Chapter 18 - DAD’S LETTER TO MY BROTHER
The cabinet contained another encrypted file we had overlooked inside an archive.
A scanned letter.
To my brother.
Dad never sent it.
Or maybe drafted it and saved it.
I debated reading.
Estate administrator confirmed it belonged to estate records relevant to the ownership dispute.
I read.
You think Larkin is my favorite because he likes the workshop.
He isn’t.
You think I respect his work more because I understand it better.
Sometimes I do.
Then:
But he has never saved payroll with a bank negotiation at midnight. You have.
I stopped.
Dad understood my brother more than I thought.
Then:
Your weakness is that you believe being necessary gives you ownership.
Mine is that I let you carry responsibility without giving you enough gratitude.
There it was.
Not absolution.
Explanation.
Then:
If you ever find yourself using my estate to make your brother obey you, stop. That will mean I taught you the wrong lesson.
I cried.
Not because Dad predicted everything.
He didn’t.
Because he recognized us.
My brother had been the responsible son.
Finance.
Banks.
Insurance.
Payroll.
Dad and I bonded over building things.
That left my brother feeling useful but unloved.
He turned usefulness into authority.
I turned sentiment into moral superiority.
Both ugly in different ways.
I gave his attorney a copy.
Weeks later, my brother sent one message.
I wish he sent it.
I replied:
May you like
Me too.
Nothing more.
