Page 14 of The Fadeaway

“Absolutely. I’m on it.”

Five minutes later, Ruby is seated in the very same chair in Alan’s office as the day before, holding a ceramic cup and saucer in hand as she waits for him to start the meeting. He’s bustling around the office with his reading glasses on top of his head, pulling a book from the shelf, then reaching for a file. He gatherseverything he needs while Ruby sips her coffee, letting her eyes follow him as he moves.

“Can I help you with anything?” she offers.

Alan waves a hand. “No, no—you get yourself caffeinated. I’m just about ready here.”

Two minutes later, Alan has opened a Zoom call and it’s projected onto a large screen on the wall of the office.

“Good morning,” he says, clearing his throat as he sits. He switches on a camera that’s facing Ruby, and she appears on the screen as well. The boxes of faces on the screen make it look as though they’re in the opening credits ofThe Brady Bunch.

“Good morning, Mr. Berkshire,” a woman says. She’s younger than Ruby—maybe forty—and has dark hair and eyes. She’s sitting in a sunny kitchen somewhere.

Another box opens and a man and woman sit there together, shoulder to shoulder, looking uncertain. They say nothing.

Then Ellen joins the call, and Ruby recognizes her kitchen table and the windows from the house in Seattle. “Sorry I’m late,” Ellen says, nodding at the camera. Ruby smiles at her.

“This is perfect,” Alan Berkshire says, clearing his throat again. Ruby can scarcely imagine an attorney with as much experience as Alan has getting nervous over a Zoom meeting to read a will aloud, and she realizes that this is his tell: Alan has something big to share thatdoesmake him a little anxious. “I’ll do introductions here quickly,” he says as he straightens his necktie. “I’m sure everyone here knows Ruby Hudson,” he says with a smile, nodding at Ruby although they’re the only ones in his office, “and Ruby, this is Ellen Majors, who is in Seattle, and Carmela Rivera, joining us from New York City. We also have Theodore and Zoe Westover calling in from Dallas.”

Ruby looks back and forth between the women and the couple on the screen. “Ellen and I have met, and Carmela, it’s nice to meet you,” she says, keeping her tone measured. “You aswell, Theodore and Zoe.” She still isn’t sure what will come of this meeting.

“I’d like to start by laying out the terms of the will that involve everyone else, and then we can end our Zoom call and Ruby, you and I will continue to hammer out the details as they pertain to you and your daughters. Does that sound alright?”

Ruby knows that hers is the only input that matters here, so she nods. “That’s fine.”

“Fabulous.” Alan pushes forward. “First, Patty wanted me to address Ellen Majors, her lifelong friend, and close confidante.” He is reading now from a document on his computer screen. “Ellen,” he says, “Patty was clear in her request that you should continue to live in the house in Seattle. In fact, she would like you to take ownership of the property, and she has bequeathed it to you in your name, with a sum of five-hundred thousand dollars that she has earmarked for taxes, home improvements, or anything else you might need to do to the dwelling. She wanted me to thank you for your love and friendship, and to let you know how much you meant to her. She has also left you her autographed copy of theWhite Albumby the Beatles, and she has set up another fund that will be allotted for long-term care should you ever need it. In that event, the house will be sold and all proceeds will go into the fund, which is earmarked completely for your care. Do you have any questions?”

Ruby watches Ellen’s face on the screen; she’s crying quietly into a handkerchief, and she looks stunned. “I don’t know,” she says, shaking her head.

It’s an honest response to such a shockingly generous revelation, and Ruby feels for the woman. She’d liked Ellen immediately when they met, and she likes her even more now for showing up to this meeting and most likely expecting nothing more than some Beatles memorabilia (and probably not a signedcopy of anything), but walking away with a home and the assurance of long-term care instead.

“Okay, well you let me know if you do. In the meantime, I’ll draw up papers for you, and we’ll get everything situated as far as the house.”

“Thank you,” Ellen says between sniffles. “I’m completely flabbergasted, but this is so Patty. She was such a generous and loyal friend.”

“As were you,” Ruby adds, dabbing at the corners of her own eyes. Now that she knows their story, she can see why her mother loved and valued Ellen’s friendship so much.

“Okay. And Carmela,” Alan says, moving on. Carmela sits forward in her chair, eyes wide. She’s been quiet so far. “You and your daughter and your sons will remain in the New York City apartment for as long as you’d like to. Just like with Ellen, ownership will revert to you with the proper paperwork, but there is no provision for selling the property in order to provide for long-term care; what you do with the apartment is up to you.” Alan pauses and consults the document in front of him. “The annual disbursements of ten thousand dollars to the Graham Academy in Brooklyn will continue until all three of your children have moved to high school, at which point the disbursements will increase for each child to cover tuition at the private high school of their choice. There is also a college fund set up for each child in the amount of $75,000, which Patty hopes the kids will be able to combine with scholarships and grants so that they can obtain their degrees.”

Ruby has sucked in a sharp breath at all of this information; she still has no clue who Carmela is, what she and her three children have to do with Patty, and why so much money and real estate is being signed over to them without Ruby knowing anything about them. She wants to protest, or at least to stop the proceedings and ask some questions, but she knows that doingso will not change anything. Patty’s wishes are set in stone, and all she can do now is try to find out what her mother’s reasoning was.

“Are there any questions, Carmela?”

Carmela, looking stunned, shakes her head. “No, none,” she croaks.

“Okay, then I’ll move on to Zoe and Theodore.” Alan leans his head sideways as if to stretch his neck, then carries on. “Patty Dallarosa has made a separate provision for the ongoing care of your father, Lyle Westover.”

Lyle W!Ruby thinks.These must be the children of the man who lives at Fair Skies Village.The pieces are falling into place in her mind, but Ruby tries to refocus on what Alan is saying so that she doesn’t miss anything.

“This is so kind of her,” Zoe says, crying openly. Her brother wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Everything she’s done has been so kind.”

Theodore clears his throat behind one balled-up fist, trying to keep his emotions in check. “We’ve been so grateful, and frankly, I can’t believe she’s doing more than she already has.”

Again, Ruby wants to speak up—to ask what and why and who and how—but she sits quietly, waiting for more information to be presented.

“Patricia has requested that her estate continue to pay out a sum of two thousand dollars a month, which is matched both by Lyle Westover’s children, and also by a separate fund from the law firm at which he worked for over forty years. In total, that money covers his care at Fair Skies Village in Austin, Texas. Should the cost of living there increase, Patty has allotted an extra one thousand dollars a month from her estate. She has also made provisions to cover Lyle Westover’s entire funeral and all of its expenses.” Alan pauses here, looking directly into the camera so that it looks like he’s making eye contact withLyle’s children. “I’m sorry to speak so frankly about the eventual passing of your father, Zoe and Theodore.”

“No need to apologize,” Theodore says. “We can see the forest for the trees, but this level of generosity is…beyond comprehension.”

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