You have bags of jewelry. You told me once you had it all appraised, and it came in just under two million dollars. Sell it. Get a job. Sell off the cars and the boat, thatâs another half million, maybe more. If you invest it all, you can live the rest of your life in comfort. Perhaps not as lavishly as you lived with Philip, but it will still be a nice lifestyle. You told me youâd banked all the money you earned in the islands, so Iâm having a hard time feeling sorry for you.â
âYou are an ungrateful young woman!â Roxy murmured. âAll that bad stuff you are so fond of throwing at me, it was all for you. I had to take care of you the best way I could. Iâm sorry if I wasnât a better mother. Iâm also sorry your real father doesnât want to know you. I canât change those things. I neither want nor expect you to feel sorry for me. I need some time to come to terms withâ¦with everything.â
Reba sighed. Sheâd heard all this before, too. âMom, look around. Do you really need all this opulence? This bedroom alone could accommodate a family of four. What I donât understand is why you would try to⦠steal from your husband. Greed is a terrible thing.â
âArenât we sanctimonious this morning? That greed managed to get you through college and medical school, now didnât it? I earned it, thatâs why.â
âMom, I could have had grants and scholarships, and I would have found a way to make it on my own. Philipâs generosity just made it easier for me. I thank God every day for that generosity. By the way, you can have the two thousand dollars Philip left me.â
âYouâre a fool,â Roxy said, teetering out of the room.
Reba wiped at her eyes. âYeah, Mom, I guess I am,â she said under her breath. Sheâd liked Philip Lam. On the rare times when she came home from school, he always managed to have at least one long talk with her. Sheâd hungered for more but settled for the long talks. He always paid attention to what she said and how she said it. He also seemed to value her opinion. Sheâd been profuse in her thanks for all his help. His response had been a wave of the hand and the words, âWhen God is good to you, you have to give back. You are a worthwhile human being, Reba. Always remember that.â A week after that particular talk, sheâd been stunned to receive a letter from a well-known brokerage house. It said twenty-five thousand dollars had been deposited in a new account bearing her name. The most sheâd ever had in her meager checking account at one time was two hundred dollars. She couldnât comprehend the amount. Following the transaction, sheâd received a letter from Philip saying heâd handle her tax forms and the gift tax and not to worry about it. Heâd added a postscript that said, letâs keep this just between you and me. She knew she wasnât supposed to tell her mother, and she hadnât. Sheâd never spent a penny of the money either. She had no idea what the account was worth today. But after eight years of earning interest the tidy little sum had probably grown to thirty or thirty-five thousand. She wondered what her mother would say if she knew. Well, she isnât going to find out from me. Philip wanted it kept a secret, and it will forever remain a secret.
During her teen and college years, she often wished that Philip would act more like a father to her. Secretly, she suspected, he didnât know how to show his feelings. He was proud of her, that much she did know. He respected her hard work, her good grades, and her ability to get along on almost nothing. His eyebrows had shot up to his hairline the day sheâd told him she worked in the Gap twelve hours a week, hating every minute of those twelve hours, so she could get the discounted clothing. Heâd approved.
When sheâd told him she was going