Page 140 of Last Letters to Ara
I snort. I’m sure he graduated law school long beforeLegally Blondecame out, but I can’t imagine I’m the only client who thought that was funny. I make a little tapping sound before gingerly opening his door.
Mr. Woods stands up to shake my hand and motions me to a chair in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat, Miss Scott.”
“You can call me Ara.”
“Ara.” He smiles. “We’ve had these documents ready for…a while…so you really only need to sign a few things and it will all be settled.”
Good. The sooner I’m out of here, the better.
“I also have this.” Thankfully, he only glances at the letter. I was afraid he would take it from me and keep it as evidence of some kind.
“Right. Let’s start with these first, and I’ll have Lois prepare the documents for that account as well.” He makes a call, giving his secretary specific instructions before going into a very detailed description of my inheritance and the responsibilities which come with it.
The amount of work my dad put in to make sure I would be okay becomes quickly and obviously clear. It’s not lost on me that due to my unwillingness to come in, Mr. Woods and his secretary have been managing everything for me until I was ready.
“Mr. Woods, I’m sorry about not coming in sooner, I just–”
He holds up his hands, pausing me. “Please, call me Warner.”
“Warner.”
“I’ve had no problem assisting, I can’t imagine what you must be going through.” He gives me a sad smile. “I knew you’d show up eventually and William was a friend. I was willing to help manage the affairs as long as necessary, until you were ready.”
Warner hands me a small stack of papers, watching as my eyes physically bug out of my face when I take in the value of the assets and accounts I’m inheriting.
“Ara, while you’re more than capable of handling things on your own, this is a lot to come into all at once. I would recommend getting the help of an accountant.”
I nod. “I was planning to contact someone from the office where my dad worked.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me.”
We wrap it up quicker than expected, and I realize there is one more thing I need to do.
I text Theo an address and walk to my car, thanking Lois on the way out.
• • •
I had expected to find a year’s worth of rotten food and layers of dust at least a few inches high, but I should have known better. Everything in my dad’s house is perfect.
The kitchen pantry is empty, along with the refrigerator, which has been turned off and left open so as not to smell. White sheets have been draped over every piece of furniture, and the drawers and closets have already been emptied. The only things that remain are a box of sentimentals along with the furniture, someone having put in hours of work to get this place in such an organized, ready to be dealt with condition.
Theo drops to the couch next to me. Maybe it was the effect of walking into a home which is no longer a home to someone, but he had to take a few minutes to himself after coming in the door. He ran his hand over my dad’s recliner and smiled at the closet near the kitchen.
“This seems like the place you can walk into, and five minutes later it feels like a home.” Something about his words run deep. “What do you plan on doing with it?”
“I’m going to keep it.” My dad was smart and paid off his mortgage as quickly as he could. It would be silly to sell an asset which will only increase in value over time. “Hopefully I can find a beautiful family to live here who will love it as much as he did.”
Theo’s arm wraps around my shoulder, bringing me in close. “And the rest of it?”
I know he’s asking what I’ll do with the inheritance. “Well, hopefully the accountants will have some input for whatever leftover there is, but I plan to use as much as it takes to create my own line.”
Whether a woman is a size thirty or double zero, I want to create a brand that makes them feel nothing short of beautiful.
Theo - Last Year
WILLIAM HASN’T SAIDanything to me in days. I’ve come to miss his smile and his laugh. It’s as if the energy and light he pours into this world has slowly been slipping away. With every dose of painkillers and bout of pain, there is a little bit less of him left.
The past three days have proven to me that William has done right by his daughter. He’s no longer the man I’ve come to cherish and love these past couple months. His decline came faster than I could have predicted, sweeping him away too fast. It feels like just yesterday that we were drinking beers, laughing at nothing, and yet somehow, it couldn’t seem further away.
