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“No, dear, he was just doing everything else. He had a small inheritance and then he made a ton of money with it.”
I could see now that she’d been nervous too, worried that I’d reject them for their past deeds. “Awesome.”
“It was. It was fun too. Just not a life we wanted to expose you to. Which is another reason we stayed away. If we’d have had some sense, we’d have helped your mother out a little more, been more involved with you, but grief is a hard thing to battle.”
“I understand, I really do,” I told her, my heart nearly breaking for them both. “It’s so sad that Granddad has Alzheimer’s.”
“It is. I wish you’d have met him before it got so bad. He adored your father, and he’d have adored you even more. We’ve made a lot of mistakes in our lives, and I’ll regret the one we made with you for the rest of our lives.”
“Well, you’re both here for me now, even if Granddad doesn’t know me.”
“I’m glad we can be, honey. Tell me more about these men of yours.”
As I had with Mom, I told Grams about the four wonderful Rome brothers and their plans. Only she had something to offer once I told her about their trust funds.
“That sounds like a good plan. Let me know if they get cut off, honey and want to go ahead with it. I’ll have a chunk of money ready to donate for them.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask that of you!” I denied her offer but felt happy she’d made the gesture.
“I’m not making it for you, Nic, I’m making it for the kids they want to help,” she said gently.
“Oh. Good. In that case, I’m sure they’d gladly accept.”
“Just let me know how it goes for them.”
“I will,” I promised and picked up my phone when it buzzed.
Being in California made it hard to communicate with the guys. They were hours and hours ahead of me and I could never remember how many it was. Apparently, they’d gone down to the orphanage that day to see smiling kids for the first time. That flood had been terrible and had taken a lot from children who already had so little.
I showed Grams the pictures they sent of the happy children and she asked about the orphanage as well. When I told her, she asked for their contact details so she could send them money right away.
“Grams, you’re going to spend your retirement fund here,” I warned but she waved me away.
“Honey, we made billions in porn. Don’t worry about it. You’ll inherit whatever’s left, by the way, when we’re gone. You’ll get a trust fund with a portion of the money when your grandfather passes, and the rest after I do.”
“What?” I asked, astonished. I hadn’t imagined they had that much money!
“Yep, you’ll be worth millions, baby. Get used to it.”
“I can’t!” I cried, completely shocked.
“If you don’t want it, give it to charity. I don’t care, It’s yours when the time comes.” She got up then to refill her drink and brought me one too. I took the strong drink and sipped carefully. I’d had to learn to drink rum with her. It wasn’t hard to do, if I didn’t have too much. I’d already had one hangover.
“Now, let’s relax until dinner.” She would go in long before then to check my grandfather was alright and as happy as possible. He had a full-time nurse that watched him when Grams wasn’t with him.
I’d visited him every day, even though it was clear he had no idea who I was. It did him good because he’d always smile when I talked to him or read a story to him. He didn’t talk a lot, but he’d said my Dad’s name once. He’d had tears in his eyes as he looked at me, and I guess he saw something in his face that reminded him of my dad. I held his hand and just smiled until he blinked and looked away.
It wasn’t always the easiest place to be, but Grams made it fun. We’d go out to eat at some of the fanciest restaurants I’d ever been to, and she took me shopping more than once. I had another suitcase to carry it all home in.
“I’m going to come out to North Carolina and see your Mom, I think,” she said as she came back to the loungers and sat down by me. “I owe her an apology for abandoning her like that.”
“Oh, she understands, really. You all coped the best you could.” They could have done more, true, but again, grief can take a life just as quickly as any illness. In the case of my grandparents, it had made them retreat from the world for a very long time. Some couples can’t stand to be near each other after the death of a child, so the fact that they stayed together was an accomplishment on its own.
