I never met my uncle. Hell, honestly, I never knew he existed until he died. My parents passed away

in a car wreck when I was still in infant, and most of my life had been spent bouncing from one

lousy foster home to another. Family services seemed certain that I had no living relatives,

so I had been fairly shocked when a lawyer sent me a letter informing me that my uncle had passed

away, leaving me with an undisclosed inheritance. As I sit across from Mr. Naesmith,

my uncle's estate lawyer, my frustration with the man began to swell. He stared down at stacks of

paper babbling away, and I couldn't understand a damn word he was saying. I'd been born deaf,

but could read lips very well. While I had explained this to the man at the beginning of our

conversation, Mr. Naesmith seemed to forget my condition. Mr. Naesmith, if you could look at me while

you talk, I can read your lips to follow along. The man looked at me and smiled apologetically as he

ran a hand through his thinning hair. You could easily see the discomfort and embarrassment on his face,

as he realized he had done it again. I felt a pang of guilt for being angry with him.

He had done his best to stay mindful of my need to see his mouth as he spoke.

The sheer amount of paperwork on his desk must have made his mind wander.

I'm sorry, Mr. Kirkwood. Your uncle was deaf as well. You would think I could remember such things,

but I am scatterbrained. Again, my apologies. As I said, your uncle has left you a reasonably

large sum of money, a house on a 20-acre lot, and all of the possessions within the home.

There is a detailed summary of all the items within the home. Do you have any questions?

I sat dumbfounded before the messy desk. My life had never been an easy one. Disability aside,

the foster care system hadn't set me up for success, and I had spent my early 20s floundering

before I finally managed to get a job working from home as a medical transcriptionist.

The pay was decent for a job that didn't require a degree, but I still struggled to make ends meet.

...