“No.”
She shook her head quickly.
“I deleted it.”
“Good.”
She left an hour later.
Eleanor never came.
I didn’t expect her to.
Marcus told me she consulted three different lawyers.
Every one of them gave her the same answer.
She had no legal claim to Terrence’s private estate.
Later, I heard that she removed his photographs from the main hallway of the Washington estate.
I never knew exactly what to think about that.
Eleanor had treated me terribly.
That remained true.
She had also lost her son.
That was true too.
Grief does not automatically make someone kind.
Cruelty does not automatically erase grief.
Sometimes two uncomfortable truths simply exist beside each other.
On the first anniversary of Terrence’s death, I visited the family cemetery early in the morning.
His headstone was simple.
His name.
His dates.
And one line:
He built things that lasted.
I placed my hand against the stone.
“I kept it.”
My voice shook.
“Everything you built.”
“I’m still keeping it.”
Then I went home.
I had work the next morning.
The foundation published its first annual report the following spring.
There were restored wetlands.
Clean-water projects.
Environmental education programs.
One school initiative Terrence had unsuccessfully tried for years to convince the Washington family foundation to support finally received full funding.
Marcus read me part of the report over the phone.
When he finished, he went quiet.
Then he said,
“He knew exactly what he was doing.”
“Yes.”
I looked out the window.
“He usually did.”
I still wear Terrence’s ring.
Sometimes on the chain around my neck.
Sometimes on my hand.
It depends on the day.
The foundation continues to grow.
The companies keep me busy.
And on Tuesday nights, I return to the oncology floor where Terrence and I met.
Not as a nurse anymore.
As a volunteer.
Sometimes I find someone sitting alone in the hallway at two in the morning.
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