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Iwalk into Northern Lights Retirement Center to talk with Grandma about mending her relationship with my dad. If I’m going to all this trouble to marry Mandi and we’re deceiving her entire family, I need them to heal what’s broken between them.
Dori and Ethel are walking down the hall as I enter the building. They stop, look at one another, and back at me. God, they’re so manipulative.
“Heard you and Mandi had a surprise gift last night?” Ethel says.
“Like the two of you didn’t set it up.” I shake my head. “Thank you. It was a very relaxing night right before the chaos of the wedding.” I hug and kiss each one on the cheek.
“Who said it was us?” Dori looks at Ethel, then they continue their way down the hall.
“Knock, sweetie, you never know who your grandma has over,” Ethel calls.
A shiver runs through my body as I turn toward my grandma’s apartment. I knock and she answers, fully dressed. Thank God.
“Oh, Noah.” Her words are stilted, as if maybe someone is here on a conjugal visit.
I glance over her shoulder. “Do you have company?”
She opens the door. “No, I just wasn’t expecting you.”
I step in and see her checkbook out on the table with a bunch of envelopes. “Paying bills?”
She shuffles over to the table before I can and uses both her arms to pile it all together, obviously making sure I don’t see a thing.
“What’s with the secrets?” I eye her while she shoves a knitted placemat over all the papers.
“Nothing. Just… what brings you by? Want something to drink? We could go out.”
I cross my arms. “Grandma?”
She pushes up her dark glasses. “What?”
“I’m not an idiot, what are you hiding from me?” I walk over to the table.
She places herself between the table and me, but she doesn’t block my view since I’m at least a foot taller than her. I glance over at the pile but can’t really see much.
“It’s just a wedding present for you and Mandi.” She smiles and pats me on the chest.
“You don’t have to give us anything.”
“Nonsense. You need a nest egg to start.” She steps to the side, assuming I’m done snooping, but I pick up a piece of paper peeking out from under the placemat.
“Nest egg?”
The paper has a list of accounts with an ungodly amount of money in each. I knew she had to have made money when she sold the company, but not this much. And I had figured living in Northern Lights would have taken a huge chunk of that money.
“What’s this?” I hold up the paper.
She snatches it from my grip. “Stop being so nosy.”
“Answer the question. How do you have all this money?”
She shrugs. “I sold the company. You know this. I’m smart and invested the money.”
“You have all these different accounts? Why is it divided up like that?”
She sits down on her sofa. “Tomorrow, after you marry Mandi, you’ll be receiving your money.”
My forehead wrinkles. “My money?”
