Page 119 of Just for Tonight

“Always fine print,” Austin complains and we all ignore him.

“Let’s do the admin,” Mike says, doing his part to help things along.

“Because this is a variation from the stipulation in the will, I would like to vote on this proposal, and I would like a unanimous agreement. Richard Bradshaw has drawn up contracts for each of you: in the event that we do agree, I would ask you all to stop by his office and sign yours at your earliest convenience. Secondly, we need to decide whether we will honour our father’s list of his children without additions. We all know that Luke Jones is his son, too, and it might be fitting to include Luke among the heirs. I want, above all, to be fair.”

There are nods at this.

“We have to include Luke,” Abbie says but I hold up a finger.

“Let me just finish. Finally, we can decide whether or not our father’s legacy spreads to the next generation or not. It has become customary, Richard tells me, for wills to specify whether grandchildren are to participate in their parents’ share of any legacy or to inherit in their own right. Our father’s will did not include that language, either way, by his own choice. Richard and I think it’s fair that we as heirs can decide whether Sierra is entitled to a legacy or not.”

They’re not sure about that.

“And there are a couple of caveats. There is a lot of property, but given that it’s in Empire, I don’t know how long it will take to sell. I’ve been over this a dozen times, but if roughly half of it sells in six months or so, that could be sufficient for Candace to keep her house and remain in it. I am, however, skeptical that such a high percentage of the holdings will sell that quickly. Maybe you should tell all your friends how great Empire is, maybe in early December.” There are chuckles at that. “Once we’ve achieved that, we can decide what to do with the remaining holdings, whether they should be deeded to Candace, or whether we require another dispersion among the heirs. First things first.”

“We’re not going to be done with this soon,” Mike says.

“No. Maybe in a year. Maybe it will take longer. But I’d like to get started on this initiative, so that we’re making some forward movement. I can’t anticipate how much slack the creditors will give us, so I’d like to get to a more stable position as soon as possible. In the spirit of the will, I would like to ensure Candace’s security in the house, if we can.”

They nod agreement at this, which is a relief.

I check my list. “The planned procedure is that all of you will get an access code to Paula’s database to begin browsing today. You will have the option to reserve your choice when it’s your turn. As soon as you choose, the option of choosing is unlocked for the next heir. As mentioned, I’d like to have everything close by December 1. If you want to look at specific properties and you’re not in town, you can book to do as much on the weekend of the celebration of life planned for our father, which will be on Saturday, November 15. It will be held at the Anglican church in Empire at 2 in the afternoon, with a reception at the golf club to follow.”

There is audible tapping as people add the event to their calendars.

“There’s only one last detail. Since all of this was initiated with the hope of ensuring that Abbie gets Grandma Margaret’s house, I would like to vote as to whether that property should be reserved for Abbie from the outset.”

“How are we choosing?” Austin asks. “In what order?”

“Birth order,” I say, going with the simplest choice. I don’t want Grandma’s house and I doubt Mike does either, but I wouldn’t put it past Austin to grab it just because. He’d probably then sell it to a stranger, thinking this would avenge him upon us all somehow. He really can be tedious.

“What’s the magic number?” Madison asks.

I tell them and there’s a rustle of interest. It’s not mingy.

“I would have rather had the cash,” Ethan gripes.

“You’re probably not alone,” I say. “There are a lot of properties below that price point. Of course, the larger ones, like Grandma’s house and many of the commercial properties, are priced higher, some significantly higher. It turns out that our father’s specified sum is a number that would let each of us have a single-family home in Empire, if that was what we want.”

“If,” Austin notes, his view clear.

“That’s fair,” Candace says, to my surprise. “Jacob is being fair and he’s working hard to make this possibility happen and you should all recognize that.”

I thank them and invite discussion. Most of the debate is about Luke and Sierra. I let everyone have their say and when we run out of comments, we vote.

I’ll spare you the play-by-play and give you the summary instead. They are unanimously in favour of the plan, which is a huge relief. There’s more debate about Luke, but he’s swayed that vote himself by how much he’s done recently for Empire. In the end, they are unanimous in their vote to include him. Sierra is not in, which doesn’t surprise me as it’s consistent with my father’s expectation. It’s not like he didn’t know of her existence.

Richard predicted it would fall that way. He made a wry comment that people will only accept so much in defiance of their own self-interest and he was right.

Luke in, Sierra out. I can live with that. I don’t think Mike really wants or needs his inheritance so Sierra will likely be fine there.

“We don’t have to reserve Grandma’s house for Abbie, if none of the three of us who are before Abbie want it,” Mike says. “I don’t want it.”

“I don’t want it,” I say.

Austin says nothing, of course. He smirks, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

“I vote we reserve it for Abbie,” Candace says firmly, giving Austin a dark glance. I suddenly like her a lot more than I ever have.