
Tammy and I chatted a few more minutes before hanging up. I walked on out to the front steps to check on mom. She was sitting on the steps, cigarette ash sprinkled at her feet. I sat down next to her, placing my arm around her shoulders.
“I love you, Mom. I promise everything’s going to be alright. I don’t know how I know, but it really is.”
She put her arm around me too and placed a kiss on my forehead. I swore to myself that come hell or high water I would do my best to help her out. She might not take the money, but I could buy groceries and help in other small ways. A weight I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying lifted from my shoulders.
The next morning, Tammy and I filled Malcom in on my good fortune during the bus ride to school. He said all the right things in all the right places, but I could tell something was really bothering him. I was on the brink of asking him what was up, but before I could get the words out of my mouth Tammy started making fast and furious motions with her hands for me to stop.
“What, this is baseball now?” I asked with an edge to my voice when Malcom wasn’t looking.
Tammy shook her head no in answer with her trade mark roll of the eyes, and everything went right over Malcom’s head. “Later,” she mouthed.
Filing off the bus, I patted Malcom on the shoulder. “See ya at lunch, ‘kay?”
He gave me a half-hearted smile that didn’t reach his eyes. When he was out of ear shot, I looked over to Tammy.
“So? What’s eating at Malcom?”
She glanced around to make sure no one was listening in and dragged me over to a quiet corner of the hallway. “It’s his little sister. His parents are thinking about admitting her to the hospital.”
“Oh, my God! Why hasn’t anybody said anything to me,” I seethed. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Well, with you having so much going on and with your granny passing, we just didn’t want to….” At least Tammy had the decency to look sheepish.
“To what?” I threw my hands up in my frustration when Tammy wouldn’t even look me in the eye.
“Hey, watch it with those things,” she whined, and I tapped my foot, my patience wearing thin. “Oh, Kris, don’t be that way. Malcom didn’t want to burden you, and I guess he just really needed to talk to somebody about it…..”
Yeah, that was a first, I had to admit. Malcom and Tammy were friends primarily because they were friends with me. “Well, what’s wrong with Candace?”
“Her parents are thinking about sending her for a psychological evaluation.”
“That word again,” I mused.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Why?”
“Well at f
irst, her parents thought she had an over reactive imagination. She has this imaginary friend she keeps insisting is real. Her parents had finally told her to cut the crap, but it’s getting worse instead of better. Her parents don’t know what to do, and Candace’s pediatrician suggested the need of an evaluation if the situation does not improve soon.”
“So, we’re not talking about your average imaginary buddy are we?”
“Nope. Candace makes sure there’s a place sitting at the dinner table for it and has a pallet next to her bed for her friend. I guess her parents have found her up all hours of the night talking to thin air.” My head and body started to tingle as I listened Tammy’s words. “Malcom thinks his parents are over reacting, and if they just drop it, Candace’s behavior will return to normal.”
The Spirit Who Loved Me: Spirit Whispers Book One Page 4
