“Don’t rush me. We’ll talk when the Carol gets
here.”
Aunt Carol, who was on vacation in Florida,
got on a red–eye flight back to the hospital.
She came in sobbing.
“Mom, how are you? I was so worried when I
heard you were sick, I didn’t even bring the
kids!”
“Mom, flying back from Florida cost me
thousands!”
Grandma nodded. “I’ll reimburse you.”
“I called you all here today because I want to
talk about my will.”
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“I don’t have much time left. We didn’t have
Thanksgiving dinner together, so let’s have a
family dinner tonight.”
Grandma pulled a big duffel bag out from
under the bed. Inside, there were $940,000 in
cash, neatly stacked.
Everyone’s eyes lit up. Their eyes were glued
to the stacks of bills, their greedy hearts
beating faster.
“Here, honey, take ten grand and order us a
nice dinner.”
Grandma put ten stacks of cash directly into
my hands.
Dad immediately snatched it away. “What
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does she know about ordering a nice dinner?
Mom, I’ll take care of it.”
Uncle Mark and Aunt Carol stared at the
money, each wanting a piece.
But Grandma zipped up the bag again.
“This is just a small part of it, but who gets
what depends on how you behave.”
Uncle Mark immediately asked, “Mom, we had
all this money? Where’s the rest?”
Grandma gave him a knowing look. “Why are
you in such a hurry?”
Uncle Mark awkwardly said, “I’m just worried.
If you die too soon, the money will go to
strangers.”
Aunt Carol grabbed Grandma’s arm and said,
“Don’t listen to him, Mom. Are you wishing
Mom would die?”
Uncle Mark glared at Aunt Carol.
Grandma said, “You may not know this, but
your grandfather was from Brooklyn. He only
moved here to get away from the
Depression.”
“His family owned a brownstone.”
“He hid antique silverware. As for this money,
your grandfather left it for me to give to you
when I was dying, to the people that were the
kindest to me.”
Everyone looked at each other.
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Aunt Carol started crying and said, “Mom, you
always loved me the most. I felt bad when you
lost weight. It broke my heart.”
Uncle Mark ran warm water to soak
Grandma’s feet. “Mom, you used to wash our
feet when we were little. Now it’s my turn.”
Dad brought the food to the bedside. “Mom,
don’t you love egg drop soup? Don’t get up,
I’ll feed you.”
Grandma paid for a VIP hospital room, and
the family had a rare dinner together.
I felt bitter seeing them all acting so happy.
They were only there for Grandma’s money,
and I knew Grandma could see through it.
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But she still enjoyed the attention.
Everyone fought to take care of her. Uncle
Mark even told me to go home and get some
rest.
“Sweetheart, there are too many people in
this room. You should go home and rest.”
Aunt Carol said, “Yeah, you have school after Thanksgiving. You don’t need to be here.”
But Mom stepped in front of me. “Why should
she? Our sweet girl has been with Grandma
all the time. The brownstone should go to our
family.”
Aunt Carol got angry. “Why? Who knows why
she’s taking care of the old woman. Maybe
Г
I couldn’t help but argue. “You’re one to talk,
Aunt Carol. You only came after you found
out Grandma had money. Didn’t you say you
weren’t coming home because you had to go
on vacation? Now you’re playing the dutiful
daughter.”
Aunt Carol’s face turned red. Grabbing my
arm, she hissed, “It’s none of your business
where I go on vacation. She’s my mother. Of
course I’m going to take care of her.”
“What’s all the shouting? Neither of you is
getting that brownstone. I’m the oldest, it
should be mine!”
As the family argued, Dad suddenly got
smart.
“You know maybe there’s no brownstone or
“You know, maybe there’s no brownstone or
silverware. Maybe the old woman’s just lying
to us.”
Everyone went silent. Uncle Mark looked
suspicious. “I think so too, but the old woman
has a lot of money all of a sudden. I wonder
where she got it.”
Aunt Carol turned to me.
“Sweetheart, you’re closest to your grandma.
Go ask her where the brownstone is, and if
she has the deed.”
“You don’t need to ask her. I brought the
deed.”
Grandma came through the door in her
hospital gown and slapped the deed on the
