Chapter 8
The jury deliberated for three hours.
I sat in the hallway outside the courtroom, Lila holding my hand, my mom on my other side, and waited.
I’d told my mom everything the night before.
About the debt.
About why I’d married Evelyn.
About all the lies I’d told.
She’d held me, cried with me, said she loved me no matter what.
That Evelyn would have loved me too, no matter why I’d married her.
Finally, the bailiff came out.
“Jury’s back.”
We walked into the courtroom.
My heart was in my throat.
The foreman stood up, held the verdict slip.
“We the jury find in favor of the defendants. The last will and testament of Evelyn Marie Hale is valid in its entirety. All claims of undue influence are dismissed.”
The courtroom erupted.
Reporters shouted.
The shelter workers cheered.
Mark stood up, screaming, red in the face.
“This is a travesty! He’s a thief! You’ll all regret this!”
The bailiffs grabbed him, dragged him out as he yelled threats over his shoulder.
The judge banged his gavel, smiled a little at us.
“Case dismissed. Court adjourned.”
Mr. Henderson shook my hand.
“Told you we’d win. Evelyn would be proud.”
Lila hugged me so tight I could barely breathe.
My mom cried, kissed my cheek.
We walked out of the courthouse together, the sun breaking through the clouds for the first time in days.
Reporters swarmed us, shouting questions.
Lila held up her hand, quieted them.
“Evelyn Hale was the kindest, strongest woman any of us ever knew. She loved her family. She loved her shelter. And she loved Ethan. All she ever wanted was for us to take care of each other. That’s exactly what we’re going to do. No more fighting. No more lies. Just family.”
We drove to the cemetery after that.
Bought a big bouquet of yellow roses, Evelyn’s favorite.
I put them on her grave, knelt down.
“Hi, Evie. We won. Mark’s gone. Everything is yours, just like you wanted. I’m sorry it took me so long to be the man you saw in me. But I’m going to be. I promise. I’m going to make you proud.”
I pulled the wedding ring I’d worn for 18 months off my finger, set it on the headstone next to the roses.
“I’ll never forget you. Never. You gave me everything. And I’ll spend the rest of my life paying it forward.”
Lila knelt next to me, put her hand on my shoulder.
“She knows, Ethan. She’s watching. And she’s so proud of you already.”
We stayed there for an hour, talking about her.
Laughing about the bad jokes she used to tell.
Crying a little.
When we left, the sun was setting, painting the sky pink and orange.
I looked back at her grave one last time.
May you like
Swore I could feel her there, smiling, that soft laugh of hers floating on the wind.
Everything was going to be okay.
