Entangled

The atmosphere was tense. His mother seated beside him looked rather frigid, a contrast to the woman who had been wailing and sobbing the day before. She looked classy and flawless in her black dress accentuated with a pair of pearl earrings and a pearl necklace, her face devoid of any emotion whatsoever. He glanced at his wristwatch, an hour had passed and there was still no sign of the attorney. They were waiting for his father’s lawyer, it was the day they had all been waiting for, his mother, himself and his lawyer. The day his father’s will would be read. Sitting there did him no good, only reminded him of his soulless childhood memories. Memories that were long pushed into the abyss of his past. Everyone knew that the marriage between his father and his mother was merely one for convenience, and this had affected his childhood. Not that he was complaining or anything, he was living his best life with no commitments whatsoever. And the thought of a commitment reminded him of the sexy Russian model he was going to meet tonight, and that caused an uncomfortable stirring in his loins. “Good morning!” His father’s lawyer, Sean greeted as he walked into the drawing room, commanding the entire room. Sean was an ambitious old man, critical and highly intelligent. At sixty, he was already retired leaving his chambers to his only daughter. His daughter followed closely behind him, dressed in a simple corporate dress. Gregory got up and gave him a firm handshake. “Hello Sean” “This is my daughter, Eva.” Sean introduced with a glint in his eyes, something Greg was always able to recognize from parents who wanted to match him with their daughters. “Hello, Eva.” He was replied with a shy smile. The old man greeted Mrs.Dobbleman with a kiss on her cheek, the younger lawyer with a curt handshake then walked to sit on a sofa. His daughter also sat beside him. “Again I’m so sorry for your loss, Mr. Dobbleman was a respected friend and will–” “Can we just get to the reason why we are here?” Mrs. Dobbleman interrupted. “That’s okay.” The old man unlocked his briefcase. He brought out a file that had carefully stacked papers in it and then opened it. “Last Will of Late Mr. Raymond Dobbleman” Then he flipped a page and began reading. “Hello my family, I realized a lot while I lived my last days in an old people home-” Mrs. Dobbleman cut in, “Can you just skip all of that?” Sean looked up from his task, “ I’m afraid this is important, everything written in here must be read.” “Mother, let him do this.” Greg chided Not waiting for a ‘go ahead’, Sean continued knowing he had the power at that moment over the family. “ I have learned that life is in all simplicity. I have lived a lifetime of struggle, with no impact on the world, but I have no regrets now because I enjoyed every bit of my last days on earth. Now I have a whole lot more to say but I know you’re not interested in half of them anyway-" Greg grunted. Sean flipped a page and continued “List of Significant assets. Real Estate: Primary Residences are listed on pages 5, Vacation Homes are listed on pages 7-11, Rental Properties are listed on pages 12-20, Landed Properties are listed on pages 21-30, and Timeshares are listed on pages 31-40. All financial accounts including Bank accounts, Certificates of deposit, Money market accounts, Brokerage, Stocks and other financial accounts listed on pages 40-50.” He paused to glance at the family “We can review the list of the assets if you want.” “That’s not necessary.” Mrs. Dobbleman said Sean continued his reading. “I bequeath the following assets; My Primary residence in New York and 2% of my holdings shares of my company to My wife, Diane Dobbleman. My company, Dob Telecommunications and 49% of my holding shares are now given to my son, Gregory Dobbleman. Vacation homes in California and Miami should be given to my wife, Diane Dobbleman. The remaining vacation homes should be given to my son, Gregory Dobbleman. All my financial accounts, 49% of my holding shares, all my Timeshares, all landed and rental properties and other financial assets will be transferred to Gracie Terrell.” “Who?” “What?” Sean closed the file. “That’s all” Diane stood in fury, “Who the hell is Grace Terrell?” “Gracie. Gracie Terrell.” Sean corrected “I don’t care what her name is.” She spat “Such a conniving bitch.” Sean stood, and his daughter did the same “I’m afraid my job here is done.” Diane whipped her head in his direction. “Your job here is not finished.” She took menacing steps toward him “You will tell me who the hell that b***h is for my husband to will almost all his assets to her.” “I don’t believe this.” Greg muttered in disbelief. The old man might even be laughing right now in his grave. After making his family spend so much on him for a funeral, the best thing the old man could have given them was his properties, but no, he had to give them to a scheming–probably a young woman. Greg was certainly not going to let this go. “Maybe he was drugged, are you sure he was in his right senses when he wrote this?” Diane asked “I can assure you that he was in his right state of mind,” Sean replied calmly “You do realize that if that is not true, you could be sued for forgery.” Davies, Greg’s lawyer who had been silent, spoke. “I should know better than to forge a will.” Sean rummaged through his briefcase and then handed a paper to the young lawyer. “What does it say?” Greg asked “Your father was of a sound mind,” Davies replied, reading the sheet “I don’t believe this.” Diane flopped into a chair. “Who is this woman? Was she a mistress?” “I’m afraid I’m as clueless as you are.” Sean gave a curt bow “I will be back soon for the legal transfer of the documents.” With that, he left with his daughter. No one said anything to each other, each trying to make a point from what had just happened. Greg let out a cynical laugh and reached for his phone. He dialed a number and barked orders into his phone “Sam, I need all information you can get on a Gracie Terrell as soon as possible.” It was a gloomy day. The clouds still had rain in them even though it had rained all through the night. But she couldn't care less about the weather, she had lost a patient that morning, Sara Dona; one of the sweetest souls in the nursing home, had been urinated on by the diabetic Paula, and had changed a couple of old people's nappies. The day was not exactly one anyone would wish for. Gracie knew that it was all part of the job, it took so much from a person but she loved it with every bit of her. She loved working in the old people's homes, listening out for their experiences, and most times she played the bingo game with the oldies. Gracie worked as a hospice nurse, often assigned to old people who were terminally ill. Her life was a predictable routine involving mostly her patients with no time left for herself. Staring at her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, she saw how pale her skin looked, her hair which she had hurriedly tied up into a ponytail in the morning, was already escaping the band. She retied her hair and washed her hands in the sink. A glance at her wristwatch told her how much time she had left. She had one more patient left to call it a day. She was already envisioning spending the weekend cuddled up and resting. “Nurse Terrell, Do you have the vital reports for the patient in ward 1109?” Dr. Miller, the one person she had been avoiding all day, asked. Dr. Taylor Miller was one of the new doctors who had started working with the home. He was a hardworking man and a very persistent person, so persistent that he had always been asking for a date with her. Gracie didn’t think him as a horrible person, but she just wasn’t attracted to him in any way. “You mean Warren, his reports are with Nurse Smith.” She replied “You look good by the way.” He gave her a toothed grin. She mentally rolled her eyes, “Thank you.” “Do you have plans for the weekend?” “Umm.. yes I do.” “Oh! I was hoping to take you up to dinner tonight.” “Tonight can’t work, don’t you get tired after all the day’s work?” She asked He chuckled, “You’re funny. Dinner dates are not exhausting.” Maybe if she agrees to a date night, he might stop the pestering, She thought. “Fine, I’ll go out with you.” “Really?” He yelled in excitement and squished her into a hug, his stethoscope jabbing her rib. “Do you want me to pick you up at your place or would you meet me?” She wasn’t very comfortable with people coming to her apartment. “I’ll meet you.” She replied with a sigh “Great! DotMas at eight.” He kissed her cheek and walked past her. “I’m happy you finally said yes to that one.” Dolly, one of the patients yelled from her open room. Gracie smiled in response and continued her trip to her patient’s room. With a single knock on the door and a weak ‘come in’, she strolled into Helen’s room. Helen was a patient in her late seventies with Alzheimer’s, barely able to recognize anyone or anything, but was a happy soul. Sadly, she had no one to visit her. Gracie walked to her bedside to read her vital chart, “My husband visited today.” She said and dragged herself to sit. “Really?” “Yes. And I am not ready to meet the old drunk yet.” “Okay.” Gracie replied with a smile “Your vitals look good.” “I know, I told you I’m not ready to go yet.” The day finally came to an end. At 5:45 pm, she was home preparing for the date; a quick shower before her makeup and at eight on the dot she was heading to DotMas.