Chapter Forty-Nine The Last Gifts
After a hug from Thorn that healed most of the hurt and anger she had been feeling for the last few months, Evie left the restaurant and went to meet Fred at his office, arriving just before one o’clock and letting his receptionist know she was there for her appointment.
Taking a seat, she picked up a magazine and leafed through it.
She’d treated the yoga and meditation retreat as a way to reset her brain and figure out her thoughts on what had happened at her birthday party.
She was mostly disappointed in Tommy, but she also knew how hard it was to go against Alex when he was excited and pushy about something.
He had a way of talking you into things or convincing you he was right, even when you were sure he wasn’t.
She was more exasperated by Alex’s antics.
He’d done a lot of work in therapy, and things had been mostly improving in their relationship.
Besides his actions at Tommy’s birthday party, which he’d apologized for the next morning, she had to admit he had been handling her bitchy moods and short temper over the last few months shockingly well.
Even the things that annoyed her, wanting her to dress up and go to clubs with him so he could show her off, insisting she meet his friends and spend time with them, came from a good place.
He wanted people to know she was his girlfriend and was proud of it, and he wanted his friends to know her and like her.
The problem was that he seemed to think her aversions to those things were rooted in insecurity and social anxiety, which wasn’t the case.
She hated clubs because they were crowded, loud, and smelly, and she was the poster child for introversion.
Social situations were fun until they weren’t, and she preferred a few close friends to dozens of acquaintances she only called friends because they followed each other on social media and hung out with once or twice.
Alex had thousands of followers across his social media channels, and if he was asked, they were all his close, personal friends.
Evie was pretty sure Alex had taken advantage of Tommy’s generosity when it came to her and used it to boost his social standing within the company.
Given how close they’d become, Evie was lowkey dreading pointing it out to Tommy, although she was fairly certain he’d already figured it out and would be more cautious going forward.
She wasn’t waiting very long when Fred came out to get her. “Evie.” He held his hands out to her and squeezed gently when she stood up and took them, a lock of snow-white hair falling over his forehead. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Fred, how are you?” Evie smiled at the pink-faced man. “I thought you were retiring?” When they’d met regarding her mother’s estate, he’d mentioned that he’d finally decided to retire completely.
“I have, but as one of the founding partners of the firm, they’re letting me keep my office.
” He turned and led her back to his office.
“And since this is the last thing the firm needed to handle for yours and Tommy’s parents, I felt I should be the one to do it.
” He shut the door behind them and gestured to the table, where a teapot and two delicate bone-china teacups sat next to two envelopes: a large brown legal one and a smaller, slightly yellowed white one.
“I already have a special tea that I broke out specifically to celebrate your birthday and our final meeting in an official capacity, all ready to go.” He waved a playful finger at her.
“Minnie and I still expect you to attend our Easter and Christmas parties every year.”
Evie was touched, but not overly surprised. Fred was not the type of person to walk away from something he deemed unfinished. “Thank you, Fred.” She smiled at him softly as she took a seat. “I appreciate it.”
A sudden lump rose in her throat, and she cleared it as she sat down, feeling like it was the end of something special.
“So, what kind of tea do we have?” She could smell the faint, delicate hints of sweet florals rising from the mug.
“Anji Bai Cha. It’s only harvested for a few weeks each spring, and very little ever leaves China.
I’ve been saving it for the right occasion.
” He smiled at her and walked over to his desk, picking up a small gift bag.
“And I have some for you to take home. With the instructions on how to brew it properly as well.”
Evie felt a rush of affection for him and took the bag from him with the kind of reverence she knew he would appreciate. “I don’t know what to say… thank you so much, Fred.”
“Knowing you will appreciate and enjoy it as much as I do is all the thanks I need.” He sat across from her and nodded at the cup. “Go ahead and try it.”
Evie took a sip and closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet flavour. “Fred, you’re going to bankrupt me if you keep introducing me to these expensive teas.”
He chuckled. “Maybe I’m just making sure you still come to visit me.” He studied her for a second, his expression softening. “My God, twenty-five already. I can still remember you zooming around on your tricycle.”
“Mmm.” Evie swallowed the sip of tea she had just taken, smiling. “I went down the stairs on that thing twice before Mom took it away.”
“Yes, I remember that too. Nasty bump on your head the second time,” he chuckled softly.
“Your mother was terrified you’d done permanent damage, and you were fortunate that you hadn’t.
” He sipped his tea and pulled the envelopes toward him.
“I have a last gift from your parents, and a last gift from your godparents, both to be given to you on your twenty-fifth birthday.”
Evie went completely still, and for a moment, all she could hear was her own heartbeat roaring in her ears as she stared at the envelopes.
“Last gifts?” She hadn’t seen anything about a last gift in Oscar’s or Della’s wills, and Tommy hadn’t mentioned anything for her beyond a necklace with a locket from Mary and an antique book of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales from Henry being left for her in their wills. “I don’t understand.”
He passed her the larger envelope. “Your parents left you a vacation house in Winter Harbour, Maine.”
“Fred.” Evie stared at him, not moving to take the envelope from his hand. “That doesn’t make sense. We never vacationed in Maine. I didn’t even know they had a house there.”
“No, they stopped going the year you were born,” he said, gesturing to the envelope. “It sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and you know how much your mother worried about you.” It might have been Evie’s imagination, but she thought he was avoiding her eyes.
Opening the envelope, she found the deed in her name, some pictures that looked like they had been recently taken of a large Cape Cod–style house on a cliff overlooking the ocean, as well as several photos of the interior, banking information, and a pamphlet and card from Winter Harbor Coastal Properties.
“It looks beautiful,” Evie murmured, not sure what to think. She’d never been a “let’s go to the beach” kind of girl, preferring cities and historical areas.
Fred nodded. “It’s managed and maintained by a company that rents houses to people who need short-term rentals for vacations or work. The rent it brings in covers all the expenses, pays the bills, and has built up a tidy emergency fund in case something breaks or just needs to be replaced.”
“The information for the rental company is there,” he continued, clearly seeing how confused she was about being left a vacation home she had no ties to.
“You can get in touch, arrange a time to take a look, and then you can do what you want with it. You’re under no obligation to keep it, but right now it’s not costing you anything to have, and it’s even bringing in a small amount of extra income. ”
“Right.” Evie nodded, carefully putting the paperwork back into the envelope.
“Might I suggest bringing Tommy with you when you go look at it?” Fred seemed a little surprised by Evie’s lack of reaction, and while she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, she really didn’t know what to do with a vacation home she knew she’d probably never use.
“I know he has been there several times with his parents before they started going south after Henry’s arthritis started getting bad. ”
Evie nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Since he’d been there before, maybe he could explain why Della and Oscar had left it to her.
“And from your godparents,” he said as he passed her the second envelope, “a trust totalling three million, twenty-five thousand, six hundred and sixty-four dollars and ninety-six cents. And a letter.”
Evie took the letter, her hands shaking slightly. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Fred nodded, smiling faintly at her shock. “Your parents were unaware that they had set it up, but Mary and Henry wanted you to have something from them to help get you started.”
Evie bit the inside of her cheek as tears threatened.
She didn’t really need the money; there hadn’t been much left over from Oscar’s or Della’s estates by the time all the debts had been paid, but her salary as Lead Systems Architect, plus what Tommy was paying her to develop HELIX, and the fact that she didn’t have to pay rent or a mortgage since Tommy had gifted her the apartment, meant she was doing quite well on her own.
However, three and a quarter million was a lot of money to “get her started,” and she was deeply appreciative and touched that they had gone to the trouble to do that for her.
After she signed off on her and her parents’ accounts with the law firm, closing them out, she said goodbye to Fred and got in her car, staring down at the letter in her hand for a moment, wondering if they were confessing to being her parents.
Given the legal documents her mother had given her with her adoption papers, she didn’t think they would, but her heart was still fluttering weirdly as she opened it.
Our Dearest Evelyn,
Happy twenty-fifth birthday! We hope our little gift helps you in some way. By now, Tommy should be in charge of Sloane, and we feel Oscar’s relationship with him is very strained. Oscar has a history of being terrible with money, and we wanted to give you a fair start in life.
Given our ages, it’s unlikely we’ll make it to celebrate your twenty-fifth with you, but please know we are with you in spirit, and whatever you have chosen to do with your life, we are so very proud of you.
Watching you grow and become the beautiful young lady we know you are, has been a joyous gift.
Whatever the situation, whatever has happened or changed, please know we love you, and we have from the first time we held you.
We lived for the moments we had with you and missed you terribly when we were apart.
Tommy has adored you from the moment he laid eyes on you.
You were always, in our eyes, a very special part of our family.
Follow your dreams, Evie, and don’t let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn’t be.
We love you.
Aunt Mary and Uncle Henry.
Evie let her tears fall. They never came out and said it, but she knew the last paragraph was a confession of sorts. She had never doubted how much they had cared for her, and this just reinforced everything.
She called the realtor, made an appointment to view the house in Maine next week, and headed back to the Tower. She needed a nap.