Chapter 10 - The Rich Uncle
Later that afternoon, after the pancakes had been eaten and the wrapping paper—what little there was of it—had been cleared away, Melissa and I stood out on her small balcony. The snow was falling faster now, dusting the branches of the old oak tree in the courtyard below.
She was wearing a thick knit sweater, holding her coffee mug, watching the kids down in the courtyard trying to pack enough snow together to build a snowman.
"A year ago today," she said quietly, her breath forming small white clouds in the winter air, "I hated you so much, Andrew."
"I know," I said, leaning my arms on the balcony railing. "I didn't blame you. It's hard to love the person who cuts off the supply."
"It wasn't just the money," she clarified, turning her head to look at me. "It was the mirror. When you brought those boxes into my living room, you forced me to look at what I was becoming. A parasite. A mother who was teaching her kids to be parasites. I was so angry because I knew you were right."
"You weren't a parasite, Mel. You were just stranded in your own fear. I just stopped letting you use my career to hide from it."
She smiled, taking a sip of her coffee. "You know... the manager at the dental clinic is retiring next fall. Dr. Vance told me last week that he wants to promote me to Office Administrator when she leaves. It comes with a raise. A real one. Thirty dollars an hour, full benefits, and an retirement match."
I turned to her, my eyes wide with surprise and absolute joy. "Melissa! That's incredible! That's a huge deal!"
"I know," she beamed, her face radiating a brilliant, hard-earned happiness. "And you know what the best part is? When he offered it to me, I didn't think about what I could buy with the extra money. I thought about how much faster I could build my emergency fund so I can finally get a car with a current registration."
We laughed together, the sound echoing in the quiet courtyard.
Down below, Tyler had successfully rolled a massive snowball for the base of the snowman. He looked up at the balcony, waving his gloved hand. "Hey! Mom! Uncle Andrew! Come down here and help us with the head! It's too heavy!"
"We're coming!" Melissa called back.
She set her coffee mug down on the balcony table and turned toward the door, but she stopped, looking back at me one last time.
"You really are the rich uncle, you know," she said softly, her eyes full of an authentic, deep gratitude.
"Don't start, Melissa," I warned playfully. "I told you, the Bank of Andrew is permanently closed."
May you like
"I don't mean rich with money, Drew," she said, wrapping her arm through mine as we walked back inside the warm, small apartment. "You're rich because you had enough love to let us break, so we could figure out how to put ourselves back together. That's wealth, big brother. And we're finally rich too."
I smiled, closing the balcony door behind us, leaving the cold wind outside. For the first time in my life, the title didn't feel like a leash. It felt like freedom.
