Story: The Brothers' Choice

“This is a very fine clock,” said Lawrence’s friend, stopping in the hallway.
“Of course, you’re a collector,” Lawrence replied. He gave his friend the drink.
“Where did you get it?”
“It was my dad’s. He collected clocks too. He bought them at auction, even if they were old and broken and dirty. Then he fixed them and made them beautiful again. This was his favourite.”
“But I thought your father left you nothing in his will?”
“That’s not completely true. When he died, my brothers and I met his lawyer…”
Thirty years earlier, the three brothers sat down in the lawyer’s office.
“Just tell us what he’s giving us,” said Lawrence’s older brother.
The lawyer turned the paper over, and read aloud: “My house and all my belongings shall be auctioned. The money shall be given to my sons…”
“Hooray!” said Lawrence’s younger brother.
“…who must decide which charity to donate it to.”
“Charity?!”
“I suggest we donate it to medical research,” said Lawrence. “Dad’s disease was —”
“Whatever,” said the older brother. “You decide.”
The lawyer coughed. “There is something else,” she said. She continued reading: “Before the auction, each son may choose any one item to keep for sentimental reasons.”
“I’m taking the TV,” said the younger brother immediately.
“I am now dead,” the lawyer continued, “but I have one last piece of advice for my sons. There’s —”
Lawrence’s brothers ran out of the room. Seconds later, he heard their cars drive away.
“There’s nothing more valuable than good memories,” the lawyer finished, raising her eyebrows.
“What did your brothers take?” asked Lawrence’s friend, thirty years later. “Did your younger brother really choose the TV?”
“It was a really nice TV. It was gigantic, and it had high-quality speakers. Maybe it was sentimental for him. Dad loved science-fiction films. Although… did my brother ever watch any with him? I don’t remember now.”
“And your older brother?”
“Dad’s car. He crashed it two weeks later.”
“And you chose this clock?”
“My dad would take clocks apart, fix every piece, and put them together again. I helped by bringing different tools, and he taught me how everything worked. We worked on this clock for weeks, when I was about fourteen. Those are good memories.”
“But, Lawrence, do you realise how good your choice was? This is a Ludovic Évrard Horstenbach clock! It must be the only one in the world that’s in complete working condition. Lawrence, you could sell it for millions!”
“I know. Someone else also told me that… about twenty-six years ago.”