It was late afternoon and George Bailey was ready to go home and have a warm supper with his wife, children, his brother Harry and his wife. As he was putting on his coat, there was a knock on the door. It was the secretary. "Sir, Mr. Potter's lawyer is outside and he says that it is imperative that he talks with you." George sighed, took his jacket back off and nodded his consent to have him come in. He sat back down in his chair.
"Good evening, Mr. Bailey. How are you this evening?" asked the lawyer nicely.
"I am well. And yourself? What can I do for you?" George asked. Many different scenarios went through his head on what he wanted. It had been a week since Mr. Potter had passed away.
"Mr. Bailey, I am sure that you are eager to get home to your wife and children so I will make this short. Mr. Potter has put you in his will and wished to give me a letter that he wrote himself to go along with the things that he has bequeathed you." Out of his briefcase, the lawyer pulled out two pieces of paper. He handed the first to George; the second, he read out loud. "I bequeath George Bailey $8,000, for reasons that George will find out in the letter that I have directed to be delivered to him. Second, since I have no heirs, I bequeath George Bailey all of my shares and property, including the bank." George's jaw dropped. He could not believe what he was hearing. Why would the warped, old man give him all this. Potter wanted nothing more than to tear George down in the past, and now he gives him the bank in his name and $8,000.
"Thank you very much, is there anything else?" George asked.
"No. I will have to get the deeds to the house and the bank. I will be back tomorrow morning with them and we can officially sign these over in your name."
"Yes, thank you," George said, in a little bit of stupor. He was gobsmacked at this turn of events. He walked the lawyer out of the building, shook his hand and thanked him and turned back inside the Old Building and Loan.
Shutting the door to his office, George sat down and grabbed the letter that Old Potter had wrote and instructed to give to him. The letter read:
George Bailey,
When you read this letter, that means that I have passed. Before I pass though, I would like to clear my conscience. Five years ago, when your Uncle Billy lost the $8,000, the old fool had put it in the paper that he was showing everybody in the bank about your brother getting the Medal of Honor. He had put the paper down and I had taken it to my office in the bank and found the $8,000 in it and kept it from you and everybody. I was so driven to shut you down. The Old Building and Loan had always been a thorn in my side. It would have worked too if it had not been for the people's love for you and sending you that money to save you and the Building and Loan. So on my deathbed, I would like to say that I am sorry and that I underestimated you. I had always respected you in some way to be able to handle going against me and how kind you were to the people. I could have learned a lot from you but as you pointed out, I am a warped, old man. I am giving the money back to you. I don't expect you to accept my apology. Good luck in your future endeavors. My only request is that with this money, you finally get out of this crummy old town and take your wife on a honeymoon that she really deserves. Good luck Mr. Bailey.
Mr. H Potter
George still could not wrap his mind around what he was reading. He just sat there, trying to make sense of the words that he was reading. His thoughts were interuptted from the shrill noise from the telephone. He answered. "Old Building and Loans, this is George Bailey. How can I help you?"
"You could start by coming home for dinner tonight," the teasing voice of his wife carried through the receiver. George chuckled. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes, so you have ten to get home."
"I will be there soon Mary. I promise."
"Is everything okay?" Mary asked, hearing the strain in her husband's voice.
"I'll explain everything when I get home when the kids are all in bed."
"Alright. I will see you soon then. I love you."
"I love you too, Mary." George hung up the phone, put his jacket back on, put the letter in his pocket, shut off the lights and the door and locked up for the night. I guess it was right that his whole family was going to be there tonight, so he could tell them the change of events and their fortune.
When he entered the house, he was ambushed by his two youngest children, Zuzu and Clarence. He laughed joyously and gave them kisses. He embraced his other children and nieces and nephews.
After getting free from the children, he walked over to Mary and embraced her in a loving embrace. "How was work?"
"It was definitely interesting," George answered.
"What happened?" Harry asked, embracing his brother.
"I had a meeting with Mr. Potter's lawyer, discussing his will," George replied, pouring a drink into his glass and taking a swig.
"That old coot left you something?" At this George gave a hearty laugh. "What did he leave?"
"I will tell you all what he left me after dinner," George promised.
They had a nice meal of pork chops and potatoes. When they were done eating, the children all helped clean up after supper and the grown ups went into the living room. Mary handed her husband a drink. He looked like he needed it. He smiled his thanks to her. When they were all seated in the living room, he pulled out the note in his pocket and read it out loud. When he finished, they were all silent for a moment or two. They could not believe this either. Nobody really knew how to respond.
"He kept that money?" Uncle Billy finally had the courage to speak.
"I am so sorry for being so harsh on you that day," George apologized.
"It's not your fault," Billy answered, accepting the apology.
"Well, what are you going to do with it all?"
"For one, we could afford the kids to go to college," George answered. He turned to Mary. "Mary, how would you like for me to finally take you on the honeymoon that you always wanted?"
"We can take care of your children," volunteed Harry's wife.
Mary felt overwhelmed with everything and just smiled. "That sounds wonderful. Are you sure that you would be willing to take care of the children?"
"Of course. There's nothing to it," Harry promised his sister-in-law and brother.
"That settles it then, we shall go on a honeymoon of the lifetime. Where shall we go?"
"Everywhere," Mary responded. George was hoping that she would say that and kissed her. He was truly excited. He felt bad that he could not give his wife the honeymoon that she deserved and now he could. "Why don't we plan on leaving in a month so then that would give us enough time to plan and enough time for all of the deeds to be settled. But could we do one thing?"
"Of course, what is it?"
"I don't want to leave this house. Let's just stay here and not buy a new house or move into Mr. Potter's house."
"I agree. This is our house and forever will be. With the money, we can finally afford all the repairs that need to be done."
A month came and went like it was no time at all. Mary and George were all packed and ready to go on their honeymoon. They decided that they would renew their vows and make it seem like they really were going on a honeymoon. The train was pulling up to the station when everybody were saying their goodbyes. "Be good for your Uncle Harry and Uncle Billy. We'll call as often as we can and bring back souveniers from all of the places that we visit," George promised. As they boarded the train, George turned to Mary and said, "This was the best thing that Old Man Potter did. Helping me take you on the best honeymoon ever, the honeymoon that you deserved." He gave her a passionate kiss.