Chapter 2 - The Paper They Had Prepared
Jessica was no longer wearing the concerned expression she'd used beside the Oakridge brochure.
She was wearing her courtroom face.
She straightened her shoulders, set the tenancy notice on the table, and spoke slowly.
"We have been worried about your judgment for a long time."
"Have you?"
"Secretly purchasing real estate at your age is not normal behavior."
I almost smiled at the irony.
Apparently buying property was evidence of poor judgment, while selecting another adult's residence without permission was a thoughtful family service.
Colin refused to meet my eyes.
"Mom, Jess just means we should make sure you're okay."
Jessica opened a drawer and produced a manila folder I had never seen.
Inside were printouts about cognitive screening, financial exploitation, and adult guardianship.
There was even a draft letter to a physician.
My name was printed across the top.
I looked at Colin.
"You prepared this before you knew about the property?"
He hesitated.
"We were researching options."
"Options for whom?"
Jessica put one polished fingernail on the physician's letter.
"For somebody who has recently made confusing choices."
"Name one," I said.
"You wanted to stay in your room all the time. You started taking unexplained rides downtown. You wouldn't tell us where you went."
"Privacy isn't confusion."
Her mouth tightened.
"You're being defensive."
"And you're being remarkably eager to make me sound incompetent."
Colin finally looked up.
"Can we just calm down?"
"I am calm."
I pulled my phone from my handbag and called Richard on speaker.
"Richard, I'm at the house, and Jessica has just shown me draft guardianship materials."
His answer was immediate.
"Margaret, do not sign anything. Is anybody preventing you from leaving?"
Jessica recoiled.
"Nobody is preventing anything."
"Then please allow my client to depart as planned," Richard said.
Colin looked at the phone as if it had betrayed him.
"You brought a lawyer into this?"
"You brought a retirement home into it," I answered.
The front doorbell rang again.
My taxi driver stood outside, looking apologetic.
I stepped into the hall, and Colin followed me.
He looked suddenly younger, almost like the boy who used to wait for Arthur at the bait shop.
"Mom, we can fix this."
I wanted to believe him.
That was the most painful part.
"You can start by deciding what needs fixing," I said.
He stared at the envelope in his hand.
"Is it really you? A&M?"
"Arthur and Margaret," I replied.
Understanding moved across his face.
"Dad's old store."
"Yes."
From the kitchen, Jessica called, "Colin, don't let her leave until we understand the money."
He flinched at the word.
Money.
At last, the subject nobody had mentioned openly had arrived.
I stepped outside anyway.
May you like
And as the driver lifted my suitcase into the trunk, I heard Jessica tell Colin she was going to find out where every dollar had come from.
