My mother didn’t believe in giving up on damaged or broken people. She wanted to fix everyone. But possibly the most impressive part of her ambitions is that she believed everyone could be fixed, even the most hopeless of humans that most people had already given up on and turned away from. That explained why she took in David. And in her defense, she was right. David proved her right. In the end, he had a redeeming quality or two that emerged, which made it even more sad when his life was cut too short.
My mother had spent years of her life trying to help not only David, but the runaways at the halfway house, and even her sister. But the words in her journal depicted a sadness for Naomi and a guilt for not being able to better help her, even though she clearly wrote that she knew Naomi would try to steal the money and that she may even try to come after me with less than docile intentions.
That’s why my mother went to Mark and asked him to help.
She left him specific directions and then here, in this journal, she left the rest of the directions for me. She wanted me to use all of the money to build a sanctuary for troubled people; not just runaways or teens, but anyone who needed help, no matter how mild or severe their needs were. She also wanted Naomi to be put inside the sanctuary and cared for. I knew now that I couldn’t let Naomi get the money. The money needed to be used to help people like Naomi and my mother knew that’s what her sister needed, as well as so many others. She specifically stated in her journal that she wanted the sanctuary to be made in Charlotte, her hometown.
That was going to be a difficult thing to convince the guys of, though.
I didn’t want to go back there, and I know that the guys wouldn’t agree to it either, not with Naomi still there. But, if that was my mother’s final wish, then so be it.
I mean, this was who my mother was and the answer that I had been searching for. It wasn’t just a way to honor and avenge her, it was also a way to set things right. All the loss that we had suffered, that I had suffered, it could be turned into something worthwhile if I could fulfill my mother’s dying wish.
I had to do it, or at least I had to try.
Caring for these people that society overlooked had caused my mother to cross lines that she shouldn’t have, and it cost her life. But even then, even when she knew the end was coming, she still didn’t turn her back on any of them. She took the time to write this out not for herself, or for me, but for them.
I knew what I had to do.
“Well?” Rob asked as I walked back out to the table where they were all still sitting and waiting and engaging in awkward small talk. “Did you get any answers?”
“Yes,” I said as I sat down with them again. “I got the only answer that matters. I know what to do with the inheritance, and I know that the money needs to be kept away from my aunt. My mother wants me to use the money to build a sanctuary for troubled people.”
“Troubled?” Rob asked. “What exactly does that mean?”
I looked at him pointedly. “It means anyone that needs help. People like David, like the teens at the halfway house that won’t have anywhere to go when they’re adults if they still don’t have things figured out; even people like my aunt Naomi.”
“Naomi?” Adam asked with a snicker. “You can’t be serious.”
“Yes,” I said with a completely serious look on my face. “I am. My mother specifically wrote that Naomi needs to be taken care of at the sanctuary.”
“Lisette,” Michael interjected. “While I really admire your desire to fulfill your mother’s wishes and to help people, none of us are qualified or capable of taking care of mentally ill people.”
I shrugged. “It’s not going to be a medical facility,” I said. “We don’t need to be qualified for anything. It’s just a safe place to go for help. A place where their basic needs can be met, and there are people there to talk to for support. For some of them, that might be the difference between being on the street or committing a violent act. We could help to stop those things. We could try to fix pieces of the system that we’ve been fighting against for so long.”
Everyone stayed silent for a long time, and after a few moments I honestly thought the guys would fight me tooth and nail against the plan.
But then, Adam turned to face me.
“Alright,” Adam said out of the blue. “I’m game.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
That was way easier than I thought it would be to convince any of them.
And still, Adam stuck with it. “Yeah, why not? It doesn’t sound that different than running the halfway house, with the exception that they won’t all be teens, and that they might be a bit more screwed up. But it’s not like we haven’t been able to handle screwed up shit before. If we can help some people this time, and we have the money and resources to do it, then I say let’s give it a shot. Where should we build it? Here in Maine? Or should we go back to Asheville and build it in the mountains near the cabin?”
“Well,” I said as I hesitated to answer that question. “My mother asked for it to be built in her hometown.”
“Oh, hell no,” Michael said as he shook his head harshly.
Adam grimaced as if the announcement of the location had made him rethink his previous enthusiasm.
“What?” Rob asked, completely in the dark about why everyone was so put-off. “Where was your mother’s hometown?”
“Charlotte,” I answered.
He blinked. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. So, you want to go back toward your crazy, lunatic aunt who is trying to kill us?”
The pitch in his voice rose unnaturally high to match his surprise, and his following words didn’t shock me one bit. “I have to agree with Michael on this one. That sounds like a horrible idea. Actually, it sounds like the absolute worst idea ever. Naomi nearly killed Michael, tormented and tortured us, and she’s also the reason you took off like a bat out of hell and nearly ended up dead in a ditch on the side of the road somewhere.”
Then, Mark jumped into the argument. “I don’t even know everything that happened to the four of you. But I can tell you that Naomi is much more capable of violent danger than you could possibly imagine. It’s a terrible idea to get anywhere near her. I know your mother wanted to help our sister, and I know that she left you instructions to try and help Naomi too, but it’s a really bad idea, Lisette. Naomi won’t hesitate to kill everyone she comes into contact with at the drop of a hat.”
“I don’t care,” I said stubbornly. “I’ve been trying to figure out why my mother did the things that she did for this entire time. Now I know, and I won’t be talked out of taking this path. What else do I need to do to claim my inheritance?”
“Nothing,” Mark said as he conceded, although still shaking his head.
He got up and walked over to a drawer in the kitchen, pulled up a tray of silverware, and then yanked off the false bottom. Then he lifted his hand out of the drawer, and in it was a folder that looked as if it was bulging at the seams.
“This folder has everything you need,” he said as he walked back over and handed it to me. “The bank account information that the money is in with your name on it, the safe deposit box key, the instructions for you to take full control of the account. Hell, there’s even a debit card in there for you to use. It’s all yours with a quick stop at the bank.”
“Thank you,” I said with a grateful smile as I held onto the folder in one hand and my mother’s journal in the other. “Not just for the money and my mother’s journal, but for keeping everything safe and waiting for me.”
“It was my honor,” he said. “I loved your mother. I loved both of my sisters, even crazy Naomi. But I loved your mother the most. I’m just sorry that I wasn’t around more in your life as you were growing up. But I’m here now and I’ve done my part to make sure Paula’s inheritance ended up with you. I’m here for you now with whatever it is that you need, and that includes trying to get to know each other and make up for lost time. I’d love to share some of the memories that I have of your mother when we were kids. She was every bit as adamantly noble as a kid as she was as an adult.”
The thought of that made me smile. I imagined that my mother had probably always been a bit of a headstrong handful. After all, that’s where I got it from. Now if I could only get the other three guys on board. I turned to look at Michael, thinking that my best chance at garnering support from any of them would be from him.
But he didn’t look happy at all.
“Please,” I pleaded with him. “I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to do this without you.”
Michael drew in a deep breath and then simultaneously shook his head before rolling his eyes as he reached for my hand on top of the table.
“Of course, I’m not going to let you do this without me. If this is really what you’ve decided to do, then I’ll be right there alongside you. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I think it’s a really bad idea.”
“Duly noted,” I said as I squeezed his hand. “And thank you.”
“We’ll all be with you, Lisette,” Rob added, his voice holding a hint of resentment. “But we’re all in agreement that this could end up going horribly sideways.”
“I know,” I said.
I understood the risk that I was taking, and the risk that I was asking them to take with me as well. I loved and appreciated each of them.
“Well, at least stay the night tonight,” Mark said as he cleared his throat. “It’s getting late and I can see how tired all four of you are. There are extra beds and a pull-out sofa. You can eat your fill of whatever you can find, and in the morning, I’ll brew a fresh pot of coffee before you leave to head back toward Charlotte.”
I was tired, and sore, and hungry, so Mark’s invitation sounded like the perfect idea to me. We could all get a solid night of sleep here, put some food in our bellies, and then head back in the morning feeling as if we were revived and ready to take on whatever lies ahead.
Even though there were several beds in my uncle’s house, which I thought was strange for a single man who lives alone, the four of us chose the guestroom with the biggest bed and all curled up together on it. I didn’t care that Adam’s knee was in my side or that my elbow was smooshed up against Michael’s chest. I just didn’t want to be apart from any of them tonight.
