He said we didn’t understand how modern businesses use real estate equity.”

A gull cried out above the gray water, swooping low over the shore.

“I knew right then that he wouldn’t wait for us to pass away in our own time,” Evelyn wrote.

“He thinks that because he’s our son, everything we built is his already.

He’ll try to make you feel guilty for holding on to what’s yours.”

I turned the page over.

Her last paragraph was written in shorter, firmer strokes.