Chapter 10

We left Barbara in her room and Mr. C went to the nurse’s station while we waited at the elevator. He was having an animated conversation with a doctor and a nurse. Finally, things seemed to calm down and he nodded to the nurse and shook the doctor’s hand before he turned and walked to join us.

“What was that about, Daddy?” Jean asked.

“I wanted to make sure that the doctor and the head floor nurse knew that Barbara was special and that a very large donation to the hospital was contingent upon her receiving the best care and not the insurance company care.”

“I assume they got the message,” my mom asked.

“Yes. Who wants lunch?”

We all agreed and got into the elevator. Well not all of us. Just when James got to the elevator door, Mr. C pushed him back with a firm hand to the middle of James chest.

“Sorry, we’re full. Maybe you should wait in room 332.”

“But your security...”

“Will be covered by Ronnie, and Frank is waiting outside for us. He’s leaving his car and I’ll have him text you the location so it doesn’t wake Barbara.”

James pursed his lips and furrowed his brow.

“Thanks, Boss.”

“I hate that,” Mr. C said with a sly smile as the elevator door slid closed.

Once back in the SUV, with Ronnie driving and Frank riding shotgun, security had us back to the house in a flash and I planned to settled down for a peaceful Monday but that was not to be. No sooner were we back in the house than my mom spoke the dreaded words.

“Paul, we need to talk as soon as you are available. Do you have homework?”

“Yeah, I checked a little earlier online. I should be able to finish it off in about an hour.”

“OK, go do that and then find me. We really do need to have a serious talk.”

“Does this have to do with your upcoming wedding?”

“No, Paul. It has to do with something your father did.”

I must have had a drastic change in facial expression.

“Go. Do your homework and then find me. Go.”

I went to my room and got my backpack and took out my books and laptop. I sat at the study desk that was the same as in Jean’s room. It was big enough for one person. I think our parents planned that so we would not be distracted if we studied together. After last night that could be a problem. I booted the laptop and opened the calculus book and the notebook. I settled down into study mode and had the entire assignment done and checked in less than an hour.

I was so absorbed with the assignment that I’d not thought about my mom’s words. Now that I was done and was in the process of packing up my books and laptop, I remembered. I went to the bathroom, used the toilet, and washed my hands and face before heading downstairs and looking for my mom. As soon as my feet hit the first floor, I was attacked by Jean.

“Hi lover. I just finished my homework and was going to see if you wanted to watch a movie.”

“Hi Sweetness. I would love to but my mom said she had something really important to talk to me about. Do you know where she is?”

“Yeah, she’s on the deck with my dad. Take my hand and I’ll get you there without getting lost.”

She smiled a sly smile and held out her hand. I took it and we headed through the breakfast nook and out onto the big back deck. Mr. C and Mom were sitting there and seemed to be in the midst of a serious talk of their own. Jean and I approached slowly and they quickly halted their conversation.

“Hello Paul. Your mother and I were just talking about this situation.”

“Situation? I didn’t know there was a situation.”

“What’s Paul’s situation, Daddy?”

“Nothing as bad as we’ve been through the past few weeks, I’m sure. Come on Paul have a seat. Jean and I will leave you two to have a talk. Come on Jean.”

Mr. C stood and took Jean by the hand. They walked around towards the back of the house and to Mrs. C’s special garden place. I looked at mom and she gestured to the chair Mr. C had just vacated.

“Paul, you are a few months away from graduation and I just found out some things about your father that I didn’t know. Our lawyer, Mr. Howe, called me before we left to see Barbara. Apparently your father was involved with the management of a family Trust that I knew nothing about.

“I still don’t know much, but Mr. Howe was compelled by your father’s will and by the Trust to complete several tasks after you turned eighteen and graduated. He knew about our problems and decided to wait until things seemed to settle down before contacting me. We need to sit down with him and have a meeting.

“I’ve talked to Leo about this and he’s given me the best advice he can without knowing the details. We need to see Mr. Howe so we can get the whole story.”

“Mom, you seem more worried about telling me, as opposed to what you’re telling me.”

“I guess that might be the case, son. I have no idea what’s going on, other than it seems to involve the control of a lot of money and it has to do with the history of your father’s family. So, whenever you’re ready let me know and we can drive over to Mr. Howe’s office.”

“Let me tell Jean I’ll be gone for a while and then I’ll meet you at the car.”

I went back inside and found Jean sitting with her daddy. They were having a nice quiet chat. When I walked in on them they both looked at me and smiled.

“Excuse me, I wanted to let Jean know that Mom and I are going to a meeting with our family lawyer. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“I know, Paul. Daddy told me you had to meet with the lawyer and nobody knows why. I’ll see you when you get back.”

We kissed and I took off for the front door. When I got outside, there was my mother, driving my Olds.

“Come on, son.”

“You’re driving?”

“I want to get there alive.”

“Very funny.”

I sat in the passenger seat, strapped in and Mom no sooner was out the front gate than she floored it and was screaming down the road. I was white-knuckling the dashboard with both hands until she hit the brakes for the first stop sign. She looked at me with a big smile.

“You aren’t the only O’Dell who knows how to drive fast. What do you think your father and I did on dates?”

After that she drove the speed limit to the offices of Mr. Dewey C. Howe VI Esq. Mom parked and handed me the keys.

“You can drive home.”

Walking into the office we were greeted by the receptionist.

“Good morning. How may I help you?”

“I’m Joyce O’Dell and this is my son Paul. We are supposed to see Mr. Howe but there was no appointed time.”

“Oh yes. Let me tell him you’re here. Excuse me a moment.”

The woman picked up the phone and pressed one button, then spoke softly.

“Mr. Howe, the O’Dells are here.”

“Yes sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

She hung up and stood from her chair.

“Please come with me.”

She turned towards a large wooden door and opened it for us. Holding it open she smiled and nodded. Mom and I walked through the door and were greeted my Mr. Howe almost immediately.

“Hello Joyce,” he said extending a hand.

Taking his hand, Mom said, “Hello Dewey. It’s been a long time.”

“I’d say so,” he held out a hand to me. “Hello Paul. The last time I spoke to you we were dealing with the sale of your property. You were just fifteen then. You’ve been through a lot since.”

“Hello Mr. Howe. Yes sir, it seems like stuff just keeps popping up for us.”

“Come on into my office and let’s have a talk. We’re going to be here for a while so when you want to have a drink or maybe a bite to eat just say so. There is a rest room in my office so we won’t be disturbed for anything.”

Mom and I took our seat in front of Mr. Howe’s huge desk. It was both old looking and yet shiny new. He caught me looking at it and chuckled.

“It’s quite the desk isn’t it. It was built for the first Dewey C. Howe way back in the 1870’s. It’s as solid as a rock. I had it refinished when I graduated from law school. It was a gift from my dad. He had it place in a hyperbaric chamber and infused the wood with moisture and a chemical to ward off any wood damage from just natural aging. I had it coated in polyurethane to prevent the wood from drying out any further. I love this old thing.”

“It’s awesome!”

“And it’s a part of the story of the O’Dell Family Trust.”

At that point he began to tell my mother and I the story of the O’Dells going back to the start with the three brothers. Neither my mother nor I knew the story, since my father was supposed to be the one sharing it with us when he and my mom had been married for ten years.

“So, the first thing to understand is that none of this information was given to a wife before she was married ten years. So, Paul, your mother knows nothing of this. I’ve told you about the trust that was set up to create the Trust. It’s currently managed by your Uncle Mick and your Aunt Renee. Paul, normally you would know nothing of this until you were twenty-one, but under the circumstances, your Uncle has authorized me to give you some limited information.”

At that point he turned to his computer and woke it up. He hit a few keys and then returned to us.

“You know how patriotic your father was. He was proud to have served in the Army and he and your Uncle had talked long and hard about you and the military. Both men felt that you would be a better guardian of the Trust in the future if you served your country before you headed off to college.

“He was worried that the professors would reshape your thinking as an eighteen-year-old, but they wouldn’t be able to change the thoughts of a young man who had seen the world and served in the military.”

“The counselors at school,” I interjected, “had me fill out applications for grants and funding. I was going to apply at State and attend with my girlfriend, Jean Carlesetti.”

“That is certainly a choice you could make but I would like to advise you to go in a different direction. But rather than listen to me, you should listen to your father.”

“My father always talked about the military and our family history. He always said that he had so much to tell me but he died.”

“Yes he did. The year before that accident, he wrote you a letter. It is a part of his last will and testament. You were to receive it after your eighteenth birthday if he was no longer with us. I’m letting you have it today.”

Mr. Howe opened a side drawer and pulled out a thick expanding file folder. Holding the file closed, he undid the string holding it closed and withdrew an envelope. He handed it to me. I took it and looked at him and then my mom.

“Go ahead. Open it,” he said, offering me his letter opener.

I slipped the blade deep into the top of the envelope and lifted, cutting smoothly through the paper. I set the opener on the desk and looked inside the envelope. There were several sheets of paper that I withdrew. Setting the envelope on the desk I leaned back in my chair and began to read out loud but stopped after the first few words.

ToPaul O’Dell V

FromMichael O’Dell II

“Mr. Howe, is this something I can read out loud in front of you and my mom?”

“Yes, Paul, it is, if you wish.”

I began to read out loud again.

ToPaul O’Dell V

FromMichael O’Dell II

“Wait! I’m a fifth Paul O’Dell?”

“Yes,” Mr. Howe said.

“Wow.”

I returned to reading.

I sat there in silence, taking in the words and thoughts of my father. I was alone in my thoughts until I heard a sob. I looked up in time to see Mr. Howe hand some tissues to my mother.

“I loved him so much. He used to tease me and tell me, “Yup, you’re an O’Dell!” when I did something that he was proud of or when I pulled off some crazy stunt that came out fine in the end; like driving fast on the track.”

“You drove on the race track?”

“Yes Paul, Mom said sitting up proudly. “And I was damned good at it. After your father died, I lost my love of it. Or rather, I had to be more careful so as to not make you an orphan. Maybe now that I’m going to marry Leo, I can start again.”