Status: Active.
Something In the Attic
One
The soft ring of the telephone woke me around 9:30 Tuesday morning with the sunshine leaking into my room through the cracks of my black curtains. The morning birds chirped outside my window while a neighborhood dog barked obnoxiously down the road.
I rolled over facing my back to the doors and tried to get some more shut eye but over-heard my mother talking to the caller and sniffled. Having a small concern for this, I forced my lazy ass out of bed and slowly walked down the stairs trying to shed the sleepiness.
Engulfed by the smell of brewing coffee, I stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a cup out of the cupboard took the coffee pot out of the machine and poured the coffee into my cup. Then carried my cup to the table where I sat at the opposite end from my mother.
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue and clenched her beige robe tighter around her chest. She thanked the caller and hung up.
“Who was that?” I asked; my voice low and raspy like it is every morning, and then sipped at my coffee.
“A lawyer,” My mother said blankly and sniffled.
“Now what does dad want?”
“It’s not him; it’s your great-grandfather.” She said. “He’s recently passed away and left something in his will for us. We have to be present to receive what he’s left for us.”
“So I should be getting ready?”
“Yes, we’ll leave around eleven.”
“Alright,” I closed the conversation and finished my coffee and placed the dirty cup in the sink, then made my way to the bathroom where I took a quick shower. Walking out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist, I walked to my room and dressed in my normal baggy skinny jeans and band tee. I shook the water from my hair and walked to the living room where I plopped myself on the couch and turned on the TV while my mother got herself all dolled up. God forbid she never walks out of the house without makeup on.
“I’m finished,” she said ten minutes to eleven and grabbed her keys. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yeah, I’m all set. I don’t carry around a purse like you do. That would look kind of weird.” I said dryly and crossing my arms.
“That’s what I forgot!” She ran to the closet adjacent to the door and pulled out her best purse and threw her Blackberry in there with some money and mints. I rolled my eyes and walked out the door and stood by the car, waiting for her to unlock it.
She walked out and clicked the unlock button and I pulled open the door and sat down. She got in the car next to me and placed her purse in between us on the centerfold. She turned her key and stared the car and put it in reverse.
“Put your seatbelt on, honey.” She said while looking out the rear window while backing out of the driveway. I let out an aggravated sigh and pulled the belt around me and clicked it in its home. She threw hers on while we drove around the circle before exiting the development we live in.
We arrived at the lawyer’s office around 11:30. We waited in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes then we were called in.
“Hello, Ms. Moore. We spoke over the phone earlier.” He said and firmly shook her hand. He held his hand out to me but I didn’t shake it. I hate lawyers. Those dirty people let my father steal our money. “Well, it’s still the morning and we’re all tired.” He shrugged it off.
“So what did he leave for everyone?” My mother asked, nosey as always.
“Everything is confidential. I can only tell you what you’re receiving; nothing else.”
“Oh, okay.” She said and kept her mouth shut for any other questions.
“So it says here that he’s left you with his house. Now, you can keep it or sell it. If you keep it, you can move into it or stay in your current house and use this one as a vacation house. I know it’s a big decision on such short notice so I’ll give you two weeks to come up with your decision.”
“I want to keep it but I don’t know what I want to do with it.”
“Okay, let me print out the paperwork.” He clicked his mouse a few times and the printer started printing out papers. “When you come up with your decision, just sign the papers and bring them back. Then I’ll get the paperwork for moving if you decide to move in.” He took them from the printer and laid them out on the table in front of my mother. “You’ll have to sign here, here, and here.” He said pointing his pen tip at the exes. “And your spouse will have to sign here, here, and here.”
“Oh, I’m not married. I’m divorced and I don’t see my ex.” She said with a sheepish smile.
“Then I’ll fax him the papers. No worries.” The lawyer replied.
“Oh, thank you. That’ll help us a lot.” She smiled and looked at me and back to the lawyer.
“Okay, you can take them home and think it over a little more.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you very much.” She firmly shook his hand again and turned to walk away.
“Remember,” He said and she turned around to face him once more. “The twenty-fourth is the deadline.”
“I’ll definitely speak to you before then.” She gave him a smile and finally exited the room with me behind her.
I rolled over facing my back to the doors and tried to get some more shut eye but over-heard my mother talking to the caller and sniffled. Having a small concern for this, I forced my lazy ass out of bed and slowly walked down the stairs trying to shed the sleepiness.
Engulfed by the smell of brewing coffee, I stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a cup out of the cupboard took the coffee pot out of the machine and poured the coffee into my cup. Then carried my cup to the table where I sat at the opposite end from my mother.
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue and clenched her beige robe tighter around her chest. She thanked the caller and hung up.
“Who was that?” I asked; my voice low and raspy like it is every morning, and then sipped at my coffee.
“A lawyer,” My mother said blankly and sniffled.
“Now what does dad want?”
“It’s not him; it’s your great-grandfather.” She said. “He’s recently passed away and left something in his will for us. We have to be present to receive what he’s left for us.”
“So I should be getting ready?”
“Yes, we’ll leave around eleven.”
“Alright,” I closed the conversation and finished my coffee and placed the dirty cup in the sink, then made my way to the bathroom where I took a quick shower. Walking out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist, I walked to my room and dressed in my normal baggy skinny jeans and band tee. I shook the water from my hair and walked to the living room where I plopped myself on the couch and turned on the TV while my mother got herself all dolled up. God forbid she never walks out of the house without makeup on.
“I’m finished,” she said ten minutes to eleven and grabbed her keys. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yeah, I’m all set. I don’t carry around a purse like you do. That would look kind of weird.” I said dryly and crossing my arms.
“That’s what I forgot!” She ran to the closet adjacent to the door and pulled out her best purse and threw her Blackberry in there with some money and mints. I rolled my eyes and walked out the door and stood by the car, waiting for her to unlock it.
She walked out and clicked the unlock button and I pulled open the door and sat down. She got in the car next to me and placed her purse in between us on the centerfold. She turned her key and stared the car and put it in reverse.
“Put your seatbelt on, honey.” She said while looking out the rear window while backing out of the driveway. I let out an aggravated sigh and pulled the belt around me and clicked it in its home. She threw hers on while we drove around the circle before exiting the development we live in.
We arrived at the lawyer’s office around 11:30. We waited in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes then we were called in.
“Hello, Ms. Moore. We spoke over the phone earlier.” He said and firmly shook her hand. He held his hand out to me but I didn’t shake it. I hate lawyers. Those dirty people let my father steal our money. “Well, it’s still the morning and we’re all tired.” He shrugged it off.
“So what did he leave for everyone?” My mother asked, nosey as always.
“Everything is confidential. I can only tell you what you’re receiving; nothing else.”
“Oh, okay.” She said and kept her mouth shut for any other questions.
“So it says here that he’s left you with his house. Now, you can keep it or sell it. If you keep it, you can move into it or stay in your current house and use this one as a vacation house. I know it’s a big decision on such short notice so I’ll give you two weeks to come up with your decision.”
“I want to keep it but I don’t know what I want to do with it.”
“Okay, let me print out the paperwork.” He clicked his mouse a few times and the printer started printing out papers. “When you come up with your decision, just sign the papers and bring them back. Then I’ll get the paperwork for moving if you decide to move in.” He took them from the printer and laid them out on the table in front of my mother. “You’ll have to sign here, here, and here.” He said pointing his pen tip at the exes. “And your spouse will have to sign here, here, and here.”
“Oh, I’m not married. I’m divorced and I don’t see my ex.” She said with a sheepish smile.
“Then I’ll fax him the papers. No worries.” The lawyer replied.
“Oh, thank you. That’ll help us a lot.” She smiled and looked at me and back to the lawyer.
“Okay, you can take them home and think it over a little more.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you very much.” She firmly shook his hand again and turned to walk away.
“Remember,” He said and she turned around to face him once more. “The twenty-fourth is the deadline.”
“I’ll definitely speak to you before then.” She gave him a smile and finally exited the room with me behind her.