Page 61 of Ring Me

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?” I asked, opening the top.

“I keep meaning to give it to someone who'll keep it safe, then finding excuses not to. Guess it's been hard to let it out of my sight. It was the last thing your grandmother and I ever worked on together.”

I scanned the documents he'd handed me. “Pappy, this is your will.”

“That's right.”

“And you wrote it with Nana? That means it was done over ten years ago!” My brain ran a mile a minute. “Nothing was changed,” I whispered in wonderment as I read the pages. “You're dividing everything in your estate up equally between my mother, my aunt, and... me.”

“Of course,” he chuckled kindly. “You sound surprised.”

“Because I am! I thought you wanted me to show I was dedicated to having a family. You couldn't have known if I'd get married, or have kids, or any of that ten years ago!”

His eyes tightened, deep wrinkles getting even more cavernous. “Maya-bean, why would any of that matter?”

I wanted to shoutIt shouldn't! It doesn't!I couldn't find my voice.

All along, Pappy had never let his affection waver for any of us.

Regardless of how I, or my mother, or my aunt chose to live, we were family. We were loved.

And we always would be.

---