Ella recalled the way the pastor stood on the porch, craning his neck, his gaze scanning everything he could see over her shoulders as if assigning dollar signs to it all.
Edith was quiet for a moment, before saying, “I don’t understand.”
“Dad didn’t realize Gigi had left a will. To be honest, I was shocked myself when she came home one afternoon, years ago, and told me she’d gone to see a lawyer. Gigi didn’t have a lot. She’d sold her car two years before she passed, because she couldn’t drive anymore, and she and Pop had lived paycheck to paycheck. The only thing of true value she had to her name was the house they’d bought as newlyweds. They’d paid it off just a few months before he had the heart attack that killed him. Gigi liked to say that he’d made sure she was taken care of before moving on to the next place.”
Edith smiled sadly. “She left the house to you, didn’t she?”
“She did. I mean, she didn’t cut Mom or Martha out completely. She left Mom almost all of her jewelry, which included her wedding ring and a diamond necklace Pop had given her on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. She left Martha her engagement ring, in case one of the boys wanted to give it to their bride somewhere down the road, and her china. Martha had always loved Gigi’s china.” Ella realized she wastalking too fast, working overtime to make sure Edith didn’t think badly of Gigi.
“She wasrightto leave you the house, Ella,” Edith reassured her. “It had been your home for over a decade, and those last few years, you paid all the bills and served as her caregiver. It was as much yours as hers.”
Ella sighed, because even now, she still thought of her home as Gigi’s house. She wasn’t sure why that was. Maybe because Gigi had been right. BecauseMeridianwould never feel like home.
“I’m assuming your father didn’t take that news well,” Edith prompted, when Ella fell silent.
“He demanded to see the will, wanted to know the name of the lawyer. I don’t know what he thought he could do. I’d called the lawyer shortly after she passed, because Gigi had named me executor. That newsalsosent Dad into orbit, because there was no way a woman was capable of handling such a task,” she said, her tone rife with sarcasm. “And he had the pastor standing right there next to him, agreeing it was a complete travesty.”
Edith stirred her tea slowly, the motion almost intimidating. Especially paired with her next words. “I wish I’d known all of this about your father when you lived here, because I would’ve very much liked to have had a long conversation with him about some of his views.”
Ella laughed softly. “It would have been wasted breath. Gigi tried for years. Needless to say, he lobbed the old ‘you haven’t heard the last of me’ threat. The next day, I heard from Gigi’s lawyer. He said that Mom and Dad had come to see him, insisting Gigi wasn’t of sound mind when she wrote the will, and that I’d coerced her into leaving everything to me. The lawyer told them that wasexactlywhat Gigi claimed they’d say when she had the will drawn up. Then he assured my parents the will was airtight.”
“Given what you’ve told me about your father, I’m going to go out on a limb and say he didn’t give up.”
Ella snorted. “He came by again, alone, to tell me that I’d broken my mother’s heart. When that failed to move me, he sent the pastor back, who tried to convince me how much good the church could do with the money from the sale of Gigi’s house. I laughed at him and told him to get the fuck out ofmyhouse. Gigi had made it very clear not one red cent of her money should ever feed a congregation that believed in praying the gay away, terrorizing transgender people, and treating women and immigrants like second-class citizens.”
“Good for youandher,” Edith said, patting Ella’s hand. “Hope he left there with his tail tucked between his legs.”
“I’m sure he chalked up my response to me being an emotional, unstable, sinful woman, but yes, he left. After that, Dad went silent, sending his emissaries in to plead his case.”
“Your mother and sister.”
Ella nodded. “They both called me. They started out with tears, over what they both viewed as Gigi’s betrayal. How the house, by all rights, should have gone to Mom. When I didn’t relent, the calls became angrier, and suddenly Gigi was the victim and I was the villain, the one who preyed on an old, sick woman for personal gain. Mom even went so far as to say I’d humiliated my father by telling him about the will in front of the pastor.”
Edith scowled. “He was the one who showed up with the pastor, trying to act like a big shot. That was on him, not you.”
“I know. I know all of that, Edith. And while their words hurt, I wasn’t swayed by any of them. Because Gigi was very clear about what she wanted to happen after she passed, and there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to honor her requests to the letter. She didn’t want a funeral or a memorial service in a church. She wanted a wake in the pub she used to go to. So that’swhat I did. Even though my mom and sister said it was cruel to hold it there, knowing they couldn’t attend. They don’t step foot in bars. Alcohol is the devil’s brew, you know.”
Edith rolled her eyes.
“Gigi was also very clear about the house. She said leaving it to me was her way of paying it forward, making sure I was taken care of the same way Pop had done for her.”
“There’s peace of mind in owning your own home,” Edith agreed.
“Actually, Gigi tried to convince me to sell it when she was gone. Told me to take the money and move far, far away from Meridian. She even went so far as to suggest I sell it to some young couple, because she liked the idea of newlyweds starting their lives there, just like she and Pop had.”
“She didn’t want you to stay in the house?” Edith was clearly surprised by that.
“Gigi said I would always be my family’s whipping boy, and the best way to avoid that was to avoidthem.”
Edith leaned back in her chair, nodding slowly. “Your Gigi was a very wise woman. I would have liked to meet her.”
Ella smiled. “I’ve wished that about a million times during this visit. I think the two of you would have become such good friends.”
“I’m starting to understand why you haven’t seen your nephews in over six months.”
Ella broke off a tiny bit of her cookie, popping it into her mouth. “Once Martha, Mom, and Dad realized I wasn’t budging, they went quiet. Total silent treatment.”
“I want to say that’s better, but your face tells me you don’t feel that way,” Edith observed.