The Request

Cecilia’s hands trembled where they clenched the steering wheel of her 1990 blue Porsche. It was the first car she’d ever had—a gift from her Mom for graduation. They hadn’t been able to afford one when she turned sixteen and got her driver’s license, but Cecilia was alright riding the bus back and forth—even though most kids her age already had their own vehicles by that time and could go wherever they wanted. Still, it was a wonderful gift, especially since she knew her mom couldn’t have afforded it. 

But now that she had a job working for the local art gallery, it was perfect timing, since she could use it to travel back and forth. Sweat beaded along her forehead and she struggled to catch her breath. 

What in the world was she doing here? Her mind replayed the words of the letter over and over again, but they still didn’t make sense—even if she did understand them perfectly fine.

Dear Cecilia,

You are a hard girl to find. I would have written an email or something more modern, but I was actually able to find your address thanks to a friend of your mother's. You don’t know me, but my name is Todd Salzman and I’m your uncle—your father’s brother.

I don’t have any children of my own, so I suppose you’re the closest person I have to family. That is the reason why I’m writing you this letter while I’m here on my deathbed. You see, I’m giving you my inheritance—four million dollars. 

I don’t know how much your mother has told you about my brother, Jacob—your father—but he’s been in prison for some time now. I worry about him; I’ve gone to visit him once-a-week since he was first arrested. So, this inheritance comes with a bit of a catch. 

In order to fully inherit your new money, you must sign the agreement attached below. The agreement states that you will visit your father in prison once-a-week as long as you can. I didn’t want you to feel trapped, which was the reason I didn’t include a specific date or anything. 

I know that you haven’t had a relationship with your father. You might not even know his name. But he doesn’t have anyone now that I’m dying and I’m afraid to leave him. He and I were always so close and I guess I just want to make sure he has someone.

I’m not ordering you to have a relationship with him or even get to know him; you don’t have to act like a daughter to him if that isn’t what you want. I just want someone to visit him. Where he is, life is tough. He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he’s a good man—deep inside, I know he is. 

I hope that you give it a thought, regardless of any preconceived notions you may already have about him—or even about me. 

I hope that you’ve had a good life, Cecilia, and I would have liked to have met you at least once. 

Sincerely,

Your loving uncle, Todd 

She had already read it enough times to have it fully memorized.

Now, she was sitting here in her Porsche in the parking lot of an actual prison. This—none of it was right. Cecilia was just your average young woman—fresh out of high school, slaving away at a place that overworked and underpaid her in hopes of one day getting her dream job, and most importantly, she was introverted.

Anti-social. All throughout high school, she’d only had one friend and even then, they didn’t talk too much. It was a friendship of convenience because they always shared a lot of classes, but now that the two girls had graduated, they had lost contact. Cecilia was okay with that; talking to people made her nervous. 

Now, a woman that had to pre-plan conversations for checking out at the store was about to waltz into a prison to see a man who was her biological father, but also a criminal. 

This was insane.

Several times, she thought about just backing out. After all, she’d never been rich before, so why did she need four million dollars now? 

But then she imagined just how much four million could impact her life and her mother’s life. Then, she thought maybe it was worth it.

As she stepped out of the car and closed her door, she swallowed deeply with shaking hands. Then again, maybe it wasn’t worth it. 

It was hard to put a price on insecurities and the fear of talking to another human being, Cecilia contemplated as she made her way to the front doors of the prison. Part of her hoped it would be closed, but they slid right open. 

Just tell her your name and that you’re here to see a prisoner. No, that sounds stupid, Cecilia thought. Maybe you can just ask her about his name—Jacob Saltzman and that you’re here to see him if that’s—

“Can I help you?” A middle-aged blonde woman sat in a chair behind a counter. The room itself was small—just a waiting room on the left with the counter directly across from the doors. Naturally, the woman had interrupted her thoughts, so Cecilia completely blanked on what she was supposed to say.

“U—u—uh, um… I—Jacob Saltzman… I—I think I’m here to see him,” she blurted out in a rush.

The woman nodded and grabbed a piece of paper. “Fill this out while I check to see if you’re on his visitation list.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened, but she took the paper and sat down to fill it out. 

All in all, it took about an hour for them to go through her paperwork and accept her application. What surprised her was that Jacob apparently did have her listed on his visitation list—what in the world was he thinking, that she would come to see him one day? It blew her mind to think about when he never showed interest in her before after he ran off—at least, according to her mother.

They checked her for restricted items and searched her purse. After that, an officer escorted her to the visiting room. It looked similar to a high-school cafeteria except the walls were gray and the place itself seemed dull. Either way, to her, it was a nightmare. 

Guards patrolled the sides and people sat at circular tables across from each other. The officer leading her explained the rules—no touching or giving any items to him. 

Her stomach churned and she felt like she was going to be sick. Cecilia’s entire body trembled and she broke out in a cold sweat all over her body.

“Have a seat.” The officer pointed to a chair. She sat down, rubbing her clammy hands on her pants as she licked her lips and tried to remember how to breathe. 

This was the most reckless thing she had ever done. What if there was a prison riot or something? What would she even say to Jacob? All her life, she had grown up without a father and hadn’t really needed one. Her mother did a great job for both parent roles. And she had no desire to get to know a man who abandoned her and her mother before she could even talk. 

Now, here she was. 

The four million dollars most definitely wasn’t worth this. 

An officer strode out from a door across the visiting room, gripping the arm of a man with long hair—even longer than hers—and a goatee and beard. He had muscles on his body and a broad chest, but what shocked Cecilia was his height. She’d always been the tallest in her class and she’d shot up over her mother back in ninth grade. It was so hard to date boys when you were an introvert who stood taller than most of them. 

Jacob’s eyes widened as the officer sat him down. He didn’t move or blink or say anything.

All Cecilia wanted to do was throw up, but she couldn’t swallow back the bile or stop the queasiness of her stomach. 

“C—Cecilia? Is that really you?” Jacob gasped.

All she could do was nod. Why couldn’t she say anything? It was like the words were right there at the edge of her tongue. 

“T—Todd wanted me to come.”

Jacob frowned. “Wait… How did Todd get in contact with you? And why would he ask you to come here alone?”

It felt like her blood had just turned to ice. 

Jacob didn’t know about Todd’s death yet.

She—the shy, introverted young woman who had no friends— was going to have to be the one to tell her biological father, a stranger, that his brother was dead. 

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” Jacob asked, his voice wavering. “I know Todd. He would have been here. H—how did you even know to come here?”

Cecilia swallowed deeply, but her mouth felt too dry—like she’d been waltzing around in the desert all day. “U—um… no one told you?”

That probably wasn’t the best way to lead into things.

Jacob’s jaw clenched and his muscles tensed. “What happened?” His voice rose in urgency.

Cecilia couldn’t meet his gaze as she mumbled her quick response. “Todd’s dead.”

Jacob’s chair scooted back. When she looked back up at him, it was scooted back and she realized he must have flinched. “How?” He glared at the table with tears in his eyes, but he didn’t shed them.

Cecilia shook her head. “I—I don’t know. I wasn’t told the details. Bu—but he gave this to me. It came in the mail.” For a minute, she fumbled inside her purse, but the more she tried to hurry, the more items she dropped on the floor. Finally, she took out the letter and placed it on the table. Just as she started to slide it across to him, an officer stalked over and snatched it.

“Miss, you can’t hand the prisoners anything.”

Heat flooded her cheeks and she would have given anything to just disappear.

No inheritance was worth this.

“S—sorry.”

Jacob’s eyes stared up at the officer, pleading with him. “Please. M—my brother’s dead and all she has is that letter from him.”

Seeing the pain on his expression made Cecilia’s stomach twist. Pursing her lips, she looked up at the officer and tried to muster up her courage. Instead, all that she had was a racing heart and breathing that sounded like she’d just run a marathon.

“You know the rules, Jacob,” the officer said. He shot Cecilia a look and then started to walk off.

“W—wait. C—could I just read it to him?” Cecilia asked, breathless.

The officer crossed his arms. “Alright, but I’m standing right here.”

Cecilia nodded, took the letter, and cleared her throat as she read it to him.

When she finished, Jacob closed his eyes, shoulders heaving, but she still didn’t see any tears.

“I—I’m sorry.” The words sounded feeble, but she didn’t know what else to say. What was she supposed to say to her biological father whom she didn’t even know?

Jacob was basically a stranger.

And she wasn’t exactly good at making friends—or dealing with strangers. Let alone criminals.

“D—did your mother tell you about me?” Jacob opened his eyes, but there were still no tears in them.

Cecilia shook her head. “Just your name.” She bit her lower lip. The last thing she would admit was that she had no interest in getting to know him. Then again, she had read him the letter. If she hadn’t come here by now, he likely already knew she was just in it for the money.

“Thanks for coming, Cecilia.” Jacob cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “But you don’t have to feel obligated to keep visiting. It isn’t like my brother hired anyone to make sure you obeyed the contract.” Before she even had a chance to respond, he stood and motioned for the officer.

What was he doing?

The officer grabbed his arm and led him to the door.

“Wait! Wait, why are you doing this?” Cecilia called after him.

Jacob glanced at her over his shoulder. “I don’t want to be a burden to you. You’ve grown into a fine young woman and I want you to go live your life in a way that makes your mother proud.” He smiled at her and something about it made her feel warm.

Why? Since he was a criminal, that was the last thing it should have made her feel.

“Maybe I’ll come back next week then,” she blurted before she could stop herself.

But the officer took him through the doors and back into the prison.

Cecilia stared at the letter in her hands, reading over the words she had already memorized.

She didn’t know Todd, but why would a man have given a complete stranger his entire inheritance?

Unless he was that desperate to make sure Jacob had someone to be there for him after he died.

As she walked back to her Porsche, she debated whether it really was a burden to keep coming back here.

A good person would have said no, or that coming here to visit with a prisoner was just doing their duty or something.

But Cecilia was and always would be introverted and this…

This request wasn’t just beyond her comfort zone—it was in a completely different universe.