Page 111 of The Truth About You and Me
‘Of course, let me…’ He turns and takes some confident strides back. My purple boots click against the tiled floor and I pull my coat further around me. The house feels so cold, so devoid of life, so… empty.
Kingston Green smiles at me and sits down at the oak table. I pull out a dining chair and sink into the fabric.
‘I would imagine you’re eager to find out what this is all about?’
I nod.
‘I have been instructed by Messrs Bassett and Wick as executor of the last will and testament of Clarissa Hancock. I’ll cut straight to the chase, if that’s OK with you?’ I nod again. Words lost beneath the fog of her loss. ‘Clarissa has?—’
‘Riz.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Her name is Riz.’
‘My apologies. Riz… named you as her sole heir.’
‘Sorry?’
‘As sole heir, you are now the owner of this beautiful home.’
‘I can’t be.’
‘I know this may be quite a shock and of course you will need time to process.’
‘She left me the house?’
For a second I can hear her laughter. See the sparkle behind her eyes at one last hurrah.
‘She did, and a rather generous inheritance.’
He passes me an envelope with Riz’s handwriting looped across the front.
‘Perhaps this will explain in more detail?’ He throws me a kind smile.
My hand is shaking as I run my finger along the seam of the envelope, ripping it open.
Dearest Maggie,
So it seems I’ve had my last waltz.
Please don’t be too sad. I’ve had the most wonderful life, filled with colour and texture, love and loss and everything in between.
Forgive me, my dear girl, but – if you can’t say the things that need to be said when the end is near, then when can you? – don’t waste your life on what-ifs and the fear of the unknown.
You are a spectacular woman, Maggie, full of spark and kindness, brimming with energy and love that is bursting to get out.
I wipe away the tears that are falling, going back to the paper in my hands.
Life is there to be lived, my darling girl, and you’re not living it. Life is a gift. Don’t squander it worrying about what could happen, protecting yourself from the pain you may not feel. Or protecting others from you. We all have to take a risk if we’re going to live.
It doesn’t matter what might happen; all that matters is you open that great big beating heart and let life in.
This house is yours. Call it payback. It’s not a gift, it’s to repay my debt of gratitude for all the kindness you’ve shown me. Fill it with laughter, with love, and a full life. Travel the world, my beautiful girl. Take that fear that is holding you back and kick it in the teeth. Use it.
Fear is power. The things we are most afraid of are usually the things that are the most precious.
Phillip says that psychiatrists don’t fix people, they just help them find the key to unlock the answers to their own story. Find the key to yours. Open the door, Maggie love.
