Chapter 21

10:00 August 28, 1983

Branch Manager’s Office

Joseph went in like he owned the place and walked right up to a white-haired lady that looked almost as old as Granny. “Hello, Miss Hathaway. I believe Adam is expecting us.”

“Mr. Snodgrass, is he expecting all of you? I only have you listed on his planner.”

They’re the clients that I told him I was bringing. Clients of mine and soon-to-be important clients of the bank. This is the Parker Family.

She looked over at everyone until she got to me and then her eyes widened. “That’s the boy from the news. The one who...”

Joseph held up his hand, stopping her completion of the sentence. “Yes, Karla it is. Please don’t make a big deal of it. He didn’t even want to do the press conference. He didn’t save the girl for accolades. The girl, by the way, was my niece, Amy.”

Karla Hathaway gasped. “No! Oh, Joseph, how fortunate she was that he was there.”

“We are all grateful. But he was there because she had declared him her boyfriend the day she moved in beside his family. Took Hiram by surprise too.”

Karla Hathaway had a pleasant little laugh.

“I just bet it did. Let me send one of the guys to get a few more chairs and I’ll let him know you’re here.”

She picked up her phone and a guy at a desk on the other side of the bank answered his phone. “Jessup, can you grab me four more chairs, comfy ones, and bring them to Mr. Dowdswell’s office for me?’

“Yes, ma’am,” I heard from the other side of the bank. The guy stole a chair from two empty desks and took them into the office behind Miss. Hathaway. Then he did it again at two occupied desks. Once there was seating, a very dapper-looking older gentleman with a receding hairline of shocking white hair and an equally neatly trimmed beard and mustache of the same white hair came to the office door. “Joseph, did you bring an army with you?”

“Not really, Adam, why don’t we all go inside and I’ll explain what we need?”

We all went in and Mr. Dowdswell closed the door behind us. “So what can I do for you, Joseph?”

There are several things we need, but first, let me introduce everyone. This is the Parker family. Beulah and Calvin and their grandchildren, May and Mary Jane. I can’t tell them apart. So your guess which one is which would be as good as mine. May held up her hand and said, “I’m Mary Jane.”

Mary Jane turned to her sister and uttered, “I thought I was Mary Jane?”

May laughed and said, “Oh that’s right, I’m May.”

Then Mary Jane shook her head, “No wait, I changed my mind, I’m May.”

Granny shook her head. She pointed at them both and shook her finger. “Ain’t nothin’ been done yet. You two are looking at being left behind. Now behave and introduce yourselves properly.”

Mary Jane sighed. “Yes Granny, hello Mr. Dowdswell, I am the real Mary Jane Parker.”

May waved. “I’m May, the prettier one.”

Pap-pap laughed. “They keep us on our toes fer certain sure.” Please don’t call my wife or me, Beulah and Calvin. I’m Pap-pap. Everyone who knows me calls me that. My wife is Granny. We ain’t been Beulah and Calvin to anyone but each other since them there girls was old enough ta talk.”

I walked up to the man and held out my hand. “I’m Harrison Parker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I saw the recognition in his eyes as well, so I beat him to it. “Please don’t call me a hero or make any kind of big deal about what the news said. I just did what was necessary to protect my girlfriend. Anyone would have done it.”

“I won’t then, but Son, you’re wrong. Even in a town like Angel Falls, many people would have turned a blind eye. Especially with a Buckley involved.”

Then he frowned. “Wait, Parker you said? Are you folks related to Robert Parker?’

May and Mary Jane nodded. “He’s our Daddy, Harrison’s too.”

I shook my head. “No May, Mary Jane; he has made it plain that he doesn’t have a son. He isn’t my father, he just contributed to my genetic material.”

Granny just sighed. “Let us just say that relationships are strained right now and leave it at that.”

“I can do that. Now Joseph, why have you brought me the Parkers? Shouldn’t they be at the Savings and Loan for whatever they need?”

“They would prefer to do business here. You’ll understand why soon. But let us just say, the Savings and Loan may be in a world of hurt shortly. The new D.A. is putting together a case against Glenn and maybe others there.”

“All right, I get it. Leave Robert out of whatever business is happening here.”

“Exactly. I need you to sign this before we go any further on this matter, Adam.” Joseph opened his briefcase and handed the Branch Manager a single-page document. At the top, it said Non-Disclosure Agreement.

“Okay, now I’m interested. Do you want me to have Karla come in and notarize this for you?”

Joseph nodded. “If you don’t mind, please. You may want her to sit in as well. You’re gonna need some notes to do everything the Parkers want done. But Adam, she’ll need to sign one of those too.”

Adam’s eyebrow widened. “She can’t notarize her own, you know.”

“I know, but you can. We both know you have a stamp, too.”

Adam nodded as he pushed a button on his phone. “Karla, bring your stamp and a steno pad.” He hung up and stated, “I think I’m intrigued.”

Joseph pulled a second NDA out of his case and laid it on the desk. Once Karla was in the room, she watched Adam sign the NDA, then she stamped it and signed it. Adam pointed to the other one. “Sign one too, please. I’ll stamp it.”

When that was done, Karla brought her office chair in and sat in the corner, ready to take notes in shorthand. “So, what’s this all about?”

Joseph nodded to Granny. “Show him please.”

Granny reached inside her purse and laid the signed lottery ticket on the desk. Joseph pulled a copy of the Gazette out of his case and laid it beside the ticket. The headline at the top of the page said it all. “Single winning Powerball Jackpot ticket sold at the Main Street Circle K.”

“You are looking at Kentucky’s newest millionaire, Adam. She and Calvin would like to open two accounts for themselves. One for their farm. They will move that account from the Savings and Loan to here. The other is a personal account. That one will receive the direct deposit of the Jackpot after taxes. By our estimate, $2,472,527.”

Adam grabbed a calculator and did some figuring, the tape printing, as his fingers moved. He nodded. “Yes, that seems right to me as well.” He smiled at Granny, “Congratulations, Ma’am.”

Granny shook her head. “Don’t be congratulating me, Sir. It ain’t really my money. It’ll be in that there account a few days, but it ain’t staying there.”

Dowdswell frowned. “I don’t think I understand.”

“This here ticket ain’t mine. It’s Harrison’s. He had a dream and saw me winning with them there numbers. He gave me the dollar to buy that ticket. It’s his money, not mine.”

“Ah, I see. He’s not old enough to play or to win. So you are the winner, but you don’t plan to keep any of the money?’

Pap-pap shook his head. “Tain’t ours to keep now, is it? We didn’t pay fer the ticket, and we didn’t know ‘em numbers. Harrison did. We are going to sit here and Harrison is going to tell you what to do with his money. Then we’re hoping you’ll do it.”

Adam nodded. “Of course. If that’s the way you want it. Pap-pap, Granny, then that is what we’ll do.”

He looked at me. “So tell me, young man, what am I doing?”

I opened my mouth and did just that. “First off, I need an interest-bearing savings account opened for each of my sisters. One for May and the other for Mary Jane. I need to set them up so that they require approval of any withdrawal. That executor is Granny with Linda Snodgrass as a second executor. Either can give access to either girl up to a limited amount of funds a year.

I thought for a minute. “Let’s say, $20,000. Each of their trusts is to be for $608,132. I would like for the bank to handle the gift tax for those accounts, which should leave each of my sisters with $601,95. There may be a second deposit made later. The terms of the trust are: The girls must have executor approval for all transactions over two hundred dollars until they turn twenty-one, if they no longer live with Robert Parker. If at twenty-one they do still live with Robert Parker, they will need executor approval until they turn twenty-five or are no longer living with the afore-mentioned person. That’s your side. Mr. Snodgrass will set up the terms of the trust and how the girls will gain executor approval.”

Joseph nodded. “Karla, when we are done, can you type up your notes and messenger them over to Linda for me? This is the first I’m hearing of the details of the trust as well.”

“Certainly, Mr. Snodgrass.”

May looked at me and raised her hand. I laughed. “This isn’t school May, just say what you want to say.”

“How did you come up with that number you just gave Mr. Dowdswell?”

“I took the winnings after taxes and split them into two equal shares. Then I took the share I’m giving to you and Mary Jane and split that in half. There’s another $10,000 that belongs to each of you, but I’m keeping that because we are opening a development company called Tie-Dyed Developments. You each are contributing $10,000 to buy out the mortgage on Mom’s house. I’ll put in more. When Mom passes away, we should each inherit a portion of the house. So we will share in buying the mortgage. Every year Mom lives there, we will forgive one year’s worth of payments on the house. We are gifting the house to Mom. But not outright. Don’t ask why. I have a reason. Pap-pap, Granny, and I talked it through and they agree with me on how to do this.”