Inheritance (4/30)
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Justin watched, amused, as Scotty carefully organized his silverware and laid his napkin across his lap. He cut a piece of his meat, lifting it into his mouth and chewing slowly, eyes closing in enjoyment.
“You take your food seriously,” Justin observed.
Scotty opened his eyes. Then he laughed, somewhat embarrassed. “I’m a chef. Well, almost. I’m in culinary school.”
“Cool!”
“What do you do?”
“Uh, not much of anything right now. I’m in the Army. I have a little bit of leave left, then it’s back to the war.”
“Wow. That must be…intense.”
“Good way to put it. And you’re from Mississippi?”
Scotty nodded, returning to his food. “Oxford.”
“Your parents still live there?”
“They’re in Arizona.”
“You see them often?”
“No.”
“I’m guessing this is not something you want to talk about.”
Scotty sighed, resting his arms on the table as he looked up at Justin again. “We had a bit of a falling out a few years ago. We talk - well, my dad and I do - but not very often. It’s…difficult.”
“That sucks... You have any brothers or sisters?”
“No, just me. My parents couldn’t have any kids of their own, and they could really only afford going through the adoption process the one time.”
Justin nodded, finally turning to his own food. Scotty took advantage of his momentary silence to change the focus of the conversation.
“Tell me about…your family.”
Justin shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. What’s it…what’s it like to have brothers and sisters?”
Justin started laughing. “I’m not sure I’m the person to talk to about this one. I’m the youngest of five, man. The baby. The runt.”
“So you get picked on a lot?”
“And coddled.”
Scotty smiled. “It can’t be all bad.”
“Nah, actually. They’re great. And you have all these people in your corner, unconditionally. We’re close - maybe too close, and we all spend a lot of time together.”
“I’ve met Sarah. Who are the others?”
“Kitty, Tommy and Kevin.”
“And your mom?”
“Nora. She’s fantastic. I don’t know how she does it, but she does. She is…a force of nature.”
Scotty smiled sadly. “You sound like a happy family.”
“We are. And we always were. It’s why I can’t understand it, you know? I always thought my parents loved each other so much. I don’t get why he had to go find someone else.”
Scotty paused. “What do you know about her? My mother.”
Justin cleared his throat. “Holly? Not much,” he admitted. “They apparently were together for years.”
Scotty stared at him, startled. “I figured it was just a one-time thing.”
Justin shook his head. “No. Off and on, I guess, for decades. He put her up in a house and everything.”
“And your mom had no clue?”
“She found out once. He swore he ended it. Have you seen her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you were at Ojai, right?”
Scotty furrowed his brow. “Yeah, briefly.”
“She works there now, believe it or not. Sarah didn’t mention?”
“No, not a word. Her name’s Holly?”
Justin nodded. “Holly Harper.”
Scotty nodded, although it was clear he couldn’t quite comprehend all the information he was getting from Justin. He eventually just shook his head, taking another bite of his dinner and then changing the topic to something entirely unrelated. Justin, feeling slightly overwhelmed himself, happily accepted the shift in conversation. They ended up talking for a couple hours, first as they finally managed to finish their dinner, then over dessert, then over coffee. By the end of the night, they were fast becoming friends. Justin began to realize he couldn’t just turn his back on Scotty after all this. He hesitated as they walked out of the restaurant. He zipped up his jacket, exhaling loudly as he looked around the parking lot.
“So…why don’t you come over for dinner sometime? Meet the rest of the family?”
Scotty looked at him, wavering in indecision. “I don’t know if that’d be a good idea. I don’t want to ambush your mother or anything.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll convince the others. It will be good to get everything out in the open, I think.”
Scotty made a face.
“Come on, man. You have to be a little curious.”
“Fine.”
“Great! Give me your phone number; we’ll set something up,” Justin said, pulling his cell out of his pocket.
Scotty sighed, feeling slightly steamrollered. It seems like there was no escaping the Walker family. And at this point, he wasn’t entirely sure he really wanted to, anyway.
***
Over the next few days Scotty did some research. Well, if Googling counts as research. He found out a lot about William Walker - as a business owner, he had a relatively high profile in the community. Involved in charities and councils. Almost always pictured with his wife, Nora. Later business pictures and articles of him also featured Sarah, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and Tommy, now president and vice president of the company, respectively. Holly Harper had an…interesting history. Large gaps of time in her life came up empty, only for her to appear again, playing some small role in a tiny film or local theater production. Kitty was perhaps the most well-documented of the Walkers, considering her career. Scotty found links to her radio program and the television show and, most recently, references to her work with Senator McCallister. She made the opinion page often, and the gossip page sometimes. And was apparently quite friendly with her boss.
Scotty moved onto the next person on his list. The first place he went was theskinnyminnie.com, remembering Justin’s infectious laughter as he told the story of Kevin’s paparazzi experience. He scrolled down the page until he saw a picture of Chad Barry with a friend. Scotty made a mental note to ask Michelle if she knew him, or had any clue whatsoever that her now-ex was apparently having an affair with his half-brother.
“God, what an ugly lamp,” Scotty commented before focusing again on the picture of the two men.
He was kind of cute, Scotty noted. Then he immediately shook himself. Chad Barry was cute, of course. The other man was his brother. He went to the search engine then, trying to find more - if perhaps less scandalous - information about Kevin. He showed up as a junior associate in a law firm, apparently pretty successful. A couple older links about graduating with honors from various universities and a comment or two connecting him back to Ojai Foods.
Scotty sighed. He had found out as much as he could about the Walkers. Combined with the things Justin had told him, he felt like he had a pretty good grasp on the family. He hoped it would be enough to make at least some small talk at what was bound to be the dinner from hell. He was beginning to regret ever agreeing to go. He still hadn’t decided if he really wanted to suddenly be part of a family, and he was sure they all secretly hated him for what he represented - lies and deceit and infidelity. But Justin had called him, repeating his offer of dinner now backed by Nora’s personal invitation. If she wanted to meet him, the least Scotty could do was spend an uncomfortable evening eating a free meal. And, at any rate, there was no backing out now. He checked the clock; he had only a short time left before he had to drive to Pasadena. Scotty pushed away from the desk, standing and walking towards the bathroom so he could clean up. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this dinner was going to change his entire life.
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Justin watched, amused, as Scotty carefully organized his silverware and laid his napkin across his lap. He cut a piece of his meat, lifting it into his mouth and chewing slowly, eyes closing in enjoyment.
“You take your food seriously,” Justin observed.
Scotty opened his eyes. Then he laughed, somewhat embarrassed. “I’m a chef. Well, almost. I’m in culinary school.”
“Cool!”
“What do you do?”
“Uh, not much of anything right now. I’m in the Army. I have a little bit of leave left, then it’s back to the war.”
“Wow. That must be…intense.”
“Good way to put it. And you’re from Mississippi?”
Scotty nodded, returning to his food. “Oxford.”
“Your parents still live there?”
“They’re in Arizona.”
“You see them often?”
“No.”
“I’m guessing this is not something you want to talk about.”
Scotty sighed, resting his arms on the table as he looked up at Justin again. “We had a bit of a falling out a few years ago. We talk - well, my dad and I do - but not very often. It’s…difficult.”
“That sucks... You have any brothers or sisters?”
“No, just me. My parents couldn’t have any kids of their own, and they could really only afford going through the adoption process the one time.”
Justin nodded, finally turning to his own food. Scotty took advantage of his momentary silence to change the focus of the conversation.
“Tell me about…your family.”
Justin shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. What’s it…what’s it like to have brothers and sisters?”
Justin started laughing. “I’m not sure I’m the person to talk to about this one. I’m the youngest of five, man. The baby. The runt.”
“So you get picked on a lot?”
“And coddled.”
Scotty smiled. “It can’t be all bad.”
“Nah, actually. They’re great. And you have all these people in your corner, unconditionally. We’re close - maybe too close, and we all spend a lot of time together.”
“I’ve met Sarah. Who are the others?”
“Kitty, Tommy and Kevin.”
“And your mom?”
“Nora. She’s fantastic. I don’t know how she does it, but she does. She is…a force of nature.”
Scotty smiled sadly. “You sound like a happy family.”
“We are. And we always were. It’s why I can’t understand it, you know? I always thought my parents loved each other so much. I don’t get why he had to go find someone else.”
Scotty paused. “What do you know about her? My mother.”
Justin cleared his throat. “Holly? Not much,” he admitted. “They apparently were together for years.”
Scotty stared at him, startled. “I figured it was just a one-time thing.”
Justin shook his head. “No. Off and on, I guess, for decades. He put her up in a house and everything.”
“And your mom had no clue?”
“She found out once. He swore he ended it. Have you seen her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you were at Ojai, right?”
Scotty furrowed his brow. “Yeah, briefly.”
“She works there now, believe it or not. Sarah didn’t mention?”
“No, not a word. Her name’s Holly?”
Justin nodded. “Holly Harper.”
Scotty nodded, although it was clear he couldn’t quite comprehend all the information he was getting from Justin. He eventually just shook his head, taking another bite of his dinner and then changing the topic to something entirely unrelated. Justin, feeling slightly overwhelmed himself, happily accepted the shift in conversation. They ended up talking for a couple hours, first as they finally managed to finish their dinner, then over dessert, then over coffee. By the end of the night, they were fast becoming friends. Justin began to realize he couldn’t just turn his back on Scotty after all this. He hesitated as they walked out of the restaurant. He zipped up his jacket, exhaling loudly as he looked around the parking lot.
“So…why don’t you come over for dinner sometime? Meet the rest of the family?”
Scotty looked at him, wavering in indecision. “I don’t know if that’d be a good idea. I don’t want to ambush your mother or anything.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll convince the others. It will be good to get everything out in the open, I think.”
Scotty made a face.
“Come on, man. You have to be a little curious.”
“Fine.”
“Great! Give me your phone number; we’ll set something up,” Justin said, pulling his cell out of his pocket.
Scotty sighed, feeling slightly steamrollered. It seems like there was no escaping the Walker family. And at this point, he wasn’t entirely sure he really wanted to, anyway.
***
Over the next few days Scotty did some research. Well, if Googling counts as research. He found out a lot about William Walker - as a business owner, he had a relatively high profile in the community. Involved in charities and councils. Almost always pictured with his wife, Nora. Later business pictures and articles of him also featured Sarah, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and Tommy, now president and vice president of the company, respectively. Holly Harper had an…interesting history. Large gaps of time in her life came up empty, only for her to appear again, playing some small role in a tiny film or local theater production. Kitty was perhaps the most well-documented of the Walkers, considering her career. Scotty found links to her radio program and the television show and, most recently, references to her work with Senator McCallister. She made the opinion page often, and the gossip page sometimes. And was apparently quite friendly with her boss.
Scotty moved onto the next person on his list. The first place he went was theskinnyminnie.com, remembering Justin’s infectious laughter as he told the story of Kevin’s paparazzi experience. He scrolled down the page until he saw a picture of Chad Barry with a friend. Scotty made a mental note to ask Michelle if she knew him, or had any clue whatsoever that her now-ex was apparently having an affair with his half-brother.
“God, what an ugly lamp,” Scotty commented before focusing again on the picture of the two men.
He was kind of cute, Scotty noted. Then he immediately shook himself. Chad Barry was cute, of course. The other man was his brother. He went to the search engine then, trying to find more - if perhaps less scandalous - information about Kevin. He showed up as a junior associate in a law firm, apparently pretty successful. A couple older links about graduating with honors from various universities and a comment or two connecting him back to Ojai Foods.
Scotty sighed. He had found out as much as he could about the Walkers. Combined with the things Justin had told him, he felt like he had a pretty good grasp on the family. He hoped it would be enough to make at least some small talk at what was bound to be the dinner from hell. He was beginning to regret ever agreeing to go. He still hadn’t decided if he really wanted to suddenly be part of a family, and he was sure they all secretly hated him for what he represented - lies and deceit and infidelity. But Justin had called him, repeating his offer of dinner now backed by Nora’s personal invitation. If she wanted to meet him, the least Scotty could do was spend an uncomfortable evening eating a free meal. And, at any rate, there was no backing out now. He checked the clock; he had only a short time left before he had to drive to Pasadena. Scotty pushed away from the desk, standing and walking towards the bathroom so he could clean up. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this dinner was going to change his entire life.
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