Childless: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

and immediately dialed the number of the only man who could get him the necessary funds that quickly.
    “Cedillo and Associates, how may I direct your call?”
    It always impressed Matthew how professional Carol Cedillo seemed when answering her husband’s office number. She sounded just like an efficient assistant sitting in the downtown law office Benjamin Cedillo didn’t occupy and handling an appointment schedule he couldn’t fill. You would never know Carol was standing in her kitchen, walking through the aisle of a grocery store, or in any of a hundred other locations speaking into a tiny microphone affixed to her earpiece.
    “Hi Carol. It’s Matthew Adams.”
    “Oh, hi, Matty.”
    Matthew grimaced, then smiled. He hated the nickname Carol Cedillo had given him while he was in diapers. A name he let only her get away with using.
    “Is Ben around?”
    “I think so. Hang on a second and I’ll check. He might be watching television.”
    “Sorry to bother him this late in the day but it’s kind of urgent.”
    “No worries,” she said. “I’m sure he would love to talk to you.”
    Not likely , Matthew thought. It had been nearly six weeks since the two last spoke. The conversation had gone badly.
    “There’s nothing else I can do, Matt,” Benjamin had insisted. “Aspen House says they refuse to take any action until the NEXT appeal is settled.”
    “Why can’t you pressure Chuck Kohl?” Matthew had pushed. “He told me he would be happy to co-approve Mom’s procedure.”
    “Which you didn’t get in writing.”
    “Can’t you say we had a verbal contract?”
    “Sure, I can say it. But that would be next to impossible to prove. Your word against his.”
    That’s when the conversation had turned ugly. Matthew questioned Benjamin’s competence before suggesting he hoped to pocket the money himself.
    “Watch yourself, young man,” Ben had snapped back. “You know I won’t get and wouldn’t accept a penny of your mother’s estate.”
    “Then you’re holding things up out of spite. You’re still upset over her decision.”
    “You’re sure it was her decision?”
    Matthew had resented the implication. “Of course it was her decision.”
    “Charles Kohl told me he isn’t so sure about that.”
    “He’s just covering himself. He signed off on the transition, for Pete’s sake!”
    “He signed off on her mental competence, not on whether he thought she felt coerced.”
    “I told you a hundred times, I didn’t coerce her!”
    “I know you believe that. But I can’t prove it, nor could I get anyone at Aspen House to corroborate it.”
    Matthew didn’t remember the rest of the conversation, only the cloud of anxious fury he’d felt when he left Ben’s home office. During the six weeks that had passed since the encounter Matthew had tried to remain optimistic. He’d chosen to believe the man responsible for his mother’s estate would find a loophole of some sort that would release enough money to pay off Matthew’s freshman loan and fund his sophomore year.
    He’d also tried to urge things along on two fronts. First he badgered the receptionist at Aspen House, a process he stopped after the third visit because Aspen House threatened him with a restraining order. His second effort was much more creative and far less sensible. He delivered several handwritten letters to the federal judge overseeing the NEXT appeal. It couldn’t hurt to let the man who seemed to control his economic fate know the real-life ramifications of the court’s decision.
    “Hello, Matthew.” Benjamin’s voice lacked its customary warmth.
    “Hi, Ben,” Matthew said hesitantly. “How’ve you been?”
    “Oh, you know, I’ve been out back rolling in the pile of money I’m earning from your mom’s estate.”
    Matthew winced at the dig before swallowing his pride. “Look, Ben, I apologize for losing my temper, OK?”
    He took Ben’s silence as permission to continue.
    “Listen, I only have about a