Page 3 of Something Forever

Whitney: I quit my job and Olivia is moving out.

Her response comes through immediately, two texts in quick succession.

Abbi: OMG WHAT!!

Abbi: Drinks at Rocka Rolla at 7? Tell me everything.

I reply, letting her know I’ll meet her at our favorite local bar. It’s a divey spot that serves frozen margaritas in giant goblets. We like to sit in their backyard and make bets on who can finish their drink the fastest.

I imagine that tonight I’ll come out victorious.

Abbi’s been my best friend since I moved to the city. She’s more like my mom than me — a total free spirit. Where my mom prefers crystals and Coronas, though, Abbi is more of a CrossFit and cosmos kind of girl. Still, I guess I am drawn to my opposite, or maybe I was subconsciously looking to fill that mom-sized hole in my life when I met Abbi a few months after finishing school and moving to Brooklyn.

I’m about to start wallowing in self-pity — or maybe I should just start drinking? — when I see my phone buzzing with an unknown number. Usually, I’d ignore it, but something tugs at my chest. Maybe it’s because of the shit show today has been, but I have the urge to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Whitney Rhodes?”

I pause, wary. This day has already been a complete mess, so it’s not like it can get any worse. “Yes, this is she.”

On the other line, I can hear papers shuffling. “Ms. Rhodes, I’m so glad I reached you. It’s been a nightmare trying to contact all the next of kin.”

“Sorry, who is this?”

“I’m your grandmother’s attorney, Trent Wilson. I’ve been tasked with her last will and testament.”

“My grandmother?”

“Agnes Rhodes.”

My mind is spinning. My mom is the only family I have. The only family I’ve ever known. Whenever my mom would talk about her parents, which was rare, it was always in the past tense. I guess I assumed they were dead. I never really thought about it. I accepted a long time ago that it was just me and my mom.

“Your inclusion in the will is somewhat extensive. There’s a letter to you, as well as your portion of the inheritance, though there’s a complication with that as well. She was a very… eccentric woman.”

I open and close my mouth, trying to form a response, but nothing comes out.

“Are you able to come to New Haven?”

“What?” I manage.

“If not, I can send everything over, but these things are easier in-person.”

“I’m in the city. Will the rest of my… family be there?”

“You’re the first person I’ve managed to get in touch with. Her daughter Caroline — your mother, rather — seems to be completely off the grid. It’s really just the two of you and a few of your grandmother’s friends in the area. Your grandfather, Joseph, passed a few years back.”

My mind is reeling, trying to process the information I am receiving. I had two grandparents. Living grandparents that I never got to know, and now it’s too late. Meanwhile, my mom is nowhere to be found as usual. In the wind.

“I’ll call my mom. I don’t know if her number is the same, but she usually checks in with me every few months, and it’s been a while, so I’m sure I’ll hear from her soon.”

“If you do speak with her, please tell her to call me.”

“Can you just… email me everything? To be honest with you, I didn’t even know I had a grandmother until the start of this conversation. I just quit my job, my roommate is moving out, and I am, like, completely freaking out right now.”

“I understand,” Trent says, his tone sympathetic. “I apologize for springing all this on you. I can certainly email you the relevant documents and information, but… well, as I mentioned, your grandmother was quite eccentric and had her own way of viewing things. I had no idea you were estranged, and to be honest, I’m quite surprised.”

“Why?”

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