The lawyer’s office was small and warm, and I sat there with my grown children, still numb from burying Gerald the week before. In the corner sat a woman I didn’t know, maybe fifty, neat and nervous, holding her purse in both hands.
I assumed she was a secretary, or someone waiting for another appointment. I gave her a polite nod and thought nothing of it.
Then the lawyer began to read, and among the bequests to me and the children, he read her name — Diane — and a sum of money, and a short line: ‘with my enduring gratitude.’
My children’s heads turned toward me. My own face went hot. Forty-three years of marriage, and here was a woman, and a secret, and money, all at once. I gripped the arm of my chair and prepared for my heart to break.
The lawyer must have seen my face, because he stopped and said gently, ‘Mrs. Hale, Gerald left a letter to be read with this. I think you’ll want to hear it.’
THE STORY CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE… 👇👇👇
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