Part Six: The Envelope
Mom and Dad arrived before I could open it.
Mom rushed toward me, crying. For one brief moment, she held me as though I were a child again.
Then she saw Lily.
Her gaze dropped to the envelope.
“What are you holding?”
Lily stepped closer to me.
“It belongs to Alice.”
“Why?”
“Because Ed asked me to give it to her.”
Mom wiped her face.
“Ed was sick and frightened. We don’t know what he may have signed or agreed to.”
Lily’s expression remained calm.
“He knew exactly what he was doing.”
“You can’t possibly understand the legal side of this,” Mom said. “There will be insurance forms, property records, taxes, and accounts. You shouldn’t be expected to manage all of that alone.”
Lily’s fingers tightened around her cane.
“I have managed my own life for years.”
“I’m not insulting you.”
“You are,” I said.
Mom turned toward me.
“I’m trying to protect everyone. The house and the money should be handled by the family until we understand the situation.”
“Lily is his family.”
“You know what I mean.”
Those words cut through my grief.
Dad placed a hand on Mom’s shoulder.
“Diane, perhaps this isn’t the time.”
But his voice was weak, and he did nothing more.
I suddenly understood something that made my stomach twist.
Mom had imagined this moment before.
She had considered what would happen to Ed’s house, his money, and his wife if he died. Perhaps she and Dad had even discussed it.
Lily extended the envelope toward me.
“Read it before anyone makes a decision.”
I took it.
Then I guided Lily into the chapel and closed the door behind us.
My hands shook as I held the envelope in my lap.
“Tell me what it says.”
Lily lowered her head.
“If I tell you, you may wonder whether I changed his words. He wanted you to read them yourself.”
The wax seal broke beneath my thumb.
Inside were medical records, insurance documents, property papers, and a letter written in Ed’s familiar handwriting.
The date at the top was from eighteen months earlier.
The first line made it difficult to breathe.
Dear Alice,
If you are reading this, I wasn’t given the time I hoped for.
