“Molly! Don’t be rash!” Aunt Irene admonished her.
“I don’t want it,” Molly said, again. She grabbed the footboard of the bed. “No.“
“Molly, don’t be silly.”
“If you don’t want any of it, then you remain free to ignore it,” my grandmother said. “Mr. Beasley? Is everything in order? Provisos, follow-up?”
“Everything’s signed and arranged.”
My grandmother nodded. “Rich, you’ve been wonderful. I set aside some money already, to thank you.”
The nurse looked stunned. He looked at my family. “No. It’s not allowed.”
“I insist. Take it and give it to a favorite charity, if you must.”
Even then, he looked a little taken aback.
He probably thinks my family’s going to come after him if he accepts.
She probably plotted this. Hurting us by favoring the nurse over us.
“If Molly doesn’t want it, I’ll take it,” Callan said. “She can sign over the rights-“
“Fuck you,” Ellie said.
“Granny? Why didn’t you pick me?” Little Roxanne piped up. The youngest, next to my new baby sister Ivy.
I felt Paige clutch my hand tight.
“You okay?” I murmured.
Grim, her mouth set in a line, eyes on the floor, Paige nodded.
“Granny!” Roxanne raised her voice, more than a little shrill. “You don’t love me enough to give me anything?”
So that was her angle. Everyone was making a play, and the youngest of the grandchildren that could speak was making the ‘sweetheart’ play. Or the entitled brat play, depending on perspective. Misdirected, considering who my grandmother was, but that hardly mattered now.
My grandmother hadn’t reacted. I frowned.
“Blake?” my dad asked. “Where are you staying tonight?”
“Going home,” I said.
“If you wanted to have a late dinner and stay over-“
“No,” I said. “I don’t want that.”
“Alright,” he said.
I watched as the nurse approached the bedside. He touched my grandmother’s hand.
Things went quiet very quickly.
Nurse Rich looked at his watch. “Two past twelve.”
The arguing had distracted him. The time was off by two minutes.
My grandmother and her cat were both dead.
“I need to go make a phone call,” the nurse said. He strode from the room.
Silence followed, broken only by the footsteps of the nurse in the hallway, and the shuffling of papers as the lawyer put things away in a messenger bag.
“Listen,” my uncle said, broaching the near-silence. “We should have a sit down, talk about the sale of the property, when the time comes, a division of the funds-“
Aunt Irene barked out a laugh. “Oh, now you talk about dividing up the proceeds? I seem to recall, only a few hours ago, that you told me it wouldn’t work.”
More arguing, more stupidity.
Why had I told myself it would be over?
“Get out,” Molly said, her voice hard.
“You heard my daughter,” Aunt Irene said. “Out. It’s her house and her say.”
“You too,” Molly said. “Everyone out.”
Aunt Irene looked shocked at that. Uncle Paul, for his part, smirked.
When I had talked to a friend about what I’d hoped to say, she’d asked me if I’d regret not saying goodbye. Now, in the aftermath of my grandmother’s passing, I felt anger more than regret, along with a wish that I’d spent a little more time swearing at her.
So much needless stupidity.
“She can’t kick us out,” Uncle Paul said. “We were invited here.”
“I could call the authorities, Miss Thorburn,” the lawyer suggested. “For the time being, I’m at your service.”
“There wouldn’t be a point,” Uncle Paul said.
“Just go,” Molly said. “Go. You’re not going to scheme your way into any deals here. You’re not going to get some advantage or screw me out of my deal. Not tonight. I’m done talking, I’m done listening. Go, and leave me alone, and when you’ve figured out a plan of attack, run it by my lawyer first. Not me.”
Slowly, the aunts and uncles, my mother and father, and the various grandchildren filtered out of the room.
Paige squeezed my hand, and then broke contact, leaving the room.
“Molly,” I said. “Hey.”
She looked up at me. She looked spooked, even now. Pale, vaguely ill. Almost as if she were in shock.
“Why is the cat dead?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was dead all along, and she was fucking with us.”
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“Listen, Molly, family’s supposed to support each other. I figured I’d offer some support. I don’t have anywhere to be, no obligations. If you’re worried about locals giving you a hard time, whatever you need, I can stick around.”
“Uh huh,” Callan said, from the doorway. “Clever bastard. You don’t want the property. You want to scheme your way in with whoever else gets the place.”
“Fuck off, Callan,” I said.
But I could see the expression on Molly’s face change.
Doubt. Only a little doubt.
“I don’t want to deal with any of this. With any of that. Of this.”
“Okay,” I said. “The lawyer has my number. Ask him, get in touch, anything you need. Okay? Please?”
She nodded.
I was the last one to leave. Molly followed me down, and stood in awkward silence as I pulled on my boots.
“Bye,” I said. “Good seeing you.”
“Bye, Blake.” she said.
The door swung shut. My view of her and the lawyer in the background narrowing, then disappearing entirely.
I made my way down the path. My Uncle’s car pulled out, and I saw the younger kids in the windows, staring at me.
I stopped short as I saw my bike.
Tipped over in a way that had scraped it hard against the stone wall. Headlight and taillight broken.
Trying to think of whether I had seen any garages nearby, or whether they’d even be open at this hour, I started the agonizingly slow journey to downtown Jacob’s Bell.
■
Four months later.
I tossed and turned in my bed, fighting to kick the covers off. It didn’t help. I felt a pressure on top of me, pressing me down. My movements were sluggish.
I was supposed to be asleep, but this relentless weight pressing in on me from every direction had dragged me from that rest, and it hadn’t quite brought me to the point of being awake.
I opened my eyes, and I didn’t see my bedroom. I could feel my body in one place, sheets still hooked over one foot, my chest heaving, and I could see in another place.
Glances were exchanged down both lengths of the table. On one side, women and girls of varying ages, all blonde, in matching shades of green, white and blue. On the other, appearances varied. Men and women, old and young. Hair color and appearance varied, but there was little doubt they were a family.