The first person to laugh was Aunt Carol.<\/p>\n
It happened less than ten minutes into the reading of Harold Parker\u2019s will, while the rest of us were still sitting stiffly around Mr. Albright\u2019s conference table in clothes that smelled faintly of funeral flowers and September heat.<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright adjusted his glasses and read the sentence again, perhaps because none of us had quite believed him the first time. Every grandchild was to receive exactly one dollar. Every grandchild except June Marie Parker.<\/p>\n
Carol gave a short, sharp laugh. \u201cWell. I suppose all that nursing didn\u2019t turn out to be much of an investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
June did not answer.<\/p>\n
I sat beside her and watched her fold her hands in her lap. The skin across her knuckles was dry and split in two places. She had spent the night before Grandpa\u2019s funeral scrubbing his kitchen because relatives would be gathering at the farmhouse afterward, and she could not stand the idea of people remembering his home as dirty.<\/p>\n
That was June.<\/p>\n
For the last two years of Grandpa\u2019s life, every Wednesday after work, she had driven twenty-nine miles to his place outside Solomon.<\/p>\n
Not when it was convenient. Every Wednesday.<\/p>\n
She brought groceries in a battered blue cooler. She picked up his prescriptions, washed his sheets, cleaned the bathroom, replaced batteries in the smoke detectors, and checked whether he had remembered to eat anything besides canned soup.<\/p>\n
When his knees became too stiff for him to manage his own feet, she clipped his toenails.<\/p>\n
When he stopped driving after dark, she took him to appointments.<\/p>\n
When he repeated the same story about the hailstorm of 1978, June listened as though she had not heard it the previous Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The rest of us loved Grandpa too.<\/p>\n
That was the uncomfortable part.<\/p>\n
Nobody in that room thought of themselves as neglectful.<\/p>\n
Mark had children and a construction business. Dale was forever trying to get his contracting company established. Aunt Carol lived nearby but had a husband with health problems and grandchildren she watched several afternoons a week.<\/p>\n
I had my own excuses.<\/p>\n
Everybody had excuses.<\/p>\n
June had them too.<\/p>\n
She simply went anyway.<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright continued through the smaller bequests. Grandpa\u2019s Bible went to Carol. Some tools went to Dale. Several pieces of furniture had already been designated. The tractor had been sold before Grandpa died, with part of the proceeds reserved for expenses.<\/p>\n
Mark shifted beside the window. \u201cWhat about the farm?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright looked over his glasses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer changed the room.<\/p>\n
Until then, everyone had been performing grief with reasonable dignity. After Mark mentioned the farm, something less attractive slipped into the open.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s property had been in the Parker family for decades. Everybody knew it was valuable. Nobody knew exactly how valuable, though several relatives had suddenly developed a remarkable interest in county land prices after his death.<\/p>\n
I had seen printed property estimates sticking out of Carol\u2019s purse at the funeral home.<\/p>\n
I had pretended not to.<\/p>\n
June had seen them too.<\/p>\n
She had also pretended not to.<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright reached the final page, stopped, and closed the will.<\/p>\n
Dale frowned. \u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the will itself, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about June?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
He unlocked a drawer in his desk.<\/p>\n
The room became so quiet I heard the air conditioner click off.<\/p>\n
From the drawer he removed a thick cream-colored envelope.<\/p>\n
June\u2019s full name had been written across the front in Grandpa\u2019s blocky, slanted handwriting.<\/p>\n
JUNE MARIE PARKER.<\/p>\n
June stared at it.<\/p>\n
For the first time that afternoon, her composure cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s his writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Mr. Albright said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he give you this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow recently?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright considered the question. \u201cRecently enough that I can assure you he knew exactly what he was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol straightened.<\/p>\n
Nobody missed the implication.<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright placed the envelope in front of June.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather gave specific instructions concerning this.\u201d<\/p>\n
June did not touch it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat instructions?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat it belongs to you and that you may decide whether to open it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark frowned. \u201cMay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if she doesn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is June\u2019s concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale leaned forward. \u201cWhat\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright turned his eyes toward him. \u201cAlso June\u2019s concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale sat back, irritated.<\/p>\n
June finally touched the envelope with one fingertip.<\/p>\n
It was such a small movement that nobody else might have noticed her hand trembling.<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I supposed to do with it?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Grandpa didn\u2019t tell you what was inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright\u2019s expression gave away nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol folded her arms. \u201cIf this involves family property, surely we have a right to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright looked directly at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
One word.<\/p>\n
That was all it took.<\/p>\n
Carol\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
Mark glanced toward Dale. Dale looked at the envelope. Two cousins at the far end of the table whispered to each other.<\/p>\n
June slipped the envelope beneath the strap of her purse.<\/p>\n
Mr. Albright began gathering his papers.<\/p>\n
The meeting was over.<\/p>\n
Outside, the Kansas afternoon felt indecently bright after the dim conference room.<\/p>\n
June walked quickly toward her red Tacoma. I followed her.<\/p>\n
Behind us, voices began rising before the office door had even shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cJune.\u201d<\/p>\n
She kept walking.<\/p>\n
\u201cJune.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Mark this time.<\/p>\n
She stopped beside the truck but did not turn around.<\/p>\n
Mark came across the parking lot with Dale several steps behind him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should talk before everybody leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark gestured toward her purse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever Grandpa gave you.\u201d<\/p>\n
June unlocked the Tacoma.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave you a dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark\u2019s face reddened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t making a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale reached us. \u201cNobody is accusing you of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou followed me into the parking lot thirty seconds after the lawyer gave me an envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not an accusation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would you call it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConcern.\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
I had known June long enough to recognize that expression. It appeared whenever somebody said something so ridiculous she was deciding whether correcting them was worth the energy.<\/p>\n
Carol emerged from the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cJune, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was worse.<\/p>\n
Carol used sweetheart only when she wanted cooperation.<\/p>\n
June opened the driver\u2019s door.<\/p>\n
Carol hurried closer. \u201cNobody wants a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen this should be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou understand why people have questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather gave everybody else one dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then he gave you a private envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter you spent two years having access to his house, his medications, his appointments\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol.\u201d<\/p>\n
She raised both palms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying anything happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
June became completely still.<\/p>\n
Carol continued anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying appearances matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at her for several seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lived eleven minutes from Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has nothing to do with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove twenty-nine miles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have children.\u201d<\/p>\n
June's jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. On Wednesdays I had Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol recoiled.<\/p>\n
June climbed into the truck.<\/p>\n
I went around to the passenger side.<\/p>\n
As I opened the door, Mark called, \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
June started the engine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomewhere quieter.\u201d<\/p>\n
We pulled out.<\/p>\n
For three blocks neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Then June looked in the mirror.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you have got to be kidding me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
Mark\u2019s Silverado was behind us.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s Jeep was behind Mark.<\/p>\n
Carol\u2019s Buick appeared at the intersection and accelerated through the yellow light.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re following us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
June gripped the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced at the envelope protruding from her purse.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if I\u2019m going to open that thing, I want to be somewhere he would have understood.\u201d<\/p>\n
We drove out of town.<\/p>\n
The cemetery passed on our right.<\/p>\n
June did not look toward it.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later she said, \u201cI thought I had another Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward her.<\/p>\n
She kept watching the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week he asked if I wanted coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice was steady, but I knew her too well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him I needed to get home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJune.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted coffee. That was all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had been there for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went every week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
She wiped beneath one eye with the side of her thumb.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should've stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was nothing useful to say.<\/p>\n
The landscape flattened around us. Harvest-yellow fields stretched beyond the road, broken by cottonwoods and utility poles.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s farm appeared ahead.<\/p>\n
The white farmhouse looked smaller without his truck parked outside.<\/p>\n
June stopped beside the cattle gate.<\/p>\n
The engine idled.<\/p>\n
She removed the cream envelope from her purse and held it across both palms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked in the mirror.<\/p>\n
Three vehicles were approaching in a trail of dust.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s money in here, they\u2019ll say I manipulated him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s property, they\u2019ll say I asked for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s nothing, Carol will laugh again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for the envelope.<\/p>\n
June gave it to me.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s handwriting looked almost aggressive in the late-afternoon light.<\/p>\n
Behind us, tires crunched onto gravel.<\/p>\n
Mark had arrived.<\/p>\n
Dale pulled in behind him.<\/p>\n
Carol came third.<\/p>\n
June stared straight ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I slid my thumb beneath the flap.<\/p>\n
Then June suddenly caught my wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She was no longer watching me.<\/p>\n
She was watching the people climbing out of the vehicles behind us.<\/p>\n
And for the first time since the funeral, grief had disappeared from her expression.<\/p>\n
Something harder had replaced it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d she said quietly, \u201cGrandpa wanted me to see exactly who followed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first person to laugh was Aunt Carol. It happened less than ten minutes into the reading of Harold Parker\u2019s will, while the rest of us were still sitting stiffly … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17715,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17665\/revisions\/17715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}