I was struggling to get by when my dying neighbor offered me a deal: take care of her, and in return, she\u2019d leave everything to me. I agreed, but at her will reading, I got nothing! I thought she\u2019d tricked me, but the next day, her lawyer gave me something that made my knees give out.<\/p>\n
I sat in a lawyer\u2019s office across from Mrs. Rhode\u2019s niece. Every few seconds, she looked at me the way people look at gum stuck to a shoe.<\/p>\n
The lawyer cleared his throat, opened a folder, and started reading in a flat voice. \u00ab The residence on Willow Street will be donated to Saint Matthew\u2019s Outreach Charity. \u00bb<\/p>\n
I blinked. \u00ab What? \u00bb<\/p>\n
He did not look up. \u00ab Personal savings are to be distributed between Saint Matthew\u2019s Church and several charitable organizations. To my niece, I leave my jewelry collection. \u00bb<\/p>\n
I sat in a lawyer\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
I sat still, waiting for my name. Mrs. Rhode had promised I\u2019d get everything if I looked after her for the last years of her life!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The lawyer turned one page, then closed the folder. \u00ab That concludes the reading. \u00bb<\/p>\n
I stared at him. \u00ab That\u2019s it? But she promised me\u2026 \u00bb<\/p>\n
A thought hit me so hard it made my stomach drop. Did Mrs. Rhode lie to me?<\/p>\n
I stood and hurried out of there before either of them could see me cry.<\/p>\n
Did Mrs. Rhode lie to me?<\/p>\n
By the time I got back to my rental, my chest hurt.<\/p>\n
I went inside, shut the door, and fell across the bed without taking off my boots.<\/p>\n
At first, all I felt was anger, then humiliation, then that ugly, familiar feeling of being the idiot in a story everyone else understood before I did.<\/p>\n
But under all of that was something worse.<\/p>\n
Grief. Because somewhere along the way, I had started to believe I mattered to Mrs. Rhode as much as she mattered to me.<\/p>\n
Under all of that was something worse.<\/p>\n
I grew up in foster care, so maybe I should have known better.<\/p>\n
My mother abandoned me right after I was born, and my father was rotting in prison.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I learned early that adults could say anything and mean nothing. I learned how to pack fast, how to keep my important stuff in one place, and how not to cry in front of strangers if I could help it.<\/p>\n
When I aged out, I left with two trash bags full of clothes and no plan.<\/p>\n
I ended up in that town because rent was low and nobody asked questions.<\/p>\n
Maybe I should have known better.<\/p>\n
I worked a couple of bad jobs for worse bosses so I could keep my head above water.<\/p>\n
Then I got a job at Joe\u2019s Diner. I liked it right away.<\/p>\n
Joe hired me because one of his waitresses quit in the middle of a breakfast rush, and I happened to walk in asking if he needed help.<\/p>\n
He looked me up and down and said, \u00ab You ever carried three plates at once? \u00bb<\/p>\n
I said, \u00ab No. \u00bb<\/p>\n
He shrugged. \u00ab You got ten minutes to learn. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Then I got a job at Joe\u2019s Diner.<\/p>\n
That was Joe \u2014 blunt, mean-looking, built like a fridge, and somehow one of the more decent people I had ever met.<\/p>\n
At the end of long shifts, he\u2019d shove a burger and fries at me and say, \u00ab Eat before you pass out and make extra paperwork for me. \u00bb<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sometimes after closing, I stayed and helped wipe down counters while he complained about suppliers, food costs, broken freezers, and people who ordered eggs \u00ab medium-medium-well. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Mrs. Rhode came in every Tuesday and Thursday morning at eight sharp.<\/p>\n
Sometimes after closing, I stayed and helped wipe down counters.<\/p>\n
The first time I waited on her, she squinted at my nametag.<\/p>\n
\u00ab James, \u00bb she said. \u00ab You look tired enough to collapse into my waffle. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab Long week. \u00bb<\/p>\n
She snorted. \u00ab Try being 85. \u00bb<\/p>\n
That was our introduction.<\/p>\n
After that, she always asked for me.<\/p>\n
\u00ab You look tired enough to collapse into my waffle. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab You ever smile, son? \u00bb she asked once.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Sometimes. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab I doubt it. \u00bb<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Another morning, she said, \u00ab Your hair looks worse every time I see you. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab Good morning to you, too. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab Hm. Better. You sound almost alive today. \u00bb<\/p>\n
She was difficult in a way that felt almost playful once you got used to her. I never saw her be sweet, but she paid attention. That counts for more than people think.<\/p>\n
\u00ab You ever smile, son? \u00bb<\/p>\n
One afternoon, I was carrying a couple of grocery bags home when she called to me from behind her fence.<\/p>\n
\u00ab You live nearby, James? \u00bb<\/p>\n
I stopped. \u00ab Couple houses down. \u00bb<\/p>\n
She looked me over. \u00ab Hmm. You want to make some decent money, son? \u00bb<\/p>\n
I stopped dead. \u00ab Doing what? \u00bb<\/p>\n
She opened her front door and beckoned to me. \u00ab Come help me. We\u2019ll agree on a price. I\u2019ll explain everything over some tea. \u00bb<\/p>\n
She called to me from behind her fence.<\/p>\n
Inside, she poured me tea that tasted like boiled weeds and got straight to it.<\/p>\n
\u00ab I\u2019m dying, \u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
I choked on my tea.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Oh, don\u2019t be so dramatic! I\u2019m 85, not 12. The doctor says maybe a few years, maybe less. I need help. Groceries, medication, rides, small repairs. I don\u2019t have anybody reliable. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab And in return? \u00bb<\/p>\n
She watched me for a second. \u00ab When I\u2019m gone, what\u2019s mine becomes yours. I\u2019ll leave everything to you. \u00bb<\/p>\n
I choked on my tea.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Are you for real, Mrs. Rhode? You barely know me. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab I know enough. \u00bb<\/p>\n
It sounded crazy. It probably was. But I needed the money, and something in me wanted to believe her.<\/p>\n
So I held out my hand and said, \u00ab Deal. \u00bb<\/p>\n
At first, it was exactly what she said it would be. I drove her to doctor\u2019s appointments, picked up groceries, and sorted her pills into plastic containers labeled by day.<\/p>\n
I fixed a cabinet hinge, cleaned out a gutter, changed lightbulbs, and took out trash.<\/p>\n
She complained through all of it.<\/p>\n
I held out my hand and said, \u00ab Deal. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab You\u2019re late. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab It\u2019s been four minutes. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab Still late. \u00bb<\/p>\n
I would tell her she was impossible, and she\u2019d say, \u00ab Yet you keep coming back. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Slowly, without either of us saying it, things changed.<\/p>\n
She started asking me to stay for dinner. Her cooking was terrible, but she acted offended if I noticed.<\/p>\n
Slowly, without either of us saying it, things changed.<\/p>\n
Once she made meatloaf so dry I drank three glasses of water trying to get it down.<\/p>\n
\u00ab This is awful, \u00bb I told her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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