Chapter 1: Great Aunt Elaine

There's a lot people don't tell you about growing up. Especially when you grow up in a small town. I remember the confusion about what the next step was. I had just graduated with my bachelors degree in communications that December from a mid-sized liberal arts college that was somewhere on a map that non-Hoosiers could name and didn't know what to do next.  My job applications had received no response and more than anything I didn't want to move back in with my parents. I had leased an apartment from the university so my lease would end on Jan 2nd. This meant that either I was going to have to move back in with my folks, couch surf indefinitely or face the uncertainty of using my last bit of money for a deposit and first months rent in a new city with unknown job prospects. I love my family but I didn't want to move back to Middlebrook, Indiana. My sister was just shy of 13 and already had the teenage whine down. My brother was 16. A theater geek, boy scout, and jock, he was already always going to some activity. 

Nothing ever happened in Middlebrook. Which is why it's a great place to raise a family. Live out your days on the family sitting on the porch swing watching the corn grow. Every year we'd harvest the corn, pick apples and going to the seasonal festivals which were the epitome of small town life. This was a place where people didn't lock their doors and everyone knew everyone. This sounded good for years from now but at that point in my life I remember wanting to explore the world more than anything. 

It all started with my cell phone ringing loudly. The semester had just ended and I had to be out of my place in two weeks. It was my mother. 

"Ellie! Hi! Sweetpea, I have some bad news". 

"What's going on?"

"Do you remember great-aunt Elaine?" 

"Yes." 

"She passed away while on that Alaska cruise. They're shipping her body back her to the family plot. The funeral will be on Monday. The lawyer called and said that he would like to gather everyone to discuss her Will. Will you be able to come?"

I had barely known my great-aunt Elaine. She was a quiet woman who was 98. She was always traveling. When she was younger, she left Middlebrook and traveled everywhere. She met some rich bazillionaire and was happily married in a world away. He passed away after 10 years of marriage and they never had any children. 

You know those Facebook stories about those elderly people who live on cruise ships? That was my great-aunt Elaine. She loved traveling. She loved people. She loved adventure. I look almost identical to her when she was my age. Light brown hair, big blue eyes, curvy. I was sad. I wanted to get to know her better. Maybe we'd go on an adventure together. She would come back to Middlebrook on rare occasions such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. She didn't come to this last Thanksgiving tho because she was in some far flung part of the world after her cruise boat got delayed due to some crazy weather. 

The next few days pasted by in a blur. At the funeral, everyone talked about how she was a rare bird. It was mostly just us Middlebrook folks. My cousin Bert came back from the big city of Indianapolis, where he had gotten an administrative job at a medical insurance billing company. Everyone else lived in the Michiana area. 

The lawyer flew into the North Bend airport and with his shiny black rental car pulled up to the house. Everything about him screamed CITY and most definitely NOT FROM HERE. We were all gathered in the big living room. 

My family home had been build during the Victorian era. It was a large house with big rooms and high ceilings. Over the years each generation had added their own modernizations and touch. The house was gorgeous and homey all in one. The lawyer couldn't have looked more out of place.

"Thank you all for meeting with me" he said. His British accent lightly showing. "My condolences for your loss."

"Thank you for coming" my father said. 

"Would you like something to eat or drink? Coffee? Soda-pop? Oh! We have come cobbler left! I'll get you some" my grandmother ordered before he could respond.

As per midwestern tradition, nobody turns down cobbler.

"I hope you don't mind but I need to get down to business. The company jet is scheduled to flight out of the North Bend airport at 8pm to London" he briskly stated. 

"That's fast" my aunt Helen stated. 

"So, as many of you know Elaine was rather wealthy..." He proceeded to read her will and testament. She left a chunk of money to half a dozen charities, friends, members of our family, but what was to come out of his mouth next shocked me. 

The lawyer paused. He looked up and stated, "Is Ellie here?"

"Yes?" I asked. 

He pulled an envelope from his bag and said, "Mrs. Washburn-VanWooden said that this next part would shock you". 

The whole room stared intently. 

He read the next bit "Please give this envelope to my dear great-niece Ellie - she is at that age that I was when I needed that adrenaline rush of adventure. To her I leave Durham Castle, with the lands titles, income and responsibilities. I hope this will give her taste of Scotland and the red skies.

Stunned, I dropped my small plate of peach cobbler.