Musty. All he could think about was the odd smell of the dimly lit office in which he sat.
It was neatly arranged with no odds or ends despite the odd smell and uncomfortable temperature. A college degree, dated "September 1964", hung from the wall above the desk in front of which they were waiting, and a few pictures of a young, dark-haired man shaking hands with an older, important-looking individual. A file cabinet was in the left corner of the room, and a bookshelf was against the wall. By examining the spines of the books, one could tell that not one had once been opened. A pile of dust ridden, battered tomes, one wide open on the top, sat between the old leather studded chairs in which the two people sat in wait.
Neil yawned boredly and stretched. After an hour, the old troll still had not returned. He looked over to his brother Rick, twenty years younger than he, who was staring at a stain on the ceiling, undoubtedly so soaked through it would take a firehose at least a decade to clear it. Neil traced his brother’s facial features, trying to gain some insight on what he was thinking. Was he trying to figure what the stain was of? Maybe he was thinking about the stain’s shape or the way it got there. Neil finally adverted is eyes and shook his head. To him, Rick had always been an enigma.
An old man walked in from a door behind the clients. He was stern looking and wore oval glasses that had to be constantly pushed back into place on his nose. He wore an expensive looking black suit and tie, and carried a file under his arm. He walked around the men to his desk and turned to face them. As the two rose to greet him, he raised his hand, stopping them. He took his own seat, opened the file, and read a few lines. He then looked up at Neil and Rick.
"You are the last two surviving members of you family?" He asked.
Neil nodded.
"My name is Neil Crass, and this is my brother…"
Rick did his own introduction.
"Richard Crass, or Rick for short." He said, holding his hand out to shake. He only received a cold glare from the old troll. He slowly pulled his hand back, dumbfounded.
The troll looked back down at the file.
"According to this Last Will and Testament of your Great Uncle Benjamin Ulysses Crass his life savings of about half a million dollars shall be ‘left to the last surviving members of the Crass family, not to be awarded no later, nor no sooner, than September 12, 2001’. This was dated twenty years ago," he took off his glasses, rubbed his nose, and continued to address them, "I’ve done all the legal work, all you two have to do is give your signatures and it’ll be a done deal."
Neil smiled and sat up straighter. He had saved up quite a bit the past twenty years and had quite a nice nest egg, and felt a little more couldn’t hurt.
"When do we get the money?"
"As soon as the papers are signed, the check is given to you two to be split accordingly."
"And what if one or both of us refuse?" Rick prodded, causing Neil to look at him quizzically and the old troll to smile.
"If you both refuse, then the money goes to the state. However, if only one of you refuses, then the one that didn’t refuse gets all the inheritance."
"Rick why would you ask that?" Neil was forced to ask him. His instincts were telling him that their dear Uncle Ben had not told them, but he chose to disregard them.
Rick only shrugged.
"My gut tells me there’s something wrong. I can’t put my finger on it as to what it is, but Uncle Ben was so secretive. I’m not sure we should be accepting this money."
Neil was nearly out of his seat.
"Come on! It’s half a million! And you get a half of it, meaning paying for college will be a lot easier."
The recently graduated Rick only shook his head.
"I know that, but something makes me uneasy. I don’t want to get involved in anything that Uncle Brian did. You know how much trouble he got into, even in his old age."
Neil remembered the sexual harassment charges that his great uncle was under for making advances on a nurse that tended him in the hospital after a spinal operation, the DUI charge on New Year’s Eve, the assault charge in 1976… the list went on. Neil shook his head.
"Rick, that was all in the past. He’s dead now, and all that’s been resolved."
Rick was about to respond, only to be cut off by the old troll.
"Are you two going to sign or not?" he demanded.
Rick stood up, and held his hands out in front of him.
"Sorry, I can’t. I just don’t trust this." And with that, he walked out.
The troll turned to Neil and held a pen out to him.
"Well?" he asked.
Neil reluctantly took the pen and signed the papers. He received the check, the hand was shaken, and the deal was done.
Shortly after Neil had cashed the check and deposited it, debt collectors began to call him. Old Uncle Ben had left an outstanding debt of over nine hundred thousand dollars, and interests, bills, and back taxes to be paid. After his inheritance was used up, the difference was made up out of Neil’s pocket, since that when he accepted his great uncle’s money he had accepted his debts as well. When all was repaid, while Neil still had enough to live, he was essentially destitute. Most of the money he had saved for the past twenty years of his life was gone, and he would now have to start over. In the end, Rick’s feelings proved right.
It would be a decision Neil would regret for the rest of his life.