you might want to designate a worthwhile charity as your beneficiary. Perhaps an organization Albert had an interest in; his alma mater maybe? William and Mary, wasn’t it?”
Margaret nodded. “Yes, it was. I’ll keep it in mind.”
She followed Jeffrey to the door, thanked him for coming, then promised to get back to him as soon as she’d had time to process her thoughts.
“The sooner the better,” he said. “And when you have a moment, if you could look through Albert’s things and make sure he didn’t leave any files here at home I’d appreciate it. They’re the ones in the green folders.”
Margaret noticed how he’d mentioned the buyout a second and then third time. He seemed more worried about the firm than her. Why was he so eager to move things along? Why couldn’t he just let her grieve in peace?
If You Never Try…
MARGARET STOOD AT THE WINDOW watching Jeffrey back out of the driveway. After he was gone from sight, she turned and headed back to the kitchen. Josie was just pulling a tray of cinnamon biscuits from the oven.
“Mm, that smells good,” she said.
“You looked like you were having a stressful time in there,” Josie said, “so I figured you could use something sweet to take the edge off.”
“You figured right,” Margaret said. “Jeffrey Schoenfeld has never been one of my favorite people. And now with Albert gone, I feel as though he’s pushing me to do something I’m uncertain about.”
Josie took two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the table. “Have you had breakfast?”
“Not yet. I’d barely finished dressing when he rang the bell. If I had known he was coming I might have been ready to…” Margaret dropped down into the chair, whooshed out a long and weary-sounding exhale, then continued, “talk about what happens to Albert’s estate when I die.”
Josie turned, her eyes wide. “When you die? Is there something—”
“No, no. It’s nothing like that. He’s talking about some time in the future, whenever it may be.”
“Way in the future, I hope.” Josie poured the coffee and sat opposite Margaret.
“I hope so too.” Margaret tried to make it sound lighthearted, but the thought of how suddenly Albert had gone was in her head. “I guess we never know. The day before Albert died, he was talking about us taking a trip to Europe next summer.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ll—”
“Of course not, but it does make me think about how suddenly something like that can happen, and, as Jeffrey said, I need to be prepared for the eventuality of it.”
“In time maybe, but right now what you need to do is have some breakfast and stop fretting about stuff you can’t fix. How about I scramble up some eggs?”
“No, thanks, the biscuit’s enough. What I find awful about all of this is that Jeffrey seems so anxious to get on with business. He’s even asked me to clean out Albert’s office. I guess he’s forgotten Albert hired him, because now he acts like he’s the boss.”
Josie patted her hand, and Margaret covered it with her own. “Truly, Josie, I don’t know what I would do here without you.”
“You wouldn’t have breakfast, that’s what. You need to eat something more than one little bitty biscuit. How about oatmeal? I could fix it with raisins and cinnam—”
“No oatmeal.”
The longer Margaret thought about it, the more Jeffrey’s request to go through Albert’s office needled at her. Albert had spent a lifetime building the law firm and had made Jeffrey partner. Was Jeffrey worried she’d find a way to challenge his stake in the company now that Albert was gone?
Impossible, she thought, remembering how much Albert trusted him. He just wants to get through all the formalities. Maybe… I wonder if Albert had paperwork on a beneficiary and just forgot to file it.
“The sooner I clean out Albert’s office, the faster Jeffrey will leave me alone,” she said, thinking out loud.
“If there’s any way I can help—”
Margaret shook her head. “Thanks, Josie, but it’s something I have to do myself. Crazy as it might sound, it’s like saying one last goodbye. When I’m in there, it’s as if I can feel Albert’s presence.”
“Well, then, if you’ve no need of me, I’m going to sweep the walkway and clean up those potted plants on the front porch.”
——————
MARGARET PUSHED OPEN THE DOOR to Albert’s office and stood there breathing in the scent of him. In time it would fade, but for now it was still here in the leather-bound books that