Alma's Will Read Free Page A

some paper and colored pens to keep the youngsters amused and sat them on the floor by the coffee table. "We'll have to wait for two other people who're mentioned in the will," he explained. "They should arrive any minute."
    It seemed they'd already met Mr. Christ, which was hardly surprising, considering the two lived right next door to her mother. Liv beamed with pleasure when she saw him, and said, "I'm so glad Mama thought to remember you in her will. You've been so good to her. Do you know what Mr. Christ has done?" she added, turning to Marker, and went on to gush about what wonderful care he'd been taking of her mother's garden.
    "It came as a total surprise," the man answered. "We just got Mr. Marker's call last night. You remember my friend Jay?"
    "Of course. How nice to see you again."
    Jay shook hands with her. Without the black hat and veil, dressed casually in a blouse and slacks, one could see she was a good-looking woman, about thirty, with soft features and short dark hair. She had a pleasant smile, the only thing about her that reminded Marker of her mother. Her demeanor was appropriately grave for a lawyer's office and reading a last will and testament, but something about her struck him as carefree—too carefree, he thought, for someone who had just lost her mother. Her husband, on the other hand, looked bored and anxious to get it over with.
    They sat down. Marker opened the envelope and took out the will. Just then the little boy came over to show his mother the picture he'd drawn.
    "That's beautiful," she told him, "but Mommy and Daddy are very busy right now. You save up all your pictures and show them to us when we've finished, okay?"
    Li'l Eric nodded gravely and went back to the coffee table.
    "Cute kid," Jay said.
    All these good feelings didn't last long. Liv did a double take when she heard "except the house", and when he read on "which is to be used as a safe home for gay teenagers who've been rejected by their families", her face froze.
    She turned her fury on Marker. "You knew this," she said, "and still you went ahead and read her will with my children right here!"
    "Calm yourself, Liv," her husband said. "I don't think they heard a thing. They weren't paying us any attention… until now."
    The children had heard the tone of their mother's voice and were staring at them, troubled and confused.
    "I'll have my secretary watch them," Marker said. He pushed the button on his intercom. "Carole, could you please bring the children to the outer office while we finish up in here?"
    The children safely out of the way, Marker returned to the will. Since she knew of no local organizations that helped gay teenagers, Mrs. Enslik had designated Messrs. Franklin and Christ to choose one and to oversee the transfer. She had reserved a thousand dollars to cover whatever expenses they might incur.
    "We won't take the money," Franklin said. "That goes to the safe home too."
    He seemed perfectly unaware of the daughter's hostility, though her anger hung so heavily in the air one could have cut it with a knife. Not so the black man, Mr. Christ. He'd fixed a stony gaze on Mrs. Redding and braced himself for an onslaught. Perhaps he picked up on the cues more easily, being from the South, or perhaps Franklin had his mind on something else.
    "Those homes do so much good," Franklin went on. "The one that took me in saved my life."
    If she hasn't yet realized that the men are gay, she's certain to catch on now , Marker thought, but Liv took no notice of what had just been said. For a second he wondered if she was just uptight about her kids hearing anything having to do with sex, then dismissed the possibility out of hand. The woman was definitely homophobic, rabidly so. He could read her like a book. Well, better to get it over with. It was none of his business, really.
    "Do you know a suitable organization to donate the house to?" he asked the men.
    "Not here in Georgia," Franklin said, "but the home I lived in in