Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Amanda should’ve done it,” she corrected. “Not your responsibility to clean up her messes.”
I just nodded.
“Closet,” she ordered, pointing. “Show me where to start.”
We sorted through years of paperwork. There were bank statements that were unfortunately too old to know the current state of her accounts, phone bills, utility bills, junk mail, health insurance paperwork, car insurance paperwork, anything and everything that someone could mail in an envelope was stuffed into the closet. We made piles, saving anything that we thought might be useful and recycling anything that didn’t seem to have any relevance whatsoever.
By the time the kids and Richie came downstairs for breakfast, we’d only made it through a quarter of the closet. It was a nightmare.
Richie took the kids out for doughnuts and brought us a couple when they got back, but we didn’t stop. He just kissed my head and went back out of the room to keep Ronan and Aisling occupied. Saoirse wandered in, watched us for a while, and then started helping once she understood the system we’d developed to sort the shit. Cian took one look at the mess and bailed.
I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to be there either.
We worked all day. Richie carried five bags filled with paper out to the garage just to get it out of our way. He also made the kids lunch and brought us each a plate that ended up stale on my mom’s dresser. We were on a mission, and we’d been working so long already that none of us were willing to stop until we found something useful.
It was around dinner time that Saoirse made a noise in the back of her throat, her eyes intent on the pile of paper sitting in her lap.
“What?” I asked, setting my own pile down.
“I think I found something,” she said, looking up at me. “It has Mom and Dad’s name on it.” She lifted the large envelope. “It’s from an attorney.”
“Bingo,” Aunt Ashley said.
My hands shook as I took the envelope from Saoirse. The first page was just letterhead from a lawyer that I’d never heard of, but behind it was my parents’ will.
I read it, skimming over the legal jargon.
Then I read it again.
The room was silent around me.
I read it a third time.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, handing the will to Aunt Ashley. “Tell me that says what I think it says.”
Saoirse reached out and gripped my hand as Aunt Ashley read through the paperwork. When she lifted her head, breath whooshed out of me.
“If either one of them dies, the kids go to the other parent,” Aunt Ashley said softly. “If both are gone, the kids go to their aunt, Ashley Sanders.” She smiled. “Unless their eldest daughter Aoife Kelly has reached adulthood, in which case guardianship of all children goes to her.”
“Oh my god,” Saoirse whispered.
“You also inherit the house and any other assets,” Aunt Ashley said, shaking the stack of papers. “You, Aoife. To use as you need or split between the kids, however you want to do it.”
“Jesus, Dad,” I whispered, knowing that the will had been his doing. My mom had never planned for a single thing in her life—Dad was the planner. He’d been the one to make sure we were taken care of.
“We still need to find the life insurance papers,” Aunt Ashley said softly. “But let’s take a break, yeah?”
“Can I tell them?” Saoirse asked, her smile so huge it was blinding.
“Just Cian,” I replied. “Ro and Ash have no idea what we’re even doing in here.”
“Got it,” she said, jumping to her feet. She went running out of the room.
“I can’t believe this,” I said. I felt numb.
“You might get a little push back,” Aunt Ashley said, her voice still gentle. “But the will is really straightforward. I can’t see why anyone would try to question it.”
“It feels too easy.”
“Your dad wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
“Jesus, sometimes I don’t think about him for days,” I said ruefully, scrubbing at my face as my eyes water. “But sometimes I miss him so much.”
“Me too,” she said simply. “He was my best friend, you know? It sucked moving away, but by then your mom was pregnant with you, and they were in their own little world. I was a bit of a third wheel. It was good for me to go somewhere new, start my own life.”
“It must’ve been hard,” I said quietly.
“It was for a while,” she agreed. “But you can get used to anything eventually.”
“Saoirse said you needed me?” Richie asked, coming through the door. “More bags to go out?”
“We found the will,” I replied, getting to my feet.
“And?”
My cheeks hurt from the smile that spread across my face. “Guardianship goes to me.”
Richie’s eyes widened. “No fucking way.”
I nodded.
A second later, I was in his arms and his face pressed against my neck as he swung me in a circle.