The meeting at the attorney’s office was set for eleven, but Aunt Sammie called me at nine.
“I know your father’s will is being read today. I thought we could go together,” she said. “Family should sit together, don’t you think?”
“You never sat with us before,” I replied quietly.
“Oh, Clover. That was a long time ago.”
A pause lingered on the line.
“I know things were tense back then,” she continued. “But your mother and I… we had a complicated relationship. And Michael—well, I know you cared about him.”
“Cared?” I said. “I adored him. He was everything to me.”
Another pause.
“I just want today to go smoothly. For everyone.”
At the office, she greeted the lawyer like an old friend, kissed my cheek, and left behind the lingering scent of rose hand cream.
She wore pearls, soft pink lipstick, and her blonde hair was swept into a neat bun that made her appear younger.
During the reading of the will, she dabbed her eyes only when someone looked her way.
When it ended, I stood.
“I’d like to say something.”
The room fell silent. I met her gaze.
“You didn’t lose a sister when my mother died. You lost control.”
A cousin gasped softly. “Sammie… what did you do?”
The lawyer cleared his throat. “For the record, Michael preserved correspondence regarding an attempted custody action.”
“Clover, what are you—”
