Chapter Fifty One - Caution - Slow Moving Vehicles on Roadway
As I stood and stared at the tableau of Lucille sitting beside Grampa Bender's bed, Mom brushed past me, and as Lucille stood, Mom wrapped her in a hug. Taking a deep breath, I thought about it and realized that they must have met when Mom and Aunt Alice were in Calgary picking up the girls. For the next few moments, that hospital room was a complete muddle as first Mom and then Aunt Alice made certain that everyone had met Lucille.
Since we were slightly early and the lawyer hadn't arrived yet, Mom steered everyone but me, toward the waiting room. I hung back because I wanted to talk to Grampa Bender.
"Life gets diff'rent, don't it, Lad." He looked up at me and winked.
"Yeah." I sighed heavily and I managed a weak grin. "Mine sure does."
"Wal, I gotta say when ya do go out an' meet folks t' bring home, ya pick int'restin' folks. That gal is a firecracker and as diff'rent from her ol' man as night 'n day. She's one reason I'm glad I had the lawyer write up m' will the way it is."
"Sorry, I don't understand?"
"Well, any o' the family as helps out, gets rewarded 'n I'd say she helped out, wouldn'cha?"
"Yeah, she sure did." I nodded.
"Not jes when y'was there either. She helped Liz 'n Alice jus' as much. Mostly though, I like t' fact she helped them McAdam kids so much." He nodded and gestured at the wheelchair. "Ya want to help me get into thet thing? While yer doin' it, we can have a chat afore we go talk to the lawyer 'n t'other folks."
As I helped him slide out of bed and into the chair, I realized that he really had very little strength and had lost a lot of weight, but he still seemed in full control of his mental faculties. All the time I was helping him to slip out of bed, into a robe and get settled in his wheelchair, he was talking about Lucille and what she'd done.
As soon as I'd left, she'd made sure that the girls were comfortable, then she'd phoned the hospital to get the latest information on the three girls who were there. After that, she'd sat down with the twins, discussing how they'd been raised and how their parents had treated them. It was only after she understood how each of the five girls fit into the picture that she called Mr. Coulter and spoke to him.
It seemed that she was the one who had instigated the idea of collecting all the girls' belongings before Jackie's father had a chance to throw everything into the trash. Then when I had called back and told her that the twins needed to go back to stay with the Coulters, she'd been the one who had kept them calmed down. Once Mom and Aunt Alice were there, she'd helped comfort them after they'd been told about their parents' death. Then afterward, she'd advised everyone to move Sandy out of the Calgary hospital. She'd even been a big help in arranging for the ambulance and had been the nurse who'd ridden in it with Sandy during the trip from Calgary.
"It sounds like she's been quite a busy little gal." I grinned at him.
"You could say that." He chuckled at me, and grabbed one of my hands. "I think ya might best find time t' talk to her later; maybe after this meetin' thing if'n you can. From the sounds o' things, ya might'a bin jes a mite tough on her when ya met t'other night."
"Well, I did apologise for that yesterday." I sighed. "Of course I was looking for some help at the time, so she might have thought I wasn't as sincere as I really was."
"Oh, I think she believed ya, but I'd like ya t'be nice to her. I gotta feelin' we's gonna be seein' more o' that lil woman." He cracked one of his famous grins. "Now we better get down t' the waitin' room cause I seed the lawyer headin' that way bout a minute 'r two ago."
He was right. In fact we followed the lawyer into the room where we were all meeting just as Lucille came out.
"Ya goin' somewhere, Gal?" Grampa Bender asked her quietly.
"Well, I'm not really part of this branch of the family." She smiled at us. "Jessica and Jean are down visiting Sandy. I don't think they should be alone, and while Aunt Alice is with them now, she deserves to be here and I don't, not really. I'll go down and keep the girls company while you have your meeting, then Chris can tell me about it later."
With that, she turned and left us standing there. Neither Grampa Bender nor I got a chance to say anything. Lucille simply turned and swept off like royalty, leaving us gaping after her. My look of surprise seemed to amuse Grampa Bender though.
"That gal reminds me o' her granny, m'older brother's wife 'n your great, great aunt. She could either work like a dawg or else she could put on the dawg, depending' on the sityation. That'n there aint much like her daddy aye tall." Grampa Bender cackled with glee as I pushed his wheelchair into the waiting room to join the rest of our family.
Everyone was already there except for Aunt Alice and Wil. Aunt Alice was staying with Sandy and the twins right then and Wil would have had to drive up from Calgary to be there. Although we did expect Aunt Alice, we didn't think Wil would make it, so it was a surprise when he came in. It seemed that Corinna had insisted that he catch the early bus in order to be there on time. Then only a moment or two later, Aunt Alice was there, so after a few moments of family chatter, the lawyer started his spiel.
Honestly, most of what was said was about Grampa Bender's wishes for the near future. He was putting me in charge of Mile High Ranch and was laying out the basics for the main lease, leaving that as he'd originally mentioned to me. The thing that surprised me was that he insisted each of the younger members of the family should get an education beyond high school as well as work on either the ranch or the farm.
Gramps Bender's will was read over quickly too, but that was simply a formality.
Then the lawyer took a third file out of his briefcase and completely floored me as he laid it on the table and quickly explained what it was.
Since I was to have control of the upper ranch, there had been a problem with my age. At sixteen, I would normally be considered a child in the eyes of the law. That would mean that I would have to go to my parents and have them cosign any legally binding documents, which hadn't suited Grampa Bender's purposes at all. Since he had faith in me and was turning over complete control of Mile High Ranch, he wanted me to have complete responsibility, not just for the ranch, but for my own actions too. I was astonished to find that he and my parents had signed a document that declared me to be a legal adult.
After the way I had fallen apart the day before, I found the fact that they trusted me that much extremely hard to understand. As soon as the meeting was done, I walked over to Mom and Dad, wanting to talk to them about that and about how I'd reacted before. They suggested that I come out to the farm later so we could talk comfortably and privately. From the way they were acting they weren't worried about what had happened. So, although I didn't understand why they felt that way, I agreed to wait and talk to them later.
"Don't forget we have an appointment at the bank too." Dad said quietly. "We need to arrange for you to be the prime signatory on all the Mile High dealings with them."
"Yeah, I know, but since I'm going to be in Olds for school next semester, I think your names should stay on the books." I frowned, trying to think of all the problems that I was going to have to handle now.
"Chris, I can see you worrying, but don't. There will have to be a transition period, since it will take a short time before all of the changes Uncle Toby has made come into effect. However, even after that, you'll have a safety net. We're not planning on running off any time soon, so we'll still be here to give you advice." Mom smiled. "Right now, you have just over an hour until we're due at the bank. I'd suggest you slip down to Sandy's room and talk to her and her sisters. Then if you have time, you might want to talk to Lucille too."
"Yeah, thanks, Mom." I started to head for the door, but had to pause on the way to say 'So Long' to Grampa Bender and Mr. Ambrose, the lawyer.
Both of them had several things they wanted to talk about, but suggested that I talk to them later. They both frowned when I said I'd come back to town next week to do it, but I knew I had a lot to do that day and didn't know how I could fit a long talk with them into my schedule. After walking away from them, I had to talk to Uncle Tom, Aunt Alice, Tom, and Jasmine for a few minutes. When I looked for them, Mom, Dad, Beth and Will had already left, but I was finally able to slip down the hall to see Sandy and the twins.
Beth was with them already and so was Lucille. All of them looked like they'd been crying, even Beth and Lucille, but I was surprised that all of them seemed to brighten up when I came into the room. I was even more surprised when Lucille and Beth took Jess and Jean out of the room to leave Sandy and me alone.
"Oh, Chris." Sandy said quietly as the door to her room closed behind the others. "What am I going to do?"
"I don't know, what are your problems? Maybe I can help?"
"Oh, Chris." Sandy repeated, then she began to cry softly as she spoke. "I don't even have any idea what I have to do. I'm feeling completely lost and out of my depth. The Benders, your uncle and aunt, have said they'll look after Jessica and Jean for now, but I'm the oldest. I have to make decisions for the twins and I don't know what I should do or say to them. I have to arrange a funeral and I have to find out if we'll even have a place to live. I don't know if Mom and Dad had a big mortgage or what the deal is on the house. I don't know what money we have. On top of everything else, I'm worried about Uncle Bill and Aunt Bridget. What if they try to take the girls away from me?"
"Sandy, in the first place, you have any and all of my family to lean on and offer advice. The Coulters are backing you up too. Right now, Mr. Coulter's lawyer is working on having you declared Jess and Jean's legal guardian when you turn eighteen on Monday. Because Jess and Jean were supposed to be staying with Uncle Tom and Aunt Alice at the time your folks were killed, I think he's listing them as temporary guardians. Since we can all swear truthfully that it was with their parents' permission, I'm certain that he's trying to get that extended to semipermanent status. That would give you time to straighten out anything else you need to do."
"But what about after that?" She whimpered. "I need to know what to do about the house and everything else."
"Look, my family lawyer is in the hospital. I'm not sure if he handled your Mom and Dad as clients, but if he didn't, I'm certain that he'd be able to find out who handled your parents' affairs. He can probably find out if they had a will or life insurance, so I'm sure we can get that all straightened out. I can go ask him if he can help if you'd like."
"Please." She said, then nodded and made a pushing motion with her hand.
I headed out the door to find the lawyer and almost knocked him down because he was just about to knock on the door to Sandy's room.
"Oh, Mr. Ambrose. I was just going to come looking for you. Sandy McAdam has several questions about her parents and ..."
"Yes, of course she does." He smiled. "Would you be so kind as to introduce me to Miss McAdam? Then perhaps you could remain close by for a few moments? She may need someone to converse with when our business is concluded. I understand from your grandfather that the two of you are relatively close."
"Well, will you be long? I think my family and I have an appointment at the bank inside of an hour." I asked.
"Actually, I wonder if that appointment could be postponed. Unfortunately, this could take some time. I need to see you and your parents as well. In fact they should be here when we speak with Miss McAdam, but all of you had left the room before I got a chance to talk to anyone about this situation." He said quietly, but he looked as if he was somewhat upset by our plans.
"Well, I can go talk to Mom and Dad. Perhaps they can call the bank and change the time of our appointment, but I can take you into Sandy's room and introduce you to her first, if you'd like." I offered.
"No, I think I want you along when I am conversing with Miss McAdam." He said, which surprised me and I think he noticed my reaction. "Your Grandfather has explained to me that the two of you are very good friends and I'd prefer she had someone like you along when I speak to her. I'm also counting on some of the other character traits that Tobias said you possessed."
I looked at him questioningly, but didn't say anything, not even when he smiled. Since I hadn't seen him smile before, that in itself surprised me.
"Amongst other things, your grandfather said you knew when to remain silent and that when you had to be you were, and I quote: 'smooth nuff t' slide on sandpaper.' In other words he's very proud of your ability to handle yourself with people."
"You make it sound almost as if it was a fault." I sighed. "And if you think I'm smooth, you ought to meet my friend George."
Before he had a chance to say anything more, I saw Mom and Dad coming down the hallway.
I walked forward to meet them. "Mom, Mr. Ambrose wants us to be here for Sandy when he explains some things, but we've got that appointment to go to. Do you think we could call the bank and postpone it for an hour or so?"
"Since I made the appointment, I'll call them. If they can't change the appointment, it's not the end of the world. It isn't as if we really need to do things today, after all we can sign those papers next week." Dad nodded. "Helping Sandy is far more important right now, but I didn't realize that Cyrus handled the McAdams' legal matters as well."
"I'm not sure that he does, Dad, but he did ask if we could be there while he talked to her."
So, while Dad hurried off to call the bank, Mom and I took Mr. Ambrose into Sandy's room and introduced them to each other. Mom managed to hug Sandy and talk to her to occupy some time until Dad came back. He told us that we had an extra hour before we had to be at the bank, then he turned to the lawyer.
"So, Cyrus why are Liz and I involved in this discussion?"
"Ah. That's really very simple." Mr. Ambrose nodded to Dad. "It seems that when Sam and Ann McAdam purchased their home, you and Mrs. Crawford acted as guarantors on their first mortgage with the bank."
"Yes, but what has that got to do with anything?" Dad frowned. "I thought that mortgage was life insured?"
"Oh, it was, but at that same time do you remember signing a paper that specifically stated that in case an untoward accident should befall both of the elder McAdams, you would not only care for their home, but for their children as well?"
"I remember that, but I thought that was only a short term thing." Mom answered quietly.
"Oh, that's right. I do remember that, but it was years ago." Dad said with a frown. "Don't tell me that it's still in effect? I mean Sandy is almost eighteen."
"In one way, that agreement is still very much in effect." Mr. Ambrose smiled slightly. "Since Miss McAdam is still a minor and her two sisters are as well and since her parents have never cancelled this agreement, you are effectively their children's guardians."
Both Mom and Dad simply stared at him, but Sandy shocked me by screaming loudly, then bursting into tears. I didn't know what to do, but since she held out her arms in my direction, I moved closer to the bed and leaned over to hug her. Like Mom and Dad, I was in shock, but then as I thought about the situation, I started to chuckle.
"Chris, what do you possibly find funny about this?" Mom chided me.
"Oh, I was just thinking about how frustrated Sam's brother would be if he knew."
"Oh, but he does. One of my associates in Calgary has advised him of the facts of the case. John Coulter's lawyer was the person who phoned me and had me check the McAdam file. It seems that Ann McAdam mentioned the agreement to Wilma Coulter at some time in the past. Wilma had her lawyer call me." Mr Ambrose smiled at me then. "However, there is more to this than meets the eye. Mr. William McAdam recently fostered his only daughter to Sam McAdam because she had supposedly 'fallen out of grace' in some way. Miss Jackie McAdam has stated that he simply wanted her out of his home while he made some other arrangement for her. Nonetheless, since she was legally a ward of Sam and Ann McAdam at the time of their death, and since that former agreement was still in effect, there is a basis for a legal protest if he attempts to move her out of her present care. So at the present time, it appears that Miss Jacqueline McAdam is under the legal guardianship of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Crawford."
Suddenly Mom was smiling, then she was hugging both Sandy and me.
"Willard, please go tell Jessica and Jean the news." She chortled as she stood upright and faced Mr. Ambrose. "Cyrus, from the way you spoke, I take it that you'd be willing to take this into court if necessary?"
"Yes, Liz, I would, and Willard, could you bring the two younger McAdam sisters with you when you return?" He smiled at Mom and then Dad. "They might as well be in on the discussion we will have."
I won't go into the detail of what followed, but the mortgage on the McAdam home was life insured, so the girls had a place to live. On top of that, both Sam and Ann had life insurance policies. A specific sum wasn't mentioned at the time, but Mr. Ambrose assured the girls that they wouldn't need to find jobs in the near future. He also told them that if they wanted to get educations, their education fees could be covered as well.
I know it was hard hearted of me, but I felt relieved and thought that the girls were a thousand percent better off now than they had been when their parents were alive. During the discussion, I was holding Sandy and Mom had one arm around each of the twins. I'm not sure how the twins took things, but Sandy was squeezing my hand so hard it hurt.
While Mr. Ambrose was still there, he asked Sandy if she wanted anyone to be designated as her agent while she was in the hospital. She indicated that she wanted Mom and me to do that if we could. I don't know about Mom, but I didn't feel that I could turn her down.
I stayed with Sandy as long as I could, but Mom, Dad and I had to get to the bank. From the time I left the hospital with them until I came back to see Sandy later that evening, the day passed in a blur. In that time, we'd gotten to the bank and had signed several papers giving me control of Mile High Ranch's funds as well as its debts. Then we'd had a short break for lunch with Uncle Tom, Aunt Alice and Wil. Afterward we'd gone to the funeral parlour and again met Mr. Ambrose who explained the McAdams' wishes about burial so we could arrange that.
After the arrangements for the funeral were done, Dad, Uncle Tom and Wil went with me as we walked around to the various businesses that Grampa Bender had dealt with. At each one, we talked to the owner or manager, explaining that Grampa Bender had asked me to take over management of Mile High Ranch. In some ways that tour of our business connections was a very heady experience for me, in other regards that circuit of the main businesses in the town was a very sobering one. It was as we walked from one business to another that my new situation really sank in. I had control of hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital and assets. Not only that, but I also realized that if I wasn't careful, I could lose a tremendous amount of money by making poor decisions.
I was almost overwhelmed by the time we took a break, going to the Chinese cafeteria for a cup of coffee and a chat. In some ways I felt like I'd been run over and abandoned to suffer, but Dad and Uncle Tom were doing their best to make me relax. Surprisingly, it was Wil that managed to relieve my tensions the most.
"Chris, I know just how you feel." He grinned at me. "Maybe not quite, because you've got the whole damn ranch and all its assets on your mind, but I was thrown to the wolves the day after I turned eighteen."
"Thrown to the wolves?"
"Yeah, these two took me around to all the same places that day and gave me full signing authority on all the farm accounts. Mostly, I try to keep a low profile and only buy things that we need, but I got stubborn once."
"Oh, your truck?" I grinned.
"Yep." He shook his head and laughed uneasily. "Dad said it was a bad deal and tried to talk me out of it, but I was stubborn. You know what happened. The damn thing busted at the worst possible time, so Corinna and I got into hot water. Of course I made a couple of other bad decisions to put us there, but that's beside the point. What I was trying to tell you, was that although my choices weren't the best, the whole family backed me up and when I needed it, everyone helped me out of the hole I'd dug for myself. They'll do exactly the same thing for you."
Somehow what he said sank in far more than either Dad or Uncle Tom's assurances had. Along with the relief of the tension, I still felt the weight of responsibility, just not as heavily as before.
None of them even mentioned that subject after that, almost as if they were letting me settle down and handle things on my own. Instead we discussed the McAdam girls and their situation. No matter what happened, our family was effectively larger by four members and we were uncertain exactly what would play out. Because of my involvement with Sandy, they kept turning to me for my opinion, but I had to admit that I was as much in the dark as they were. All I could really tell them was that Sandy and the twins had no love for the Mormon version of polygamy or the lifestyle that went along with it.
Since we were in a public place, no one mentioned the connection between Carissa and Jackie, but I know it was on the back of their minds. I even knew that I was going to get asked about it in the future. Right then I decided that it wasn't my business and that I planned to answer any questions in as vague a manner as I could manage. I reasoned that it wasn't my business and I decided not to tell tales. In fact, I felt slightly guilty about what I'd said before to Mom and Dad.
Then Dad completely astounded me. "You know, Chris, it might be an idea if you considered running in a septic system this year."
"What?" I stared at him.
"Well, the way you seem to attract the girls to you, I think an indoor bathroom up at the cabin might be called for, don't you think?" Dad grinned as he teased me. "After all, it wouldn't cost that much and it would certainly be easier on anyone looking after the place in the winter. While we were down at Borden's Equipment, I happened to overhear Charlie Engels saying that he was short of work for his backhoe. I'll bet we could have him there to dig any trenches that we'd need in a week."
"But where would I put a bathroom?"
"In that old back porch, where else? Of course you'd have to beef up those temporary walls and while you were at it, you could add another bedroom to the back of the cabin."
"But, it's a log cabin, how do you add onto a log cabin?"
"Well, I'd ask an expert." Uncle Tom smiled. "Jason Dumfries had a huge log cabin built just last year. We could ask him."
"But what would Grampa Bender think of us building onto the cabin?"
"Since the first thing you want to do is put in a bathroom, I think he'd be tickled pink." Dad laughed and reached out to drain his coffee cup. "Don't you remember that dang bucket Toby had in the back porch, the one he used every winter?"
"But how about the cost?"
"You can afford it this year. You should ask your mother about how much money you've made on the ranch this year. You sold more than three times as much hay as normal and, on top of everything else, since this was a poor year for hay production all over the province, you got high prices for it." Dad shook his head and grinned. "So far this year you've added almost twice as much money to the general accounts as you've spent and almost all your bills are paid. That increase in funds even includes deducting the cost of the stock you bought."
All I could do was stare at him in astonishment.
"Chris, why do you think Toby wants you to have control of the ranch? He was impressed, and so are we. Mile High Ranch has never looked better. You've made money hand over fist in the last two months. You've handled yourself well in all cases. You've helped out a lot of people. You've even taken the time to race that car of yours to relax. Your mother and I are proud as punch about what you've done." Dad reached out and grabbed my hand. "So, are we going to build you a bathroom, or not?"
"Uh, I guess so." I managed to mumble, then I grinned. "It probably would be nice not to have to run outside in my skivvies every morning."
That statement brought grins and laughter.
In the next few minutes we split up and headed off in different directions. Wil wanted to talk to the RCMP about what had happened in Calgary since he'd been along with the police when they'd talked to Sam McAdam's brother. Dad was going to go talk to Charlie Engels about the trenching we'd need for the septic system and the footings for the addition to the cabin. Uncle Tom was going to try to contact Jason Dumfries. Meanwhile, I was heading back to the hospital to see Sandy and Lucille.
When I left the café. I felt a lot better than I had when I walked in.