Finding Idlewild

Ruth walked along her street and up to her drive way, checking the mailbox on the way in. Her dad’s car was already parked in the front, and the lights from the t.v. could be seen through the window dancing across the wall inside the living room.

She grabbed the usual slew of bills and flyers from the mailbox and made her way up the hot asphalt. The air-conditioned cool burst of air was a welcome change from the already sweltering heat of late May in Pennsylvania. She took her headphones out of her ears, and yelled an indifferent “Hey Dad”, out to the inside of the house as she tossed the letters on the kitchen table and dropped her school bag on the tiled floor. She heard a distant, “Hello Ruthie!” from somewhere upstairs. The toilet flushed and her dad came down the stairs shortly after.

“How’s my girl! How was the last day of school?” he said, picking Ruth up in a dad hug.

“Uhh ok I guess….” Ruth responded, awkwardly hugging back and then shimmying away. “I need to go get changed though.” She said. The two of them were going out for a celebratory dinner, although she didn’t really feel like there was a lot to celebrate really.

She didn’t feel as elated as she might’ve once felt at the beginning of summer vacation. Back in the day summer vacation meant taking a break from school, and then coming back to everyone again in the fall. Almost like being given a chance to start again with a blank slate. There was always another year or two to figure out what you wanted to do with your life. This time was different. She had just technically graduated from high school. Finished grade 12. But unlike her friends, who all somehow happened to be super successful and overachieving well rounded humans, Ruth was without a plan. She decided to return for a victory lap, to focus on extra credits and to amp up her test scores. Truthfully, she just didn’t really have a passion for anything. She wanted to opt for something practical, like accounting, or maybe law, but she really didn’t know. Her dad was good about it. He didn’t push her or shame her for not knowing what she wanted to do. He supported her taking her time, but also kept trying to introduce her to more activities to “inspire” her, which was also marginally annoying.

Her best friends, Leila and Adam, both had some exciting things planned for the summer. Leila was exploring Europe with her family and was then university bound to study medical science. She was always hoping to be a doctor and would most likely make it there. Adam was a track star and had been scouted for the varsity team at Penn State, so he was at a training camp during the summer. Ruth…well she was just at home. Reading her fantasy novels and immersing herself in her favourite Anime shows, while working part-time at the local pet store.

She went into her room and rummaged around her closet for a casual cute outfit. Settling on her usual jeans and band tee, she grabbed her hello kitty purse and walked downstairs while scrolling through her Instagram. Leila had posted a story en route to the airport, a cute selfie of her with parents and 2 younger brothers in tow. Ruth turned off her phone and shoved it in her purse, annoyed at herself for looking at social media while she felt somewhat rotten about herself. Everyone knows that’s the worst thing to do.

She sauntered into the living room and announced that she was ready to go, but her voice trailed off as she saw her father sitting over a letter and reading intently.

His easy-going mood from earlier had been replaced with a serious and furrowed brow.

“What’s wrong? Is something wrong?” Ruth quickly asked, walked around her dad and peering over his shoulder.

“Nothing…nothing is wrong. It’s just a little bit…I don’t even know what to think truthfully. I just never thought something like this would ever happen…why?” He mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. He handed the paper to Ruth.

Dear Mr. Joseph Moss,

I do hope this letter finds you and your daughter well.

I am writing on behalf of the late Mr.Benedict Lowell.

As per the last will and testament of Mr. Lowell, I am informing you of what is now legally yours.

The whole of Mr. Lowell’s property, including estate, acreage, island, and monetary assets, have been left solely to Miss Ruth Moss.

As she is not yet an adult, the management of these assets will fall to her legal guardian, until she is 18 years of age.

If you have any questions on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Mr. Henry Bassette

Attorney to Mr. Lowell

Executor of Mr. Lowell’s will

Ruth’s eyes danced across the page, but the actual gravity of content wasn’t quite registering. “Wait, so…I’m inheriting something….from Uncle Benedict? Why…why me?” She managed to say. Sitting down at the kitchen table with her dad.

It’s not that it was a terrible thing, even though to a stranger looking in at the two of them sitting silently at the table they might’ve assumed otherwise. It was quite neat in most aspects and even exciting. Inheriting something like that – clearly worth a lot. The reason behind the confusion, was that Ruth and her father weren’t exactly on great terms with that side of the family. Her mother’s side of the family that is.

Ruth’s mother, Elizabeth Lowell, came from money. Not completely brand-new American money, like tech giant money or something like that. Her family gained its riches over a hundred years ago, or even more, with railway ownership, and smart investments. They owned sprawling estates, and ate little cucumber sandwiches under parasols, while wearing little high tea hats on Sundays. Elizabeth, or Liz as her father called her, was nothing like that. She was a poet, and a dreamer. She wanted to become a journalist, and travel to dangerous war zones and poverty-stricken countries to report on the real stories. She really wanted to make a difference in the world. She met Joseph while they went to school together. He had no idea who she was or what she came from. He had worked hard to get a scholarship into one of the most prestigious schools in the country and was slated to graduate with honours and had lot’s of jobs offers from great engineering firms. For any girl on the planet, Joseph Moss was a great catch. Smart, kind, motivated, and able to provide financially, he had thought meeting his girlfriend’s family would have been a breeze. Elizabeth had warned him that they were snobby and standoffish, but he didn’t quite understand what she meant until he met them for himself. The first meeting was held at her uncle's lavish home in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was made clear to Joseph then, that he would never be an accepted suitor for dear Elizabeth.

Elizabeth went against her uncle’s wishes and eloped with Joseph, and they welcomed their first and only child, Ruth, soon after. As a result of this act, Elizabeth was excommunicated from her family on most fronts. Amid this family drama, Elizabeth passed away suddenly in a tragic and unexpected way. Her death axed whatever connection there was left between the Moss’s and the Lowell’s, and Joseph never expected any friendly communication from them in the future. As such Joseph was left a heart broken widower, with a young daughter who was barely even a toddler, and next to no family support.

Ruth couldn’t remember her mother, no matter how hard she tried. What she could remember were the few awkward encounters she had with the Lowell side of the family while growing up, and the occasional Christmas card they received from the more easygoing branch of some cousins out in California. Grandpa, or rather Uncle Benedict, was an eccentric recluse who preferred to live on his island in upstate New York. From Ruth’s limited knowledge of the family tree, she knew that Uncle Benedict was the oldest of the three Lowell brothers. The youngest brother had been her mother’s biological father, but him and his wife died while Elizabeth was young, and so she was raised by her uncle. That's where it ended with Ruth's knowledge about her mother's side of the family. As such, she was surprised by the news of this inheritance as much as her father.

"So what does this mean? Do we have to go up there and like...look at the place or something?" She asked, trying to break the silence.

"I guess we might have to at some point...yes." Her father nodded, but his voice was distant. Ruth could tell it was times like these he really missed her mom. Having to navigate communication with her family in what could be a nasty legal fight for inheritance was not something he was prepared for.

Ruth took the pages out of his hands and folded them away under a stack of old magazines on the kitchen table. "Let's go get some dinner. Maybe having some burgers down at Red Robin would help us process this a little better, don't you think?" She suggested.

After a few seconds he responded, "You're right. Let's go." slapping his hands down on the table while getting up. "We'll deal with this in the morning altogether. Now for some burgers." he proclaimed. His countenance had changed outwardly, but Ruth could tell that he was still unsettled.

"Tomorrow morning it is", Ruth thought to herself. "For once I wonder what tomorrow will bring."