Page 10 of New Growth
Ryan nodded, then gave my hands one last squeeze before she stood straight. Jonathan gave her a reassuring pat on the back before they took their seats next to me at the long conference table. His hand lingered on Ryan’s shoulder as he guided her into a chair, then slid down to her knee before she pushed it off. I blinked, unsure if I’d imagined it.
Still, I said nothing, pushing yet another thought aside for later.
A few minutes after, the lawyer, a middle-aged man with silver-rimmed glasses and a tired smile, entered the room. He cleared his throat as he sat down in a huff. In his arms was a thick folder, undoubtedly containing the sum of my father’s life.
“Thank you all for coming,” he began. “I understand this is a difficult time for your family, so I’ll get straight to the point. Mr. Elijah Sawyer left a detailed will outlining his wishes. After reviewing it thoroughly, it’s clear that he wanted his estate to be handled in a specific way.”
I sat up straighter, my stomach twisting into knots despite not being interested in my father’s belongings being scattered to the vultures at this table.
“The bulk of Mr. Sawyer’s estate, including his savings account totaling two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, is to be left to Elliot Sawyer,” the lawyer said.
Silence fell over the room, heavy and suffocating. My breath caught in my throat.
Huh?
“What?” Ma’s voice sliced through the uncomfortable quiet.
The lawyer adjusted his glasses. “Mr. Sawyer cited Elliot’s role as his primary caregiver in his final years as the reason for this decision. He was deeply grateful for the care and support she provided.”
Ryan let out a bitter laugh at the irony. I could hear the voices in her head yelling,‘Primary caregiver? You mean the woman that let him die?’I could hear them because they were the same voices yelling at me in this moment. Instead of releasing what we both thought into the air and ruining the just brokered peace, Ryan settled on, “Are you kidding me?”
“Ryan,” Jonathan said softly, but she shook her head.
“No, seriously,” she said, her voice rising. “Two hundred and fifty grand? Just to her? What about the rest of us?”
My mother’s face had turned a shade darker, her lips pressed into a thin line. “I could’ve used that money to pay off my house,” she said, her voice tight.
“And I could use it for school,” Ryan added, her tone sharp. I rolled my eyes at that pipe dream.
Jonathan’s calm and collected voice chimed in smoothly. “We could finish paying off the wedding with that.”
We, huh?
I glanced at him, my stomach twisting again. His hand had moved from Ryan’s knee to mine. I stared at it, my thoughts scrambling to make sense of what I saw earlier. We seriously needed to have a discussion after the party tonight.
The room descended into chaos, and voices overlapped as my family made their demands—vultures, all of them.
“You can’t possibly keep all that money to yourself,” Ma said, her eyes narrowing at me. “It just ain’t right.”
“I sacrificed too, you know! I helped take care of Daddy,” Ryan added. “I deserve something!”
Jonathan’s hand tightened slightly on my knee. “Think about what this could mean for us, E,” he said, his voice low. “A fresh start.”
I swallowed hard, my voice caught in my throat.
So much for going back to normal.
They saw the money as a solution to their problems, a way out of their struggles. But to me, it was a reminder of the years I’d spent caring for Daddy, watching his health decline, and putting my life on hold to be there for him and for them.
This money was not a gift.
“What do you want to do, Ellie?” Jonathan pushed.
I looked around the room to find all eyes on me. “I just need some time to think,” I said quietly.
Ma scoffed. “Think about what? It’s not like you earned that money on your own.”
Ryan rolled her eyes. “Typical. Elliot always lands on her feet.”
