Richard asked Amanda to get information about your assets. She refused at first. Then he started telling me that you guys had talked about the house and that you wanted to help them buy it.
I don’t know if it was true.
Last night, when I saw Harold’s letter, I realized that Richard might never have given up on his plan.
I owe you an explanation.
Patricia».
I read the letter twice.
The first reaction was anger.
The second, of sadness.
Not because Patricia deserved my pity, but because she had chosen to keep quiet while her husband turned my son’s future into a tool to solve an economic problem.
I folded the letter and kept it next to Harold’s papers.
At ten o’clock, Jacob knocked at the door.
He came alone.
He had dark circles under his eyes, a wrinkled shirt and the face of someone who hadn’t slept all night.
When he entered, he looked around as if hoping to find the different house.
“Coffee?” I asked.
“Yes, please.
I made pot coffee and placed two cups on the kitchen table.
For years I had prepared my son’s breakfast whenever he visited. That morning I put a plate of toast in front of him, but I didn’t ask him if he wanted eggs or if he needed anything else.
Not because I had stopped loving him.
But because I needed to learn to be with him without automatically assuming the responsibility of taking care of everything.
Jacob took a sip of coffee.
“Amanda didn’t come with me.
“I imagined it.
“He’s at his parents’ house. He says he needs time.
“And you?”
He looked at the cup.
“I need to know who my wife is.
I opened the blue folder and spread out the documents.
Jacob read silently. As he went, he pressed his fingers against the edge of the table.
“Did Dad never tell you about the loan?”
“No.
“Not once?”
“Never.
He stared at Harold’s signature.
“He always told me to be careful with money. That he should not sign anything he did not understand. I never thought he would have to protect us from Amanda’s family.
“Your father tried to help Richard. That doesn’t mean he knew what Richard would do next.
Jacob took some papers out of his backpack.
“I found this on Amanda’s desk.
They were copies of printed emails.
In one, Richard asked if I had updated my will after Harold’s death.
In another, Amanda replied that she didn’t know yet, but that Jacob might ask me during a family conversation.
I felt a knot in my stomach.
There was also a message from Richard that made me put the cup down on the table.
“The important thing is that she feels that the decision is hers. If he thinks he’s helping Jacob, he’ll end up accepting.”
Jacob covered his mouth.
“I never asked him to do that.
“I know.
“I never told him I wanted your house.
“I know, son.
“I didn’t know they talked about you that way!”
His voice broke.
At last, the tears she had held back during the wedding began to roll down her cheeks.
It hurt me to see him cry.
But I didn’t get up to hug him right away.
I waited.
Jacob wiped his face with his sleeve.
“I feel like an idiot.
“You’re not an idiot. You are a man who trusted his wife.
“And that he let his mother be humiliated.
I didn’t look away.
“Yes.
That word hurt him more than any reproach.
“Aren’t you going to tell me it wasn’t my fault?”
“I’m not going to tell you something that’s not true just to make you feel better.
Jacob nodded slowly.
Then he showed me another email, dated two weeks before the wedding.
Richard had written that the reception would be an excellent opportunity to introduce both families to certain business acquaintances. Amanda replied that everything would be ready.
Underneath was a phrase that left me cold.
“Once Judith confirms that she wants to help the newlyweds with a property, we will be able to close the outstanding matter.”
Jacob stood up.
“I have to talk to Amanda.
“First finish reading.
I pointed him to the last file.
It was a photograph of a document with my name, my address and a description of our house. At the bottom there was a space reserved for my signature.
There was no signature.
But next to the document was a note written by Richard:
“Prepare for after the wedding”.
Jacob put both hands to his head.
“This was not an idea. They were preparing it.
“It seems so.
“Mom, I’m going to cancel everything. I’m going to ask for the annulment, I’m going to…
“Stop.”
He looked at me, bewildered.
“What?”
