Part 2: My son h.i.t me 30 times in front of his wife… so the next morning, while he sat in his office, I sold the house he thought was his.

I heard the details from Daniel that evening.

For several minutes, I said nothing.

Then I asked, “Did he mention my age?”

Daniel hesitated.

“Yes.”

I smiled bitterly.

Of course he had.

When I was thirty, men told me I was too young to run a property business.

At forty, they said I was too emotional.

At fifty, too ambitious.

At sixty, too stubborn.

Now, at seventy-one, they wanted to call me confused.

I looked at Daniel.

“Malcolm is about to discover that old age hasn’t made me stupid.”

My attorney smiled.

But something about that smile bothered me.

It arrived a second too late.

***

Three days later, I returned to Cedarline’s headquarters.

The building stood in the financial district.

Twenty floors of glass and steel.

Henry and I had once dreamed of owning a single office there.

Now our company occupied the upper four floors.

The receptionist stood when I entered.