2
Adley
There were times when I wished I could talk to her. My grandmother. Sometimes it was just too much. Too hard and overbearing for me to do it on my own. Saturday morning, I woke up, checked my bank balance online, laughed at my debts, and watched my Youtube on my phone. I didn’t have to pay for that.
I only scored my place in Manhattan out of luck. And by begging the landlord a little bit. I wished I had been smarter in school, maybe got a scholarship to go to college or something. But when Grandma got sick, I couldn’t do much of anything. My high school diploma was given to me out of kindness, I think.
Grandma would tell me to keep looking forward, because our eyes weren’t made for looking back. But things were so much better behind me, and in front of me wasn’t looking very good. It had only been a couple months since she passed. I couldn’t afford a fancy funeral or anything else. But she died somewhat peacefully—in her sleep. At least I had that.
I had been avoiding the meeting forever, but I had to see her attorney. I didn’t even know she had one, nor did I know she had a will either. I imagined she left me her furniture, and her collection of Days of Our Lives videotapes. Grandma didn’t have much, but she had me. I didn’t have much either, but I had her.
Now I had nothing.
I dressed in my nicest jeans and a respectable long-sleeved tee. My blonde locks never listen, so they went up in a bun. I stared in the mirror. My green eyes were dull, my face tired. Maybe if I was drop dead gorgeous, I could score a rich man or something. I was only half joking. Even still, my hips were too round. My body wasn’t anything special, and I wasn’t either.
I had to take two subways to get to his office. It was above an old apartment complex, and was an apartment itself. The waiting room was the detached living room. He called me into his office, and we had to pass through the kitchen to get there.
“Thank you for finally meeting with me,” he smiled gently. I sat in his office, across from his wooden desk. He was an older man, but had some kindness to his face.
“Yeah. Sorry, I haven’t been able to.” It was partly true that I had been working so much. But it was also to avoid this, and avoid having too much time to think.
“That’s okay. I know it can be hard. It’s like…you accept the fact and then you have to go back and open old wounds.” He offered a kind smile. I tried to return it, but I hadn’t done much smiling in a long time.
“Um. Yeah. Kind of like that. I didn’t even know she had a will,” I said in response.
He started going through some files in his drawer before he drew one out.
“She was your grandmother, correct?” he asked me.
“Yeah.”
His thick brows furrow together as he read. From what I could see, some things were highlighted.
“She has no surviving children. No sons-in-laws either.” He stated. I nodded.
My mom, her daughter, died of a drug overdose when I was a child. I didn’t even remember her anymore, which was heart-breaking in itself. All I had since then was my grandmother. Dad had never been around and my parents never got married. So, it really had been just Grandma and me.
“No.” I wasn’t sure if it was even a question, but I affirmed it. He sighed deeply and met my eyes again.
“Okay, you ready?” He smiled.
“I suppose.” I shifted nervously in my seat. I was hoping I wouldn’t be told my grandmother left me a million dollars of debt. I was way off.
He read right from the paper. “Cecilia Brown leaves her sole surviving relative, Adley Brown, her estate, holdings, belongings, and everything such included. The sum of these is to be released immediately.” He stopped. “That’s the important stuff.”
I sat back and stare, not really understanding. “She left me everything?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, what is everything?” My grandmother didn’t even have much. Not that I could remember. She had moved to a smaller place when I moved out. Before she passed I knew she lived in some tiny town, but I didn’t make it out to visit often. Which was stupid, I should have cherished the time I had with her. Another regret.
“Her house on Fishers Island. All the belongings in it, including the ones in storage. And a sum of about…one hundred thousand dollars.”
I nearly screamed. Where did all that money come from? Was Medicaid that great?
“Are you all right?”
I had been sitting there for a long moment and I didn’t even realize it. I opened and closed my mouth a few times to regain my senses.
“Um. I’m fine. I think. Surprised.” I laughed nervously.
“I know it can be surprising. I have people who can help you manage everything in terms of her estate. I have already retrieved the important documents; the deed, the bank transfer and what not. All you have to do is accept it.”
I was going to take time to think about it, but I knew that would do me no good. She wanted me to have everything for some reason. I could find good to do with it later. But I couldn’t sit on it any longer. I had to accept it, and I had to move past everything.
“I…I accept.” I smiled a little.
“Good.”
We spent the next part of an hour going over everything. It wasn’t really a complicated task, but there was a lot to think about. If I moved into the house, I would no longer have to pay rent. Utilities would only be about a hundred dollars a month. But it would be too far from the restaurant; I would have to find a new job.
Hell, maybe it was a good way to find a new, better career anyway. I didn’t want to be a waitress for the rest of my life. In school I liked cooking and desserts. But I never thought I could do anything with it. Even when I didn’t have the money, I would buy flour and expensive baking ingredients to try new things.
I said goodbye to Dan, the attorney, and headed to the bank. Everything was good to go when I showed them the documents. They even had a financial advisor explain how important it was to spend the money wisely. I put most in savings and a bit in my own checking account. It felt good. Then I went back home and got ready for work.
I went through my entire shift in a crazy daze. I was nice to the patrons, even flirted back with the beefy guys from the gym just to get better tips. It paid off. As I ran through my checkout procedure, I decided it would be my last shift. It was shitty to leave like that. But I had just made five hundred dollars working both the bar and the floor, thanks to the football game lasting past closing. The place had done enough for me.
Mike was nice about it, but I knew he was disappointed. I was one of the good ones.
I went home. Then I made plans to get boxes and move my things out. Ugh, I would have to rent a car. It would be nice to have friends, then I could ask for help. But I learned to be okay alone a long time ago.
I found a cheap rental car company down the block from my apartment and booked a car for a few days. It was odd, having the money to pay for it without much thought. My heart swelled at the notion of my grandmother still being the only one looking out for me, even in death.