Morning all. Time for another writing prompt. I hope you rested up all weekend and are ready to stretch those brains. Timers set for fifteen minutes and off we go.
I like the set up but I am not entirely certain where the story is going to go. I’m thinking that something might be found in one of those properties no one else wants to deal with so he gets called. Could be fun. Need to think about it more, but I do like Lucas.
Tuesday, September 8th: He dropped his head into his hands.
He dropped his head into his hands. The argument raged around him. It wasn’t a new argument, at least, he didn’t think it was. It seemed to be the same argument his older siblings always had. It was about money.
‘Maybe a different aspect.’
Lucas never really felt like he fit in with his siblings. Their parents married right out of high school because his mother was pregnant. They had his eldest brother Nate. His father started working for the family company and his mother stayed home. A year later Gina was born and she was followed a year later by the twins Jennifer and Jerome. They grew up in a pack.
By Contrast Lucas was born just before their mother turned forty. He might as well have been born in a different family. His parents were surprised and not all together pleased by his appearance. Since both of his parents were working full time he spent most of his time at his aunt’s house. She and her husband waited longer to have children so they were still living in the house. They were older than he was, but closer to his age than any of his siblings.
‘They also tolerated me more,’ he thought.
He was aware it was tolerance as he was the tag along. He only really felt acceptance with his grandparents. That was the problem at the moment. His grandparents were both gone. His grandmother passed and only a few weeks later his grandfather followed. When Lucas thought of it he suspected that his grandfather stayed just long enough to tidy the paperwork before joining his grandmother.
He loved them both and was certain the rest of the family did as well. At the moment that love was buried under what appeared to be a thick layer of greed. Their estate was larger than anyone realized and everyone had dollar signs dancing in their eyes. They were arguing about who should get what, which Lucas thought was rather pointless because both of their grandparents left very specific wills detailing who got what.
Everything finally made it through probate and all those mentioned received letters from the lawyer. He received one, and dealt with everything that came to him. He was thankful that his grandparents saw fit only to leave him money and not a stake in any of the family properties. His grandfather explained it to him, the reasoning well before he died.
Lucas understood the reasoning and appreciated it even more now than he did then. If none of the property he inherited was publicly visible then no one could argue with him over his right to have it. The money could be tucked away in a bank account and simply not mentioned.
At the moment it was proving to be a godsend. The only money he spent was to pay off his student loans. The rest went into savings and long term investments. He kept his same small apartment. He didn’t buy any fancy electronics. He mostly just hunkered down and waited for the storm to pass.
The main house was a point of contention between his parents and his aunts and uncles. So was other visible property. They saw he was not given any sort of deed and after smirking for the ‘add on’ that he was being denied a share, they ignored him as they fought with each other.
Ten til Midnight 