I thought about the folder moved a half inch to the left. I thought about “took you in.” I thought about Renee’s voice through the bedroom wall. She eats our food, uses our utilities, and contributes what exactly?
I thought about the fact that they had sat in this room, on this guest bed, and framed wanting control over my finances as wanting to keep me safe.
“I appreciate what you’re saying,” I said, “both of you.”
Renee’s expression became more earnest. She leaned forward slightly.
“Margaret, if you’ve come into money, and I think you have, I think something significant has happened. Please don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Daniel is your only son. Think about what Harold would have wanted. Think about what this does to your relationship with your grandchildren. Caleb and Sophie love you.”
There it was.
The children.
“They do love me,” I said. “And I love them. That’s not going to change.”
“Then why are you doing this alone?”
Her voice had an edge now, carefully wrapped in concern.
“What has someone told you that made you feel like you need to hide things from us?”
I looked at her for a long moment.
“No one told me anything,” I said. “I watched and I listened and I drew my own conclusions. I’ve been doing that for 71 years. I’m quite good at it.”
The warmth in Renee’s face shifted. It was a small shift, but I’d been watching her face for 2 years.
“You’re making a mistake,” she said.
Her voice was flat now. The performance peeled back.
“Margaret.”
Daniel put a hand out.
“Whatever you have, whatever this is, if you’re not careful, someone will take advantage of you. People will find out. You’ll be a target. We are the people who should be protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
I unfolded my hands. I stood up from the desk chair.
I was not a large woman, but I had good posture. Harold used to say I had the spine of someone who’d been told her whole life to stand up straight and had believed it.
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