LITMIR.BIZ

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      Her words were met with an awkward pause. “You have me,” he said in a small hurt voice.

      She regretted her thoughtlessness and at the same time resented his intrusion. “I know how that must have sounded and I’m sorry. It’s just that everything is still so painful. I need a chance to adjust.”

      “Have you decided to sell the house?” Gary asked.

      Lorraine didn’t understand why everyone was so concerned about what she did with the house. “I…don’t know yet.”

      “It makes sense to put it on the market, don’t you think?”

      She closed her eyes and sought answers. “I can’t make that kind of decision right now. Give me time.”

      She must have sounded impatient because Gary was immediately contrite. “You’re right, darling, it’s too soon. We’ll worry about it later. Promise you’ll phone if you need me?”

      “I promise,” she whispered.

      After a few words of farewell, she ended the call. As she replaced the receiver, her gaze fell on the clock radio. She was shocked to discover it was barely nine o’clock. It felt more like midnight. She lay back down and stared up at the ceiling, letting her thoughts creep into the future. Her mother wouldn’t be at her wedding, wouldn’t be there for the births of her grandchildren. Virginia Dancy had looked forward to becoming a grandmother; now her grandchildren would never know her.

      Rather than deal with yet another aspect of her loss, Lorraine turned her mind to Gary’s unexpected call. He’d brought up a number of questions she still had to face.

      The house had to be dealt with soon. If it sat empty for long, it’d start to deteriorate, not to mention attract vandals. Gary was right; she had to figure out what to do about it. Finances and legal issues posed another problem. She’d never even seen her mother’s will.

      She’d deal with one thing at a time, she decided. That was advice Virginia had given her as a child and it had always stood her in good stead. One step and then another.

      

      The call from Dennis Goodwin, her mother’s attorney, came a week after the funeral, when Lorraine had returned to work. She’d been expecting to hear from him. Dennis had told her at the funeral that there were a few legal matters that needed to be resolved and then he’d get in touch. He wouldn’t need more than fifteen or twenty minutes of her time. He’d promised to phone the following week and set up an appointment.

      True to his word, Dennis had called her exactly a week after she’d buried her mother.

      Lorraine arrived at the appointed time, prepared to hear the details of her mother’s will. The receptionist greeted her pleasantly, then reached for the intercom button. “Lorraine Dancy is here to see you,” she announced.

      A moment later Dennis Goodwin appeared in the reception area. “Lorraine,” he said, his voice warm. “It’s good to see you.” He ushered her into his office.

      Lorraine knew that Virginia had both liked and trusted Dennis. They’d worked in the same Louisville office building, and during that time, he’d acted as Virginia’s attorney of record for her will and any other legal matters.

      “Have a seat,” he invited. “How are you holding up?”

      “About as well as can be expected,” Lorraine told him. She no longer felt the need to brush aside her own grief in an effort to comfort others. The week since the funeral had been difficult. She couldn’t have borne it without Gary’s constant support.

      “As you’re already aware,” the attorney said, leaning toward Lorraine, “I knew your mother for a number of years. She was one of the most talented stockbrokers I ever met. Back in the eighties, she recommended I purchase shares in a little-known Seattle company called Microsoft. Because of her, I’ll be able to retire in a couple of years. In fact, I could live off that investment alone.”

      “Mom loved her job.”

      “She made several smart investments of her own,” he added. “You won’t have to worry about finances for a long time to come.”

      The news should have cheered her, Lorraine supposed, but she’d much prefer to have her mother back. No amount of financial security could replace what she’d lost.

      She folded her hands in her lap and waited for him to continue.

      “Your mother came to me four years ago and asked me to draw up her will,” Dennis said. He rolled away from his desk and reached for a file. “According to the terms, you’re her sole beneficiary. Under normal circumstances, our meeting wouldn’t be necessary.”

      Lorraine frowned.

      “But in the event of an untimely death, Virginia asked me to speak to you personally.”

      Lorraine slid forward in her chair. “Mom wanted you to talk to me? About what?”

      “Medical school.”

      “Oh.” She gave a deep sigh. “Mom never understood about that.”

      The attorney raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

      “It was a big disappointment to Mom when I decided to drop out.”

      “Why did you?”

      Lorraine looked out the window, although she scarcely noticed the view.

      “A number of reasons,” she finally murmured, glancing down at her hands. “I love medicine and Mom knew that, but while I have the heart of a physician, I don’t have the competitive edge. I hated what medical school was like—the survival of the fittest. I couldn’t do that. Maybe I’m lazy, I don’t know, but I have everything I want now.”

      “How’s that?”

      Her smile was brief. “I do almost as much as a doctor, but without the bucks or the glory.”

      “I believe your mother did understand that,” Dennis said, although Lorraine suspected it wasn’t completely true. “But she wanted you to know that the funds are available if you should change your mind and decide to go back.”

      Lorraine’s eyes stung as she held back the tears. “Did she tell you I’d recently become engaged?”

      “She hadn’t mentioned it. Congratulations.”

      “Thank you. Gary and I only recently told…” Lorraine let the rest fade. The attorney waited patiently, but she didn’t trust her voice.

      “If you reconsider and decide you’d try medical school again, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

      His offer surprised her. “Thank you, but I’m not going to do that. Not when Gary and I are about to start our lives together.”

      “Well, I promised I’d mention it to you if the occasion arose. It saddens me that it has.”

      Within a few minutes, Dennis finished explaining the terms of the will and handed her the necessary paperwork. When she’d read everything, he passed her another sheet of paper.

      “What’s this?” she asked.

      “An inventory of the safe-deposit box. I went down to the bank yesterday afternoon and retrieved everything. I have it all for you here.” He stood and picked up the manila envelope on his credenza. “I wanted you to be sure that every document listed on the sheet is accounted for.”

      Because she knew it was expected of her, Lorraine dumped the contents of the envelope onto the desk surface and checked off the items on the list. She’d previously seen or known about everything here. Or so she assumed until she found the opened letter addressed to her mother. How odd, she mused, studying its colorful foreign stamps.

      “Do you know anything about this letter?” she asked the attorney.

      “Nothing. Actually,

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