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I flick through a few magazines, none of them interest me and on cue, the secretary comes back with my coffee on a little tray.
“Thanks so much.”
Then Mr. Williams opens his door; it’s as if everything is happening at once. “Karen, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, it’s fine. Felicity was keeping me occupied.”
Felicity smiles and then she answers a call. We both look at her for a split second, and then Mr. Williams says, “Come in. Bring your coffee with you.”
I nod, “Thanks, I just got it.” I quickly put the milk and sugar into the cup and follow him into his office. I look around like a little child in the candy store, wide-eyed and taking in his new decor.
“Wow, you renovated your office?”
He laughs, “Well, it needed some updating, and I thought that it was about time I caught up with the modern times.”
He’s not joking. Before, everything in this room was antique, including the rug. Now, he has some modern statue in the corner of the room. I’m not really a fan of modern art, so I’m not even going to try and figure out what the triangle thing is or what the square pictures on the wall are supposed to signify. That’s one thing that I’m kind of old-fashioned about.
Anyway, I try and balance my coffee without spilling it while I put it on the glass table. If it were wood, then I wouldn’t worry about it so much, but because it’s glass, I feel as if I need to make sure that it doesn’t spill.
“I’m glad that you came to see me today. It’s been a while. You look so grown up. How can I help you?”
Mr. Williams has been our family lawyer for so many years. I remember when Dad died, he used to visit the house all the time. I remember coming to his office as a child with Mom. After Mom married Daniel he would drop by once in a while until Mom stopped being in the house and I stopped seeing him.
“Well…” I take a sip of my coffee, and then I realize that he’s sitting opposite me, just waiting for me to respond. I’m sure that he’s a busy man. “I was thinking that it’s been a year since Mom’s gone and we don’t know where she is, or if she’s coming back.”
I wait for Mr. Williams to say something. Instead, it’s as if he’s frozen in time. I’m sitting opposite him, and he’s not even blinking through his glasses. So, I start talking faster and put the coffee down, which I’ve nearly finished. There's something about long silences that make me uncomfortable. “To cut a long story short, Daniel’s business is suffering, and he’s asked for some help. I have the money in the trust that the State froze when my Mom was on drugs, and I can help him. I just need to fill out the paperwork to get it done.”
“Oh, I had a feeling that something was wrong. This is why I was going to call you.”
“What made you think something was wrong?"
I'm still trying to internalize what he just said. Wow, I need to drink this coffee quickly. I’m half awake.
“Well, I wanted to make sure that you knew what was going on with the funds and to make sure that you were okay and not struggling with any money.”
Why would he worry about that?
Mr. Williams continues, “There seems to be some confusion. It’s my fault; I shouldn’t have let him do it.”
Now I’m the one who’s getting frustrated. I feel as if Mr. Williams is talking in riddles. What the hell is he talking about?
“It’s just that Mr. Morgan already been here to fill the preliminary paperwork for moving the trust out of unfrozen status and taking a lump sum payment. So it’ll make it a bit difficult if you needed any money for at least six months. He popped into the office without an appointment. Otherwise I would have called you earlier. Karen are you okay?”
I nod my head while suspending the coffee between my lips and my other hand. I was taking in everything that he had said, but it made no sense.
“When did Daniel come here?”
“Oh about two hours ago.”
“Today?”
I can’t even comprehend what’s going on at the moment; it’s as if someone’s playing a sick joke. Mr. Williams seems perplexed and asks, “Did I say something wrong?”
I stand up and say, “Oh no, it's not that. As usual, you’ve looked out for my family’s interests since I was young and that’s never changed. I need to speak to Daniel and find out what’s going on.”
He nods, “I think that’s the best thing to do. It seems that there’s some confusion. I know there is a big decision as to what to do – the State of California will only freeze funds for so long. If your mother truly has abandoned you, the State wants you to decide what to do with the trust money. Besides, as I said, you could fight the ruling. Technically Mr. Morgan and your mother - they’re married, but there is a way around it all. The money’s yours. All you have to do is take it. I can do the rest.”
