Sycamore Row - John Grisham

in ten years. And your family, with all the banks they once owned, never had that kind
of money. Don’t you find that unbelievable, Ian?”
Ian’s mouth fell open and he could only stare at her. Alone, he would have certainly
gone for her throat, but he was helpless. Be cool, he told himself as he fought his anger.
Damn right you’d better be cool because that smirking bitch sitting five feet away is
about to inherit several million, and though the money will probably blow up the
marriage, there will be something for me.
Stillman Rush closed his briefcase and said, “Well, we need to be moving along. We’ll
run by the courthouse and kick things off, and we’ll need to meet again very shortly, if
that’s okay.” He was standing as he spoke, suddenly eager to leave the family behind.
McGwyre and Larkin bounced up too, slapping closed their briefcases and making the
same phony farewells. They insisted on showing themselves to the front, and were
practically scrambling when they disappeared around the house.
After they left, there was a long, lethal vacuum of silence on the patio as all three
avoided eye contact and wondered who would speak next. The wrong word could start
another fight, or something worse. Finally, Ian, the angriest, asked his wife, “Why’d you
say that in front of the lawyers?”
Herschel jumped in: “No, why did you say it, period?”
She ignored her brother and snarled at her husband, “Because I’ve been wanting to
say it for a long time, Ian. You’ve always looked down on us, especially my father, and
now, suddenly, you’re counting his money.”
“Aren’t we all?” Herschel asked.
“Shut up, Herschel,” she snapped.
She ignored him and didn’t take her eyes off Ian. “I’ll divorce you now, you know
that.”
“Didn’t take long.”
“No, it didn’t.”
“Come on, guys,” Herschel pleaded. This was not the first divorce threat he’d
witnessed. “Let’s go inside, finish packing, and get out of here.”
The men stood slowly and walked away. Ramona stared at the trees in the distance,
beyond the backyard and into a forest where she played as a child. She had not felt such
freedom in years.
Another cake arrived before noon and Lettie tried to decline it. She eventually sat it
on the kitchen counter where she was wiping pots for the last time. The Dafoes said a
quick good-bye, but only because they really couldn’t leave without doing so. Ramona
promised to keep in touch and so on. Lettie watched them get in the car without saying
a word. It would be a long drive back to Jackson.
At noon, Calvin arrived as planned, and at the kitchen table Herschel handed over a
key to the new door locks. Calvin was to check on the house every other day, keep the
grass cut, leaves blown, the usual.