My dearest granddaughter,
Melanie, I have loved you since the moment I held you in my arms. Maybe from the first time you kicked me from within your mama’s belly. If you are reading this, I am no longer where you can see me—I’ve gone to heaven. Where I can still see you, still hear you, still walk along beside you.
You are just a toddler as I’m writing this, hopefully this is one of many letters I will write to you, and you can laugh at how silly your old gram was for writing a letter to a toddler.
But if it’s not one of many, I want you to know that you are perfect. You deserve the world, and just from the way you have your daddy and brother wrapped around your little fingers, I imagine you will get the world. Always remember your worth.
With all my love,
Grama Barb
I folded the first letter back up and set it aside. There were ten letters in total. I skimmed the next couple; they were more or less the same—different years but declarations of a grandmother’s love. I froze when I reached the one dated shortly after my wedding… This one was longer than the others.
My favorite Granddaughter: Melanie,
Only granddaughter.I thought with a smile and rolled my eyes.
Believe it or not, watching you walk down the aisle was one of my bucket list items. You were an absolute vision, and Benjamin’s eyes never left you once. It was a beautiful night, and I’m so glad that you and Benjamin wound up together.
She wouldn’t think that now.I scoffed.
I know you were both upset with me for the prenup. I understand, if I had been in your shoes—in love with the same man since high school—I too would’ve felt like my insistence was a lack of faith in our love. Unfortunately, I’m an old lady whose firstlovewas more like a nightmare. You never met your mother’s father, but he was not a good man, a good father, or a good husband. We married young, at my parents’ insistence. Back then, if you got caught fooling around in the back of a young-ish man’s Cadillac, he had to marry you. I won’t bore you with the details, but in the long run, Mr. Olsen and I did not stay married. Thanks to Nancy, I was able to leave that marriage with enough assets to stand on my own two feet—an independence I never took for granted or gave up again—but that did not come easily, and the battle was traumatic for your poor mother. Women did not simply divorce men in those times. My only regret in leaving that man was that it had to hurt your mother.
My insistence was based on my own experience; if, for any reason, you or Benjamin decide to go your separate ways, I wanted to make sure that the path to doing so was smoothfor you both. As I’m sure you read, the prenup doesn’t favor you unless you have been left in a position where you are dependent on him or he has been unfaithful to your vows. The same terms apply to you. I love your husband; he is like another grandson to me; the boy was given a bad beat. (Remember your old gram was quite the poker aficionado in her day.)
I hope that you never have a need for the prenup. I hope that you both grow old together and have lots of littles that look like both of you and burn bright with the fire within them—like you do, my wonderful girl.
All my love,
Grama Barb
I stared at the handwritten letter in my hands and felt the familiar burning sensation in the back of my eyes. If only I could tell her how grateful I was for her foresight. That she’d been right and that her prenup was going to save me and my child.
I tried to swallow the ball that had appeared in my throat, but couldn’t. Unfortunately, we had been angry with her when she first insisted on the prenup. It had felt like betrayal to sign something that was basically declaring our marriage was doomed. Statistically, it was such a likely outcome that it shouldn’t have felt like a betrayal but in our young minds, we had just heard the word divorce and rebelled. My hands shook as I took out the next letter.
My brilliant Melanie,
I’m writing this letter after having met with my accountant and my attorney to discuss all the new financial assets your brilliant investments have wrought.
My darling girl, you have changed our lives. Not just mine, but Felicity & Leonard’s, and even your own. Kyle was already on the fast track to wealth, but I’m sure he will appreciate the fruits of your efforts just the same.
When I found out that Benjamin didn’t want you to go to college, I was very upset. It seemed like such a waste of your intelligence and talents to demand that you become the domestic housewife that my ex-husband had always dreamed I’d become. It turns out that you picked up a few new tricks along the way anyway.
I have to say, I agree with not telling Benjamin about your investments. I know you’re not hiding it for nefarious reasons, but because you’re waiting for him to reach his goal. I think it’s important that you enjoy this moment without worrying about his reaction. You’ve always selflessly put others before yourself, and I’m glad that you didn’t let that stop you from growing—even if it does mean you have to dampen your excitement for now.
I hope that you are able to share your victory with him soon. I can’t wait to see what you do next.
Now to the legal stuff, with this wealth, I had to update my will. I’ve left explicit instructions for each and every one of you. You are not to feel any certain way about being left the largestchunk of the pie—youliterallycreated it. I have left Benjamin money of his own; what’s left for you is FOR YOU. Use it to keep building your beautiful life.
All my love & admiration,
Grama Barb
I smiled when I remembered the phone call I got after her accountant had informed her about all her new wealth. She had been so flustered.
“Melanie, what did you do?” she had screeched, and I had stared at my phone, shocked by her tone and volume.
“What are you talking about?” I had asked.
