Brittany pulled out a small wooden box.
A brass lock hung from its clasp.
“What’s inside?” she asked.
I took a tiny key from my pocket.
“Something your husband should have told you about before today.”
Daniel rushed toward me.
“Mom, don’t!”
But Brittany had already grabbed the key.
She slipped it into the lock and turned the key.
Inside were a brass house key, a photograph of my husband Paul and me, and a folded letter.
Brittany picked up the key first.
“Is this for the front door?”
“No. It’s for the basement apartment.”
She smiled at Daniel. “See? I told you she’d come around.”
Then she unfolded the letter.
I watched her expression change as she read.
“Temporary use?” she said. “For three months?”
She flipped the page over.
“What’s this about a private entrance and separate living arrangements?”
“Those were the conditions I wanted to discuss with Daniel,” I said.
