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Dearest Eva,
I’m almost certainly long dead as you read this, so I’ll simply say—”Hello! How are you? I miss you very much.”
If you’re reading this, then you’ve embarked on Dennis’ “Seven Days” process, with the knowledge of what awaits you once you complete it. He’s a great counselor, and a wonderful man—there was a reason that I recommended him to you, after all—and I know he’ll treat this with the fairness and the seriousness that it deserves. That you both deserve.
Now, though, I must tell you the full conditions of the deal. Yes, Nicholas already knows this part, but he was told not to disclose it to you until now—for reasons which will become apparent before all of this is said and done.
I hope you’ll forgive me for this, but I want so much for both of you, and this was what I felt was my best goodbye gift—and perhaps one last opportunity to save your marriage.
As you already know, the money in the trust I’ve set aside for both of you will be split between you upon completion of the seven days, once signed off by Dennis. His signature is, in fact, legally binding here.
But there is more, one last condition.
You will only receive that money if you decide not to stay married.
If you decide to stay together, to stay married, every cent of those monies will be donated to charity rather than disbursed to you.
Why am I doing this? The answer is actually elegantly simple. Because if you have the love of the person you were meant to be with, to be married to, then the money doesn’t matter anymore.
For love really is all that matters.
But if you know in your heart that you truly can’t make it work, if it truly is irrevocably broken…then take this money with all the love and blessings I could possibly give the both of you.
I want you to know something. You have been one of the greatest joys of my life, eclipsed only by my Millie, whom I know I’m about to see in short order if what the doctors say is true.
You were the granddaughter, even the daughter, that I never thought I’d have—and for that I will be forever grateful. You gave comfort and joy and hope and laughter to a decrepit old man who sorely needed all of those. You did something else too.
You helped show me how important love really is to me.
Now, it’s my turn to return the favor.
I give you all that I possibly could give, but most of all, I give you my love.
Farewell,
Your Grandpa
I tossed the letter onto the couch, shaking my head. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me this.”
Nick didn’t reply, though, staring out the window, the loss in his eyes somehow making this even worse. I was angry, yes, but even I knew the real genesis of my objection.
The conditions outlined in that letter…shined a light on me—onus—that I didn’t find appealing. Not at all. I wasn’t sure if it was even fair, but was it accurate?
Yes, yes it was. Very much so.
And seeing it, so starkly? That truthhurt. That truth made me hate myself just a tiny bit, even in the midst of my righteous anger.
“Why are you still fighting this?” His voice was clear, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Perhaps he finally understood.
I had to get him to see, though. “Even with what’s happened, what’s really changed, Nick?” I waved toward the letter. “Setting that aside, what’s different? You’ve still got your goals, the things you want to do. I’ve got mine. I think we passed incompatible a few exits back, don’t you?”
He cursed under his breath, his eyes slowly sliding back to me. “You knew. You knew what my job required. I didn’t sugarcoat it. You knew.”
I shrugged. Denying it was pointless. “How can I be married when I can’t rely on my own spouse?”
He snarled the words. “It’s the money. Still…it’s the money.”
I raised my voice then, my irritation flooding back. This was well-trodden ground with us, but it seemed we had to stomp over it yet again. “It’s not just the money, Nick. If it was just that, it would be something I could live with. That’s actually a small part of it.”
