M - Mystery - #AtoZChallenge

Jenna took a deep breath before she walked into the room. She hadn't spoken with her family in over 15 years. She hadn't even made attempts to keep up with what they were doing. When she stormed out of the house that night, she never looked back. 

A few weeks ago, she had been living her own life completely separated from her interfering family when the private investigator found her and made it very clear it would be in her best interest to be here today.  She only came because she was given the impression that she had to. She was not looking to catch up with anyone or have conversation.

When she stepped in, the conversation in the room waned for a moment as all heads turned in her direction. Both her brother Darren and sister Alicia shot daggers out of their eyes. Her mother ignored her completely. Her father gave her a slight nod and resumed conversation with his son.

Jenna didn't know everyone in the room. Of course, she knew her parents and siblings. Her mother's brother Alan was here as well. There were a couple of kids running around, so one of her siblings must have squirted out some offspring. At least one of the kids belonged to the unknown woman speaking to Alicia. The child asked her to take him to the bathroom and she motioned to Darren. Darren took the child out, so Jenna assumed it was his kid and the woman was his wife.

The only other unknown person was a man perusing the bookshelf. Although, it became apparent pretty quickly he wasn't really interested in the books. Jenna noticed him sneaking nervous glances at her several times. She assumed it was Alicia's husband or boyfriend wanting to get a look at the family pariah.

As grateful as she was no one was talking to her, she knew this was not natural. A person does not walk into a room full of people without even an acknowledgement. They had to know she was coming. One of them hired that private investigator to find her. So, it's probably reasonable to assume that only one person wants her to be here. And it's also safe to assume, the extra people who have joined the family were warned not to interact with her. The guy at the bookshelf must be terrified of Alicia's wrath. Jenna could almost smell the anxiety dripping off him.

Jenna could sense the tension in the room and the hatred directed at her. She was well aware of how much she was disliked by her family and she understood why. They hated her because it's the way they are. It was to be expected. However, they really had no reason to. The worst she had ever done to any of them was leave to live her own life, but that was enough. She would never be forgiven.

Her brother returned with the child and was followed by a man Jenna knew she had seen before. He was the first to speak to her. The man clapped his hands together and said, "Oh, good. You're here. We can get started."

Jenna heard a "pfft" from her sister at the acknowledgement of her presence, but ignored it. The man who spoke to her stepped to the other end of the room and opened a briefcase to remove a several-page document. Jenna remembered him now. He had been her father's lawyer since she was a girl.

The lawyer started, "Now that we are all accounted for, we shall begin. I hold in my hands the Last Will and Testament of James Creuble to be read today."

The adults looked at each other in confusion and looked to their father for confirmation. James Creuble nodded slowly. Darren blurted out, "The man is standing right there. What is this?" He looked to his father and asked, "What is going on?"

Mr. Creuble cleared his throat. "Did that Ivy League education teach you nothing. He just said what it was."

Darren fell back at the words of his father, but Alicia pushed for an answer. "Father, are you dying? This is very unusual."

The patriarch rolled his eyes with impatience. "We are all dying. Everyone one of you. Now listen up. No more stupid questions."

Jenna smirked in the back of the room. She hadn't missed these conversations. This was how most of them went in this family. Everyone just spewing their disgust at each other.

Darren got his courage back, "So, we came all the way here for this? When you're not even close to dead? It makes no sense."

James Creuble stood and stabbed his finger into Darren's face. "Did you just say, 'ALL THE WAY HERE?' You and your whiny family live two blocks from here in the house I bought you. Your sister and…HIM *pointing with his thumb over his shoulder at the nervous bookcase guy…only had to walk down the stairs to get here. The only person who actually had to put in any effort to be here is Jenna. She, and only she, can honestly use the phrase "all the way here."

James Creuble looked around the room and met Jenna's eyes for a moment. He gave her another slight nod and turned to sit down. "My will is being read today. No, I am not dying. I wanted to write out my wishes while I still have complete use of my mind. And we are here today, instead of after my death, because I want to be here to answer all your questions about why you got what you got or didn't get. There will be no squabbling or fighting over my reasons because you're going to find out today."

He turned to his lawyer, "Let's get this going."

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All this month, I am participating in the A to Z Challenge. A new post will go up every day (except Sundays) using a letter of the alphabet as the starting off point. My theme for the month is literary genres. I am writing in a different genre of flash fiction each day. Today's letter is M for Mystery.