CHAPTER 9
The major sitting across from her had a serious tone. They had returned from their earlier visit in the morning in accordance with military protocol. He was now there to tell her about what her father had left behind, facts and figures that she really didn’t care about. But when Amanda Garrett heard him say, “Five hundred thousand dollars,” her heart skipped a beat.
“Surely that’s not all for me?” she said.
“Ma’am, Colonel Garrett left you that much money. It was every bit of his life insurance. He had savings accounts out of which we are paying for things such as his mortgage in North Carolina and other expenses. This money is yours.” The major looked away briefly.
Amanda was dressed in a black pantsuit that her mother had purchased. “You’re in mourning and we need you to appear to be,” she had said. Amanda and the major sat in the dining room, papers spread out between them. Nina Hastings watched from the living room, while Amanda’s mother sat pensively at the other end of the table.
Amanda looked at her mother, whom she caught eyeing Nina at the sound of the words “Five hundred thousand dollars.”
“Why would he do that? I hated him. I couldn’t even stand for him to be around, and he leaves me all of this? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, clearly, ma’am, he didn’t hate you,” the major said.
“I think what Amanda is trying to say,” her mother chirped, “is that relations between her and her father had been strained in recent years.”
“Strained? You wouldn’t let me—”
Nina Hastings raised a hand and said, “Child, we’ll have none of that. Your father’s dead, and it isn’t right to talk about him like this.”
Major Blair and the chaplain exchanged glances. Perhaps they had seen it before; Amanda didn’t know.
“When does Amanda get the money?” Melanie Garrett asked.
“Well, there’s one catch,” Major Blair said.
“I knew it,” Nina muttered under her breath. Amanda turned and looked at her and then back at the major.
“Amanda, you’re not eighteen yet.” The major clearly preferred talking to her as opposed to her mother or grandmother. She watched her mother out of the corner of her eye as the major began to speak. Her face was twitching, as if she was trying to not smile. Interesting. The major reached across the table and touched Amanda’s hand lightly.
“Your father put a stipulation in his will that if you were under eighteen when he passed, you’d have to talk to someone before receiving the money. And then, on your eighteenth birthday, the insurance would be paid out to you. Because he passed before you turned eighteen, this stipulation endures. You must comply with it to receive the death gratuity. In other words, even after you turn eighteen, you have to follow the instructions as detailed by your father if you wish to receive the money.”
“What is this?” Melanie Garrett spat. “Some cruel joke from beyond the grave? He has to manipulate Amanda even when he’s gone, is that it? I’m getting a lawyer here now!” Amanda’s mother jumped up from the table, knocking some of the papers onto the floor.
“Just goes to figure,” Nina Hastings said, shaking her head.
Amanda sat in her chair and looked at the major. “I turn eighteen the day after graduation. That’s two weeks. Who do I need to talk to?”
Major Blair handed her an envelope. “The name and address are in here with some other instructions. This has all been thoroughly checked out by our judge advocate general. That’s a military term for a lawyer. Colonel Garrett obviously put a lot of thought into this, ma’am. The least you can do is to follow it through.”
“And if I don’t?” Amanda removed her hand from the major’s light grasp.
“He has named a secondary beneficiary, whose name I cannot disclose.”
“I heard that!” Melanie Garrett was back now, pointing her finger at the major. “I heard that bullshit. He’s breaking his court order. He was supposed to always keep at least one hundred thousand dollars life insurance on her until she was eighteen.”
“Ma’am, I don’t think this is helpful. Our lawyers, as I mentioned, have looked at this. His last child support payment to you was at the beginning of this month. He used that date as the date to—”
“The effective date is her birthday!” Nina Hastings had joined the fray. “He can’t do that!”
Amanda watched her mother and grandmother circle like hawks around the major and chaplain. Each would take turns diving and swiping their talons at the two uniformed officers. She let it go on for about two minutes, then stood and screamed, “Stop it!”
She stared at her mother and then turned toward her grandmother. “Stop it!”
Amanda Garrett took the envelope the major had passed her, turned and bolted up the stairs, leaving the others frozen in time, as if in a wax museum, staring at her as she fled.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. This is crazy. Five hundred thousand dollars?
She found her cell phone, dialed, and said, “Hey, can you come get me. I need to talk to you.”
Nina Hastings looked at her daughter, Melanie Garrett, from across the dining room table with a purposeful stare.
“Well, what are you going to do?” Her voice had the tenor of a high-pitched fire engine alarm, both pleading and accusatory at once.
“About what, Mother?”
“What do you mean, about what? You have no idea what’s going on with this situation, and you know you stand a good chance of getting screwed out of that money. Probably Amanda, too.”
“I know, Mama. I have a plan.” And she did. Melanie quickly conjured an image of the mansion at The Cliffs on Keowee Falls. The idea had been careening around in her mind for months, and she figured that this was the last best chance to do something about it.
“I’ve been right all along about him. Ever since Amanda was born. I knew he was bad news. Thank God I was standing right there when she came into this world.” She looked away through the window as if staring at an apparition. In a lower voice not necessarily directed at Melanie, she continued, “God sure gave me what I wanted.”
Melanie shot her mother a glance. Whose life was she living, Melanie wondered, hers or her mother’s?
“You’ve got to remind Amanda who raised her. You’ve got to keep repeating it so that she understands. She needs to know in her heart that it was us.” Nina was punching her chest with a wrinkled finger.
“Mama, just let me work this, okay? It will all be under control. Things are moving fast, and I’m just trying to sort everything out. I’ve got my eye on a few things, so trust me when I say that the insurance money will work itself out.”
“Work itself out? How dare you! How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t get anything out of life that you don’t take? Everything’s already been had; it just moves around, and you have to go after it.” Nina uncrossed her arms and hovered next to her daughter. “I spend my entire life raising you and then raising Amanda, and you have the nerve to challenge me at this time?” She leaned across the table. “The money is the only thing that loser will have ever produced for you or Amanda. If you don’t get that, then what was it all for?”
“What was it all for, Mother?”
“What are you talking about? Wasn’t it me that encouraged you to move back here instead of uprooting every two or three years? Wasn’t it me that supported you when we had to go to court to get more child support? Wasn’t it me that wined and dined the judge of your divorce case so that you could get the best deal? Who did you live with after the divorce? What the hell are you talking about?”