Anywhere You Are Read Online Free PDF Page B

mumbo-jumbo, Wren got to the good stuff. “To my ex-sister-in-law, June Masters Colby. I always liked you, even after my idiot brother divorced you. You’re a good woman, and a smart one, too. I’ll never forget your kindness to our late mother. You were like another daughter to her and she talked about you until the end. To that effect, I leave you the sum of two hundred thousand dollars and the sincerest wish that you should be happy.”
    Marc’s mother had bowed her head, and when he realized she was crying, he wrapped his arm around her. It was like holding a ghost, she was so thin. He met Alexa’s eyes across the table, but her attention was jerked back to Wren with the announcement of her bequest.
    “To my niece, Alexa Colby Schwartz,” the lawyer intoned. “My bright, bright girl. You were always so clever, so sharp. And so empty. Take a vacation. Spend some time with your kids. The summer we saw those geese on the lake, how they took off, wings in flight, is one of my dearest memories. I know you remember it, too. Hold on to that and soar, darling. I know you don’t need it, but I’m leaving you the sum of one million dollars, plus my gold brooch, which has been in the family for five generations, to be passed on to your daughter when she is of age.”
    Wren reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small wooden box, which he handed to Alexa. Her eyes were glittery with unshed tears, her lips turned up in the ghost of a smile. Ronald was a big hedge fund manager who pulled in close to a million a year on top of Alexa’s hefty salary. The money meant nothing to her, but the brooch and their aunt’s words had clearly touched her. She tucked the box into her expensive purse, then leaned against Ronald’s arm and closed her eyes.
    Wren went on. “To my niece Whitney Emerson Colby: Sweet, gentle Whitney. Never let anyone tell you that you need a man to be successful. You are an incredibly talented and generous woman who should embrace her life and all the good things that come with it. Don’t let others define who they think you should be. You already know how wonderful you are. I know you don’t want it, but I leave you the sum of one million dollars, with the express desire that you will spend it on yourself and not others. I also leave you my mother-of-pearl hair comb, which was my grandmother’s, with the hope that you will wear it in good health.”
    From his pocket, Wren removed a black velvet pouch, which he handed to Marc’s sister. Whitney was blinking furiously, trying to hold back tears that eventually spilled down her cheeks anyway. She wouldn’t look at anyone as she murmured her thanks.
    “To my only sibling, my brother Norton Arthur Colby,” Mr. Wren began.
    Marc’s father shot him a knowing glance and settled back in his seat, a smug smile on his face.
    Wren cleared his throat and began again. “To my only sibling, my brother Norton Arthur Colby. You’re an ass.”
    Norton sat bolt upright. “What?” he sputtered.
    “I’m only reading what is on the page,” Wren said. “My job is to read exactly what is written, and—”
    “Jesus, just go on,” Norton muttered.
    Wren adjusted his glasses and returned to the sheet of paper. “All right, let me see. Where was I? Ah, yes. ‘You’re an ass, and in death I can now give you the advice you wouldn’t accept when I was alive. Start acting your age. You’re only two years younger than I am, so ditch the twenty-year-olds and the sports cars. You have an incredible career and three children who’d love you to pieces if you only stopped thinking of them as extensions of you and started thinking of them as human beings. Smarten up. Stop being so selfish. And go back to your wife. Love you forever, Nornor. And when I see our parents in heaven, I’ll tell them hi.’ ”
    Everyone in the room was stunned into shocked silence.
    Finally, Norton spoke. “Tell me that was a joke.”
    “I never joke about wills and trusts,”