She died in September, and the lawyer contacted me the following month.
We never got married.
In fact, she never reciprocated my romantic feelings.
Her children accused me of manipulating her anyway.
And now, her lawyer was telling me she'd left me something.
The next morning, I sat across from a man named Daniel.
"Eleanor arranged a gift before she died," he explained.
"What kind of gift?"
"Her book collection."
I stared.
"Her books?"
"Nine boxes. She signed the transfer documents herself, without your involvement, and had them placed in storage under your name."
He handed me an appraisal.
The collection was worth nearly $38,000.
I read the figure twice.
"She promised I wasn't getting any money."
"She didn't leave you money from her estate. But these books have considerable value."
Somehow, she'd kept the literal promise while giving me something worth more than I earned in a year.
"Her children will say I talked her into it."
