Then I sat down and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore.
Two days later, Richard’s lawyer called.
“Mrs. Hale?”
“Yes.”
“I need you to come to my office.”
“About the estate?”
There was a pause.
“About Mr. Hale’s final instructions.”
When I arrived, all three children were already there.
Rebecca looked at me.
“Nice of you to join us.”
I ignored her.
The lawyer stood.
“Thank you all for coming.”
I sat down.
He placed several documents on the table.
Then he looked at us.
“Mr. Hale left a very specific set of instructions.”
Michael frowned.
“What kind of instructions?”
The lawyer didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he reached beneath his desk.
When he placed the object on the table, my heart stopped.
A small wooden box.
Dark brown.
Old.
Simple.
I recognized it immediately.
It had been sitting in Richard’s study.
I had seen it countless times.
But he had never allowed me to touch it.
Rebecca looked at the box.
“What is that?”
The lawyer looked at me.
“Mr. Hale instructed me to give this to his wife.”
Rebecca laughed.
“Of course he did.”
The lawyer continued.
“But he also instructed me to open the rest of the estate documents only after she had opened the box.”
