I got his savings and other monies from his policies.
As soon as Daniel and Mary left the room, Mr. Halpern turned to me and lowered his voice.
“Evelyn,” he said, “you understand the will I read aloud is not the official one.”
I nodded. “I do.”
Mr. Halpern opened the manila folder and slid out a second will — the real and final one, which was signed and notarized.
We both prayed I would never have to use it.
But just one week after the funeral and the reading of the will, Daniel showed up at my door. This was the most I’d ever seen him since he got married. And I hoped the visit was for something positive, like he’d had a change of heart or something, but boy, was I wrong!
Daniel sat me down. I remember it so vividly. His hands were clasped nervously, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Mom,” he said, “I know this is going to be hard to hear. But since the house is technically mine now… we’d like to move in.”
The moment he said it, I knew. My husband had been right to worry.
I just stared at him, my mouth hanging open. “Are you kicking me out of my own home?”
He winced. “I’m not kicking you out. Sorry, but Mary says we need more space for the kids. I just… Mary thinks it’s best. You don’t need all that space anymore. And the kids would love the backyard.”
I couldn’t breathe! My chest felt like it was being crushed. After all the years of love, of raising him, of giving him everything — this was how he repaid me?
“They’re growing up, Mom, and we’ve been thinking… You can stay with Aunt Lorna for a bit, right?”
The good-hearted boy we’d raised was slipping through my fingers, and I could almost feel him choosing Mary over me in real time.
I packed a few of my bags with a quiet, cold clarity. Because for the first time in my life, I knew Daniel might actually force me to use the actual will his father had prepared.
I left that day with two suitcases and a heart so heavy I thought it might break. I didn’t even cry in front of him. I just nodded, walked out, and sat in Lorna’s guest room staring at the wall for hours.
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