#will reading

She’s my moral support

Choni scene [8/?]

Rosa sat in her car staring up at her grandparent’s majestic old house. She hadn’t been here in years – not since her parents packed her siblings and herself up, cutting their holiday short and whisking them home without a goodbye – yet it still seemed as huge and mysterious as ever. She glanced at the passenger seat; her grandmother’s funeral service programme from last week sat there, and a letter from Mr Crowther’s law firm confirming the date, time and meeting place to read her grandmothers will.

With a sigh, she thought back to her childhood days spent here in the huge house with her brother and sister. She hadn’t seen them in a while now; they didn’t show up to the funeral and neither of them had got back to her to her when she’d contacted them to see if they would be here today. It was odd, almost as if they were avoiding something or someone. Her heart started pounding - she didn’t want to leave the familiarity of her car, she wanted to turn around and head home, to her cosy apartment, to what she knew. You can do this Rosa, she told herself, just breathe... as she got out of her car she noticed a vehicle coming up the driveway. A man a few years older than her, tall, with dark brown hair, opened his door and stepped out confidently. She vaguely remembered seeing him at the funeral, but he had made no effort to approach her then. Rosa wondered who he was and she grabbed her things from the seat and closed her car door. “Hi there, so you must be Rosa?” He looked her up and down, making her feel like she was being assessed. Alright...now you want to talk to me... “Nice to meet you.” Rosa smiled and shook his hand hesitantly. “My name’s Mark. I’ve heard a lot about you, come in. Mr Crowther will be in the office already.” He was here for the will reading? Perhaps he was a distant relative.

Nothing had changed. The house still smelled the same - like old books and dried flowers. The familiarity brought tears to her eyes; it didn’t feel the same without her grandparents here. “Isn’t it a stunner of a house?” Mark asked as he saw her expression. “I’ve been doing a lot of work on this beauty lately.” Maybe he’s an employee here, Rosa thought. That made more sense. But why would her grandmother leave him anything? “I started with the yards outside, getting the garden looking tidy, and I’ve just managed to start inside. It’s just not the same since your grandmother passed away. I do miss her.” Mark was looking around with so much pride; and Rosa felt a stab of jealousy. This was her grandparent’s house. Who was this man, to look around as if it was his place? Like clockwork inside Rosa’s mind things started falling into place.  Mark. The gardener. This was the man her grandmother had constantly talked about. The man she kept wanting Rosa to meet! What a pity Rosa had always been deadset against the idea. Forever dubbing him in her mind as “The Grubby Gardener”, she’d conjured up images of a smelly country man with no teeth and holes in his clothes. Well, he certainly wasn’t that...quite the opposite, and he was definitely not grubby to look at. Rosa took a deep breath and pushed aside her thoughts and feelings. “Yeah, it’s looking great, exactly how I remember it. It’s so nice to be back here.” She couldn’t wait to get away from him and turned quickly to go towards the kitchen. “Well, you really should head up to the office don’t you think? You can look around after. The lawyer will be waiting for us already.” He motioned up the stairs where her grandfather’s office was. Rosa stopped. Did he just tell her what to do? “Come on, I’m just as curious as you are!” He made his way up the stairs, leaving Rosa staring up at him. She didn’t know what it was, but there was just something about him that made her feel confused and uncomfortable.

Rosa wandered up the stairs and reached the first landing. Pausing, she stared out the large window overlooking the property; she remembered playing out there with her brother and sister when they were little. So many fun memories cut short by her parent’s selfishness. Whatever happened all those years ago? The office door was ajar and she could hear Mark talking to the lawyer, Edward Crowther. “Yes, I’ve done quite a bit of work to the place. Started with the outside, got it looking tidy and...” She entered the office and Mark stopped talking, looking at her as if she had rudely interrupted him. Rosa felt her cheeks flush in annoyance. “Rosa, lovely to see you again my dear.” Mr. Crowther got up to greet her. She’d always thought he was a strange looking fellow; very tall and lanky with such bright blue eyes for his old age. “Take a seat; let’s have a look at what our dear Rosemary has to say”.  He chuckled and eased himself into the seat behind the desk. “Mr. Crowther, is it just us here, now, that are attending today? Nobody else?” It just seemed so odd. “Yes just yourselves. Help yourself to some tea, dear.” “Thank you”. Rosa poured herself a cup, sitting down opposite Mr. Crowther. Mark sat in the chair next to her, tapping his thumb impatiently on the arm of the leather seat. Rosa’s fingers tightened on the cup handle and she took a sip. “Here’s a copy of the documentation. “ He handed one to each of them. “Have a read and let me know if you’ve got any questions.” She took her copy of the will and scanned it quickly. She saw her name, halfway down the page. It certainly wasn’t what she was expecting:

I DEVISE, BEQUEATH AND GIVE MY ENTIRE ESTATE TO Rosemary Kathleen Bolton, “My granddaughter, I have always been so grateful for your continuous correspondence, despite all that has happened. Please know that you are and always have been very dear to my heart.”

AND

Mark Vernon Bradley “My trusted and helpful friend. Please finish what you have started and live your dream.”