Chapter 2 - The Five Envelopes
The patio quieted down, though not out of genuine respect. It was out of curiosity.
Denise immediately straightened up, brushing off her cover-up and nudging Tyler out of the pool. My stepsister, Kayla—nineteen, obsessed with her phone, and usually completely indifferent to family gatherings—actually stopped scrolling and looked up. In our family, when Grandma Gloria spoke about giving things away, minds instantly drifted to her estate. The house, small as it was, sat on three acres of prime suburban land that developers had been eyeing for a decade.
"Oh, Gloria," Denise said, her voice instantly shifting into a sickly-sweet tone as she glided over to the table. "You really shouldn't have bothered. You need to save your strength."
"I have plenty of strength, Denise," Grandma said smoothly.
She reached down into the large, structured tote bag resting by her feet. From inside, she pulled out a stack of five thick, crisp white envelopes. Each had a name written on the front in dark blue ink, drafted in Grandma's immaculate, old-fashioned cursive script.
She handed the first envelope to my dad. He took it nervously, his fingers trembling slightly. "Mom, what's this?"
She handed the second to Denise, who accepted it with an eager, sharp-eyed glint. The third went to Tyler, who snatched it while still dripping pool water onto the concrete. The fourth went to Kayla.
Finally, Grandma turned to me. She looked into my eyes for a long moment, a hidden, unspoken message passing between us, before placing the fifth envelope in my hands.
"I wanted to do something meaningful," Grandma said, resting her hands over her woven purse in her lap. "Something while I am still here to see it matter. Open them."
The sound of tearing paper filled the quiet backyard.
I carefully unsealed my envelope and pulled out a single piece of heavy-stock paper. It was a check. My eyes locked onto the numbers written in the box.
$15,000.00
My heart took a sharp, sudden leap into my throat. Fifteen thousand dollars. To anyone else, it was a modest sum. To me, it meant paying off my remaining tuition, quitting the graveyard pharmacy shifts, buying textbooks without taking out high-interest personal loans, and having enough left over to secure an apartment away from this house.
Across the table, Tyler let out a loud, incredulous whistle. "Holy crap! Fifteen grand?!"
"Fifteen thousand?" Denise repeated, her voice breathless as she stared at her own check. For a second, a rare look of genuine shock swept over her face. "Gloria... this... this is incredible. I had no idea you had this kind of liquid cash just sitting around."
My dad looked up, his eyes glassy. "Mom... this is too much. You shouldn't be giving away your savings like this."
"It's my money, Richard," Grandma said mildly. "I can do with it as I please."
For about thirty seconds, the air was filled with a bizarre, uncharacteristic warmth. Denise was smiling; Tyler was already talking about using the money as a down payment for a new truck; my dad looked relieved.
Then, Denise flipped her check over to look at the back.
Her eyes caught something near the header. She paused. She brought the check closer to her face, her heavy makeup creasing as her brows furrowed. Then, the warm smile vanished, replaced by a dark, ugly line across her lips.
A sharp, mocking bark of laughter escaped Denise’s throat.
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"Wait a second," Denise said, her voice dripping with sudden, venomous amusement. "Gloria... what kind of game is this?"
The atmosphere instantly froze.
