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“I regret to inform you that your mother has passed, Miss Wall.” Silence followed. No words could form as the information drowned me. The lawyer continued, “You are a beneficiary in her will, Miss Wall. Can you come to Georgia? There is also the matter of her funeral. I am so very sorry for the news, but this is a matter of haste.”
“Yes.” The word had become my crutch.
Now, the perky, petite receptionist for their offices smiled at me. I thought she said something, but I couldn’t hear her. The blood rushing through my head was too loud. My throat closed up and I couldn’t speak.
“We’re here to see Mr. Newtown,” Eli offered. Internally I thanked him, because even smiling was too much, let alone speaking.
“Oh,” she frowned. At least she had the courtesy to pretend to be sympathetic. Maybe she really was. “You must be Miss Wall. I’m sorry, I don’t have the names of everyone else here.”
“They’re family,” I spurted. She nodded and pressed a button on her desk. In a few moments, Mr. Newtown appeared through a door and ushered us into his office.
“I’m so sorry to meet you under such circumstances, Miss Wall and…” Mr. Newtown looked at everyone with a slightly confused look.
“They’re family,” I repeated.
“Oh, well good.” Mr. Newtown gestured to two seats in front of his desk that Eli and I took while Lennox and Vic occupied seats in the back. “Let’s get right to it, shall we?” I nodded meekly. “I’m afraid the house is under many liens and is therefore owned by the bank. However, the late Mrs. Wall has left everything inside the house as well as a few small bank accounts to you, Miss Wall. The sum of the bank accounts comes to about twenty thousand dollars.”
I coughed, grabbing Eli’s arm. “Twenty thousand dollars? Are you serious?” Where had Mama gotten twenty thousand dollars?
As though reading my mind, Mr. Newtown continued, “After the late Mr. Wall passed, his accounts transferred to Mrs. Wall. Now those accounts transfer to you.” So it was Daddy’s money. I frowned, feeling slightly dirty. I didn’t want nothing that had to do with Daddy.
“Now there’s the matter of this section here. I have no way of knowing who your brother is. It just lists “son” and—”
Vic stood up. “I’m the son.”
Mr. Newtown raised his eyebrows. “Can you provide documentation to that effect?” Vic grunted in reply. Shifting uncomfortably, Mr. Newtown continued, “Well, assuming you can, Mr. Wall will receive one train set.”
“Is that a fucking joke?” Vic growled.
“Excuse me, Mr. Wall?” Mr Newtown stuttered, flustered by Vic’s sudden aggression.
“She left me the train set?” Vic folded his arms. “I don’t want it.”
“Well you’re welcome to sell it, Mr. Wall,” Mr. Newtown said, his voice soft and easy, like he was quieting a bear. Vic glowered and stormed out, leaving the rest of us to wonder in his wake.
I didn’t understand what the big deal was. Perhaps he was upset about not getting more money. If that was the case, I would gladly share. As I stared at his empty seat while Mr. Newtown rambled more legal jargon, I realized I knew very little about my parents’ relationship with Vic.
Lennox was talking to me but I couldn’t hear a word. My mind was still back in the lawyer’s office and my soul was stuck in the graveyard. I stared out the window of the car, mesmerized by the rain. It was still raining and somewhere out in that rain was Vic. Eli had gone searching for him, so he was out there too. Two of the most important men in my life, walking alone in the rain.
Lennox had suggested that we go get lunch while the men “worked their shit out.” I didn’t remember agreeing, but I hadn’t disagreed either. It was all too much.
“Sorry,” Lennox said, after making a sharp turn that caused my head to jerk away from the window. “But you looked like you were about to tap out. I’ve been talking to you for ten minutes now. Have you heard a thing I’ve said?”
I hadn’t. I felt bad for ignoring her, but at the same time I didn’t feel anything.
“I didn’t think so,” Lennox answered for me. “Look I don’t know shit about Macon, Georgia. I don’t know the best place to eat and you said you weren’t hungry”—I did?—“but I think we should get some food in us. I googled a few places and this one seems good. It’s got comfort food. Fried chicken and shit.”
I looked out the windshield. To my surprise we were stopped in front of a restaurant: Mama’s Kitchen. I guess I’d been entranced by the rain longer than I’d thought.
“C’mon!” Lennox opened her door and sprinted toward the entrance. I followed suit. The rain shocked my system, bringing me slightly out of my emotional coma. Shaking off what we could of the rain, we told the hostess how many were in our party and were seated immediately. Empty booths surrounded us while twangy country music played low over the speakers. I guessed rain was bad for business, who knew?
As soon as the hostess left us with our menus, Lennox reached for my hand. “I want us to be family.”
My eyes widened with surprise. Lennox had intimated something similar, but had never said it outright. I didn’t know what to say. I’d just buried Mama. Vic had run off. Eli was all I had left. Lennox’s blue gaze ripped into me.
“Do you?” Her blue eyes, dark like the ocean during a storm, made me uncomfortable with their intensity. “I don’t think you understand how serious I am. You and Vic, your family didn’t do such a great job of showing you what family should be.”
I shrugged my hand out of her grasp. “And yours did? Did you grow up with hugs and kisses or somethin’?” I watched TV every now and then. I saw families on sitcoms. I saw hugs and kisses and laughter through the screen, but that’s as close as I got.
