“Jane.” He cut me off. “I’m afraid I’m going to need you to come back to Dallas as soon as possible.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, not wanting to hear that something else was fucked up.

“Someone has contested the will and unfortunately it is going through a preliminary court hearing. If you're not here, it could mean you give up the right to challenge it, and the court will split the money how it decides.”

“George, why the hell am I just hearing this now?” I snapped.

“We’ve been trying to contact you for weeks, and I’ve also sent numerous emails.” He sounded worried. “I know I probably should have been more diligent, but our new assistant assured me she was going to reach you. I didn’t realize until last week she hadn’t, and well I’ve been trying to get a hold of you as often as I can.”

I thought back, trying to remember how many times I saw his number on my missed calls list.

“Ok, let me see if I can find a flight back home today, and I’ll get back to you. Who is contesting the will?” I knew this was going to happen. Henry’s family were a bunch of vultures, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was his mother or even his father.

“I think we should discuss that when you get here. I would like to explain everything and doing it over the phone will take too much time.  I need you here by Monday at nine in the morning.” George knew it was probably someone I didn’t need to hear about over the phone. This man had been so helpful with the will, and I knew he was just watching out for me. It was probably best if I didn’t know who it was, anyway. All I would do was just fume about it the entire way home, and I was dealing with enough right now.

“Ok George, I have a feeling I think I knew who it might be. You're right, I would rather hear about it in person, and see everything that has been filed.”

“Of course, please keep me updated on your flight, and when I might expect you. I’ll see you soon.” George didn’t wait for a bye, hanging up right away. One thing about George that I loved was he was always straight to the point, and he never lied to me.  He always gave me the good and the bad, advising me based on what he had seen in the past. Since I was already on my way home; I would just pack a bag and check to see what I could get last minute. I’m sure there was bound to be a flight to Dallas. This was probably coming at a good time.

19. Jane

NINETEEN

Jane