As soon as I walked into the office of our family lawyer, I knew things were going to change. My brothers were all around me, and they were getting antsier as the lawyer talked about Mom’s assets. There was a lot of tension because we were all waiting to hear Mom’s last words.

Even though I didn’t want to be there, I knew my brothers were excited to see what Mom had left for each of them. Still, none of us knew what was going to happen.

Maya, Tasmin, and Robert, my three brothers, all got to go before me. Being last was nothing new for me since I was the youngest and always came last. I will never forget the look on their faces when they opened the envelopes the lawyer gave them, though.

Surprise, shock, and denial were all there. Then it was my turn. Along with my brothers, I got a thin white envelope with a dollar inside. But I felt a folded letter instead. Maya grabbed it from my hands before I could even get it out and read it.

She yelled, “What the hell, Gabby?” which made the lawyer gasp.

“You guys,” she told Tasmin and Robert. “This letter says that Gabby got everything from Mom. The house, all of her money, and a secret bank account. Is that it, Gabby? “Because you were the only person who cared”?”

I will say that it did sound rude when I said it out loud. There was no reason for me to want to be the star child. Because I loved my mom so much, it felt right to be there for her when she was sick. I did it not because I thought I might get paid. It was my Mom’s fault that I did it.

But my siblings had already made their minds up. They were too busy and had too many important things to do to stop. Maya had two kids, Tasmin worked extra hours, and Robert was just Robert. He didn’t want to spend time with his family.

The letter told them everything, not to make them feel bad, like Maya thought. but instead to show what Mom is thinking and feeling. That hurt had followed Mom until the very end, when she died. Her older children had left her.

Of course, the dollar they each got was a sign. They had to show Mom tough love to remember what they hadn’t given her when she needed it most.

But there I was, handling a letter that felt like hot coal all of a sudden. I hurt my finger when I rubbed it against the paper.

I told them, “I didn’t ask for this,” to try to explain.

Not that they paid attention. Robert was looking at his watch, Maya was looking at her phone calendar, and Tasmin was typing quickly on her phone.

I yelled, “Listen!” and they looked up at me. “I need you to understand me.”

They did not.

After that, I felt a lot of different emotions, and my brothers ignored me for weeks.

After that, they started to reach out, not to fight about the will, but to talk.

We got together at Mom’s house, cooked, and talked about old times. We talked about the good and the bad things, as well as all the curfews Robert had broken as a rebellious kid.

The distance between us started to get smaller over time.

We finally chose that I would stay in my apartment as my home, but that Mom’s house would become the family home and a place for everyone to get together.

I said, “Let’s split Mom’s savings evenly.” “Not to blow up on lavish and unnecessary things, but as a safety net for each of us.”

My brothers agreed, and they went with me to the bank to make things right.

I really think that Mom’s last lesson wasn’t about who was there at the end or who cared the most. It was about figuring out how she felt in those last few months. When her kids were young, she taught them how to be a good family: to forgive each other and keep in mind that we were still a family.

It wasn’t simple or quick. But in a way, Mom’s last wish did come true: we became closer as siblings again, not because of wealth or guilt, but because we both loved and lost someone.

We still have our family meals at each other’s houses once a month. Making sure that we always find time for each other, no matter how busy life gets, has become a new ritual.

Mom is proud, I’m sure.

What would you have done if you were me? Would you have kept the money and house?

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