The couple has always lived comfortably. They married when they were 30, and not long after, their son was born. They built a wonderful family together. Money was never an issue. They bought a flat in London, and transformed their old country cottage in Kent into a lovely, modern home full of comforts. They took holidays abroad, visiting sunny European destinations. Her husband was loyal to her, and she never had cause to worry about other men.
Their son grew up and married a charming young woman. Both of them are around twenty years old. Theyre just like us, only theyve started ten years earlier, the woman thinks, delighted. The proud parents bought the young couple a small flat in Manchester.
The woman feels happy and fulfilled. Yet, as the years passmaybe because of age, or perhaps due to a sudden wave of superstitiona quiet anxiety creeps in. She worries, as if something might go wrong.
And then it does.
Her husband passes away.
It takes her a long time to find her footing again, but slowly, she learns to go on. She takes up a job for the first time, having been a housewife for so many years.
Everyone tells her the will needs to be processed. She goes to the solicitors office with her son. Shes not sure exactly what to expecthalf the inheritance should be hers, half her sons, she supposes. There didnt seem to be any other heirs, as her husbands parents died long ago.
The solicitor invites her into the office, where an unfamiliar woman is already seated.
Her husbands share of the estate has been left to this woman.
The widow is stunned, staring at both the solicitor and the strange woman. The stranger is plain and rather agedabout fifty or so, clearly someone from her husbands past.
The solicitor explains that a will was written by her husband twenty-seven years ago. Since it was never withdrawn, its legally binding.
A stranger…
They fell in love like something out of a film. They were young, fresh out of university, with their whole lives ahead of them.
She was his first, and he cherished that. He teased her, telling her, Youre my child, despite being the same age. She would laugh joyfully at that.
One evening, while watching a film where lovers wrote each other into their wills, they were so amused they decided to do the samedeclaring everything they owned would go to each other, forever and always. She called it silly, but wanted it official, so off they went to the solicitor. Afterwards, they drank champagne and spent the night together.
But then life intervened. His father fell ill, and he went abroad with his mother to get him medical care.
Meanwhile, she met someone else, and soon found herself pregnant. Her new partner proposed. Her own mother urged her to marry, reminding her this was a dependable man, as her boyfriend had disappeared. Her old sweetheart never replied to her letters.
She married and moved to Birmingham, where her husband had found good work. A daughter was born, but the marriage soon fell apart, and they divorced.
In time, she remembered the will and updated hers for her daughters sake.
So it was a shock when the registered letter arrived. She had almost forgotten her university loverat least, she thought she had. Seeing his name, everything came rushing back. How deeply she had loved him!
The man, for his part, had forgotten about the will amidst his fathers illness and then his mothers decline. When news reached him that his university sweetheart had married and left for another city, he tried to move on. He met his wife; they didnt fall in love, but he liked her seriousness and they built a good life together.
Now what? Would this woman really take half? The widow asks herself.
How strange, that he would leave such a willhe must have truly loved her then, she thinks. At least Ill take this half as a memory of him, the other woman resolves.
Half of everything you own is now mine, she tells the widow.
And it isnt just any halfit’s the London flat, the Kent cottage, the car, the bank savings.
The widow feels her heart nearly stop. First the loss of her husband, now thissuch a betrayal.
All those years together, never once did he mention this old flame!
And now she is to hand over such a fortune…
She goes to court, but nothing changes except her nerves grow more frayed.
The court orders the money be given to the other woman.
With her share, the woman buys a new flat and takes her daughter to the seaside.
Thank you, the woman says to herself every single day.
