Page 401 of The First Time
"What?" Fiona's eyes go wide. She looks to Blakereally?
He shrugshow should I know?
"Miss Sterling, your mother left you the house. With some instructions." He reads a passage from the will. "God knows, Blake isn't going to grace my home with children. Fiona, sweetie, it's yours. Enjoy it. Find a new man, one a million times better than your soon-to-be-ex-husband and fill it with love."
She wipes her eyes. "Thank you, Larry."
The lawyer, Larry, I guess, nods. "Mr. Sterling. I'm afraid Meryl left you nothing of material value. Only the chess set."
Fiona laughs but not in a smug way. It's more like she appreciates how much it meant to them.
"Miss Wilder—" he looks me in the eyes. "Let me read this." Larry looks at the will. "To my new friend Katrina Wilder, I leave two hundred thousand dollars. Sweetheart, I hope you'll use that money for your college education, but it's yours. Go out and grab what you want."
My heart skips a beat.
Two hundred thousand dollars. That can't be right.
"Miss Wilder." The lawyer is staring at me. "Are you going to be okay?"
I must be blushing. I must be beet red.
Everyone is staring.
And I'm not breathing.
I'm…
Two hundred thousand dollars.
That's ridiculous.
That's a fortune.
That's everything.
I force words from my lips. "Can you read that again?"
He begins. "It's two hundred thousand dollars, Katrina."
Two hundred thousand dollars. All the money I need for college.
Larry continues. "I can go over the details of the charities if you'd like."
"No, thank you." Fiona stands, brushing her perfect black outfit smooth. "I should get to the house for the memorial." She looks at Blake. "Are you coming?"
"I'll meet you there." He waits until Fiona leaves then turns to me. "Are you okay?"
I adjust my dress. "I will be. Are you?"
"I will be." He stands and offers his hand. "Can we talk?"
I take his hand. "Okay."
Blake nods a goodbye to the lawyer and whisks me out of the room.
* * *
We goto the diner around the corner. It's a greasy spoon place. Vinyl booths. Checked tile floor. Big plates of fried eggs, hash browns, and bacon.
