A Triad With Ash Minor (MxMxM)

Nick: Season of Feelings

"You can comfortably live on these returns for the next ten years." My auditor said, attention glued to her screen.

That was an unexpected news. It didn't help that I was already feeling like a criminal. It had been only ten minutes and I had thought twice about leaving her office. That wouldn't do. This was my future. I owed it to myself to plan. It wasn't criminal to want to quit my job. I was forty years old. I needed this.

I steeled myself and asked. "Ten years? What about any big expenses?"

"Of course, I considered the usual milestones. A marriage, a kid or two, a house. We could liquify some assets depending on your plans. With your current lifestyle, you would still be buffered enough to use the returns of your other investments."

"I can't believe this." It meant I had no excuse to postpone.

She laughed, pushing her laptop away. "Why not? You should know this. What did you think was happening to your big paychecks? You don't have any worrisome habits. In fact it is the opposite. This month you have made only three debits from your spending account."

I took a moment. "Three?"

I bought some underwear last week. I didn't want to ruin the ones Ash had bought for me for the Australia tour. He had made a big haul saying 'Nick, you need other colors in your life'. Shirts, shorts and underwear. I hadn't worn the shirts or shorts after we came back from the tour. They were bright colors with a strong vacation vibe, not suitable for my work. But the boxer briefs...

They were different. They were muted colors with tiny prints of cherries and bananas. One even had little hearts on strings. I loved all of the ten prints. I had to stop using them as daily wear since I was worried that they would lose their softness and become faded. So I bought some new underwear from my regular brand.

The second expense was a recurring one I started recently. It's the monthly donation for Ash's new trust for primary school kids. I was moved beyond words when he pitched the plan for the trust. Usually charity wasn't something he put his heart into. He often did it on Henry's advice. Mostly for tax benefits as fundraiser concerts. Occasionally one or the other celebrity would rope him into a charity event and he would give a generous check. That's the extent of his good will.

'Bread Crumbs' - Ash's new trust was born out of his own interest. Henry thought it was for a bet. I had my doubts about that theory. The kind of effort Ash had put out for the trust was equal to what he put for his music. He had numerous meetings with local NGO and non profit organizations before finalizing the trust. The most telling of all was there was no press release. The trust got registered on his mother's maiden name and only Henry and I knew about his involvement. The trust ran a food bank for little kids and there was no eligibility criteria pertaining to the family's wages. If you were a kid and you were hungry you could have the food. The chosen schools were skeptical of the idea and the practical challenges. After all, even kids with full tummies would become suddenly hungry if they smelt cheese. How could anyone possibly determine if they were feeding the deserving kids? But in the pure Ash way, he simply didn't care about the additional mouths. He found solutions and counter arguments and additional funds to meet all the challenges head on.

I was awed by his determination and perseverance for a selfless cause. He hadn't asked me to donate. But he had asked me to go to one of the schools with a trustee on the first day. From the queue in front of the counter, I could easily pick out the kids who would benefit from Ash's meal program. Their hope filled eyes and hollowed cheeks were testimony enough. I set up a recurring payment for the trust that same day.

"I remember making only two." I said aloud.

She finally turned from her screen to look at me. "My quarterly fee, Mr. Glenli."