Chapter 37

"As for stories, there is one I remember him telling me a couple of years ago. In 1976, he and his friends went up north for a fish trip. One of his friend's son bought a new boat and offered it to father to use whenever he was up north. That time, Tom's son, was on a patrol boat but he had told them where they could find the key and a petrol can to take with them in case they ran out of gas. So, on early Saturday morning, they took the boat out for the day. That afternoon on the way back, they had to refill the gas. They were halfway back when the motor started making strange noises and stopped. They checked everything frantically and couldn't find what was wrong with it. They used the radio to call for help; a patrol boat returned the call." She saw some people starting to smile.

"They told them they were stranded and not too long after, the patrol boat arrived close to them and they all heard clearly. 'Hey X! Isn't that your boat?' coming from one of the sailors." Everyone chuckled

"His reply was...'Dad? What did you do to the engine?' to which Tom replied was, 'We don't know we ran out of gas and filled it with this like what you said in the note' He lifted the can show it to his son. His son covered his face with both hands and shook his head. Then, he yelled out. 'Dad I said the light red can. That's dark red; you put petrol in the motor! No wonder the motor stopped you are ex-navy, dad!'" Every one laugh

"The Navy patrol boat towed them back to port. Grandfather and his friends shared some stories with the crew, and they all learn that Tom was an engineer in the navy. As for his son, the toilets on that ship were the cleanest toilets in the Australian navy for the next six months," she said smiling at the memory

"I did ask Grandfather if cleaning the toilets was a punishment for the crew and he said yes. I chuckled figuring it wouldn't take that long to a full crew to clean them, but then he told me: 'Jess, they had to use a toothbrush to clean them. '" Everyone laughed.

"That same day, Tom asked the boat engineer if he could look at the engines, but his son glared at his engineer and answered. 'if you do, you will be cleaning them with a toothbrush, and Grandfather did ask Tom how did he manage to traumatize his son with toothbrushes." People laughed with that.

"After what happened that day Tom's son marked the dark red can 'Boat- Diesel' with big black letters. So, the next time Grandfather and his friends decided to go fishing they would know which can to take. That day was one of the most retold histories among the patrol boat crews for the next five-plus years when they figured who the five-man they rescued where and as for Tom's son, that was his last patrol as the X. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and took over as Captain of the same patrol boat until the boat was retired. And for those of you who are still wondering, yes, they did take the right can the next time they went fishing," Jessica smiled and walked over to her seat. She noticed that some people were still smiling while other were wiping tears away.

Then some other people went up and shared a story about Donald. At the end of the service, a man walked over to Jessica and gave her a red rose. She thanked him as she stood up and step forth to place the rose on the coffin and she lowered her hand onto the coffin

"Rest in peace, grandfather," she whispered before she stepped back. The minister added some final words and the coffin was lowered to the ground, someone played the 'last post, ' and three shots were fired from eight men in navy uniforms who were fifteen meters away.

When it was over, Jessica stood up by the table with her grandfather's picture and medals, and Revered Craig walked to her to give her some comforting words. Once he took a step back, people step forward to give her their condolences.

An hour later, everyone was back at the rest home for morning tea and to talk to other people there who knew Donald. Jessica looked around at some of the people there and smiled noticing she was finally able to be alone for a few minutes. An elder man and a woman around her thirties walked over to her.

"Hello," the man, "that story you shared about your great-grandfather and his friends fishing trip…"

"Did you like it, sir?" She asked as he didn't finish his thought.

"Like it?" he chuckled, "I was there when it happened," he confessed, and her eyes widened.

"Really? Wow! I'm Jessica Bird, sir."

"Thomas Picard," he smiled. "Tom was my father."

"You are the X," she affirmed

"Yes, ma'am. Retired Vice Admiral."

"It's nice to meet you, sir."

"You too, Jessica. What are your plans for the future?"

"Joining the navy as a cook and medic."

"Good for you, Jessica. Good luck"

"Thank you. I do have one question, sir."

"Yes?"

"Did the engineer clean the engines with a toothbrush?" He chuckled

"No, he was very lucky unlike most of the others."

"Well, at least the toilets were clean."

"Yes, they were alright, and word did get around with the other navy boats about what happened. My CO, he was trying to hold a straight face when I returned to the bridge."

"I bet he was"

"Dad, we better get going," the woman said

"I know," he said looking at his daughter then turned to Jessica

"Thank you for coming," Jess told him.

"You are welcomed," he frowned. "Where is the rest of your family?"

"I don't know, sorry."

"It's ok. You take care of yourself and good luck in the Navy."

"I will, sir." Then they turned and walked away.

It was late in the afternoon by the time Jessica walked inside her house. She could hear the TV going, so she walked down to her bedroom where she got changed before getting her dinner ready. On Friday afternoon, she reached home from school, and after getting changed, she walked to the kitchen to find her mother talking to someone she didn't know.

"Jessica, this is Mr. Young. He is here to see you," her mother introduced, and Jessica frowned.

"Me? Why?"

"To give you this, Miss bird," the man said opening his briefcase and pulling out an envelope; taking it from his hand, she opened it and read the contents.

'Jess, I'm naming you my only heir. Everything which I had at the rest home with me plus my life savings, once all the shares have been cashed. I'm not sure how much they are worth today, but no matter what you are getting it all. I know you might wonder why the rest of the family isn't getting something. But we both know the answer to that, you are the only one who came to the home and spent time with me. You even shared your time with other residents, and you always made me smile or laugh. You were there every Sunday, no matter what the weather was like. Mr. Young, from the family trust office, will be keeping the money in an account until you are eighteen. If you want, you can place most of it for your retirement pension. You just need to make Mr. Young aware of your wishes. If the family fights over the will as such, you don't need to worry; everything has been taken care. You just finish your studies and follow your dreams. Love, Great Grandfather,' Jess returned the letter to the envelope as she looked at Mr. Young.

"My great grandfather has explained it all to me in this letter." She told him, and he nodded.

"I've cashed all the shares, and with his life savings your inheritance came to..." then he picked up a file and opened it before he gave it to her. Jessica's eyes widened.

"Whoa!"

"What is it, Jessica?" her mother asked concerned.

"He... he left me with... over four million dollars."

"What?!" Jessica mother said in shock then turn to Mr. Young

"Four million, three hundred and eighty-nine thousand, four hundred and eighteen dollars and seventy-five cents, to be exact," Mr. Young added.

"What about the will?"

"In his will, he appointed Jessica Bird as the only heir of everything he owned by Mr. Murphy. By his instructions, a copy of his will was posted out today."

"So, the rest of us gets nothing?"

"You will have to read the will when you get it, Mrs. Bird only Miss Bird is my client," he finished. Jessica's mom walked out of the room not happy with she learned. He turned to Jessica, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, can you put two million in my retirement pension fund?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've got a pension plan set, and I won't get it until I'm sixty-five."

"Sure, I'll need an account number."

"I'll go and get it," she smiled before walking out of the kitchen. In a couple of minutes, she was giving him a sheet of paper. "Here, this is my account number."

"Well, Miss Bird, I'll check it out. If everything is correct, then I will do what you requested. Now I need you to fill out these papers," he said giving her a file. After she read it and filled it, she returned it to Mr. Young who carefully checked it before closing it.

"Well, it's done. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, that's all. Thanks"

"Well, here is my card, Miss Bird." Jessica grabbed the card as he closed his briefcase. "Thank you," they walked to the front door.

"Do you have a will written out, Miss Bird?"

"Yes, I have. I guess now I'll have to change it," she frowned.

"If you need any help..."

"Thanks, I'll keep you in mind," she opened the door, and Mr. Young walked out. Jessica closed the door before she walked to the kitchen where she started getting dinner ready.