The morning after Master Kwan died, Tommy called the lawyer's office and found out which funeral home was handling Mr. Kwan's burial. He called the funeral home next and learned that Mr. Kwan had left orders to be cremated, and that there was to be no service or calling hours.
He did manage to convince the funeral director to allow him to do a Buddhist service, however, and did that the next day, after his Sensei had been cremated. Conducting the rituals in front of the brass urn holding Sensei's ashes felt odd, but he managed to get through it. When he finished, the funeral director advised him Kwan's remains were to be shipped back to Okinawa so he could be buried with his family.
For a couple of weeks after Kwan's death, things went on as usual in the young man's life. His affairs with his aunt and cousin continued, and he continued to take Tina home after work. There was no sign of Tina's ex-husband, something that gave the young man great pleasure.
"Tommy, there's a lawyer on the phone. He says he has to talk with you," Aunt Karen said, awakening Tommy one morning about two weeks after his Sensei's death.
The young man struggled awake, climbed out of bed and slipped into some clothes, then went out to answer the phone. "Hello?" he said, still a little groggy.
Aunt Karen stood watching, looking confused.
"Is this Thomas Jackson?" the man on the phone asked.
"Ah, yeah, it is," Tommy replied.
"My name is Alden Brothers," the man said. "My firm represented Lee Kwan. We helped him compose his will and are the executors for his estate."
"Yes?" Tommy replied. He was confused. Why was the lawyer calling him?
"As you know," the lawyer continued, "Mr. Kwan had no known living relatives."
"I know," Tommy said, "they were all killed during the war."
"That was my understanding, too," the attorney continued. "Since he had no relatives, Mr. Kwan designated you as his sole heir."
"He...he what?" Tommy gasped, stunned.
"You are sole heir to Mr. Kwan's estate," the man repeated. "An estate, I might add, with substantial assets. I'm not sure if you were aware of it, but Mr. Kwan was an extremely wealthy man."
"I-I had no idea..." Tommy stammered. He found it hard to believe Sensei named him as his heir, much less that Master Kwan had been wealthy. "He...he never told me..."
"It doesn't surprise me you didn't know," attorney Brothers went on, "Mister Kwan lived very frugally. At one time he owned considerable real estate in Tokyo and sold it at a substantial profit when he moved to this country. As you may know, property values in Japan are extremely high, so he was able to get a large return on his investment. Not only that, he also had extensive property holdings in this country as well."
"He...he did?" Tommy stammered. He couldn't believe this was happening. He'd never given much thought to Kwan's life outside the dojo. He thought Sensei's only source of income was the dojo, and that he didn't make that much from that.
"You sound startled," the lawyer said. "I suggest we get together later today and I'll explain all this to you."
"Yeah, sure," Tommy said. "Ah...when?"
"Your aunt said you were sleeping when I called," the lawyer said.
"Ah, yeah, I, uh, I was up late last night. I work evenings," Tommy said.
"Yes, well, I'll allow you a chance to have breakfast," the lawyer went on. "Why don't you plan on being here, say, at eleven?"
"Eleven? Sure," Tommy said. "I'll be there."
"I look forward to meeting you," the attorney said. "Mister Kwan spoke very highly of you."
"What was that all about?" Aunt Karen asked when Tommy put the phone down. "Why did that lawyer call you?"
"Ah, well..." Tommy said. He wasn't sure how to explain it. "I've been taking karate lessons from a man in North Hampden. He died a couple of week ago and..." He told his aunt the whole story, at least as much of it as he knew.
"He left you all his money?" his ashen-faced aunt said when he finished.
