Chapter Nineteen
On my way down the hill, I saw that Jamie was rushing up it. I stopped, and he stopped.
“Where are you going?” he asked, obviously surprised to see me leaving the Crest.
“I have to go to Grandfather’s attorney’s office. There are problems.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” he said.
I continued on.
We both arrived at Mr. Orseck’s office at the same time. When we entered, he looked up, saw Jamie, and said, “This is a confidential meeting. Only Lisa.”
“Okay,” Jamie said. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
I sat quickly, my heart pounding. What would turn my life upside down now?
“What I’m about to tell you I’ve known for the last four years.
Now that you’re over eighteen, you don’t need anyone acting as your surrogate in these matters.
There will be a formal reading of your grandfather’s will tomorrow at ten a.m. I did reach your father, who is on his way back to Birdlane Island.
It was the first question he had. He doesn’t know anything I’m going to tell you, but I want you prepared. ”
“Okay,” I said, still holding my breath.
He opened a file and took out what I assumed was my grandfather’s will.
“Your grandfather was a special man. He was truly what you would call prescient.
He knew exactly how you would turn out, and he was not unrealistic about his children the way some parents can be.
We discussed all this at great length, and the conclusion he reached was truly his own.
I watched you grow with responsibility. Your grandfather and I often met to discuss this again and again and confirm his wishes.
To get right to the point, your grandfather made his will to provide the following:
“One. You inherit fifty-one percent of Baxter Fish Enterprises. Nothing can be done or agreed to without your consent. Of course, we know how your father is going to react to this. His attorney is Ron Cutler, who has a reputation for being aggressive, often bordering on what’s legal and ethical.
He could be Satan’s lawyer. So expect that.
Just know that I’ll be there for you, a promise I made to your grandfather.
At this moment, I do not know what tactic they’ll employ to challenge the will.
Your grandfather was fully in charge of his business when he made his will.
No one can claim he was incompetent or incapable of knowing what he was doing.
I would be witness to that, of course. He’s left everyone some money, but you the largest portion, something close to two million. ”
“I’m overwhelmed.”
“Well, there’s more,” he said.
“More?”
“Number two. Your grandfather left you the title to the Crest. You own the home,” he said.
Now I truly lost my breath.
“I know your father. He’s going to see himself as your employee and your tenant.”
“Yes.”
“This is why I wanted you to know all about this ahead of time, Lisa.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Try not to worry, but call me anytime,” he said.
“I will.”
I rose and he escorted me out. Jamie stood quickly. I said nothing, and we started out.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m still trying to digest it. Come up to the house,” I said.
All this the same day Grandfather died, I thought. I didn’t know which of my emotions to subdue first. They were all in a panic.
The Crest already had a dark, vacant, lonely look to me. Anna had been lying down but heard us come in and hurried out.
“Come into the living room,” I told her. “Daddy will be here soon, and he doesn’t know what I’m going to tell you.”
Neither Jamie nor Anna spoke when I finished. They looked as overwhelmed as I felt.
“The house, too,” Anna had to reconfirm.
“Yes.”
“How will he live with this?” Anna wondered aloud.
“He won’t. Mr. Orseck thinks he will fight it in court, so we’ll have to be ready for all that. Meanwhile, we don’t reveal anything. It will all be known after the reading of the will tomorrow. Anna, you’ll be there, because Grandfather left you something.”
“Oh my,” she said. “Oh. The funeral director is coming here in a few hours to go over things with you and your father. He called from the office, and I told him.”
“All right, thank you,” I said, standing. “I think I need a few quiet moments.” I looked at Jamie.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll be back later.”
“No, you can come to my room. I’d just like to lie down and would like you there.”
His smile widened.
We went to my room. Jamie sat as I lay down, my right hand over my forehead. How am I going to process all this, I wondered, especially when Daddy finds out? Will he take one look at me and know?
“He’ll rant and rave,” Jamie said, as if he could read my thoughts. Sometimes I was sure he could. “You’ll just have to say, ‘It’s what Grandfather wanted.’ ”
“I know.”
“Don’t let him bully you.”
“I haven’t for a very long time,” I said.
Jamie smiled and reached for my hand.
“This isn’t going to change who I am,” I said, “or what I want.”
“Good.”
We were silent.
Then I said, “Poor Grandfather. He had to suffer for a while.”
“Sometimes when I looked at him, he seemed at peace with it.”
“You think so? I hope,” I said.
We sat quietly. I closed my eyes again. I guess I drifted off, because when I opened them, Jamie was standing by the window looking out.
“Oh, did I fall asleep?”
“For a while. Your father’s back. He came in ranting a bit, not about what you know. He blames your grandfather for not waiting for him before he died. He declared there would be changes made here. I heard him tell Anna he wants to modernize the Crest. He made reference to someone, a woman.”
“He did?” I rose.
“We’d better get out there. The funeral director will be here soon anyway.”
Daddy saw us coming and stepped forward.
“Do you bring him to everything that’s private in this family?” he asked, nodding at Jamie.
“Yes,” I said firmly.
He shook his head. “All right. Once everything’s over, things are changing here. I’ve already given Anna some idea of it.” He turned to her. “You might think of retiring, Anna,” he said.
She looked at me. I shook my head.
“All right. I’ll get changed, and we’ll meet with the funeral director,” he said, and left.
“It’s not going to be very pleasant,” Anna said, and then surprised me with a smile.
Jamie laughed. “I guess not,” he said. “Maybe it’s best I leave for a while. Reduce the tension.”
“You’ll return for dinner?”
“Your father…”
“Has nothing more to say about it,” I said.
He smiled. “Sure. I’ll return.”
The funeral director arrived and laid out Grandfather’s plans.
He wanted a memorial ceremony on Birdlane Island and a religious ceremony at the gravesite in Bar Harbor.
We organized the times and announcements.
The moment he left, Daddy turned to me and said, “From now on, you don’t invite anyone here without my permission.
I don’t care how old you are. Understood? ”
“No,” I said.
“And you don’t have to return to work at the company. You’re just doing redundant reviews anyway. Return to your art, and if you want, marry the fisherman’s son and become a Birdlane housewife.”
He rose and left.
I started to fume and then laughed. Wait until tomorrow, I thought.
Jamie came for dinner. Daddy apparently had a date with the woman he had been seeing. It was a well-kept secret. No one seemed to know any details, or else most were afraid to gossip about him.
That night, Jamie and I sat outside after dinner.
It was one of those glorious Birdlane Island summer nights, with the sky ablaze with stars, the ocean waves softly stroking the shore.
There were the lights of ships in the distance and the sounds from Birdlane that rose up the hill, including some music.
“Thinking about tomorrow and what you’ll be doing?” Jamie asked.
“Not fully. I know I’ll have to be on the defensive, but I think we’ll be fine. Nothing seems the same without Grandfather now, so it will all feel different.”
“I’m sure. I think I’ll start working regularly with my father again,” he said. “I’m strong enough now, and I think I’m taking advantage by acting so tentative about myself.”
“You have to be honest, even about yourself,” I said. “Jamie, did you love me right from the start?”
“I did; I do. Something lit up in me when we started to be together. It’s like a flame burning inside, warm and bright. I know that doesn’t sound as romantic as things you’ve heard, but it’s the truth.”
“More important than stylish love words.”
“I’ll never lie to you, Lisa. Deceiving you will always be the worst sin to me.”
“I know.”
It was a hard time to think about my feelings for him.
Was it love or just a sense of comfort? In the end, what was more important, chasing some movie dream or finding a wholesome life?
Few, if any, of the fishermen on Birdlane Island divorced or even cheated on their wives.
The sense of family was just something you breathed here.
That didn’t sound very exciting, but I felt so much older because of all that had happened since the operation had freed me.
I could feel as free as any of the seabirds, but I realized the wind could stop or change direction and, in a moment, could change your life. Was it better on the ground or in the air? Where did birds spend most of their time? Where did they feel safer? Where would I?
I didn’t go to Mr. Orseck’s office with Daddy, not that he asked me to.
I took Anna in my car, and we headed out just after he did.
Aunt Frances was there. I knew Grandfather had left her a significant amount of money, contrary to what she believed.
Daddy was already seated and looking impatient when we arrived.
He looked at Anna with a sullen expression.
“Actually, what is she doin’ here?” he asked.
“I asked that she come,” Mr. Orseck said. “Your father left her some money.”
Daddy scowled. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “She’s a clever lady.”
“What? What does that mean?” Anna asked.
“Let’s just get to it,” Mr. Orseck said, and began reading the will.