The Secret Billionaire At The Commune

Chapter 6

Sasha had carefully packed the arrangements into coolers and tucked them safely in the truck bed, saying she’d pick up the coolers at Nana’s service tomorrow. Alexis left the farmstand loaded with lemonades and sandwiches for her nieces and nephew, knowing her sister probably couldn’t be bothered to stock the fridge for her own children. She drove with trepidation, not knowing what she was going to walk into. Amber was one of the most self-serving people she’d ever met and was also completely unpredictable. Even though they were sisters, Amber was 12 years her senior and was already in high school when their parents had passed away so she never lived with Nana long term nor did they ever get along. Alexis doubted her sister was even upset at Nana’s passing, rather viewing it as beneficial as she had already moved her family into Nana’s home. Alexis remembered her and Nana’s conversation in the kitchen just days prior. Nana had seemed pretty adamant about Amber not getting anything and Alexis and Jason splitting what she had. Alexis wondered if Nana had a will and where it would be. She rubbed her temples. Not only is the grief of a loved one passing difficult but the logistical aftermath is an absolute nightmare. She began to make a list in her head of some of the things they’d have to deal with.

Alexis pulled into the gravel driveway of Nana’s trailer after stopping at the grocery store to pick up some baking supplies. Nana loved her lemon bars so Alexis figured it’d be fitting to offer a tray of them at her service tomorrow. Tired from the trip and not in the mood for Amber’s company, she begrudgingly began unloading the flowers and groceries when she noticed the porch, which was once crammed with Nana’s seedlings, was now crammed with black trash bags. She glanced at the garden and saw the pots had been thrown haphazardly among the now trampled plants. She could only assume what the trash bags contained and couldn’t decide what she was more mad about: that Amber had gone through Nana’s things without her or that she destroyed Nana’s gardens. She stormed in the front door and saw the living room stripped bare of what little decor Nana had and replaced with signs from Hobby Lobby of the ‘live, laugh, love’ aesthetic.

“I know you didn’t put Nana’s things out in those trash bags, Amber,” Alexis bellowed into the house.

“Relax, you can still go through them,” Amber replied, her voice coming from Alexis’ bedroom. Alexis moved swiftly to the room that had been hers since childhood. Amber was going through Alexis’ drawers and letting her kids jump on her bed with their shoes on.

“What the f**k do you think you’re doing?” Alexis was furious. It was one thing to ask to stay so they could get back on their feet but commandeering an entire house was bold, even for Amber.

“Look, I’m gonna need your room, too. Isn’t it time you moved out anyway? Aren’t you 22?” The sheer audacity of her sister made Alexis’ jaw hit the floor in disbelief.

“This is my room,” Alexis could feel tears welling up in her eyes, “These are my things, those are Nana’s things you dumped on the porch,” she started grabbing her own clothing out of Amber’s hands. “Get out! Get out! You f*****g b***h, what is wrong with you? Do you even care that Nana’s dead or are you just happy to take over her house?” Amber wasn’t used to Alexis getting angry; she was usually mild-mannered and easy to manipulate. She shuffled herself and kids out of the room with Alexis slamming the door behind them. Alexis broke down in sobs. This was her home, she didn’t want to leave but she certainly didn’t want to share it with her awful sister. She cracked open the door a moment later. “Did you happen to find Nana’s will while you were going through her belongings,” she hissed at her sister.

“No, I don’t think she had one,” Amber lied. “Look, you’re clearly upset and we can sort out the legal stuff later, ok?” She was smart to try to placate Alexis. “You seem like you could use some space so we’ll head to Olive Garden and be back in a few hours.” Alexis took a deep breath and nodded. It would be nice to get them out of there for a while so she could collect her thoughts.

While they were gone, Alexis decided it was best to get out of the trailer for a bit. Without knowing where she was going, she packed up her own things and began to sift through Nana’s things in the trash bags. She was upset Amber robbed her of the opportunity to touch Nana’s belongings where Nana had last handled them. Nana didn’t have much; she liked to live simply and with as little baggage as possible. Of the trash bags, only two contained clothing. The rest were photo albums and well-worn books and a few knick knacks. Alexis gently tucked them into the old truck and placed her own things among them. She had been so distracted by her grief and anger towards her sister that she didn’t notice her nieces and nephew didn’t go with their parents to Olive Garden and it was way past their dinner time and bedtime. They were quietly sitting in what remained of Nana’s garden, watching Alexis work. So that’s how it got trampled, Alexis thought.

“You guys need some food, don’t you,” Alexis said to them kindly and motioned for them to go inside. She honestly wondered how they’d survived this long; Amber seemed to only interact with her children if she was taking photos for her socials. Alexis retrieved the sandwiches and lemonades from the cooler, which the children quickly inhaled and began baking the lemon bars. An idea struck her. If Amber wanted to be a pain in the ass, so could she. She grabbed one of the empty packing boxes from Amber’s move and began to fill it with the can opener, kitchen scissors, the TV remote, all of the light bulbs and batteries she could find, the USB plugs for charging cables but not the cables themselves, all of the toilet paper, coffee filters, the wine opener, the shower curtain with the rings… Little things that weren’t meaningful to Alexis whatsoever but would make life mildly annoying with their absence. She stashed the box in the small attic crawlspace, pushing it far to the back. Feeling a little bit better, she helped her nieces and nephews into bed and scouted the house for any remaining possessions of hers or Nana’s that she could have overlooked before going to bed herself.

***

Alexis woke before her sister and brother in law did and quickly got dressed in a black mid length dress with daisies on it. She wore her long, strawberry blonde hair down in waves, just how Nana liked, took one last look around the old trailer and garden and drove to the funeral home to pick up Nana’s ashes before the service. She had time before the service was due to begin so she stopped for a coffee and some breakfast. She glanced over at the wooden box containing Nana that she had buckled in the front seat with her, wondering if she should leave Nana there. What if someone stole her? Who would steal ashes? Alexis shook her head and feeling a little nuts, unbuckled Nana’s ashes and brought them inside the coffeehouse with her.

Alexis wasn’t exactly hungry but she had an ulterior motive for stopping at this particular coffeehouse. She knew that Jason came here often with his boss and had hoped to run into either of them. She sat in a corner, sipping a latte and munching on a croissant with Nana safely in her purse, just watching the door and hoping for Jason to be the next customer. She desperately missed him. Not just the intense chemistry they had but their friendship and his companionship. She felt so alone without him and was furious at her sister for making him feel as though he were a burden to the family, rather than the important part of it he was. An hour passed and no sightings of Jason or Dave so Alexis grabbed another croissant and coffee to go and set out to scatter her beloved Nana’s ashes.

The parking lot at the park was surprisingly full. Nana’s obituary had run that morning in the local paper and it mentioned the date and time of the service. Alexis knew Nana touched a lot of people in her life but after surveying the crowd, she realized she didn’t have nearly enough lemon bars. She hastily opened the platter and cut them into quarters with a plastic knife from the coffeehouse when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Hi, Alexis,” it was Sasha. Alexis was grateful for the hug from Nana’s old friend from the commune. An older, completely tattooed man with graying red hair and green eyes stood next to her. “This is Jerry, from our community. He knew Nana well.” Jerry reached for Alexis’ hands and clasped them gently.

“Hello, dear,” he said tenderly. Alexis pretended to not notice how similar she and Jerry looked; her grandfather was never in the picture and now Alexis had questions. But now was not the time, though, as she saw her sister’s car rumble up to the park. She saw Sasha look at her packed truck quizzically.

“What’s with the stuff,” Sasha asked, looking concerned.

“My sister has commandeered Nana’s trailer so I have no place to go,” Alexis began to explain.

“Nonsense,” Jerry interjected, “You can come back to Anavrin with us.” Alexis smiled and began to relax for the first time in days. Anavrin seemed lovely and would be a welcome change. She gave them a quick nod as they linked their arms with hers and led her to the bluff overlooking the mountains where Nana wanted to be laid to rest.

More people than expected had come to pay their respects to Nana, each with their own story of how her kindness had touched their lives in one way or another. Alexis wanted to be more like her Nana now more than ever and following in her footsteps to Anavrin seemed like a good first step. She was disappointed Jason didn’t turn up to the funeral; she paid the newspaper extra to run the obituary notice the day of the funeral, hoping he would see it. She finished thanking the funeral goers for coming and offering their condolences before seeing Percy Jenkins, the town’s only lawyer, lurking near the back. He was a mousy, little man and notoriously disorganized.

“Mr. Jenkins,” Alexis went to track him down. Amber took notice of this and beelined for the two. “Did Nana obtain your services to create a will, by any chance?” Amber immediately tried to intervene.

“I said we’d take care of the legal stuff later, Alexis,” she said, trying to guide her away from Percy Jenkins.

“What are you playing at, Amber. I know Nana had a will,” Alexis began before Amber cut her off again.

“And talking about her will at her funeral is so inappropriate, Alexis,” Amber tried to embarrass her but Alexis didn’t care.

“Mr. Jenkins, when you get around to finding the will, please give Alexis a call at this number,” Jerry had been behind Alexis the whole time and handed the lawyer a phone number.

“Will do,” Percy Jenkins said as Alexis followed Sasha and Jerry back to their cars. She took one last look at the bluff and at her nieces and nephews, who were going to town on the platter of lemon bars and hoped she was making the right decision. Send me on the right path, Nana, Alexis silently prayed. Help me find Jason. A swift breeze blew as Alexis was getting into the truck, as if to help her on her way.