An Unlikely Friendship

From: Leif’s Legacy

Leif reads the will that Harald had prepared for him. “I never had a reason to distrust him, he thought, chewing on Harald’s betrayal. Not until he buried that power of attorney crap without telling me. As if I wouldn’t notice.” The power of attorney gives Harald the legal standing to put Leif in a nursing home and sell or develop the farm for his support. Leif visits his own attorney to make some changes in the draft. Karla is Leif’s daughter who has been estranged from him until recently. Her opinion will become central to the resolution.

Morris Isaacs had a private law practice on the second floor of the Heath Block, a yellow brick building with tall, arched windows and brick filigree at the cornices. The lawyer was a trim man in his early sixties who wore brownish suits the color of his thinning hair and mellow eyes. These last fifteen years of private practice were much quieter than the previous fifteen as the state’s deputy attorney general. And yet, he missed the excitement. He heard the street door open and then shut followed by a slow tread up the stairs. Leif, he thought when he heard the client catch his breath at the landing.

Their unlikely friendship began shortly after Isaacs moved to Featherstone. He asked the ranger to teach him the art of fly fishing. Leif had just bought the Chevy van and told him he had “jewed down the price and got a great deal.” Isaacs had heard that slur all his life. An insult on so many levels.

He had looked Leif in the eye and said, “I take that comment personally. In case you don’t know it, I’m Jewish.” Leif opened and shut his mouth. With some heat, Isaacs said his immigrant grandfather went from town to town peddling dry goods from a wagon until he opened a store in Rochester. His father ran the store, bought a house and sent Isaacs to college. He remembered how Leif hung his head and said he was sorry. It was something he heard at home. To drive the point home, Isaacs said he didn’t tolerate prejudice but offered his hand. After that, the friendship ripened while fishing together.

“I want to make my will,” Leif said as he accepted the proffered cup of instant Nescafe. “Harald’s convinced I’m going to croak any minute now,” he laughed as if the idea were ridiculous but mirth produced coughing. “I promised Karla I’d do it. Now Harald had his lawyer draft this one without consulting me.” He shoved the papers toward Isaacs. “Take a look.”

“I see,” Isaacs said after he read it. “This one’s complete. All you have to do is fill in a couple of blanks and sign it. Is this what you want?”

“No. First off, he didn’t consult me. Some of the language is all right I guess. Second of all, I want to make a few changes.” He picked up Isaacs’ fountain pen, crossed out several words and wrote others in the space above them. Then he pushed the pages across the desk.

“This is fine but I think we should discuss the implications.”

“Nope. This is what I want to do if it looks legal to you.”

“Yes, this is fine. I’ll have a revised version typed up. Come back after lunch. I’ll have witnesses and a notary for your signature.”

That’s what I like about Morrie, he thought going down the stairs. No double-talk, no pussyfooting. Just straight to the point.

From this point forward, Isaacs and the designated heir will assume a larger role as the story unfolds.

While developing the story, I saw that Leif needed a lawyer, a lawyer who would look after his interests. I thought about the kind of lawyer a man like Leif would hire. Instead of a generic lawyer or the wizened country type, why not a man as unlikely as Leif? As I explored possible backstories, I came up with a non-practicing Jewish one, a former deputy attorney general, who moved to Featherstone after a heart attack. He asked Leif to teach him.

In this scene, we see Leif expose the unconscious prejudice that still hasn’t vanished and Isaacs calls him out for it from a deep well of experience. Yet each man can reach the other: Leif apologizes, and Isaacs extends a hand.

Have you ever put your foot into it the way Leif did and how did you react upon knowing you had?