JANUARY 2005

Rebecca waits anxiously as Anna Mae looks up "Connecticut order of intestate succession" on her computer.

"What's wrong?" she asks. "I do have the option to pass on my share of the estate and give it to Randall, right?"

"It's a little more complicated than that. One option is to accept your share and give it to your son, but then it wouldn't be considered an inheritance and he would have to pay a gift tax on it. Since you said your goal is to prevent him from knowing that he was excluded from your mother's will…"

"That won't work," Rebecca concedes. "What's the other option?"

"The other option is to sign a disclaimer of interest, which I believe is what you were referring to earlier. But if you do that, you don't get to decide where the money goes next. Since your mother didn't specify an alternate beneficiary, it would pass automatically under the laws of intestate succession, which means it would be divided evenly amongst your three children. Do either of your biological children have any children of their own?"

"No."

"Okay. Then what you want to do is theoretically possible, but your other two children would have to be willing to sign a partial disclaimer of interest to pass on any portion of the inheritance resulting from your disclaimer. So the question is, do you trust them to agree to that, and to keep it a secret?"

"Yes…I think so. I don't really have much choice, do I?" Rebecca says, looking and sounding utterly defeated by the whole thing.

Anna Mae smiles at her sympathetically. "They say not to share too much about our personal lives with clients, so forgive me if I'm overstepping. But for what it's worth, my mom is white and my dad is black, and my mom's parents didn't cut me out of their will, but they never quite treated me the same as they treated my all-white cousins. I wish my mom had cared as much as you do about keeping me from getting hurt by it. Your son is lucky to have you."

"Thank you," Rebecca says appreciatively, comforted by the young lawyer's words even if she doesn't fully believe them. "And thank you for all of your help."

LATER THAT NIGHT

"Kev, over here!" Kate calls out as Kevin enters a restaurant in Manhattan where she and Rebecca are waiting for him.

"Hi, sweetheart," Rebecca says warmly, giving her son a hug. "How was your flight? How's your time in the city been so far?"

"Fine. But I would have come up to grandma's early if you needed me to. You and Kate didn't need to come all the way here."

"No, no, it's okay. I know you have people you want to see here. I just need to talk to you about something. It's important."

"Okay…is Randall coming too?"

"No," Rebecca says, her demeanor changing quickly. "And before I tell you what this is about, I need the two of you to swear on your father's grave that you will not breath a word of this to him."

"Um, Dad doesn't have a grave," Kate says, confused. Rebecca glares at her.

"Fine, I swear on Dad's non-existent grave that I won't say anything," Kate agrees.

"Kevin?" Rebecca asks.

"Yeah, fine, I swear. What the hell is going on?" he asks.

Rebecca sighs. "Your grandmother's will called for me and Jenny to inherit her house, and for all of her other assets to be divided equally among her children and grandchildren. But about eight months ago, she changed her will to limit the inheritance to grandchildren by blood."

"By blood…so that means Randall doesn't get anything?" Kevin asks. Rebecca nods.

"That's crazy!" Kate exclaims.

"I don't understand, why would Grandma do that?" Kevin asks.

"I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is how much this would hurt him, and I can't let that happen," Rebecca says, blinking back tears.

"Okay, so Kevin and I will each give Randall some of our share, enough so that we all get the same amount," Kate volunteers. "Right, Kev?"

Kevin looks like a deer in the headlights for a second, but Kate gives him a LOOK.

"Yeah, of course," he says after a minute.

"No, no, I would never ask you to do that," Rebecca says. "This is my responsibility, not yours. I'm going to sign a disclaimer of interest so he gets my share. But by default, my share gets divided among the three of you, so I need the two of you to sign something that gives up your right just to the additional amount. You'll still get the same inheritance you were supposed to get under the will."

"Mom, that's crazy. You need the money," Kate says. "You said it yourself – one more big repair bill is going to eat up the rest of Dad's life insurance money."

"It doesn't matter. I have a job, our house is paid off, and I can take out a home equity loan for repairs if I have to. Plus, I think I'll eventually get some money from Grandma's house once we get it cleared out and sold. I'm fine, really. I have enough money. You guys don't need to worry about me."

"Well, I guess once I get mine I'll be able to move into my own place and finally pay you some back rent," Kate says. Rebecca shakes her head.

"Kate, I told you, I bought that house so all three of you would always have a place to call home. I will never charge any of you rent. I'd rather see you use your inheritance to open your own diner like you've been talking about, although I wouldn't complain if you used it to go to college either," Rebecca prods gently.

"Yeah, maybe," Kate says, mildly annoyed that Rebecca is using the situation to subtly suggest that she do something with her life besides work as a diner waitress and stuff her face with fast food.

"Can't you fight it?" Kevin asks. "You've been saying for over a year that Grandma was showing signs of dementia."

"Believe me, I asked about that. But she was never diagnosed, it's hard to prove, and even if it weren't, Randall is the only one who would have standing to challenge it, and I don't want him to know that she even made the change in the first place. I just need the two of you to sign these papers so he doesn't have to," Rebecca says wearily as she hands them each a document. "Can you do that for me, please?"

"Okay, sure," Kate agrees, taking a pen out of her purse and signing the agreement.

"Kevin?" Rebecca demands.

Kevin shakes his head. "This is crazy. Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tad are rich. They don't even need the extra money – neither do our trust fund baby cousins. But you're just going to roll over and let them get the extra when you need it a lot more than they do just because you don't want Randall's feelings to be hurt? If I know Randall, that's the last thing he would want."

"It's not that simple, Kevin. This isn't just a case of a grandparent playing favorites. This is…when you guys were younger, Grandma treated Randall like he wasn't really her grandson, or at least not as much her grandson as the two of you."

"You mean because he's adopted?"

"Because he's adopted, because he's black, because it was just 'foreign' to her – her words, not mine. And it took me way too long to realize how much she was hurting him," Rebecca recalls, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I cannot put him through that again. I am his mother, and it's my job to protect him. It's my job to protect all of you and I don't care if it costs me my last dime. All I'm asking you to do is pass on money you wouldn't have gotten anyway if Grandma hadn't done this cruel and despicable thing, and to keep this between the three of us, please…" she begs.

"Okay, okay. Show me where I need to sign," Kevin agrees.

TWO DAYS LATER

"Hi, sweetheart," Rebecca says, hugging Randall and then Beth as they get out of the car. "Congratulations," she says to Beth. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for the award ceremony."

"Thanks. It's no big deal though."

"Best graduate student paper in urban planning is not no big deal," Rebecca insists.

"Wow, this house is huge," Beth says as they enter Rebecca's parents' house.

"Come on, I'll give you a tour," Randall offers.

"Um, can you start with the bathroom?" Beth asks sheepishly.

"Right over there," Rebecca motions. Beth scampers off quickly.

"You guys must be so tired. I still don't understand why you had to drive through the night," Rebecca says to Randall.

"The flight was oversold," he explains. "They were asking for volunteers and we figured it was a win-win. $250 each for a future flight, and this way we have another car in case you have trouble with the Wagoneer on the way back."

"Okay…" Rebecca says skeptically.

"I hope this doesn't sound too crass, but at least now you'll be able to get a new car and replace the HVAC system at home before it fails," Randall says.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I told Kevin and Kate earlier – I decided to disclaim my share of the cash inheritance so you kids would get a little more."

"What? Why would you do that?" Randall asks, shocked.

"This is going to sound silly, but your father always had a lot of insecurity about how rich my parents were. When we first started dating, my dad messed with his head and convinced him that he wasn't good enough for me, and he carried that fear with him our whole marriage. After we found out we were expecting triplets he was too proud to even consider accepting help from them even when we could have really used it. I guess I feel like accepting money from my mom's estate instead of relying on the life insurance he left me would be a slap in the face to his memory."

"That's ridiculous, Mom," Randall protests. "He would want you to be as comfortable as possible."

"Maybe it is ridiculous, but it's how I feel. I don't need the money, and I'd rather you three have the extra. I hate that I couldn't put you through grad school and you had to take out loans. I don't know exactly how much you're going to get, but hopefully it will be enough for you to pay off your existing loans and pay for the rest of your tuition without borrowing."

"Mom…"

"Randall, enough. I made up my mind and I already signed the paperwork," Rebecca says firmly. "Now tell me about the award ceremony."

Randall opens his mouth to protest, but backs down when he sees the look on Rebecca's face.

"It was good. Beth was nervous, but she did a great job with her speech…"

A couple blocks away, Jenny drives toward the house with Trevor and her 17-year-old daughter Emily, a petite, well-dressed teenager with designer sunglasses and a Louis Vuitton bag.

"I don't understand. I thought you said Grandma's car is technically yours because she couldn't get insurance on it in her name," Emily says as she finishes touching up her lipstick.

"It's technically registered to me, yes, but…" Jenny starts to answer.

"So then why can't you just give it to me? Why do you have to ask Aunt Rebecca first?"

"Because Aunt Rebecca is still driving a car that's almost as old as you are, and your grandmother was worried about whether she's safe in it. I'm going to offer her first dibs on Grandma's car because I think that's what Grandma would want. But don't worry - - she's probably going to say the car's too flashy for her. But I would appreciate it if you would keep your mouth shut about it for today and at least pretend to be a little sad about your grandmother dying instead of focusing on what you're going to get," Jenny chides.

"I am sad," Emily insists. "But she hasn't been the same for a while…you said yourself that she's in a better place now, right?"

"Right," Jenny agrees reluctantly, disturbed by her daughter's attitude.

"Hey, if Rebecca does want the Mercedes, I can build you a car. My boss will probably give me a good deal on some of the parts next time we get a fender bender that the owner doesn't want to deal with," Trevor offers.

"That's really nice, Trevor," Jenny says, pleasantly surprised by Trevor's offer. Unfortunately, Emily isn't so impressed.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I mean, I appreciate it, but driving an old clunker would be really embarrassing at my school."

"I told you, if you want a new car, you can get a job and I will match every dollar you earn until you've saved up enough," Jenny says. "Even if you get Grandma's car, you're still going to have to get a job to pay for gas and insurance."

"None of my friends has to do that!" Emily complains. "Their parents just bought them nice cars when they turned 17, or they got new ones for themselves and gave their kids the old ones. Do you really want me diverting time from my studies to work a dead-end retail job?"

"I want you to learn some responsibility," Jenny says exasperatedly as they pull up to the house and start getting out of the car. It is clear this is not the first time they have had this conversation. "Look at your brother," Jenny says, gesturing toward Trevor, who has started walking toward the house and is just out of earshot at this point. "He started working at his stepfather's garage when he was 14, and now he's got a job paying over $20 per hour before he even graduates high school."

Emily shakes her head angrily. "He's not my brother!" she yells loudly enough for Trevor to hear, slamming the car door. "And you and I both know that if my grand plan for life were to go to vocational school and open an auto repair shop, you'd say that wasn't good enough for me," Emily snaps before storming off.

"Trevor, I'm so sorry," Jenny says apologetically. "She's still processing her anger over her father's affair. This has nothing to do with you. I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I know. She ain't really wrong, though," Trevor says.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if Emily decided she didn't want to go to college and wanted to do, say, cosmetology school instead and open up a nail salon, something tells me you wouldn't be too thrilled about it," Trevor says nonchalantly. "Speaking of, is my Ivy League, prep-school educated cousin that everyone expects me to instantly become besties with just because we're both black here yet? Might as well get that over with."

"That's not…"

"Relax, I'm kidding," Trevor says. Jenny smiles warily.

"Well, Rebecca said all three of her kids are looking forward to meeting you, so let's go," she says, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

LATER THAT DAY

The family is gathered at Rebecca and Jenny's parents' house after the funeral.

"I still don't understand why Mom passed on her share of the inheritance," Randall says to Kevin as they wait in line for food. "She could have really used that money. And her reason doesn't even make any sense - - she says she's basically afraid she'll offend Dad's ghost or something. But he would want her to have that money. I know he would."

"Randall, come on. Let it go," Kevin urges.

"Yeah, of course you'd say that," Randall says sarcastically. "It's not like you'd say no to having more money to piss away partying and trying to impress D-list celebrities."

"Look, I tried to talk her out of it!" Kevin snaps. "Kate did too. But she made up her mind and there's nothing we can do about it. So why don't you say thank you instead of lecturing her?"

"Randall, there you are!" Jenny says as she enters the kitchen. "I barely got to say hello to you this morning, everything was so hectic. How are you? How's grad school?"

Kevin quickly ducks out, grateful for the diversion.

"It's good, good. Busy. I've got two more semesters and then I've got to finish my thesis on temperature-based weather derivatives."

"Well, I have no idea what that means, but it sounds…interesting."

"Hey, have you seen Trevor? I found that article I was telling him about earlier…"

"Yeah, he's in the garage trying to fix the heat on that hunk of junk your mom still insists on driving."

Randall shakes his head.

"I'm sorry. I know that car has a lot of sentimental value to your family…I didn't mean to be insensitive. It's just…"

"It's past time for her to get a new one. No argument here," Randall agrees.

Jenny hesitates for a moment, then leans in and speaks quietly. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened with your grandmother's will. I was there when she made the change, and for what it's worth, I really don't think she did it because of you. She was upset about the prospect of me adopting my husband's child from his extra-marital affair…I don't think she realized that it would affect you too because you're adopted."

"What are you talking about? What change to the will?"

"Your mom didn't tell you?" Jenny asks nervously.

"Tell me what? She just said she was going to disclaim her share so Kevin and Kate and I would get more, which I think is crazy, but she said she made up her mind and refused to talk about it any further. What does that have to do with me being adop…" Randall stops mid-sentence as he starts to put the pieces together.

"I'm sorry. I thought your mom said the change affected you even though she made it because of Trevor. Maybe I misunderstood…" Jenny says.

"No. No, you didn't. Thanks, Aunt Jenny," Randall says, darting out of the room. He sees Kevin on the phone in the hallway, and he storms up and yanks the phone out of his hands.

"Randall, what the hell, man? I was talking to my agent!" Kevin complains.

"Did Mom give up her share of the inheritance because Grandma cut me out of the will?" he demands.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kevin asks, but his acting chops at age 24 aren't what they would become later on, and he's just a little too hesitant to be believable.

"Aunt Jenny said Grandma changed her will to cut adopted kids out of it."

Having now had a minute to process, Kevin now goes into full on acting mode. "What? I can't believe that."

"I can," Randall scoffs. "It all makes perfect sense now."

"What makes perfect sense?" Beth asks as she enters the room with a plate of food.

"I think I just found out the real reason my mom gave up her share of the will," Randall says angrily before starting to walk away. It is at that moment that they realize Rebecca is standing in the doorway, and the look on her face confirms Randall's worst fears.

"Randall…" she says apologetically as he brushes past her angrily and storms upstairs, slamming the door to the room he's staying in.

Rebecca starts to go after him, but then Jenny approaches her.

"Rebecca, I'm so sorry. I thought he knew…"

"Not here," Rebecca says furiously, glaring at her sister with the angriest look we've ever seen on her face.