It was small.
The roof needed repairs.
The kitchen was barely large enough for two people.
But it was somewhere she could stay.
And for the first few days, she barely slept.
She missed Thomas.
She missed his voice.
She missed the way he laughed at his own jokes.
Most of all, she missed the strange feeling of finally getting to live the life they had once imagined as teenagers.
Now it was gone.
Margaret tried to keep herself busy.
She cleaned the trailer.
She watered the plants outside.
She washed clothes and hung them on a line beside the road.
But memories followed her everywhere.
One afternoon, she was hanging a white sheet on the clothesline when she heard the sound of tires on gravel.
She looked toward the road.
A vehicle was approaching.
At first, she assumed it was one of the neighbors.
Then she saw the long black car.
It was a limousine.
Margaret stopped what she was doing.
The vehicle slowly came to a stop outside her trailer.
The rear door opened.
A man wearing a gray suit stepped out.
He carried a leather briefcase.
In his other hand was a sealed envelope.
Margaret immediately felt uneasy.
The man walked toward her.
“Margaret?”
“Yes?”
“My name is Daniel Harris. I was Thomas’s attorney.”
Her heart began beating faster.
She hadn’t heard from any attorney.
Not since Thomas’s funeral.
The lawyer held out the envelope.
“Thomas left specific instructions regarding this.”
Margaret looked at the envelope.
Her name was written across the front.
Margaret.
She looked back at the attorney.
“Why are you bringing this to me?”
The lawyer paused.
Then he answered.
“Because Thomas wanted me to make sure you received exactly what he believed you deserved.”
Margaret’s hands began to tremble.
She didn’t know what to think.
Had Thomas left her something?
Had he changed his will?
Or had he discovered something about her before his death?
For a moment, Margaret wondered whether his children had been right about everything.
Maybe Thomas had left instructions that would prove she never truly belonged in his life.
Maybe the letter was going to explain why she had been pushed out.
She took the envelope.
It was heavier than she expected.
Her fingers struggled with the seal.
Once.
Twice.
It wouldn’t open.
Finally, on the third attempt, the envelope came apart.
Inside was a single folded letter.
