Uncle Edward????

Paula gathered her mail for the day and continued on her way to the apartment she had rented for the last two years without a second glance at what precious mail she had received that day. She was thinking about pouring a glass of wine and getting some cheese to sit down to look at the bills that had come that day.   As she entered her apartment, she put the mail on her kitchen table before continuing to get comfortable, she had decide to take a shower before the old creaky hot water heater two floors down decide to hit bottom again when everyone decide to take their shower after dinner. Complaints had come to the landlord’s ears about the old creaky hot water heater and he had told people that he was looking into getting a new one.

When she got out of the shower, she decided to put on a comfortable pants and blouse, she noticed what time it was and she was glad that she had stopped at the nearby Chinese restaurant to order Sweet and Sour Chicken with brown rice, her favorite dinner.  Decided that eating dinner was her next move instead of eating a snack to get her through till dinner, she noticed that she hadn’t even open her mail for the day.  Her next move was to spread out her meal which for some reason included four crab ragon and four egg rolls which meant that she would have to stop back there tomorrow to tell them of their mistake.

Picking up the first envelope which she noticed was from a lawyer office in her home town and chills began to run up and down her back as she slowly opened the envelope flap to see what they wanted. As she read the letter, one phrase kept going through her mind “Uncle Who?” For the life of her, she couldn’t remember an “Uncle Edward Nelson” who lived in the same town as she had until she moved. As she read the letter, it asks her to call this number and they would sit up a date for her to be told of an inheritance that he had her. She didn’t know whether to be happy or confused on whom this “Uncle Edward” was and why hadn’t she met him in the first place.

Glancing at the rest of the mail, she decided to call her parents to see who this “Uncle Edward” was and ask why she couldn’t remember him from the family parties that she had attended with her parents.  Dialing their number, she counted the rings before she remembered they had said they were invited out to dinner tonight and probably wouldn’t be home till after nine. Calling the lawyer, she set up an appointment for the next week since the day she received the letter was Friday and she set the appointment for Wednesday to hear about the inheritance.

 Her parents called back when they got home and asked her why she had called them. Paula told them about Uncle Edward, the letter, and that he had left her an inheritance. Shocker number one came her way when her parents informed her that the only “Uncle Edward” had passed away about two years ago when a drunk driver hit him head on when he was coming home from work.  They talked for a little longer before she heard the tiredness in her mother’s voice and said that she would call again tomorrow morning.  “Good night and sweet dream” was said in unison as both women knew it was time to go to sleep because they won’t solve this puzzle in the state of tiredness.

The morning came and went; the day went into afternoon to find the women sitting at the kitchen table trying to figure out this mystery which was bugging the heck out of them. In the end, they agreed that they weren’t going to figure anything out until she met with the lawyer next week, so they could ask him who this mystery man that was known as “Uncle Edward”.

The weekend went slowly, but soon it was time to get dressed to meet with the lawyer, for some reason she wasn’t looking forward to. She was going to find out about this mystery man that was part of her family or, so that is what the letter said.  They had gone over the family reunions and family parties with no memories of “Uncle Edward” in their mind. Why was it getting, so hard for them to figure out who this “Uncle Edward” is?

As she waited in the waiting room for the secretary to call her name, she kept trying to figure out who this mystery family man was and her mind was a complete blank on the memory front.   As she sat there listening to the woman that was sitting beside her and to pass the time, they started to talk. The woman was telling her a story about why she needed a lawyer, “I was walking and minding my own business when this thug thought he would steal my purse, so before he actually stole my purse, I grabbed my gun and shot him in the leg. Well, the thug is actually suing me for his personal suffering and his medical bills.” 

“Miss Paula Nelson, Mr. Jones will see you now!” She walked over to the secretary to begin to follow her back to the office that she would meet the lawyer that was going to either change her life forever or meet the bad news that she owed “Uncle Edward” money and to bury him they needed that money today. She was flat broke and prayed to God that it would be the answers to this mystery that she needed.

“Miss Nelson, I will read from the will as instructed by Edward Nelson.” Pausing to find the papers that he needed to read to the lady sitting in front of him.  He continued by reading directly from the will that was sitting in front of him “Miss Nelson, we only met a couple of times at parties and I felt like family that was loved and well received. I was a little boy of ten when we last saw at each other at a family party. Paula, you and I are the same age. We didn’t know each other because I went to a private school and hated it; I would have rather been in public school with you.  I really wish we would have met before I got the diagnose from the doctors of cancer. The doctors didn’t discover what was wrong with me until it was too late for them to do anything. My parents took me home to be comfortable and by now, you know the end result.  My lawyer will now tell you how much you get and what I would like you to do with it. Remember me as a healthy ten year old running beside you holding your hand.”

Paula listened as the lawyer told her that her Uncle Edward was actually her nephew’s son and somehow down the line and through the family parties, he was referred to as “Uncle Edward”.   The next part was the part that she could hardly believe her ears, she sat there with her mouth hanging open and she softly whispered “I can hardly believe this is happening.” She listened to the lawyer say, “Here is the check that Mr. Nelson told me to give you.”  Lifting the flap gently, she looked at the check that he had handed her and could hardly believe her eyes when it registered that the check was for one million dollars. 

“He gave me one million dollars. Why me? Why not his parents?” Paula sat there trying her best to be patience as she listens to the lawyer about the second step of the will.  The second step of the will was she had to share part of the money with the needy and to help her remember where she came from.

As Paula drove to her parent’s house, she wondered how she was going to explain she had walked into the lawyer’s office wondering how she was going to put gas in her car until payday and now, she has one million dollars in her saving accounts.  Who was she going to bless first and how would she know they weren’t scam her? Her heart kept telling her to put her faith in God and He would show her who to bless. She wasn't too sure how she felt about giving money away to needy people ,but it had to be done, something that always made her feel uncomfortable about handing people money that didn't belong to them. A person never knew when they were getting scammed because there was too many stories already out there about someone taking someone else money.