“I am okay,” I said, though it was not entirely true. My bank account had exactly $842 in it, and my student loans would start coming due in six months. “I have been living pretty frugally. I found a decent apartment-share situation in Austin that starts next month.”
My grandmother tilted her head, a small frown creasing her forehead.
“But surely you have been supplementing with the trust fund. That is exactly what it is there for, to help you get established.”
The words hung in the air between us. I blinked, certain I had misheard.
“I am sorry. What?”
“Your trust fund, darling. The one I established for you when you were born.” She said it casually, as if she were asking about the weather. “$3 million. I know that sounds like a lot, but invested wisely, it should give you a comfortable cushion while you build your career.”
The noise of the graduation celebration seemed to fade into the background. I could see my mother’s face go pale, my father suddenly very interested in something on the ground. Other family members who had been standing nearby found reasons to drift away.
“Grandmother,” I said slowly, my voice sounding strange in my own ears. “I have no idea what you are talking about. What trust fund?”
Her expression shifted from curious to concerned to something harder, sharper. She looked past me to where my parents stood, frozen in place.
“Diane. Gregory. What is going on here?”
My mother opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again.
“Mother, perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private.”
“No,” my grandmother said, her voice cutting through the pleasant afternoon like a blade. “We will discuss it right here, right now. Maggie, you truly have no knowledge of this money?”
I shook my head, feeling like the ground beneath my feet had become unstable.
“I have never heard anything about any trust fund. Are you certain? Maybe you are thinking of a different grandchild.”
“You are my only grandchild,” she said, still looking at my parents. “And I am absolutely certain I established a trust fund for you with $3 million on the day you were born. Your parents were named as trustees until you turned 21, at which point you were supposed to gain full access. That was four years ago, Maggie.”
My father finally found his voice, though it came out rough and uncertain.
