Diane opened her mouth first. “Momma, nobody’s trying to upset you.”
But Momma Jean just looked at her for a second and said, “Funny how every meeting about my money keeps happening at YOUR table.”
Nobody moved after that.
Mark gave this fake little chuckle. “We’re only trying to help.”
“With what?” she asked. “Spending it faster?”
My husband actually looked down at his plate trying not to smile.
Diane slid the papers a little closer. “Mama, if something happens to you, we need a plan.”
Momma Jean nodded slowly. “I already made one.”
That got everybody’s attention.
Diane blinked. “What?”
Momma Jean reached into her purse and pulled out a folded envelope. Not dramatic about it either. Just calm. Like she’d been carrying coupons around all day.
Then she handed it straight to my husband.
“I stopped by Mr. Halpern’s office Friday,” she said. “Figured I should finally put things in writing before y’all held another meeting about me without me.”
The room went dead quiet.
Mark immediately sat forward. “What exactly did you sign?”
Momma Jean looked him dead in the face.
“The paperwork making sure nobody at this table can sell my house, touch my accounts, or ‘take control’ of anything while I’m still breathing.”
Diane’s face went completely pale.
Then Momma Jean picked up her tea again and added, “And since some of y’all seem real concerned about my memory, Mr. Halpern recorded the whole meeting.”
Nobody even looked at the dessert after that.
Diane just sat there staring at the papers she’d brought like they suddenly belonged to somebody else.