Divided We Fall

I’m not the man I used to be

And think about it much

I’d like to see those days again

When it used to be as such

I stood tall as an old oak tree

Not being anyone but me

~ Gemini Joe ~

y dad passed away of complications from emphysema. Nine black limousines followed the hearse as his friends came to show their respects. The procession made its way to the cemetery, where my mom was waiting.

After lowering Dad’s body into the ground and laying the final rose on his coffin, the family drove back to the house for the reading of the Will. We sat around the large, dining room table in my father’s apartment. The lawyer arrived and Teresa brought out a gray metal box.

I could have sworn it was green, I thought and I sensed trouble.

“No matter what Pop put in the Will,” I warned, “We are all equal.”

The lawyer opened the box, but it was empty except for some legal papers and a copy of my father’s will. All the money was gone.

As the lawyer read the Will, I realized it wasn’t the same document my father had showed me. I was no longer the executor. Instead, it named my sister, Dolly.

My father had promised to divide everything equally, but he left half of his estate to my sister. The other half had to be divided between me, my two brothers, and the woman who took care of him.

Teresa got quite a lump of the Finno Estate. Maybe, whatever she got, she deserved, but I didn’t think my brothers would see it that way.

A rare silence fell over the family. I guess Dolly sensed that the fighting was about to begin because she left.

“This can’t be Pop’s will,” Dom said. “Joey, didn’t you say Pop made a will leaving everything equally?”

Victor set his eyes on the old lawyer.

“Where’s my father’s original will?”

The counselor wiped the sweat off his brow and looked down at his portfolio, trying his best to avoid eye contact.

“Your father made a change last month,” he replied, nervously twitching in his chair. The lawyer packed up his briefcase and left. In all the commotion, no one noticed him leave except me. I followed him outside, but he jumped into his car and drove off.

When I went back inside, my brothers were still arguing. Victor shook his fist at the ceiling and yelled, “You son of a bitch!”

“I think our sister had something to do with this,” Dominick said.

“We’ll work it out.” I said, trying to calm my brothers. “I’ll talk to Dolly. I’m sure she’ll do the right thing.”

If I had been executor, I would have had the power to divide the estate equally. Now it was up to my sister.

I didn’t mention the box, because I didn’t want to risk making things worse. It wasn’t until later that I realized Teresa wasn’t there. She was gone, along with her suitcase and the green metal box from under the stairs.

Determined to make peace in the family, I knocked on Dolly’s door.

My niece led me into the living room where Dolly and her husband, Tony, were sitting on the couch.

“We have a big problem,” I said.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said and began to cry.

“We both know our brothers won’t let this go without a fight. I suggest that you share everything equally.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why can’t you?”

She stopped crying and straightened her back. “It was Pop’s last wish and I won’t go against him in his death. Victor and Dom fought with him all the time and you were never around.”

“Dolly, what are you saying? Don’t you realize what this will do to our family? There’s been too much fighting since Mom died. You need to share the house among us.”

“You don’t understand, Joey. Once I divide the property, our brothers will band together and demand that we sell the house. My family will have no home.”

“I’m begging you, Dolly. Sell this house and give them their shares. You can buy another house.”

“I can’t do that. Pop knew what would happen. That’s why he took care of it. I’m sorry. I can’t.” She ran out of the room.

“Please Dolly!” I called after her. “We need to make peace in our family.”

“You need to leave now,” Tony said, using his cane to lift himself from the couch. “Give her some time to think about it.”

I always liked my brother-in law, Tony. He always helped my dad run errands. Even though he’d lost his leg in the war, he never complained.

My sister was probably right, but my brothers were not going to let it go. They were all still living in that house. I got out a long time ago, but they wouldn’t leave. Maybe they thought they would lose if they did, but I didn’t care. I just wanted my family to live in peace.

My brothers hired a lawyer and tried to declare my Dad incompetent at the time he had changed the Will, but they didn’t have medical proof. Still, they went into court over my dad’s estate.

I was in the middle of it all, between my brothers on one side and my sister on the other. My brothers wanted me to join the fight, and I wanted to stay neutral. I was a wimp when it came to family brawls. Here they were battling and putting me in it. I didn’t want to take sides, but I was taking a rough beating.

I loved my brothers, but they were making it really hard for my sister. They banged on her door every day yelling and cursing. She had to hide in her house and was afraid to go out. They even pit their children against each other. It made me so sad.

I couldn’t take all the anger and screaming so I told my brothers to have their lawyer draw up papers to relinquish my share. I no longer wanted it.

For three years, they went back and forth in court, with no resolution.

Finally, my brother’s had hired a hotshot lawyer who found a way to force Dolly out of the house. She had thirty days to move her family and their belongings.

Dom and Victor gave me my share of the inheritance and I didn’t refuse it. I felt so bad for my sister that I gave it to her. I think my Mom would have wanted it that way. Besides, one eighth wasn’t going to make me any better or worse for the living.

Dolly hugged me. “Thank you for the money, Joe. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

My sister was happy and it made me feel good, but my brothers didn’t talk to me after that. I started drinking again because it was hard to take.

Dominic opened up his own plumbing service. Victor bought a truck and started a moving business. I thought about my brothers and said to myself, maybe I should have stuck with them.

I cried when I found out about the death of Dominic’s granddaughter. It was a tragic accident and no one’s fault. Mothers, during the sixties, often bundled up their babies and put them outside in carriages to get fresh air. An unexpected cold front swept across New York. When my niece went to check on the baby, she had a strange hue. They rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late. The baby had frozen to death.

My heart broke for my brother, but what could I do? I just looked up at the sky and asked, “Why, Pop, why?”