For 6 years, I secretly paid my 84-year-old neighbor’s $29 water bill, certain she
never knew. The morning after Ada’s funeral, her son appeared at my door with
a lawyer, accused me of manipulating a vulnerable woman, and demanded to
know what I had expected in return. Then he mentioned that Ada had changed
her will. I quietly retrieved the sealed envelope she had told me never to open.
The lawyer read the 1st page twice, then turned to Ada’s son and asked a
question that wiped the anger from his face.
For 6 years, I quietly paid the water bill for the house next door, believing Ada
Holloway never knew.
Her son discovered the truth after her de:ath.
The morning after the funeral, Philip arrived at my door with an attorney and a
theory about what I had expected in return.