"Honestly, Els, this would only happen to you." I could hear Lyra talking through gritted teeth as she fought with the door, but it was with no avail.
"I can't argue with you there," I huffed as I dropped onto the toilet seat. The door stopped thudding against the plastic frame when Lyra stopped pushing. She sighed and I could almost hear her trademark frustrated eye roll.
"I'm to be so late," I said, my voice bouncing off the cubicle. I'd only wanted a quick nervous wee before meeting with my grandmother's lawyer. I wasn't good in formal situations and a will meeting definitely classified as a formal situation. The lock on the inside was jammed tight and I couldn't get out, which is what resulted in Lyra being dragged from her yoga class to help me out.
"I think I'm gonna need to find a cleaner or something," Lyra replied. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Hanging on the door of the cubicle was a bird flying over a field. It was advertising feeling free with your panty liner or some lark. I just felt mocked, almost like whoever put it there knew that you'd get stuck in their grubby little loos.
"Please hurry!" I shouted, but she was already gone. My meeting was meant to be in five minutes, and her lawyer made it sound like it was pretty urgent. My grandmother had died over six months ago, leaving only enough money to cover her funeral. The rest, she'd left strict instructions to be kept under wraps. That was until the lawyer gave me a call on the weekend and demanded that we meet later that week.
"Yeah, I don't know what she did, but she's stuck in there," Lyra's voice echoed through the toilets, followed by the sound of the door hitting the tiles as she walked in.
"I didn't do anything, I just locked the door! The lock is stuck in place," I said, standing up from the toilet. I heard the sound of something metal hit the floor, followed by a cough.
"Don't worry about it, love, it happens a lot. Stand back as far as you can," he instructed.
"If it happens all the time, why don't you fix it?" Lyra asked.
"Lyra!" I hissed. I looked behind me and inwardly cringed when I saw that the only gap to stand in was beside the grubby toilet, jammed between the sanitary bin. Taking a deep breath, I took a step back and tried to ignore the slodgy sound that my shoe made when I squeezed in.
"Don't have time or resources. The big man thinks it's easier for me to break girls out than it is to fix the lock." He punctuated his sentence with a heaving sigh. "You out the way, love?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think so," I said, uncertainty riddled through my voice. I closed my eyes and shrank back into the corner, unsure of what he was going to do.
I heard a loud clang, a snap and a bang. I opened one eye to see the door swinging to and fro, with Lyra and the cleaner appearing in sight between each swing.
"Thank you so much," I gushed, carefully stepping out of the puddle and the cubicle. I looked down at my shoes to see a ring of wet suede along the bottom. Fantastic.
"No problem. Just do us both a favour and use the ones in the café next time," he said before excusing himself. I turned my attention to Lyra, who had one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised. I shot her an apologetic smile. She was wearing her yoga gear and her hair was tied above her head in the 'messy but not really messy' bun that she was well practised in doing. Effortless was her mantra and it was something that I'd forever envy.
"Sorry, didn't know who else to call," I admitted. She shrugged, chuckling to herself as she leaned back on the sinks.
"I'm beginning to think that you don't want me to go yoga," she said with a small smile. "First your car breaks down on the A38, then your rabbit gets loose and now this. Can you reschedule next week's disaster for a Wednesday, please?" she asked. I laughed, gently shoving her shoulder.
"I'm not that bad. Besides, I'm sure that your yoga instructor hates me anyway. I've been keeping that ass from him for weeks," I said, causing a grin to spread across her face.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Now you'd best get going," she said as she checked her phone. I caught a look at the time and felt my entire body go cold. Since my grandmother's death, the will and the hidden assets hung over my head. My dad came back from his booze addled binge and had been nagging me about his cut for months and all I could hope was that the distribution of whatever was left would shut him up.
"Yeah, I'm running late as it is. Meet you at home?" My question was answered with a nod and I grabbed my bag before dashing out of the door. The cold air hit my face like a dagger and my scarf began immediately flapping around in the wind. I batted it out of the way, getting the fibres caught on my tongue as I unlocked my car.
The little Suzuki provided an immediate burst of warmth when I dropped inside. I'd stopped at the gym to drop Lyra off, but didn't quite expect that it would take me as long as it did to get going. Thankfully the roads were quiet on the way into town and I didn't have too far to go. He told me that he'd meet me at our local library, in their rental office, which worked for me. I'd met his assistant when we first discussed the funeral and he wasn't someone that I wanted to bump into again.
When I pulled into the café's car park, I instantly recognised the lawyer's car. Taking a large gulp and clutching my bag to my chest, I went inside. Usually, the smell of fresh coffee and cookies would make my mouth water and my stomach rumble, but this time it just made me feel nauseous. I hadn't really dealt with the death of my grandmother properly and talking about it, especially under circumstances like this, made me uncomfortable.
I eyed the customers and finally recognised the man in the suit at the very back corner booth. His shoulders were crisp and straight, aligned almost perfectly with the back of the seat.
My stomach somersaulted on every step as I walked down the aisle. He looked up and offered me a warm smile as I reached the table.
"Lovely to see you again, Elspeth," he said, the wrinkles pulling at the corners of his mouth. I cleared my throat and folded my hands into my lap.
"And you," I replied. He studied my face for a moment before reaching into his briefcase. I was so nervous that my legs were sticking to the tacky leather of the booth and I looked over my shoulder at the door. I was so used to my dad hassling me, that I was surprised he hadn't found out I was there.
"I wanted to talk about the details of your grandmother's will. It was disclosed that nothing was to be given within the first six months from death, aside from funeral costs." I nodded at his words and leaned forward to hear him. His voice was so soft that it almost dissipated through the sounds of other people's conversations.
"Your grandmother was your primary carer, correct?" He asked.
"Yeah, since I was seven," I answered. He nodded and offered another smile, taking out a wad of paper.
"You've been left a substantial sum of money, her house and a series of instructions," he began and started to separate the papers. My name was written in her beautiful spiral handwriting on the front of an envelope.
"However, your grandmother was a remarkable woman and it would be foolish not to have this as her legacy," he said with a grin, sliding the envelope across the table. I frowned and gently picked it up, taking a moment to admire her handwriting again. It had been a while since I had seen it.
"This is all I have to give you, alongside some papers that you have to sign in order to accept the transfer of ownership for the home and another premises. Do you understand?" I looked up and nodded.
"Yes, I understand. What's the other premises?" I asked. As far as I was concerned, my grandmother had the house and her savings, which were quite substantial.
"There's a small building down town. When I went through this with your grandmother, she said to trust her. It will be explained in the letter that she has left you." My head was spinning as I looked at the envelope and then towards the masses of words on the agreement papers that I had to sign. My dad wasn't going to be best pleased.
After signing the papers and going through the finishing details of the money, the lawyer packed up his things and wished me good luck. He offered to stay while I opened the letter, but it was something that I planned on doing alone.
When he'd finally gone, I ordered myself a cup of tea and went back to the sanctuary of the booth. I wasn't sure what to expect from the meeting with the lawyer, but it wasn't a letter, nor was it a substantial inheritance. She'd always told me that she had a little bit of money put back to help me through university, and that the house would be left to me when I reached 20, but it always seemed such a distant reality. She'd battled through so much that she almost seemed invincible.
I took a deep breath and swallowed a far too hot sip of tea as I peeled opened the envelope. The smell of her perfume faintly danced across my nostrils and I breathed it in, fighting back tears. I blinked a few times to clear my vision and let my eyes wander along her handwriting.
'My dearest Elspeth,
What a beautiful young woman you have grown up to be. I always have and always will be so proud of you.
One thing that we always spoke about were my adventures. Life can be such a gift; you just sometimes need different lenses to see it. I have been saving for quite some time and have left you a certain amount of presents, however, there is a catch. I want you to see life through a different lens, I don't want you to live a life without our own little story to tell.
Down town, there is a little shop that I have left you. Can you remember about the fruit and veg shop that I told you I manned with your grandfather? 'When life gives you Melons' we called it. Your grandfather was always a fan of the quirky and unconventional. Well, when we went for that little walk to the beach, before the wheelchair, I saw that little shop and it reminded me of old times. I want you to have it and I want you to continue our legacy.
The shop is yours and I have already set up a business account for you with the funds. The details are in the back room. When your grandfather and I opened our shop, we found a nice young man who was working down the wood yard. He needed a chance and we gave him one. I'd like you to do the same. Help someone and they will help you. I have left a name and an address with the details for the bank account.
When the shop is up and running, Mr. Lightfield will be touch.
Enjoy your adventures, my sweet girl, let's embark on them together,
Nanny May.
A/N: Hello, wattpadians! It's been a while, but I'm trying to get back into putting regular chapters up. As usual, please lemme know what you think. All comments and likes are appreciated.
Good to be back! :)
Until next time, Wattpadians.