and then hugged her, a little too close. He was always friendlier than she liked. They talked about the girls for a few minutes, and then everyone arrived almost at once. Bertie was wearing another good-looking suit, a pale blue shirt, and a businesslike dark blue tie. He looked like a prosperous banker, not the hustler that he was.
Arnold led them into a conference room, where a secretary offered them coffee or tea, and all of them declined. They wanted to get the meeting over with, and the business side of their father’s death behind them. Joy had already booked a flight to L.A. that afternoon, and said she had an audition the next day for a small part on a soap, and the restaurant where she worked five nights a week needed her back. It was a busy place, and the tips were great and paid her rent, so she didn’t want them to get mad or fill her spot.
Arnold began the meeting with a serious expression. “Your father and I discussed his will extensively in the last year, while he was still well enough to do so, and I want to preface what I explain to you by saying that the provisions he made are somewhat unorthodox, which was his intention. We had very different views of how these things should be handled, but I’ll admit his were more creative than mine. And he was heavily influenced by knowing that you all stand to inherit a great deal from your mother one day, and that your future is secure because of her, which your father felt allowed him some leeway to view things differently. He wanted to address your immediate needs, not your long-term ones, which are covered.” Arnold was aware, as Paul had been, that Véronique’s philosophy was that the girls should make a living and support themselves, no matter what they would inherit later. She wanted to be the safety net under them for special cases and emergencies, not the source of money they lived on. She expected them to earn that, and they did, with energy in all three cases. Paul hadn’t agreed with her and thought she should be more generous, but she adamantly didn’t want to ruin them and encourage them to live like spoiled rich girls, or like their father, spending too much of someone else’s money, which he had done with her. She thought it was a bad example to set their daughters, and not the role model she wanted for them. And Arnold was impressed at the lessons she was trying to teach them, even if Paul didn’t like it. She had made them self-sufficient in spite of what she had and what they would inherit from her one day. And they were definitely neither lazy nor spoiled, whether she approved of their career choices or not.
“So his will,” he went on, “reflects that philosophy, of wanting to make a difference for you now, since your long-term future is covered by your mother. And to that end, he has left you disparate amounts, which is unorthodox as well, but reflects, he believed, what each of you might need in the context of what you’re doing presently with your lives. It does not reflect, as he expressed in his will himself, any disparity in his love for each of you.” He looked around at each of them then, and Véronique noticed that Bertie had a hopeful, somewhat impatient look. He didn’t care about his father’s reasoning—he just wanted to know what he would get. “Your father wanted you each to have what would benefit you most, and he was very specific about it,” he explained, and the three girls nodded. Arnold then picked up Paul’s last will and testament and read directly from it. He had copies to hand to each of them, but he hadn’t distributed them yet. He preferred to explain it first.
“ ‘To my daughter Timmie, whom I love and admire greatly, I leave the following amount.’ ” Arnold stated it, and Timmie’s eyes opened in surprise. It seemed like a very large bequest to her, and to the others. “ ‘And my wish is that she purchase a house with it, in a neighborhood that seems reasonable to her, in order
Arnold led them into a conference room, where a secretary offered them coffee or tea, and all of them declined. They wanted to get the meeting over with, and the business side of their father’s death behind them. Joy had already booked a flight to L.A. that afternoon, and said she had an audition the next day for a small part on a soap, and the restaurant where she worked five nights a week needed her back. It was a busy place, and the tips were great and paid her rent, so she didn’t want them to get mad or fill her spot.
Arnold began the meeting with a serious expression. “Your father and I discussed his will extensively in the last year, while he was still well enough to do so, and I want to preface what I explain to you by saying that the provisions he made are somewhat unorthodox, which was his intention. We had very different views of how these things should be handled, but I’ll admit his were more creative than mine. And he was heavily influenced by knowing that you all stand to inherit a great deal from your mother one day, and that your future is secure because of her, which your father felt allowed him some leeway to view things differently. He wanted to address your immediate needs, not your long-term ones, which are covered.” Arnold was aware, as Paul had been, that Véronique’s philosophy was that the girls should make a living and support themselves, no matter what they would inherit later. She wanted to be the safety net under them for special cases and emergencies, not the source of money they lived on. She expected them to earn that, and they did, with energy in all three cases. Paul hadn’t agreed with her and thought she should be more generous, but she adamantly didn’t want to ruin them and encourage them to live like spoiled rich girls, or like their father, spending too much of someone else’s money, which he had done with her. She thought it was a bad example to set their daughters, and not the role model she wanted for them. And Arnold was impressed at the lessons she was trying to teach them, even if Paul didn’t like it. She had made them self-sufficient in spite of what she had and what they would inherit from her one day. And they were definitely neither lazy nor spoiled, whether she approved of their career choices or not.
“So his will,” he went on, “reflects that philosophy, of wanting to make a difference for you now, since your long-term future is covered by your mother. And to that end, he has left you disparate amounts, which is unorthodox as well, but reflects, he believed, what each of you might need in the context of what you’re doing presently with your lives. It does not reflect, as he expressed in his will himself, any disparity in his love for each of you.” He looked around at each of them then, and Véronique noticed that Bertie had a hopeful, somewhat impatient look. He didn’t care about his father’s reasoning—he just wanted to know what he would get. “Your father wanted you each to have what would benefit you most, and he was very specific about it,” he explained, and the three girls nodded. Arnold then picked up Paul’s last will and testament and read directly from it. He had copies to hand to each of them, but he hadn’t distributed them yet. He preferred to explain it first.
“ ‘To my daughter Timmie, whom I love and admire greatly, I leave the following amount.’ ” Arnold stated it, and Timmie’s eyes opened in surprise. It seemed like a very large bequest to her, and to the others. “ ‘And my wish is that she purchase a house with it, in a neighborhood that seems reasonable to her, in order
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