I did not tell Sherry what Harold had said.<\/p>\n
Not immediately.<\/p>\n
I looked at her while holding the phone to my ear and saw the answer in the way she stopped pretending not to be afraid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold,\u201d I said, \u201cwhat firm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton, Pike and Rowe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby heard the name.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know them?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaige mentioned them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast month.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said your mother knew an attorney who helped families deal with aging parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry cut in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could mean anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept the phone near my ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold, stay with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan someone file for guardianship without telling the person?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can begin preparing. Filing requires notice under most circumstances, though emergency petitions can move differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby stared at Sherry.<\/p>\n
Paige whispered, \u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is becoming absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hire Benton, Pike and Rowe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Vivian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t manage Vivian\u2019s affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby grabbed the printed email.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis says Harold had to be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat proves nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there was an eighteen-thousand-five-hundred-dollar retainer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry\u2019s eyes flicked toward the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone could have paid that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing Mom\u2019s financial profile?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
That detail mattered.<\/p>\n
I put Harold on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain exactly what you found.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice filled the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attempted transaction originated through an electronic authorization connected to a legal-services account. It referenced Huitt family estate property as the funding source.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
Harold continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe payment was rejected because no authorized trustee approved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Harold Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s friend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re trustee of something he created?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby looked at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did Dad set up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cMara, are you comfortable with me answering him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Huitt Family Preservation Trust holds several assets Leon transferred before his death. Your mother has lifetime residential and income protections. You are the successor beneficiary. Your children have contingent protections after you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby leaned against the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t anyone tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father specifically instructed that you not be burdened with it while you were young.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m forty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not tell me later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the trust was designed to operate quietly unless circumstances required disclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby rubbed the back of his neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I nearly smiled.<\/p>\n
It did.<\/p>\n
Leon hated discussing money. He believed money should solve problems quietly, not become the center of relationships.<\/p>\n
Harold continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father also anticipated one particular vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry said, \u201cThis is private.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold stopped.<\/p>\n
Then his voice cooled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSherry Lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a silence so complete I heard the refrigerator motor start in the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Harold spoke her name slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou and I have never formally met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you attempted to contact my office in 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n
Toby stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd again in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did no such thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy office keeps records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can claim whatever you like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need to claim it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s voice remained calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth inquiries asked whether a beneficiary could compel early distribution if a surviving spouse was financially incompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
Toby looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancially incompetent?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry lifted her chin.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re twisting questions that were probably hypothetical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHypothetical inquiries generally do not include the beneficiary\u2019s full name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby stepped toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave them my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to understand the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You were trying to understand how to get access to something you thought was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was protecting Paige and the children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
I interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Leon know about her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to worry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMara\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
A breath came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Leon became ill, Sherry approached him twice about the lake property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry scoffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were acquaintances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe documented three conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care what he wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn one, you suggested that because Toby and Paige had been close since adolescence, long-term family planning might make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t even married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were serious about Paige.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs though that helps?\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige sat down heavily in one of the dining chairs.<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cLeon initially dismissed the questions. Later, after his diagnosis, he became more concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Sherry contacted an insurance broker Leon knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis life insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby whispered, \u201cJesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry snapped, \u201cI was trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho asked you?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeon was dying. You were overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never asked you to investigate my husband\u2019s life insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t know anything about finances.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cruelty was casual.<\/p>\n
Perhaps she did not realize it was cruel.<\/p>\n
That made it worse.<\/p>\n
I thought of those final months.<\/p>\n
Leon losing weight.<\/p>\n
Hospital bills covering the table.<\/p>\n
Toby still a child.<\/p>\n
Me sleeping four hours a night and forgetting where I had parked.<\/p>\n
Maybe Sherry had looked at me then and seen weakness.<\/p>\n
Maybe Leon had noticed.<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cAfter that, Leon accelerated the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it was because of her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry laughed sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeon was paranoid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Harold said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd dying men become frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s tone did not change.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut frightened people are not always wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line remained quiet.<\/p>\n
Toby picked up the photocopy of the trust again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if Mom is declared incompetent?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer rights under the trust remain protected, but a guardian could potentially seek influence over certain decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the guardian sell the cabin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot directly without trustee approval.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould they replace you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could petition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby looked at the email.<\/p>\n
\u201cH.M. must be removed or declared unable to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo somebody has researched this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould I remove you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot simply because you wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Paige?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Sherry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige spoke for the first time in several minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry ignored her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still nothing.<\/p>\n
Paige stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry finally did.<\/p>\n
Paige\u2019s voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you talk to lawyers about having Mara declared incompetent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Aunt Vivian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always know what Aunt Vivian is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot always.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige stared at her mother.<\/p>\n
Then she asked the question differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever discuss it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry\u2019s silence lasted two seconds too long.<\/p>\n
Paige backed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hypothetical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s that word again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry faced her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMara is sixty-eight years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo people plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thirty-eight. Should Toby start researching guardianship for me now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Mara controls significant assets that eventually affect your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
No embarrassment.<\/p>\n
No apology.<\/p>\n
A belief.<\/p>\n
Sherry truly believed that because I would someday die and because my son might someday inherit something, my property had already begun belonging to them.<\/p>\n
I looked at her differently after that.<\/p>\n
Not as a villain.<\/p>\n
Something more ordinary.<\/p>\n
A person who had repeated an entitlement to herself so many times that she no longer recognized it as entitlement.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought the money was already Toby\u2019s,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn practical terms, much of it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her brow tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeon put conditions on the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat conditions?\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection against coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry scoffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold said through the speaker, \u201cIt is not convenient. It is binding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby asked, \u201cWhat counts as coercion?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny effort by another party to pressure, manipulate, or financially direct a beneficiary for the purpose of obtaining trust property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby looked at the table.<\/p>\n
The appraisals.<\/p>\n
The notes.<\/p>\n
The email about removing Harold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould this count?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry finally lost her composure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ridiculous. I have done nothing to Toby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou instructed him to remove his mother from his own birthday dinner,\u201d Harold said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has nothing to do with the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps not.\u201d<\/p>\n
His tone sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut attempting to use Mara\u2019s financial credentials certainly does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you have no proof it was me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those two words changed her expression.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
I saw Toby hear them too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold,\u201d I said, \u201ccan we freeze everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust is already protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy personal accounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should call your bank and place restrictions immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mara?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not destroy or alter anything in that room.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the papers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve photographed them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry said, \u201cYou do not have permission to take those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold answered her directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they contain copies of trust documents obtained without authorization, I strongly recommend you preserve them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you threatening me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I\u2019m explaining your safest option.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Leon would have liked Harold\u2019s way of speaking.<\/p>\n
No wasted motion.<\/p>\n
No drama.<\/p>\n
Just a door quietly closing.<\/p>\n
I took the phone off speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m bringing the folder to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Toby gathered his jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cToby.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
She seemed smaller than she had the night before.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I come too?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
I could see the conflict on his face.<\/p>\n
Paige had hidden things.<\/p>\n
Not all of them.<\/p>\n
Maybe not even most of them.<\/p>\n
But enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should come,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Sherry turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cMara.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needs to hear the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are deliberately destroying their marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Toby and Paige.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever happens to their marriage will depend on what they\u2019ve done to each other, not what I discover about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige lowered her eyes.<\/p>\n
Sherry reached for her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige stepped away.<\/p>\n
The small movement seemed to shock Sherry more than anything else had.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaige.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry\u2019s face crumpled.<\/p>\n
For one brief moment, I almost felt sorry for her.<\/p>\n
Then Toby found another page.<\/p>\n
It had slipped beneath a placemat.<\/p>\n
He unfolded it.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He handed it to Paige.<\/p>\n
She read it.<\/p>\n
Then sat down again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Toby looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a draft statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
He took the page from Paige and read.<\/p>\n
\u201cMara Huitt has demonstrated increasing confusion, impulsive financial behavior, and difficulty managing major decisions following the death of her husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has made erratic purchases, isolated herself, and shown hostility when family members attempt to assist her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Every sentence was false.<\/p>\n
Worse, every sentence was designed to transform ordinary grief, independence, and disagreement into evidence that I could not manage my life.<\/p>\n
Toby lowered the paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice became rough.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily members believe intervention may be necessary to protect her from substantial financial loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
A strange calm settled over me.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, I had been called selfish for refusing to pay unauthorized charges.<\/p>\n
Today, I understood why.<\/p>\n
If I paid the enormous birthday bill, I could be described as financially reckless.<\/p>\n
If I refused, I could be described as hostile and irrational.<\/p>\n
Either choice could be used.<\/p>\n
I looked at Sherry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou needed me to do something dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face gave nothing away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe party.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby understood at the same moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mom paid thirty-eight thousand dollars for a birthday she wasn\u2019t even attending\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s warning returned to me.<\/p>\n
Money can do strange things to people who believe they are entitled to it.<\/p>\n
I finished the thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could call me irresponsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I canceled it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby looked at the statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHostile when family members attempt to assist her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I felt cold despite the warm room.<\/p>\n
The party had been a trap either way.<\/p>\n
A financial event large enough to become evidence.<\/p>\n
And someone had already written the narrative before I chose how to respond.<\/p>\n
I folded the page carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one comes with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re stealing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held up my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m photographing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took the picture.<\/p>\n
Then placed the original back on the table exactly where Toby had found it.<\/p>\n
For once, Sherry had nothing to say.<\/p>\n
We walked toward the door.<\/p>\n
I went first.<\/p>\n
Toby followed.<\/p>\n
Paige stopped behind us.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
She was looking at her mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have one question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry\u2019s face was stiff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know I was going to be asked to sign that?\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
Toby froze.<\/p>\n
I turned back toward Paige.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes remained on Sherry.<\/p>\n
\u201cAunt Vivian told me last week that there might be paperwork after the birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry whispered, \u201cPaige.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said it would protect everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby stared at his wife.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen were you supposed to sign it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige finally looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three days away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat paperwork?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Paige swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said it was a family statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the draft on the dining table.<\/p>\n
The statement describing me as confused and financially reckless.<\/p>\n
The statement someone hoped my daughter-in-law would sign.<\/p>\n
Sherry closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
And in that moment, there was no longer any reasonable explanation left.<\/p>\n
I did not tell Sherry what Harold had said. Not immediately. I looked at her while holding the phone to my ear and saw the answer in the way she … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31831","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\/31831","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=31831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31866,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31831\/revisions\/31866"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}