THE INHERITANCE - part twelve

THE INHERITANCE – part twelve………

Welcome home

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Kate Sullivan inherited the house that once belonged to her great-grandmother. The old stone house sat on the edge of a ten-acre plat of land in Aughacasla, Ireland. Many weeks ago, she’d never heard of the small town and now, she owned a piece of it.

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Kate glanced at her watch, “Good,” she thought to herself, “ten-fifteen, right on time,” Trying to set the scene, she all but ran the next five doors to the bank. She rushed in, acting more breathless than she was, headed to Terry’s office, and said, “Oh, so sorry I’m late. I keep forgetting how long it takes to warm enough water for a bath.”

Bridget was clearly annoyed. “It’s about damn time you decided to show your sorry self.”

Kate said nothing to her but sat in the chair Terry indicated and going according to Terry’s plan, “Again, Mr. O’Malley, I truly apologize.”

“Ms. Sullivan,” he said a bit stiffly, “you’re here now, so let’s get on with it. Your cousin feels she’s entitled to her grandmother’s cottage. We need to look at it from the perspective of the fact that you are the great-granddaughter of Kathleen, and she’s the granddaughter. Her relationship is in closer proximity to Kathleen than yours.”

From the corner of her eye, Kate saw that Bridget now sat straighter, while her mouth took on a devilish grin.

Kate lowered her head and said, “Oh, I see. Well then, I guess it all comes down to whether or she really wants to live that far out in the country and so far off the grid.”

“And what do you mean, ‘off the grid’, cousin?” Bridget asked sarcastically.

“Well, Bridget, the cottage has no electricity and the only water available is the pump spout outside. The stove uses wood, and since there is no electricity, there is no refrigeration. But I’m sure you’ll manage. You really seem eager to take possession.”

Bridget sat quietly for a moment or two. “All those things you mentioned can be added to the cottage, I’m sure.”

Kate kept her head low and almost whispered, “That was my intention as soon as I began working again. I planned on coming to town and using their electricity and internet and as the money came in, I’d begin renovating.”

“Well, you don’t need to do that, now, do you?” She looked at Terry and asked, “So when can I move in?”

Terry looked at Kate with his eyebrows raised in question.

“Will you give me a day to remove my belongings? I’m sure I can get a room at the B&B until I make arrangements to go back to the states. But before we get too hasty, I’d like to make you a deal.”

Bridget looked suspicious but decided to hear what Kate had to say.

“I’ll give you two days. Two days to live in the cottage, (she refrained from using the Gaelic phrase for ‘my home’). If at the end of those two days, you decide it’s not for you, you leave it, intact, the way you found it, go back to wherever you came from and never come back. You’ll never contact me again, nor have anyone on your behalf contact me. We were strangers before, and we’ll be again.”

Bridge, so full of confidence, said, “You have a deal! But I won’t be the one to leave. It’ll be you.”

Bridge rose from her chair and handed Terry a card with her number. “Then it’s settled. I’ll move in two days from now. Here’s my card with my number.”

Terry spoke up, “Ms. Sullivan that’s a very generous offer but before either of you leave, in order to protect the interests of both parties, please wait so I have my secretary type of a contract.”

Kate said nothing at first but waited for Bridget’s response. “That’s fine by me. Go get your papers, then.”

Normally, Terry’s secretary sat directly outside his office, but according to his plan, asked her to occupy the desk across the room. He was smiling as he approached her. “Irene, are those papers ready?”

His secretary suppressed a giggle. “Just give me two minutes for show and copy.”

Bridget had no idea that his secretary was part of his plan.

Five minutes later, Irene walked into Terry’s office with three pages of a contract – the same contract that Terry and Irene concocted earlier that morning.

“Here you go, ladies. Please be sure to read it, then if you agree, sign it. You’ll each have a copy, and I’ll a copy.”

Bridget read every word, asked no questions, and still so full of confidence and arrogance, signed the papers.

She left Terry’s office with Kate and Terry staring after her.

Kate tried not to smile, wondering if Bridget might come back, and said, “Well, that went quite well, Terry. Now, I need to go home and pack.”

As Kate walked into her kitchen, she gently fingered the cross around her neck and asked, “Grandmother, I’m really going to need your help with this one. She might be tougher than I’m imagining.”

She heard a truck pull up to her fence and saw Mo’s husband and sons climb out from its cab.

“We’re here to take your new belongings to our house for safe keeping. Don’t want the old battle axe to get her hands in anything.” He made Kate laugh. “Right, I was wondering what I’d do about them but how did Mo know? I only left the bank thirty minutes ago.”

“Word travels fast in Aughacasla but seriously, Terry called Mo and told her what he planned. We’ll take care of these boxes, leave the pantry alone and pack your bags. Everything is goin’ to be fine. You’ll see.”

After Kate packed her suitcase, she put the bed linens back in the closet and walked to the bathroom to wash her face. The faucet didn’t work. Being curious, the walked to the shower. That also didn’t work. She, at this point, refused to use the magic she knew she had, hoping that Bridget had none.

As she walked out the door towards her car, she couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, Grandmother, even though I never personally met you, I do love you so much. Thank you for taking care of mo abaile.” Her smile widened. “Oh grandmother, the next two days are going to be so much fun.”

The cross she was now never without vibrated and began to glow.