I went back to my chair and sat down.
Robert sat on the sofa, leaning forward, staring at the paper in the lawyer’s hand.
My sister-in-law was beside him, her face livid.
Eleanor clutched a tissue, her knuckles turning white.
The lawyer laid the document flat on the table.
“The fourth page was handwritten by Mr. William Harrison.”
He began to read.
“I know you are waiting for this will.”
“Robert is waiting for the house. Eleanor is waiting for the savings.”
“You think I don’t know.”
“But I know everything.”
No one spoke in the living room.
The lawyer continued.
“Robert. In the three years since my stroke, you visited four times. The first time was when I was hospitalized. The second time was during Christmas; you stayed for a day and a half. The third time was my seventieth birthday; you brought a cake. The fourth time, you won’t be visiting, because this time it’s my funeral.”
Robert’s face went from pale to red, and from red back to pale.
“You transferred two thousand bucks every month. Three years, seventy-two thousand. You thought that was enough.”
“What you didn’t know is – every time you called and said, ‘Dad, take care of your health,’ after hanging up, I had Julian help me scroll through your Instagram.”
“You were playing golf in Hawaii. You were eating at Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo. You bought a new car in Silicon Valley.”
“How much was that car? Your wife posted it on Instagram. Four hundred and eighty thousand.”
“Four hundred and eighty thousand is enough to hire a full-time caregiver for six years.”
Robert’s hands were trembling.
“Dad…”
The lawyer didn’t stop.
“Eleanor. You visited five times. Every time you came, the first thing you did was take a selfie with me.”
Eleanor’s tissue fell to the floor.
“I read all the posts you made on Instagram. Julian read them to me.”
“‘Dearest Dad’ – you didn’t even know what medication I was taking.”
“‘Always by your side’ – the longest you ever stayed was four hours.”
“‘Miss you so much’ – you never even said goodbye when you left.”
“You gave Julian two thousand.”
“Two thousand.”
“To take care of me, Julian changed positions and gave up his promotion. His monthly salary is eight thousand five hundred. In three years, he lost out on three hundred and six thousand.”
“You gave him two thousand.”
Eleanor lowered her head.
Her shoulders were shaking.
This time, she was truly shaking.
Auntie put down the salted peanuts in her hand.
Second Uncle put down his teacup.
No one spoke.
The lawyer flipped through the documents.
“Next is the second part of page four.”
He glanced at me.
“It is also the most important part.”
