Chapter 17 - RICHARD AND MARGARET MOVE
The move happened quietly.
No deputies.
No cameras.
No thrown suitcases.
Richard and Margaret purchased a three-bedroom condominium using personal assets.
Comfortable.
Smaller.
No ballroom.
No carved Hart crest.
Margaret cried during the final walkthrough.
I understood why.
She had raised children there.
Buried relatives from there.
Hosted forty Christmases.
Legal title does not erase attachment.
Attachment does not create title.
Both.
She asked whether she could take the dining table.
The one I had flipped.
It had been repaired.
The trustee said it belonged to Hart Heritage Events.
The company sold it to her for fair value.
She bought it.
I laughed when Maya told me.
Some objects refuse to leave the story.
I did not care.
Hart House sat empty for three months except for preservation staff.
Lily asked:
“Is it ours?”
I answered:
“The trust takes care of it for you and me.”
“Can Grandpa come?”
“Not right now.”
“Can I?”
“Yes.”
“Do I have to?”
“No.”
May you like
She chose no.
That mattered.
