Brandon slid the papers across my kitchen table and clicked his pen like a man closing a deal. ‘Aunt Ellie, don’t make this harder than it has to be. Dr. Patel already signed the preliminary evaluation. You forgot my birthday twice last year.’ I tilted my head. ‘Sweetheart, I didn’t forget. I just didn’t care.’ Madison gasped. Brandon’s smirk twitched. I walked to the rolltop desk Walter built me for our fortieth anniversary and pulled out a manila envelope of my own. ‘Before you keep talking, you should meet someone.’ Right on cue, the screen door creaked open and in walked Judge Caroline Hayes, my bridge partner of twenty-two years, followed by my attorney Samuel Brooks and a court-appointed geriatric psychiatrist named Dr. Lin. Brandon’s face drained to the color of skim milk. ‘Last Tuesday,’ I said, sitting down slowly, ‘I underwent a full cognitive evaluation at Medical University of South Carolina. Scored in the ninety-eighth percentile. Dr. Lin has the report. Funny thing — Dr. Patel doesn’t actually exist in the South Carolina medical registry. Sam checked.’ Samuel slid his own folder forward. ‘Mr. Whitfield, attempting to fraudulently declare a competent elder incompetent is a felony in this state. We’ve also recovered the emails between you and Coastal Horizon Developers, including the one where you promised them clear title by October in exchange for a one-point-two-million-dollar finder’s fee.’ Madison was already standing, grabbing her Birkin. ‘Brandon, you said she agreed.’ I sipped my tea. ‘Oh, and the orchard? I deeded it three months ago to the Walter Whitfield Agricultural Trust. It’ll fund scholarships for first-generation farm kids for the next hundred years. You’re not on the board. Neither is anyone with your last name.’ Brandon opened his mouth, but Judge Hayes raised one finger. ‘Son, I’d recommend you not say another word until your lawyer arrives.’ I walked them to the door, kissed Madison’s stunned cheek, and watched the BMW kick up dust down my long gravel drive. Then I went back inside, cut myself a slice of peach pie, and called my bridge club. Walter would have laughed until he cried.
