“Clear your stuff off MY lawn, before I call the cops!” Jessica’s voice cut through the air as I pulled up to my father’s old house, my heart pounding. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. After my father’s passing, my daughter-in-law, Jessica, had thrown all my family’s belongings out onto the lawn, acting as if she owned the place.
She even had the nerve to sit on my patio furniture, sipping coffee, sunglasses perched on her nose, looking as if she hadn’t a care in the world. Moments later, my son, Matt, drove up, and it wasn’t long before karma hit Jessica hard.
A few days earlier, Dad’s lawyer had called about the will reading. I’d been up to my elbows in moving boxes, sorting through Dad’s things, lost in memories. The idea of sitting in a lawyer’s office, hearing the final words of my father’s estate, felt too much. So I asked Matt to go in my place.
“Sure, Mom,” he had said, sounding concerned. “Are you sure you don’t need help going through Grandad’s stuff?”
I’d smiled, though he couldn’t see it over the phone. “Thank you, but I’m managing,” I replied. “Later today, I’ll be picking up Dad’s belongings from the nursing home. Why don’t you come by this afternoon, and we can sort through everything together? If there’s anything you’d like to keep, let me know.”
As I hung up, I believed this would be straightforward. No surprises. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
When I got to the nursing home, a young nurse greeted me and handed me Dad’s things packed in a plain cardboard box, neatly folded but worn from years of love and use. “Here you are, Ma’am,” she said, her voice gentle but detached, like she’d done this countless times.
I nodded, a quiet “Thank you” escaping my lips as I took the box. It wasn’t heavy, yet it seemed to carry the weight of every memory I had of Dad.
I opened it to find his favorite sweater, a worn Bible, and a few mystery novels with pages bent and dog-eared. I ran my hand over the sweater, catching a faint scent of his cologne. It felt like a final goodbye, and as I carried the box to my car, silent tears slid down my cheeks.
Once I got home, I sat in the car and let myself cry. The loss was too much, and I could barely catch my breath. Matt had called a few times, but some grief you need to face alone.
When I finally gathered myself and stepped out of the car, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My whole life was scattered across the front lawn like a garage sale gone wrong. Boxes filled with my mom’s old recipes, her china, Dad’s books, and even the worn quilt he always kept on his chair—all of it lay exposed to the wind, papers fluttering, memories scattered.
“What in the world…?” I muttered, voice weak from disbelief.
“Glad you’re back,” Jessica sneered, lounging on my patio chair. She didn’t even look up from her phone, just sipped her coffee with a smug little smile. “I was getting tired of waiting.”
I stared at her, my voice shaky. “Jessica… what is all this?” I swept my gaze over the lawn, everything I’d carefully packed now thrown around like trash. “What are you doing?”
She lowered her sunglasses, glancing up with a look of pure disdain. “I’m doing what’s necessary,” she replied coolly. “This is my house now.”
A chill went through me. “Your house? Jessica, what are you talking about?”
Jessica sighed dramatically and held up a piece of paper. “If you’d gone to the will reading, you’d know,” she sneered, tapping the signature at the bottom. “Your dad left it all to me. Guess he knew who deserved it.”
I clutched the car door for balance, my heart racing. “That’s impossible. My dad would never—”
“Oh, but he did.” She smiled, a wicked gleam in her eye. “The house is mine now, Hattie. Time for you to move on.”
Just then, a truck pulled up, and Matt got out, looking at the chaotic scene with utter confusion. He glanced at Jessica, then back at me, his expression filled with worry. “What’s going on, Jess? Why are all Mom’s things on the lawn?”
Jessica stood, her smug grin widening. “I’m making some necessary changes, honey. And there’s something else you should know,” she added, crossing her arms.
Matt’s face hardened, anger flashing in his eyes. “More than throwing my mother’s things out of her own home?”
Jessica laughed harshly. “Oh, much more. I want a divorce.”
The air seemed to go silent as Matt stared at her, mouth open in shock. “What? You… you can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am,” she said coldly. “I’ve spent years here, feeling judged by your mother, like I’m never good enough.” She waved a hand at the house. “I need a fresh start.”
“Jessica, you have no right—” I started to say, but she cut me off with a dismissive wave.
“Oh, please, Hattie. You never wanted me here anyway.” She sneered at both of us. “Well, now I’m taking what I deserve.”
Matt’s shock turned to fury. “Everything my family warned me about is true,” he said, voice trembling with anger. “You’re nothing but a selfish, conniving—”
Jessica’s facade cracked. “And you’re a spineless mama’s boy!” she hissed. “Always putting her first.”
I stepped forward, my voice rising. “Don’t you dare talk to my son like that.”
Jessica glared at me, smug. “What are you going to do about it, Hattie? This is my house now.”
But in that moment, everything changed. I pulled out my phone and dialed Dad’s lawyer. His calm voice was like a lifeline. “Hattie? I was about to call you—”
“… really believed I liked you?” Jessica yelled. “You were just a way to escape my old life. Now that I have the house, I don’t need you anymore!”
My voice was barely a whisper. “Tell me she’s lying. There’s no way my dad left his home to Jessica.”
The lawyer chuckled softly. “You’re right. It was a test, Hattie. Your dad wanted her to show her true colors.”
“A test?” Relief flooded me, and I let out a laugh, one that caught Jessica’s attention.
“What are you laughing at?” she snapped.
I held up the phone. “Dad never left you the house. This was all a test to show who you really are.”
Matt turned to Jessica, a cold finality in his eyes. “Looks like Grandpa knew exactly what he was doing.”
Jessica’s confidence crumbled. She reached out, her voice trembling, “Matt, please, I didn’t mean it. I was just upset. You know I love you.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t. And if you want a divorce, you’ve got one.”
As Jessica stomped off, I felt a calm peace settle over me. Dad had seen through her all along. And as Matt and I picked up the pieces of my life from the lawn, I knew Dad’s real legacy was teaching us who truly deserved to stay in our lives.
Dad would have been proud.
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