The coroner's office said they would release my father's body to whatever funeral home I give them the address for. Funeral home? Did my father have one picked out already? Who would he use? Did it matter? I hoped the lawyer would have answers for me.

I checked in with Tina. The lawyer could meet with me at 1 o'clock today. It was now 11:30. I asked Tina to meet me at my house for lunch. My mother was still sleeping.

As I made us some sandwiches from the groceries I purchased yesterday Tina sat at the counter. "Do you like mayo or mustard?" I asked.

"Dry is fine."

I shrugged and put the last piece of bread in place before handing her, her plate. "My mom is still asleep. Is that normal?" I asked.

"Yes, especially after the night she had last night."

"Should I wake her before we go to the lawyers?" I joined Tina at the counter.

Tina held up a finger and took a moment to swallow the bite she had taken of her sandwich. "You should probably let her sleep. I brought my laptop. I'll just work from here."

"Okay, if she wakes up before then I'll let her make the choice. The coroner's office said they sent the report but I'm guessing they sent it to the office because there was nothing sent here."

"I have the mail with me. Do you want me to check?" Tina asked pointing to some invisible object in the other room.

"No, it's fine. I'll deal with that when I get back. I just want to get this over with. I really hope the lawyer has some information for me."

"I'm sure he will Alex. It's not called a last will and testament for nothing. It's sort of a key component of making a will."

Making a will. I haven't even considered the idea. I had no possession or reason to be concerned before but now that I was responsible for so much. I really should ask the lawyer about making one up for myself.

"How are you doing?" Tina's question pulled me from my thoughts.

"Me? I'm fine."

Her eyebrow rose above her glass frames. Clearly showing me that she doesn't believe me. I can't say I blame her. I'm not certain I believe myself.

"You know you'll have to process all this at some point."

I shrugged as I ate my lunch. "Yes, but doesn't need to be now." I can't begin to process anything now. It's too much for one mind to comprehend and then the desire to fall to pieces wants to kick in and I can't let that happen right now.

"I hope you know if you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me."

I gave Tina a small smile. "Of course, thank you."

However, if I was going to talk to anyone it was going to be Cat or William... Cat? SHIT! I was supposed to call her. As if my very thoughts summoned her, the phone rings and I see her picture light up my phone demanding I answer.

I don't even give her a chance to talk before I start with, "Cat! I'm so sorry. I meant to call you. It's been crazy..." I get up off my chair and walk into the other room to continue the conversation.

"You had me worried about you. William too," she said.

"I'm so sorry. It's been... today... I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I forgot..."

"What's wrong?"

"What do mean?" I asked.

"I can hear it in your voice. Something's happened. What is it?"

I sighed as I flopped onto the sofa. "Everything is so screwed up, Cat. I don't even know where to begin to fix it all."

"That's it! I'm coming. Screw waiting for this weekend. I hate being here while you're dealing with all this stuff on your own."

"Did you want something to drink?" Tina asked upon entering the room to place my partially eaten sandwich in front of me. I shake my head no and she walks back into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Cat asked.

"Tina," I tell her.

"Are you at your Dad's office? Did I catch you at a bad time? Because I can go if you want?"

"No, I'm home."

"Home? Then what's Tina doing there?"

I could hear the note of jealousy in Cat's question. I understand but I really wish she could be more accepting about this. "Tina is going to stay with my mom when I go to see the lawyer. My mom... she's... she's not well and I can't really leave her on her own."

"Your mom is sick? How sick?" Cat asked with concern.

"The kind of sick you don't get better from."

"Oh..." came the soft whispered word as the understanding of the situation I'm in sunk in.

"Alex, you really shouldn't be going through this alone. It's too much."

"I'm going to the lawyer's today. My dad's body will be released to the funeral home but I need to find out if he had someplace in mind. That requires me to meet with the lawyer about the will. Once I have all that in place a lot more decisions can be made."

"Look, I'll see if I can't get a leave of absence. Even if it's just for a few days. I'll come up and..."

Cat stopped talking and I wondered why. Then I heard...

"Damn it, I can't. I have the ultrasound appointment tomorrow. I'll come after it's over."

"The ultrasound... Cat I'll get to you. We'll go together. I know how important this is to you. You don't have to worry. I'll figure something out."

Cat remained quiet on the other end until I heard, "Don't worry about it, Alex. Honestly, I'll be fine. I promise to call you when it's over. We'll meet up and I'll tell you every detail. I just don't want you to have to worry about me on top of everything else you're dealing with."

"Are you crazy? This is huge, Cat. I have every hope that Peanut will be just fine but just in case I... I don't want you having to deal with that on your own. I don't want to have to worry about you driving home upset for any reason."

"Don't worry. I'll find someone to go with me. Okay?"

I really don't like the idea of not being there. Yet, I have no idea what today holds in store or tomorrow and I don't want to make any promises I'm not certain I can keep. So I asked for a promise of my own. "Promise me you won't go alone?"

"I promise," Cat agreed.

"Okay." I felt marginally better knowing Olivia or William or even someone from her family would be with her.

"I gotta go, class is going to start soon, but I'll call you when I get back home. Okay?" she said.

"Yeah."

"I love you," Cat tells me and I smile.

"Love you, too."

Cat hung up and I feel so damn angry. Angry that I'm here and she's there. Angry that I can't be there for her when she really needs me. Angry that I have to deal with all of this and there is no one to relieve the burden.

Tina sets a glass of water down next to my sandwich and sits across from me.

"It gets easier. You just gotta give it some time."

"Yeah? And who made you the god damn expert, huh? Tell me, Tina? You seem to think you have all the answers. So tell me. I'm stuck here trying to fix a life I never wanted to be a part of. Meanwhile, the life I was building for myself I can't tend to. I'm in a constant state of fear that I'm going to screw them both up somehow and end up all alone. So please don't give me some cookie-cutter advice telling me everything is going to be okay, because it's not. It's not okay!"

I see Tina flinch at my words and I want to pull them back but I can't. Now I'm just stuck feeling like an A-hole again. I put my head in my hands and she gets up and sits next to me.

"I understand, Alex. I understand more than you know."

I look up at her. "How can you possibly?"

"I've lost both my parents in a car accident when I was young. I went from foster home to foster home until I was old enough to go out on my own. Thankfully one of the shelters I ended up in had a counselor who helped me get funding, to give me the skills to get a job. I worked hard, I lived on my own and then I applied for the job of being your Dad's assistant. Your Dad was more than just a boss to me, Alex."

"Please don't tell me he was having an affair with you because if you do I can't be held responsible for what might come out of my mouth next," I warned.

A laugh burst out of Tina. "Good heavens no! Ewww! He's old enough to be my dad. That's just sick. That's sick, Alex."

The look on her face made me laugh. "Okay, then what was he to you?"

"A friend. A mentor. Your mom and your dad cared about me and its' been a really long time since I had that feeling. It's been years since I felt part of a family and I do anything to protect them, so... I get it. Okay?"

Her words took me by surprise. I had to admit I felt slightly jealous that she found what I always wanted from my parents, but maybe there was a void in both of their lives at the time they came together. So somehow it just made sense. They lost their children, she lost her parents, and that translated into them becoming a good fit for one another.

"Okay," I conceded.

"You should probably get going. Finish your lunch and I call for the car to come to pick you up to take you to the lawyer's." Tina rose to go make the call and I grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Thank you and I'm sorry... again."

Tina smiled and shook her head at me. "You really need to stop apologizing."

I laughed. "I really need to stop being a jerk to you so I have reason to."

"That too," Tina agreed. I let her go so she could make her call and finished my lunch.

Forty-five minutes later I was sitting inside the lawyer's office, waiting for him to arrive. He was currently elsewhere with another client and his meeting with them was running a little late. I would have rescheduled but it was important that I remain to get this over with.

"Alex Bragin. Sorry to keep waiting so long," he closed the door and took a seat behind the desk extending his hand to me, which I shook.

"How can I help you?"

Lee Michaels was my father's personal lawyer for as long as I could remember.

"I need access to my father's will."

Lee nodded and called to his secretary asking her to bring in a certain number file. "You're the executor of your father's will so access is not a problem. Your father's business lawyers have been trying to get the will probated."

"I'm aware," I tell him and his secretary entered with the file in hand.

"Thank you, Charlene." The woman handed him the file and left. "So, are you ready?"

I wasn't but I didn't have a choice so nodded my head, yes and for the next hour, we went over my father's last wishes. I learned what was to happen to my mom, that I was to inherit the shares to his business, the house, pretty much all that he owned was now mine. I learned that he wished to be cremated and buried in the plot that was already purchased next to the grandparents I never met. My Dad had it all laid out for me: the funeral home, the services, down to where to buy the tombstone. I didn't have any questions when Lee was through. My Dad was that thorough with taking care of things. I guess he wanted to be prepared in case I refused to come back to help, but then again maybe he knew I would.

"Any questions?" Lee asked.

"Not about the will. It's all pretty straightforward."

"Yeah, your dad was a pretty thorough guy."

"I'm engaged and well... I'd like to set up my own will at some point to handle things should something happen. I may need your help creating that in the future along with my fiancé."

"Absolutely," Lee said. "Do you know what your plans are for your father's business?"

"You mean whether or not I'm going to take it over?"

"Yes."

"No. I want to do what is best for everyone in the company but I honestly can't say what that is. I don't really feel prepared to step in my father's place and I fear I'd just make things worse if I did. Yet I know the employees are all hoping I'll keep the business going. I just don't know."

"Well, honestly. The shares revert to you so you will own the company regardless. You have 3 choices as I see it. 1. Sell it. 2. Run it or 3. Keep it but find someone you feel is qualified to run it in your place."

I knew about options one and two but I hadn't thought of three. Maybe there was a chance I could make this work after all. A flood of hope washed over me.

"Thank you for your advice. I'll give it some thought."

"Good. If you need anything else let me know."

"I will," I rose to leave and his secretary came in with copies of the will for me to take home.

"Thanks again, Charlene," Lee said taking the copies from her and handing them to me.

"You'll need these for the funeral home and also for the bank. It's best once you receive the death certificate that you close your father's personal accounts and put them in your name so you can take care of your mother's finances for her."

"Thank you," I said taking the copies from him.

"And here are the keys to his safe deposit box." Lee gave me a set of keys and I placed them on my key ring.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No. That should be it."

I thanked him for his time and left. Once back in the car I made a call to check in on my Mom. Tina said she was up and eating a little something so I asked to talk to her.

"Hey, Mom. Alex here."

"I know who you are, silly," my mom tells me and I sighed grateful, this must be a good day.

"I know. I just wanted to let you know I'll be home soon. I'd seen the lawyer and we are getting everything straightened out. Okay?"

"The lawyer? Why did you need to see him?"

Okay, maybe it's not a good day. "I had to get a copy of the will, Mom. The corner's office is letting us move Dad's body to the funeral home, so we'll be able to hold services soon."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"What are you going on about Alex? I don't understand."

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I just wanted to let you know I'm taking care of things and I'll be home soon. Okay?"

Silence.

"Mom?"

"What did you tell your Mom?" I hear Tina's voice now on the line.

"Where is she?"

"She just put the phone down and went up to her room."

"I just told her I was at the lawyers and that I have the will and we'd be able to hold services for Dad soon."

I hear what sounded like the large crash of something breaking.

"Tina what was that?!"

"Oh no!" Tina exclaimed.

"Tina?!"

More crashing.

"TINA!"

"I gotta go!"

The line goes silent. I can't believe she hung up on me. I call back. Nothing. I look at the driver. "We need to get home. Fast."

"But sir, I'm already doing the speed limit."

"Screw the speed limit! I'll pay for the tickets but you are not to stop this car until I get home! Am I understood?!"

"Yes sir!" The driver put the pedal to the floor. I only hoped and prayed that I wouldn't be too late.