Sycamore Row

then sold or somehow disposed of, Lettie decided to clean out the pantry and refrigerator. She fried bacon and sausage, whipped up pancakes, scrambled eggs and made omelets and cheese grits and warmed up store-bought biscuits, Seth’s favorite brand. The table was covered with steaming bowls and platters when the three sat down for breakfast, complaining the entire time about all the food and fuss. But they ate. Ramona, puffy-eyed and red-faced and unwilling to say much, seemed to especially crave the grease. Lettie hung around for a few minutes, properly serving them, and the mood was tense. She suspected they’d had a rough night, drinking and arguingand trying to survive one last night in a house they hated. She eased back into the bedrooms, happy to see their bags were packed.
    From the shadows, she heard Herschel and Ian discussing a visit by the lawyers. Ian argued it was easier for the lawyers to come to Seth’s house than for the three of them to troop over to Tupelo.
    “Damned right they can come to us,” Ian said. “They’ll be here at ten.”
    “Okay, okay,” Herschel conceded, then they lowered their voices.
    After breakfast, as Lettie cleared the table and stacked the dishes, the three moved outdoors again, to the patio where they settled around the picnic table and drank their coffee in the morning sun. Ramona seemed to perk up. Lettie, who lived with a drunk, figured that most mornings started slow for Mrs. Dafoe. There was laughter as they momentarily shook off last night’s harsh words, whatever they were.
    The doorbell rang; it was a locksmith from Clanton. Herschel showed him around and explained loudly, for the benefit of Lettie, that they wanted new locks on the home’s four exterior doors. As the man went to work, starting with the front door, Herschel stopped in the kitchen and said, “We’re getting all new locks, Lettie, so the old keys won’t work.”
    “I’ve never had a key,” she said with an edge because she’d already said it once.
    “Right,” Herschel replied, not believing. “We’ll leave one key with Calvin down the road, and we’ll keep the others. I suspect I’ll be back from time to time to check on things.”
    Whatever, Lettie thought, but she said, “I’ll be happy to come over and clean the place whenever you want. Calvin can let me in.”
    “Won’t be necessary, but thanks. We’re meeting with the lawyers at ten o’clock, here, so make some fresh coffee. After that we’ll be leaving for home. I’m afraid we won’t be needing you after that, Lettie. Sorry, but Dad’s death changes everything.”
    She clenched her jaws and said, “I understand.”
    “How often did he pay you?”
    “Every Friday, for forty hours.”
    “And he paid you last Friday?”
    “That’s right.”
    “So we owe you for Monday, Tuesday, and half of today, right?”
    “I suppose.”
    “At five bucks an hour.”
    “Yes sir.”
    “I still can’t believe he paid you that much,” Herschel said as he opened the door and walked outside onto the patio.

    Lettie was stripping the beds when the lawyers arrived. In spite of the dark suits and serious faces, they might as well have been Santa Claus delivering sacks of toys to well-behaved children. In the moments before they pulled in to the driveway, Ramona, in heels and pearls and a dress much prettier than the one she’d worn to the funeral, peeked out the front window a dozen times. Ian, now in coat and tie, paced around the den, checking his watch. Herschel, clean shaven for the first time since arriving, was in and out of the kitchen door.
    In the past three days, Lettie had overheard enough to know that expectations were high. They did not know how much money old Seth had in the bank, but they were perceptive enough to believe something was there. And it was all a windfall anyway, right? The house and land alone were worth at least half a million, according to Ian’s latest guess. How often are you lucky enough to split $500,000. And there was the lumber yard, and who knew what else?
    They gathered in the den. Three lawyers, three potential beneficiaries, all well dressed with perfect manners and light moods. The servant, in her best white cotton dress, served them coffee and cake and then retired into the shadows to listen.
    Grave condolences were offered by the lawyers. They had known Seth for several years and were great admirers. What a man. It was entirely possible the lawyers thought more of Seth than did his