DARK CLOUDS, HEAVY with snow, threatened as Thursday arrived. The temperature plummeted, and icy winds penetrated deeply. Ann had been at work for most of the day watching the clock, looking out the window, trying to decide if she should go or not.
What did Bill and Eva want? What would happen if it did start to snow heavily, as predicted? Looking out the window again, the sky remained a steely gray. No snow fell.
Nessa came into the study. “Are you worried about the trip to Spokane?” she guessed Ann’s conflict.
“It’s taking a chance,” Ann replied absentmindedly.
“Do you want Jamie to take you?”
“No. I don’t think that’ll be necessary,”
Looking out the window, Ann made up her mind.
“I’m going to go and get this over with,” she told her friend and employer. Throwing her coat on, and buttoning it to the top, she wrapped her woolen scarf around her neck, and then grabbed her purse and keys.
Starting for the door, as she pulled on her gloves, she stated, “I’d better leave early, just in case it’s already snowing in town. You’ve my permission to have Jamie pick up Marty, if it’s needed. I’ll call you if I run into trouble.”
“I’ll make sure Marty gets home safely,” Nessa told her.
Ann smiled her thanks.
Driving from Drummond Hall, she crossed the private bridge and headed toward I-90. Before long she was driving west, toward the city of Spokane. Still, the sky held onto its snow. Forty-five minutes later, she was pulling into the Kingston Building parking lot, where she parked and entered the building through the back entrance. She was fifteen minutes early. Locating the elevator, she looked at the occupant registry and found Mr. Tillman’s office on the tenth floor.
Then she noticed a coffee shop listed on the first floor. Drawn to a hot cup of coffee to warm up, she turned to locate the store. The rich aroma of fresh ground coffee met her, as she entered the “Ground Floor Coffee Shop”.
Ordering a twenty ounce hot peppermint latte, she quickly paid for it, and darted for the elevators, with five minutes to spare.
As she stepped into the plush conveyance, she again wondered what this was all about. A tiny finger of apprehension crawled up her spine, but she ignored it as the doors softly closed and the elevator rose swiftly to the top floor.
As the doors opened, she looked out onto a broad hallway covered in plush dark gray carpet, with dove gray walls. Elegant mahogany chairs and a side table were strategically placed along the wall on the right, while a matching couch and end tables adorned the wall on the left. Near the couch stood a palm tree, reaching almost to the top of the vaulted ceiling. At the end of the spacious hall stood a wall of glass framed in mahogany. Double doors opened into a reception room on the other side. “Tillman, Fester, Brewster and Associates – Attorneys at Law” was displayed in stylish gold letters over the doorway along with the room number. Evidently the attorney’s offices took up the whole tenth floor, for she could see no other entrance but this one.
Ann had never seen anything so lovely and elegant. She walked silently on the soft carpet, opening one of the double doors with a quiet swoosh into the reception area. A stylish coffee service was set up on her left along with additional seating. On her right, she could see a large conference room through floor to ceiling windows.
Continuing forward, she walked up to a huge mahogany reception counter with a black granite counter top. The receptionist looked up and asked, “May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m Ann Henderson. I’ve an appointment with the Henderson’s and Mr. David Tillman. Are you Ginger?” she asked.
“No, I am the office receptionist. Just one moment please,” she said professionally, as she picked up the phone, pushed a button and informed Ginger that Ann Henderson had arrived.
“Ginger will be just a few minutes,” the receptionist informed her. “If you’ll take a seat, she should be here shortly.”
Ann walked over to the chairs against the wall, and sat down, sipping her latte. Through the wall of glass across from her, she observed an enormous mahogany conference table surrounded by leather chairs, with a large row of windows on the other side of the room revealing a wonderful vista of the mountains, beyond.
Little specks of snow were lightly starting to fall, swirling in the wind.
It doesn’t look too bad yet.
But a small worry formed and she hoped the meeting wouldn’t last long.
Just as Ann finished her latte a slender young woman with reddish hair and freckles, which reminded Ann of ginger, appeared through a door to the right of the reception counter and walked over to her.
Ann smiled as Ginger introduced herself, and escorted her back the way she had come.
When Ann walked through the door, her eyes opened wide with surprise and awe. She had walked into an indoor courtyard. The high ceilings of this enormous room were made of glass, allowing the sky and natural light in. It reminded Ann of the solarium back at Drummond Hall.
A polished, dark wooden floor, about four-feet wide, made a wide border around the perimeter of this vast room, framing the dark gray carpet in the center.
On this carpet stood a stylish arrangement of couches, overstuffed chairs, and side tables with crystal lamps, arranged around large coffee tables. Stylish potted plants of palms, philodendrons, dieffenbachia, and assorted tropical plants created natural screens between each seating area. Palm trees stretched their fronds to the light from the sky, adding a sense of height and volume to this great room. Elegant book shelves, magazine racks and sideboards were dwarfed in this large room, but added privacy to the cluster of seating arrangements. These areas might be used for reading, talking or having small conferences.
The four walls surrounding this stunning room were made of floor to ceiling windows, except in the corners, where large mahogany panels completed each corner.
I hope there’s still some mahogany left in the world, Ann thought as she looked with amazement at the use of the expensive wood everywhere.
She could see two doors, evenly spaced, in each wall of glass leading into the inner offices of an attorney. An ornate name plaque was prominently placed to the right of each doorway announcing the attorney’s name. On the inside of the wall of windows sheer drapes of soft gray obscured the interior.
How wonderful it must be, to pass through this amazing room every day to go to work.
Suddenly she realized she was lagging behind Ginger, who had walked past the first door, making for one of the offices at the back of the great room. Quickening her pace, Ann caught up with her and together they entered the door into Mr. David Tillman’s domain.
Maybe I should marry an attorney, Ann thought to herself in jest, bringing a smile to her face.
“Wait here for a minute Mrs. Henderson, I’ll let them know you’re here,” Ginger said as she went around her desk, sat down and used the phone to talk to the Henderson’s attorney.
“Mrs. Ann Henderson is here,” she informed her boss. Hanging up the phone, she said, “Please go right in,” pointing to a door on her right. “They’re expecting you.”
“Bill and Eva are here already then?” Ann asked.
“Yes, they‘ve been here for a while,” Ginger replied.
“Okay, thank you,” Ann responded and walked through the door into the attorney’s office.
His office took up one corner of the building, with vistas on two sides of the room. Her eyes followed the row of windows to the corner of the building where the other row of windows met. A large mahogany desk sat in that corner, looking back into the lawyer’s inner sanctum. She walked past a small conference table and chairs along the first row of windows.
Eva and Bill were seated in well-designed and comfortable leather chairs across from Mr. Tillman’s desk.
Both men stood up as she entered, Bill with a large smile on his face, and Mr. David Tillman looking very professional in his dark blue suit and silk tie. He seemed to be about the same age as Bi
ll. Eva remained seated. She too was grinning, though Ann thought she could see tears shimmering in her eyes.
The attorney introduced himself, then offered Ann a seat next to Bill.
“Nessa Drummond speaks very highly of you Mr. Tillman,” Ann stated, as she took a seat.
“Thank you, she’s a very dear friend,” said the attorney in a professional voice. “Ann, I’m going to let Bill explain to you what this is all about. I’m here to see that the proper documents are signed when you two have come to an agreement.”
Ann’s heart skipped a beat. An image of Bill and Eva with Marty and custody issues came to mind again.
“What agreement?” she asked with apprehension.
“Ann, let me explain,” Bill spoke up quickly. “As you know, Sean changed his Will when he divorced you and left all of his estate to his mother and me,” Bill said in a matter of fact tone. “He wanted it that way until he remarried.”
“Well, he never did,” he said with a hint of sadness. “We were crushed when he wouldn’t give you and the children the support the courts required. We’ve never agreed with how he handled his responsibilities, leaving you to fend for yourself.”
“Ann, with his inheritance from my father’s estate and some issues involving his estate, it’s taken us quite a while to clear things up.”
Bill became silent, swallowing hard, pausing for a second.
“Eva and I have all the money we’ll ever need,” he paused again, trying to control his emotions.
Ann couldn’t figure out where he was going with this information.
“Ann… Eva and I want you to have all of Sean’s estate, as it should have been in the first place,” he said with love and affection for his ex-daughter-in-law.
Ann’s eyes grew large and round. “Bill… Eva… I don’t know what to say!” she sat stunned.
Ann’s eyes now matched Eva’s, with her tears just teetering on the brink. Eva got up from her chair, rushed over to Ann and gave her a heartfelt hug.
“Ann, Bill and I both know this is the right thing to do. It makes us so happy to be able to help you and Marty,” she said softly as she hugged Ann again.
Ann hugged her back and said in a husky voice, “I’m overwhelmed by your generosity and giving hearts. I don’t know of very many people who would do this,” she said tenderly.
“It’s the right thing to do, Ann. It’s what God would want. It would be wrong of us to hold onto what isn’t ours to keep,” Bill said wisely.
“I’ll try and be worthy of the gift,” Ann said softly.
“Acknowledge Him in all you do, Ann, and He will show you the way to go,” Bill paraphrased the scripture.
The Hendersons, Ann and Mr. Tillman talked for another hour, getting the details worked out and the paperwork signed. It seems Sean had a long list of assets and bank accounts in his name. With all his affairs set in order and transferred into her name, Ann and Marty were rich, in the real sense of the word. They’d never have to worry about money again. She even had the deed to the house on the lake. Ann wasn’t sure she’d ever go back there, but the comfort of having the deed to the property in her hands was liberating.
“Ann, do you mind if we set up a trust for Marty? We want to be sure she can go to college and have money for a good start in life. And we’d like to contribute to it now and again, if it’s okay with you,” he proposed.
“Bill, I couldn’t be more pleased. I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Ann responded.
Sitting there, she pondered how her life might change now, as the other three finalized some details.
I’ve no need to leave Drummond Hall, or Nessa right now, but it’s going to be wonderful having this money to fall back on, when the time comes, to never have to worry about money again. What a blessing.
Ann sat happily contemplating the delight and security she could now give Marty and her mother.
I think I’ll put some money aside for Mom, as well. She’ll be off of welfare for the first time, in a very long time. She won’t have to worry about anything, either. This is how it should be, Lord, to give and not take. Help me to always give, when you prompt me to.
Finally, with all the decisions made, the paperwork signed, and the bank accounts and stock options converted into her name, Ann looked up to see the wind swirling large snowflakes in enormous clouds of white.
“Boy, it’s really coming down hard. I better hurry and get home. Thank you for all your help Mr. Tillman,” she said gratefully, as she stood and shook his hand.
“And thank you both for your generosity to Marty and myself,” she said as she gave the Hendersons another hug good-bye.
“Ann, I’m assigning the management of your accounts to Lawrence & Fenway Diversified, downstairs until you can make other arrangements, if you desire to. Someone from there will be contacting you about your accounts,” the attorney informed her.
“Sounds fine, and thank you again.”
“We’ll walk out with you,” offered Bill as they got up and reached for their coats.
Ann quickly grabbed her things. Her anxiety was growing. She might have stayed too long.
“Before we go, I need to call the estate and let them know I’m on my way. Besides, I’d like to see if Marty got home from school all right,” Ann added as she paused in her effort to leave.
“Here, use my phone,” offered the senior attorney for Tillman, Fester, Brewster and Associates.
Thanking him, Ann dialed the estate. Faye answered both the phone and Ann’s question, “Marty’s snug and safe by a roaring fire in the family room.”
“Good. I’m on my way. Tell everyone it might take me a while, it’s really snowing here.”
“No problem dear, take your time and be safe, because it’s snowing pretty hard here too,” Faye said with a worried note to her voice.
“I will. See you as soon as I can. Bye for now,” Ann said hanging up, anxious to go.
Saying their good-byes to the attorney, the three Hendersons walked out of the opulent office, through the lawyer’s workplace and took the elevator down to the first floor.
Thick layers of snow met them as they exited the building. It had been falling heavily from the sky for a while.
“Are you going to be all right?” asked Bill. “Do you need some help with the car or a ride home?”
“I don’t think so. I’ll stay in town if the roads get too difficult. Do you want me to call you when I get home?” she asked them, as she buttoned up her coat.
“Yes. Please do. I’d like to know you got back safely.”
“Okay. Bye and thank you again. We’ll get together as soon as we can,” she told them.
Turning, she vanished toward her car in the churning white.
White Peril