One Summer

20

Though she’d lived the last ten years in Ohio with her daughter and son-in-law, except for her short stint in Arizona, Cecilia Pinckney was a southerner through and through. She’d requested to be buried in Charleston, South Carolina, in the family crypt. So Jack bundled the kids into a pale blue 1964 VW van with white top that Sammy had lovingly restored, and headed south. A large crowd gathered under a very hot sun and high humidity for the funeral. Bonnie looked older by ten years, shrunken and bowed. Seeing this, Jack couldn’t bring himself to offer anything other than brief condolences. As she looked up at him, Jack thought he could see some affection for him underneath all the sorrow.

“Thank you for coming,” she said.

“Cecilia was a great lady.”

“Yes, she was.”

“When some time has passed, we need to talk.”

She slowly nodded. “All right. We probably should.”

After the service was over, Jack and the kids drove back to the hotel, where they were crammed into one room. Jack had just taken off his tie and jacket when the hotel phone rang. He answered, thinking it might be Fred, but it was a strange voice.

“Mr. Armstrong, I’m Royce Baxter.”

“Okay, what can I do for you?”

“I had the pleasure of being Mrs. Cecilia Pinckney’s attorney for the past twenty years.”

“Her attorney?”

“That’s right. I was wondering if I could meet with you for a little bit. My office is only a block over from your hotel. Fred O’Toole told me where you were staying. I assumed you’d be heading back to Ohio soon, and I thought I would catch you before you left. I know the timing is bad, but it is important and it won’t take long.”

Jack looked around at the kids. Jackie was passed out in a chair, and Cory and Mikki were watching TV.

“Give me the address.”

Five minutes later he was sitting across from the very prim and proper Royce Baxter, who was dressed in a dark suit. He was in his sixties, about five-ten, with a bit of a paunch and a good-natured face.

“Let me get down to business.” Baxter drew a document out of a file. “This is Ms. Cecilia’s last will and testament.”

“Look, if she left me anything, I really don’t feel that I should accept it.”

Baxter peered at him over the document. “And why is that?”

“It’s sort of complicated.”

“Well, she made this change to her will very recently. She told me that even if you never used it, it would always be there for you.”

“Well, what is it exactly?” Jack said curiously.

“The old Pinckney house on the South Carolina coast in a town called Channing.”

“The Palace, you mean?”

“That’s right. So you know about it?”

“Lizzie told me about it. But I’ve never been there. Once she moved to Ohio she never went back.”

“Now, let me warn you that while it’s right on the beach, it’s not in good condition. It’s a big, old, rambling place that has never been truly modernized. But it’s in a lovely location. The coastal low country is uniquely beautiful. And I say that with all the bias of a proud South Carolinian. Ms. Cecilia told me that you’re very good with your hands. I believe she thought you were the perfect person to take care of it.”

“Beachfront? I couldn’t afford the real estate taxes.”

“There are none. Years ago Ms. Cecilia placed the property into a conservancy so it could never be sold and developed. She and her descendants can use the property but can never sell it. In return the taxes were basically waived.”

“But we’ve got a home in Cleveland. The kids are in school.”

“Ms. Cecilia thought that you might have some trepidation. But since most of the summer is still ahead of us, the issue of school does not come into play.”

Jack sat back. “Okay. I see that. But I still don’t think—”

Baxter interrupted. “And Cecilia said that you told her that Lizzie was thinking of taking the kids there this summer.”

“That’s right, Lizzie was. She told me that. I thought it was a good idea but...” Jack’s voice trailed off. He’d made Lizzie promise him that she would take the kids to the Palace. Now she couldn’t.

Baxter fingered the will and studied him. “Would you like to see it before you make up your mind?”

“Yes, I would,” Jack said quickly.