I left believing I’d helped.
***
Alicia died two days later.
At the funeral, I stood behind people who’d loved her all her life, uncertain where I belonged.
Afterward, Nora hurried toward me beside my car, carrying a sealed box.
“She asked me to give you this only after she was gone.”
Alicia had written my name on its lid.
I opened it while Nora watched. Inside was a lawyer’s letter: Alicia had left me her share of her grandmother’s inheritance.
The amount would pay every student loan I owed. I checked the number and my name, convinced something was wrong.
A folded note lay underneath. Before I opened it, Nora leaned closer. Her face reddened.
“What the hell!” she shouted.
“She left you Grandma’s money?”
She pointed at the letter.
“I didn’t know. I swear to you, I had no idea.”
“Then why did you marry her?”
