The Trust

Chapter 10: The Fairy Tale

I know what you're thinking.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in the palm of my hand: the answer to all my prayers, the dream come true, the fairy tale happy ending. That's it, story's over — turn off the lights and close the door on your way out. In an instant, all our hopes and dreams came true, and we all lived happily ever after.

But that's not what happened.

At first we were in shock, not really seeing what we were seeing. Mom even read the numbers wrong. "Twenty-five thousand! He's giving us all twenty-five thousand dollars!"

"Ma, put your glasses on," Julie said, sounding as dazed as I felt. "There's an extra zero in there."

"What?!" She put her reading glasses on, squinting at the cheque. When the numbers registered, she took a step back and nearly fell down. Julie and I put a hand on her back to steady her. "I need to sit down," she said, weakly.

"Jesus, don't take a heart attack the minute you finally come into some money," I said, getting her some water.

"I'm fine," she said, taking a shaky sip. "I'm just stunned."

The feeling was mutual. Across the room, relatives were shouting, cheering, and hugging. The scene was unreal, and I nearly pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

I thought about all the things this money could do; all the problems in my life that were now solved. I didn't have to worry any more about the mortgage, the crushing debt, Audrey's tuition. Every problem I stressed over and worried about for months was now gone in the snap of a rich man's fingers.

I could get divorced.

I looked over at Clive, toasting my uncles with expensive Scotch, a huge grin spread across his face. He'd put me through so much. Correction: I put up with so much from him. He was like a 180-lb weight around my neck dragging me down to the bottom of the sea. But not anymore.

This money meant I didn't have to stay with him just to keep our lives afloat and the bills paid. He could go his way, I'd go mine. I wouldn't wake up every day with the disappointment and heavy weight on my shoulders of a life wasted with the wrong man. I was still in my 30s; hardly an old lady. I could start again, find someone who didn't look at me every day with such contempt; someone kind and empathetic. Someone who loved me.

A series of pings and beeps shook me out of the daydream. Everyone's phone chimed at the same time with the same message in the chat app.

"Don't cash it — yet."

Rob sent the message, along with a winky face. The short statement was followed by a longer explanation.

"Once I'm back from New York and everything is finalized, I'll let you know when you can take that to the bank. For now, think about how your life is going to change. Will be in touch soon, Fam."

Kat had set us all up in a chat group called The Trust. My relatives, glued to their phones, began typing messages of thanks and appreciation that populated under Rob's message and I added my own.

I saw Uncle Jack standing apart from the crowd, his eyes solemn. When he saw me approach, he forced a smile. "Quite the evening," he said, folding the cheque and putting it away in his faded wallet. "Big news for the Douglas family." He didn't seem excited. In face, he looked worried.

"What do you make of it, Uncle Jack?" I didn't ask the real question; the one that was holding my heart back from leaping with joy. Is this real?

"Your uncle Rob is solid. If he says it's real, it's real." He read my mind; I supposed it was what he and everyone else was thinking. Stuff like this didn't happen every day, especially not where we come from.