Hetty's Legacy

Arriving home after his morning jog, Hutch opened the door to his apartment and bent down to pick up the mail that was waiting on his doormat. Although intent on getting into the shower as quickly as possible, he nonetheless flicked through the various envelopes to see if there was anything of interest amongst them. There was a water bill, a subscription renewal for 'House Plants Monthly', a flyer for a local car place and a large, thick envelope that felt as if contained several papers. The envelope was typed, indicating it was probably a business letter, and it took Hutch only a moment to notice that it had a Duluth postmark on it. Feeling a stirring of curiosity, he sliced open the envelope and first pulled out the folded letter (written on good quality paper), which had been sent by Coleman, Warner and Stubbs.

He started to read:

To Kenneth Richard Hutchinson

Dear Sir

Regarding the Last Will and Testament of Henrietta Bergdin Ellingsen

also known as Hetty Ellingsen

In accordance with the wishes of the late Hetty Ellingsen, please find enclosed a cheque for the sum of $4,000 , a copy of her private recollections 'There and Back Again' and a personal letter. Please sign and date the enclosed form to acknowledge receipt of these items and return said form in the envelope provided.

Yours faithfully

James Stubbs

Feeling somewhat stunned, Hutch looked at the cheque which was attached to the letter by means of a silver paperclip. $4,000! He couldn't believe his own eyes. Shaking his head, Hutch next drew out a thick pile of papers from the envelope and found he was looking at a small binder entitled 'There and Back Again' by Hetty Ellingsen. He flicked through to find neatly typed pages with different titles every few sheets; Hetty Bergdin Travels to Bergen; The Charming Russian; On The Trail of King Arthur; and Ghosts, Green Glugs and Glastonbury.

Hutch smiled to himself as he vowed to settle down tonight and read some of Hetty's travel writing. It seemed these tales might be as eccentric and fun as the lady herself had been. Finally, he checked the envelope again and found a long, thin envelope addressed to 'Hutch Kennison'.

He laughed out loud at the private joke as he carefully took out the letter and began to read. When he finished the one page message, he had tears in his eyes. He carefully returned the letter to its envelope and stood it on the piano, next to a frame that was a recent addition; a photograph of his mother and his two aunts with Hetty.

He placed the other papers carefully on the coffee table and then picked up the phone, dialling the long distance number for his parents. It was almost seven-fifteen in Bay City so it would be nine-fifteen in Duluth – hopefully just the right time to catch his mother before she either went out or got stuck into some charitable project or other.

The phone rang for four chimes and then his mother answered: "Hutchinson residence. Eleanor speaking."

"Hi Mom, it's me."

"Ken, darling, how lovely to hear from you. How are you?"

"A little stunned to be honest!"

"Ah. You've received your bequest from Hetty then?"

"Yes, how come you didn't tell me it was coming? You were her executor."

His mother laughed softly. "I thought dear old Hetty would like it to be a surprise. Don't you?"

Hutch nodded. "Yes, she certainly would have. I can't believe how much she left me. It was so kind of her."

"Well, she was always generous with her money and her time. What did her letter say? If you don't mind telling me, that is."

"Just that she was proud of me and wanted me to spend some of the money on an adventure."

"Typical Hetty! And will you? Go on an adventure?"

"You know I think I might."

"Good…Well, I must be going, my darling. I've got a luncheon to prepare for the local hospital fundraiser. I'll speak to you soon. Bye."

"Bye Mom."

Hutch had hardly put the phone down when there was knock on the door and Starsky walked in.

"Morning, Blintz! Hope you noticed that I'm early this morning!"

"Oh, yes, great. Is that the time?"

Starsky raised his eyebrows. "Hey! You haven't had your shower yet! Get going, Blintz! I take it you haven't eaten yet? I'm starving – thought we might stop for a breakfast sandwich on the way in."

"Yes, okay, we can do that…but I want to tell you some news before we go to work."

Starsky had carried on through to the kitchen and grabbed a coke from Hutch's fridge. Despite Hutch's general lectures on Starsky's eating habits, he usually kept a soft drink or two in stock for his partner. Starsky flipped the lid off and took a swig.

"What's the news then?"

Hutch picked up the cheque and handed it to his partner. Starsky stared at the cheque and then whistled his surprise.

"It's from Great Aunt Hetty's estate."

"That's t'riffic, Hutch! Really, I mean it, I'm so happy for ya. Any idea what you're gonna do with it?"

"Well, I'm going to put half in my savings account but Aunt Hetty was quite insistent that I use half to take a trip. I think she wanted me to have an adventure like some of the ones she took and described in her diary."

"That sounds great. Any idea where you want to go?"

"Well, I plan on reading her travelogue tonight. I took a peek at the chapter titles and I think I might follow in her footsteps, maybe take a trip up the fjords of Norway or go to Britain and see some of those places connected with King Arthur that she was so excited about."

Starsky nodded. "You gonna do it this summer?"

"Yeah, I thought I would."

Starsky nodded again, but looked a little less happy.

"What's up, partner?"

"Nothing. It's great news. I'm sure you'll have an amazing time…Just I'm sorry we won't get to spend our two week vacation together this year but – hey, never mind, I'm pleased for ya. I really am. It'll be a t'riffic experience for ya."

Hutch shook his head fondly. "You're coming with me, you dummy," he explained.

"Huh? What do you mean? I mean that's nice of ya, Hutch, but I don't think I can afford it."

Hutch smiled as he said, "You don't need to afford it, I'm paying."

Starsky frowned and shook his head. "Nah, you shouldn't be spending your money on me."

Instead of answering, Hutch got up and retrieved Hetty's letter from the piano and then handed it to his friend. "Hetty wanted me to spend it on a trip for the two of us. Go ahead; you can read it."

Starsky read the name on the front of the letter and raised an eyebrow. "Did she get a bit muddled towards the end of her life?"

"Nope, still razor sharp."

"Then why-"

"-It was a little joke we shared together."

Starsky smiled in understanding and proceeded to open the letter and read the contents, which were written in a bold, neat hand.

My Dearest Ken,

It has been a joy to watch you grow into the man you have become. I am so proud of you. Even if I haven't said that before, I hope you already know it. You have a heart of gold and the compassion of an angel. But you are sometimes a little too sensible! I want you to promise me that you will use this little gift I leave you as unwisely as you can. Or if that is too much for your cautious mind, save half and spend half!

Travel, my darling boy. Have an adventure like one of the many trips I undertook. Don't leave it until you are old and grey, although age never stopped me from having fun, but even so my advice is to travel while you are young and not yet tied down.

You know that all my travels were undertaken with my best friend, Minnie. Any experience will be all the richer if you have someone to share it with. I was privileged to share my adventures with her and I would love you to travel with your best friend. There should be enough to cover at least one adventure together, depending on how vast your dreams are!

Take care, have fun and never forget I love you.

Hetty

Starsky finished reading and folded the letter up carefully. As he handed it back to Hutch, he said, "I wish I'd met her even more now! What a great letter!"

Hutch nodded as he walked to place the letter back on the piano next to Hetty's picture.

Starsky knew his pal all too well. "You okay?"

Hutch pulled a hankie from his pocket and blew his nose before saying, "Yeah."

"Come on, Blintz. Get in that shower and then let's go get breakfast before we start our day. I'm buying. Least I can do if you're springing for a trip abroad!"

As he walked past Hutch, he patted his back gently, acknowledging his friend's sense of loss. "I'll go wait in the car. Don't be long!"

Hutch nodded back at him and smiled a little as he headed towards the shower. By the time, he was hurrying down the stairs to join his partner, his brain was buzzing with ideas; all of which he intended to talk through with Starsky as soon as the job and time allowed.