There are truths that don't come when you're expecting them.
When you're ready to listen, they're there.
---
Three days after the news cycle started to fade away from Ethan you hear nothing more about him and things go back to normal.
At least our normal.
Ethan had returned to work, but he still phoned me every afternoon.
Not for the reason that something was "wrong".
Just because he wanted to hear my voice.
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes."
"Have you rested?"
"For almost an hour."
"Only almost?"
I smiled.
"I got bored."
You're helping out Dr. Harrison, aren't you?
"I know."
"So..."
His voice softened.
Please look after my two favorite persons.
I put my hand over my tummy.
"I will."
See you tonight,
"I'll be waiting."
The duration of those conversations was less than 2 minutes.
But each time I hung up I smiled.
I was learning, Love, that love was not always accompanied by fireworks.
At times, it was as though someone was urging you to drink more water.
---
On Friday morning, Maria knocked softly on my door.
"Mrs. Blackwood?"
"Come in."
She went in with a cream-colored envelope.
This was sent by a courier.
I frowned.
No address for return.
Just my name in lovely lettering.
I took the time to open it up delicately.
There was a short letter inside.
> Mrs. Grace Blackwood,
>
> I hope you will excuse the untimely invitation. I am Jonathan Reeves. From that time until his death, I was for more than three decades his legal advisor, the late Charles Blackwood. I think there are some things about the Blackwoods you should know.
>
> If you feel like it, I wish you the chance to meet me.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Jonathan Reeves
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
Charles Blackwood.
Ethan's grandfather.
The man I had heard of only a few times before.
Never in detail.
Never with affection.
---
That evening when Ethan returned home, I gave him the letter.
He seemed very confused.
"Jonathan Reeves?"
He looked up.
A name I didn't see for years.
"You know him?"
He did manage my grandfather's affairs.
He sat beside me.
How does he have to be feeling to want to meet you?
"I don't know."
He read the letter again.
I don't like the shocking of lawyers.
I laughed softly.
"Neither do I."
He became thoughtful.
"But..."
He small folded the letter up carefully.
If Jonathan had approached him…
"...there's probably a reason."
Should I go, you think?
He nodded slowly.
"Yes, I'll go with you.
I smiled.
He wants to meet me.
"I'm aware."
"I can think of walking by myself.
"I know."
His lips turned into a sheepish smile.
"I'm still coming."
---
We were standing outside a small quiet law practice that was nestled in one of the city's oldest streets, Monday afternoon.
It was not the magnificent glass tower that I had hoped for.
Rather, it was housed in a splendidly restored stone residence, rich in oak trees.
I can't sum up how eventful and exciting it was.
Personal.
We were welcomed at the reception.
"Mr. Reeves is waiting for you.
After a few seconds, a man aged man entered the waiting room who had silver hair.
As soon as he laid eyes on Ethan he smiled.
"Good heavens."
"Now you're like a father to me!"
Ethan smiled politely.
"It's been said that I ought to have done that before."
Jonathan's eyes then focused on me.
"So..."
He stretched out his arm.
"You have to be Grace."
"I am."
"It's great to be meeting you."
When he said it, finally, that made me stop.
---
His office was stocked with old books with a slight cedar wood aroma.
Photographs were displayed on the shelves.
Some legal awards.
Some family portraits.
The first image that came to my mind was one.
A very young Charles Blackwood was standing with a smiling woman in a garden, which was filled with flowers.
Both seemed rather destitute.
They simply looked...
Happy.
Jonathan saw that I was looking at him.
"That's Eleanor."
"Ethan's grandmother."
I smiled.
"She's beautiful."
"She was."
His expression softened.
And Charles loved her.
I blinked.
Adored?
I never imagined that the Blackwood family would be associated with that word.
---
I think Ethan hasn't told you very much about his grandfather, haven't he?
Jonathan said gently.
Ethan shifted uncomfortably.
When I was twelve he passed away.
Jonathan nodded.
"And by then..."
"It was not the same man anymore. . . ."
He opened an old leather folder on his desk.
Charles Blackwood made an Empire.
He looked at Ethan.
"But that's not his legacy he sought."
He took out a yellowed piece of paper, carefully.
"This..."
He smiled sadly.
"...was never incorporated into his will."
He handed it to me.
"It's a letter."
"In his handwriting."
I looked at Ethan.
He seemed as clueless as I was.
---
My hands shook as I started reading the paper.
> In the event that my grandchildren should read this...
>
> I hope they catch on to something I didn't, which I wish.
>
> There is always the opportunity to bounce back from a poor year.
>
> Years gone by cannot be recouped by a family.
My breath caught.
I continued reading.
> For decades I've thought I was creating security for people I loved.
>
> Instead...
>
> I was creating walls they are unable to climb.
I looked up.
Ethan had completely frozen.
Jonathan remained silent.
Allowing Charles's words to speak for themselves.
---
I read on.
> If one day, a Blackwood decides to give love a shot instead of another meeting...
>
> Don't call them weak,
>
> Call them more enlightened than I am.
A tear fell down my face.
I took his hand, but I didn't realize it was Ethan's.
He gripped my hand and I felt his fingers clench.
It was so quiet I could hear the old grandfather clock ticking in the corner.
---
Jonathan sat back in his chair.
Charles wrote "6 months before his death.
Ethan's voice was very soft.
Why was I never told this by someone?
Jonathan sighed deeply.
"Your grandfather is the one that made the official will change."
"What?"
His philosophy was that actions were more important than words.
Jonathan hesitated.
Then after he passed....
"There were disagreements."
Ethan didn't require an explanation.
"Mother."
Jonathan didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
There was an other thing.
Jonathan opened a little wooden box.
A very old pocket watch lay in the box.
It was silver and got aged.
Charles was the owner of the watch.
He gave it to Ethan.
"Inside."
Ethan gently pried open the cover.
Under the glass were five simple words that were engraved.
Time is love that is blind.
His breathing caught.
This is the first time I have ever seen it.
"No."
Jonathan smiled sadly.
"It was your grandfather's command to keep it until…"
He fixed his keen gaze in Ethan's direction.
"…I thought you knew what that meant."
There was a complete stillness in the room.
Then Jonathan looked to me.
"Grace."
"Yes?"
For forty-five years, I've been practicing law.
"I've seen families destroyed by greed."
"By pride."
"By inheritance."
He smiled warmly.
"There is something very rare I've observed as well."
"What?"
One who is able to change the whole family without making any effort to do so.
I shook my head.
"That's not me I think,"
He chuckled.
"Really?"
He looked at Ethan.
"As a young man, he came to see me after his grandfather passed away…"
"He barely spoke."
He used quarterly reports as his measure of success.
"He felt that emotions were a distraction."
Jonathan's eyes softened.
"He smiles now."
I could feel Ethan's hand grip my hand so tightly.
Not from a sense of embarrassment.
Because he understood it to be true.
Jonathan escorted us to the door as we were getting ready to leave.
"One last thing."
We both turned.
He looked at Ethan.
"Your grandfather often said..."
"The greatest inheritance you can leave your children isn't wealth."
He smiled gently.
"It's the fact that you were there.
There was no sound on the way back home.
Ethan took the pocket watch out of his jacket pocket at the same time.Midway through the way, Ethan pulled the pocket watch out of his jacket pocket.
He slowly turned it around in his hands.
Finally, he whispered,
All my life, I've been trying to be the businessman my family wished I would be.
He studied the inscription on the engraving again.
What if grandpa wanted something different...?
Placed my hand on his hand.
"Maybe..."
I smiled softly.
"To be his father as he had dreamed of.
This time Ethan's eyes were filled with tears which he didn't hide.
Outside the city rushed by.
Inside the car...
Three generations of the Blackwoods family, and a peaceful moment, seemed to come together in one.
A person who has learned the hard way.
A person who had received an improper education.
One little baby...
This time, who could possibly receive more than wealth.
The opportunity to have a father who knew that love didn't begin or end with him...
It was life itself.