The cold floor beneath me faded beneath the weight in my heart.
He had carried all of this alone.
And he never let it touch me.
The meeting at the attorney’s office was set for eleven, but Aunt Sammie called me at nine.
“I know your father’s will is being read today. I thought we could go together,” she said. “Family should sit together, don’t you think?”
“You never sat with us before,” I replied quietly.
“Oh, Clover. That was a long time ago.”
A pause lingered on the line.
“I know things were tense back then,” she continued. “But your mother and I… we had a complicated relationship. And Michael—well, I know you cared about him.”
“Cared?” I said. “I adored him. He was everything to me.”
Another pause.
“I just want today to go smoothly. For everyone.”
At the office, she greeted the lawyer like an old friend, kissed my cheek, and left behind the lingering scent of rose hand cream.
She wore pearls, soft pink lipstick, and her blonde hair was swept into a neat bun that made her appear younger.
During the reading of the will, she dabbed her eyes only when someone looked her way.
When it ended, I stood.
“I’d like to say something.”
