Page 104 of This Memory
He looked between us, and I squeezed Gavin’s hand and realized I was holding my breath. I slowly let it out as I waited for Thomas to go on.
“This probably won’t shock either of you, but you’re both named as the child’s legal guardians. It was their wish that you would legally adopt the baby once you were married.”
Gavin and I exchanged surprised looks.
“May I askexactlywhen they updated their will?” Gavin asked.
Thomas looked at the will. “October fourteenth.”
I let out a half sob, half laugh, as Gavin smiled and shook his head. “Even then, they could see what took us forever to figure out.”
I sniffled and nodded.
Thomas smiled. “I assume you’re both in agreement with the guardianship of the baby?”
“Yes,” I said quickly, as my hand went to my stomach.
“Yes, of course,” Gavin replied.
With a nod of approval, Thomas went on. “Evelyn and Denny left everything to the baby in a trust, except for the house in Moose Village. Any other property will be sold by me and put into that trust. I’ll continue to manage it, unless you’d like to—”
Gavin held up a hand. “They trusted you, and so do we.”
“Thank you for that, Gavin.” Clearing his throat and shifting in his seat, Thomas let out a breath and moved on. “Regarding the house in Moose Village, they left that to you, Brystol.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
He handed an envelope to me and then gave one to Gavin. “They wrote you each a letter. It was their desire that you have the option of moving into the house…in the event they both…” Thomas looked away to regain his composure. When he recovered, he gave me a sad smile. “In the event that they passed together, they wanted you to have the option of living in the house where the baby would have grown up. Since she…or he…isn’t yet born, you can do what you want with the house. Move in, sell it…it will be yours to do with as you please.”
Looking to Gavin, Thomas smiled. “Denny would like for you to have his golf clubs, even though, and I quote, ‘You suckat golf.’”
Gavin laughed.
“In all seriousness, he also left you the deed to his mother’s home in Moose Village, for you to do as you see fit.”
“Don’t they rent that out?” I asked.
“They do.”
Gavin squeezed my hand, then said, “If you wouldn’t mind finding someone to manage the property and putting rental proceeds into the baby’s trust as well.”
Thomas looked taken aback for a moment. Then a smile grew across his face. “I see why they both loved you guys so much. Yes, I’ll take care of that for you. There’s a separate account set up, as well, from Denny’s mother’s estate, which pays for the upkeep of the house.”
Gavin nodded as I sat there, listening to everything but feeling like I was a million miles away.
“I’ll put this in probate and it should all clear through quickly, since it’s pretty cut and dry. For now, though…” He slid a set of keys across the table to me. “The keys to the house.”
I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. “What about everything inside the house? They had some pretty expensive artwork and other things.”
“It’s all yours, Brystol. You can do whatever you wish with everything. Once we clear probate,” he added.
The three of us sat in silence for a moment before Thomas spoke again. “I did forget to mention that a portion of the estate will be set aside for your medical bills, Brystol. The will wasn’t set up for that, but I know the arrangements that were made, since I drew them up, and I’d like to honor their agreement.”
Tears stung the back of my eyes. All I could do was nod.
“Do either of you have any questions for me?”
I looked at Gavin, who replied, “I can’t think of any right now.” When he looked at me, the best I could do was shake my head.
