“Mr. Landon…” Nancy tried to interrupt.
“I need you to call me later, I’ve been so worried that something happened to you.” He spoke over her.
“Mr. Landon, now is not the time.” Nancy snapped.
“I need to speak to my goddamn wife.” Ben shouted. Nancy quickly turned off the speaker portion and muted our end.
“If I hang up on him, I can’t read the will.” She looked directly at me.
“Unmute him.” I sighed.
“Melanie! You just left! I’m owed a conversation, surely!” he continued to rant, unaware that we hadn’t heard a word.
“Ben,” I said loudly, and he finally shut up.
“Mel…” he breathed out in relief.
“Look, this isn’t the time. I’m physically fine. I just need you to let us get through this reading as quickly as possible.”
“We need to talk.” He insisted.
“Of course, we do… but not right now.” I replied.
“When… tell me when.” His voice cracked.
“Griffin is returning to Seattle tonight, but you can call Kyle’s phone in the morning because he will be here for a few more days.” I hated giving him so much information, but I really needed him to cooperate.
“Uh…” he cleared his throat, “can you call me?”
I smirked and glanced at Kyle, who was also smirking.
Benji is scared to talk to big brother.
“No. Now can Nancy read the will?”
“O-okay.” He stammered, frustration quickly overriding his anxiety.
“Great. I’m going to call you back on the office line so that it’s all recorded since you are not here to sign the paperworkstating you heard the will in its entirety.” After Nancy ended the call on Griffin’s phone, she quickly explained that because the only thing that was left TO Ben, she could get away with reading the will to him over the phone. Otherwise, we would’ve had to postpone the reading again.
Once he was back on the correct phone and the paperwork was sorted, Nancy began reading.
If you are hearing these words, it means that I’m gone. Which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since I am an old lady. Gathered in this room should be my darling daughter and son-in-law, my granddaughter Melanie, my grandson Kyle, and the two young men who have seats at my table for every holiday. In my absence, I hope that you will still sit together for every holiday and maybe save a seat for me, because I’m sure I’ll be watching.
By the time you’re my age, you’ve accrued quite a bit of junk and hopefully some assets. In my case, I had a little help from a smart young woman turning my little bit of assets into quite a bit of assets. A few years ago, Melanie helped me make a few investments that ended up being very lucrative.
I heard Ben gasp and cringed. We had never discussed all of the investments I had made for Gram or my parents.
The most recent estimation of my estate is twenty-five million dollars.
To my daughter, I leave you, your childhood home, and five million dollars. It is fully paid for, and there is a trust set up to pay for the upkeep expenses for the next year. It was a good home, filled with lots of love and joy, and I’m so grateful to have shared it with you.
A sob broke free from my mother, and my father wrapped a comforting arm around her.
To Leonard, I leave my shares of your company and one million dollars. As an investor, I own five percent of the shares and want them to stay in the family. I also leave my 1963 Jaguar E-type roadster to you. I hope it brings you joy and adventures. Perhaps you will be able to convince my beautiful daughter to take a ride along the ocean in it.
We all chuckled at the scowl that took over my mother’s face and the satisfied smirk that filled my father’s, despite his watery eyes.
To Kyle, I leave you my shares of your company and three million dollars. I own five percent. I know you don’t need the money, but I did love spoiling you kids. I also leave you my chessboard, the one where you spent many hours proving to your old Gram just how smart you are; one day, you can share it with your children.
