20 Inheritance and Justice For All

It would be the first time I ever saw Gram cry. True, I've only known her a few months, but I honestly didn't think it was possible. She found a letter in the diaper bag along with the birth certificate, social security card and vaccination record. Apparently, Monica was planning on leaving the baby behind. What kind of mother does that? Seriously the what the ever-loving frick is wrong with people? Gram gave the letter to Jams saying, "You know what to do."

"Yes ma'am." He left the room quickly.

May put her arm around Gram for comfort. "If someone needs a beat down, I'll volunteer to do it." She said flatly.

I pictured May knocking that fat girl out which made me giggle. At this point I would've volunteered to knock her out too. I hugged the baby a little closer. Gram kept her eyes on the baby in my arms as she responded to May's offer. "Thanks Maybe. But that won't be necessary. Will you call Darren? We will need a car seat to take the little one home and I remember saying he had an extra one in the garage."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Aren't you gonna get a hold of your sister?" I asked. "Maybe she doesn't know Monica left the baby behind."

"That woman isn't getting anywhere near this child." She growled. She blinked away her tears, squared her shoulders and stalked off towards the side room Jams had gone into. 'That woman?' Something tells me the shiznit is about to hit the fan and for once, I wasn't the one to throw it.

**

The lawyers sat on opposing sides of a large oval conference table in the main meeting room of the estate lawyer. Pastor Marquee, the widower sat at the end of the table with the estate lawyer, Mr. Markin to his right on the side. Janice and Joshua sat on the side next to the estate lawyer, while Clarise sat with her own lawyer, Mr. Brighten. Clarise's lawyer began with listing off the known properties and assets that were in question with regards to dispersal. "The mansion in Boston should be sold as none of the heirs live there. The money can be divided three ways. That is between the three legitimate heirs. It is in my client's opinion that, though…" He shuffled through his papers, "that um… ah, yes. Gertrude Ramona Annalise Marquee…"

"Gram," Interrupted the widower. "She goes by Gram."

The lawyer looked at him and continued unphased by the comment. "We feel that, though Gertrude is their half-sister, she was conceived in illegitimacy and therefore not entitled to their mother's estate."

"Mr. Brighten," Interjected Mr. Markin. "If you will allow me? Mrs. Marquee had dissolved and disposed of all properties and assets that she had inherited from her parents more than a decade ago. There is nothing left to sell. There is no mansion in Boston. No holdings in Boeing, Johnson Pharmaceuticals or Amazon. All stocks, bonds and mutual funds were liquidated years ago. Jewelry and personal possessions have been either sold or donated. There is nothing to left of her inheritance or estate that she acquired prior to her marriage to Mr. Marquee to negotiate."

"What?!" Clarise yelled. "You're saying she spent it all? That she left nothing for us?!"

"Figures! Selfish woman." Janice snipped

"Told y'all she would do that." Snapped Joshua. "We've treated her like crap for forty years. What did we really expect?"

"Indeed." Agreed Mr. Markin. "But your mother was a generous and forgiving woman. She did in fact leave something for you. She set up a trust fund for each of you. They are not small funds to say the least, but in order to receive them you must sign a form stating that you have no interest in her current estate that she has built with Mr. Marquee. In other words. The trust is all you will ever get. You will not have any claim on anything that she and Mr. Marquee have built or acquired together."

"This is ridiculous! She had no right!" Clarise bellowed.

The door to the conference room opened abruptly and Gram walked in holding a letter. "Pardon the intrusion," she said stoically, drilling her icy blue eyes into her eldest sister. "But I feel the contents of this letter must be shared with the whole family as it does pertain to a very important family matter." She didn't wait for a response before starting to read. "Please, take care of my little girl. I can't protect her anymore. Dick is her father and Gramma knows that. She pays me to do things with him and other men."

"That's enough!" hollered Clarise. "What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull here?"

"You're right. I shouldn't read the whole thing. But I find the last couple of sentences especially disturbing because she goes on to write; I don't want my daughter to go through what I have so I am leaving her with you, Gram. I know you will love and protect her. It won't be long before I go to be with my mom. And P.S. Mom did not kill herself."

"Why, that ungrateful, lazy…"

"What did you do, Clare?"

"I didn't do anything. The letter could've been written by anyone. ABOUT anyone. What are you trying to prove here, Gertie? You're just pissed because Mom didn't leave you any money?"

"Your husband was arrested this morning in the hotel room where he was found with your unconscious granddaughter. Thankfully they got there in time to save your granddaughter from her 'apparent' or 'accidental' overdose." Clare sat wide-eyed as the others looked at her agape. "Tell me, Clare. Is your attorney well versed in criminal cases as well? If so, you may want him to follow you to the station. There's a couple of officers out here waiting for you to finish your business in here. Mr. Markin, I trust you have everything in order. I'd like to take my father with me if it's okay."

"Just finishing up, Gram."

"Just let me sign whatever I have to so I can get out of here. Good riddance to the lot of you." Snapped Janice as she grabbed the paper the lawyer had slipped in front of her. She signed it and left the room in a huff.

"I'll sign too," Joshua said reaching for the next form. He put a hand on Gram's shoulder as he left the room. "For what it's worth Grammie, I'm sorry for being such a putz all these years. Mom deserved better. You deserved better. And just between us; Papi was the best dad we could have ever asked for."

"You should tell him that, Josh. I'm sure he'd love to hear it."

"I'm sure he would." He smiled shyly. "But not today. Love you sis." He kissed her cheek and left the building.

"Come on, Papi. Let's get you home." She hooked her arm around her father's elbow. "Oh, and Clare? No matter how things turns out with you and useless excuse of a husband of yours, don't even think about coming for the baby. She will be staying with me indefinitely." She walked out with her father as the officers walked into the conference room.

**

So, I learned a couple of things about Gram this week. One, it takes a lot to get on Gram's bad side. Two, you don't want to be on Gram's bad side. I don't who she knows or how she knows them but the information she found in the diaper bag letter was enough to send her on a mission. A mission of what, I'm not entirely sure but, we now have custody of the baby. I call her Bethany. I have no idea what her real name is, and no one will tell me so, Bethany it is. And Bethany and I are buddies. She follows me everywhere. She has to be near me all the time. She even sleeps in my room. Maybe I should call her Shadow.

I heard that her mother was in the hospital recovering from an overdose and that Clarise and Dick Head, yes, it's a fitting name; indeed, have been arrested. I never got to read the letter, but it must have been pretty bad for Gram to go into the mode she has been in. She met with officers, lawyers and child advocates. She's had Bethany go through thorough medical exams and lab tests looking for any signs of abuse or neglect.

Thankfully, the girl is fit as a fiddle. Gram said Monica did a good job keeping her safe until she knew she couldn't anymore. This made me like the girl a little bit. I also found out that she was only seventeen. I thought she was a lot older than that. Also found out that Bethany was three, not two. She is just small for her age. That means Monica was fourteen when she had Bethany. I can't imagine. But then what's really to imagine? I'm only fifteen and pregnant.

I asked Gram "How can you love people when there is so much ugliness in the world? It seems every time I turn around something ugly is happening. Look at what Melinda and Monica's story. I remember the ugliness with which your own siblings treated you. The death of your mother, your husband, and your son. I look what I've been through. What I've done. It's all just so ugly. I guess I'm having a hard time seeing the point to all of it. I don't see anything lovely. Nothing is worth this much pain."

She hugged me for a minute before she answered. "Love," she sighed. "Love is what makes it all worth it. Life is full of pain and suffering. The Good Lord promised as much in His Word. Without love, it IS pointless." She pulled away to see the confusion on my face. "Take Melinda's story. Yes, what she endured was ugly and painful, but look at her today. God took her mess and turned it into a beautiful message of love. She was able to heal from her pain by helping others. Her girls are blessings. We can choose to focus on the awful things that happened her and the terrible ways those girls came into the world or we can choose to see the good that has come of them. Same with Monica. That little Bethany of yours is a treasure to be cherished, regardless of how she came into our lives."

"I think I get it."

"Yes, love is a choice."

"But how can you forgive such terrible people? I mean look what that Dick did to a kid! And what Jude's dad did to him."

"Yet, you have forgiven Jude?"

"Of course, I have. It wasn't entirely his fault. His dad…"

"You got the backstory, so it was easier to forgive your friend for doing the very same thing Dick did."

"That's not the same thing."

"Isn't it? He was in a position of trust like your friend was. He took advantage of that trust shattered innocence just as your friend did."

"But Jude didn't have a choice."

"We all have a choice, dear. I'm sure he believes he made the right one, and perhaps it was in the broad scheme of things, but it was still a choice that he made. One that has forever altered the course of your life regardless of what happens next. It's really no different that what Melinda suffered, or Monica or any other girl who gone through similar. The difference only lies in what you do about it. You either forgive it and look for the good that can come out of it; like your babies, or you focus on the ugly pain and let it destroy you to a point that you become the very thing you once hated."

"Like the user I was when I got here?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"It's not that easy."

"Believe me, it takes practice. And there are times, it's hard for me to find the good in folks too."

"Like with your sister?"

"Like with my sister. And her husband. But I know God is working through it all and eventually, I will be able to look back on the events of this year and see the good clearly. Until then, I will be grateful that you and Bethany are safe here with us and Mom is in Heaven with her God. I leave the rest of the details to Jesus."

I'm not gonna lie, the whole Jesus thing is still just weird to me, but if it makes her chill, then I'll roll with it for now. "So, Gram, how many more crazy people do you have in your family? I mean is there an uncle grampa that steals cars for a living; or cousin dad with fourteen kids I haven't met yet?"

She giggled. "I guess we'll see. Eight months left of your sentence here. I suppose anything is possible." Not the answer I was looking for. I heard someone start playing the piano outside. "Come on. We could use a little music tonight." She said as she led me to the porch. To my surprise, Tuna's ex-wife, Susan was playing the piano. Her husband Harold was playing a guitar. Jimmy had his guitar and Mackerel was there with his violin. Jams came to the porch with his kids and a set of bongo drums and shakers. I sat on the porch sofa with Bethany snuggled into my side and I let Jackie curl up in my lap as they played and sang well past sunset. Gram was right, we needed this music.