It’s been a week since the funeral ended and there were too many things to be taken care of. The fact that she was underage got in the way of tying up the loose ends of her grandmother. Simple matters got dragged and complicated because there wasn’t much she could do legally and that made the procedure time and energy consuming more than it should’ve been.
So here she was today at the lawyer’s office almost through with all unresolved issues. Once they finalize the will and the issue with her independent living, she will finally be able to breath out again.
She sat across the lawyer, listening to him reading out the will with his ever-steady voice. Apparently, with the exception of few properties everything else was hers once she’s eighteen and her trust-fund will have to wait until she’s twenty-one as long as she doesn’t break certain rules that she was already familiar with and had no issues with. For now, she gets to keep her personal apartment without having to worry about bills or utility expenses and gets a monthly allowance to use for her personal expenses which is a more than enough amount for her to hold on until she’s of age. All of this sounded rational and practical and she knew her grandmother well enough to know this is the most ideal decision possible but that didn’t explain the wary and apologetic look in the eyes of the man sitting in front of her. To anyone else, he probably looked professional and confident but Hanna knew this man, she’d known him since she was ten and she grew to learn how to read him well enough to know that he’s stalling and hesitant to break bad news; She’s been waiting for a ‘but’ or a 'however' since he started explaining the will.
« Hanna » the man said suddenly and paused to figure out how to break the new to the girl in front of him, he’s supposed to stay cold, unattached and professional but this wasn’t a stranger, she wasn’t his everyday client, he knew her since she was ten and watched her grow in front of his eyes. He witnessed all she went through since then. He hated that he couldn’t make things better for her. She looked at him like she knew he was going to disappoint her and that pained him even more.
She looked at him and she knew that was her however, she looked at him and she took pity on the man who looked like he was in physical pain on her behalf so she took it into her own hands and just asked his confirmation instead
« There is an issue with my independent living, isn’t there? » she watched as the man’s face morphed from his apologetic expression to a surprised one to a more neutral expression in a matter of seconds and that was all the confirmation, she needed but she still inquired « My parents? »
He should’ve known she’d figure it all out in a blink of an eye. She, after all, was her grandmother’s heiress and successor. So, he just gave her the answers she already expected
« Yes. I’m sorry but it seems like it. Your parents have refused signing off their parental rights as your legal guardians. Your grandmother and I have been trying to get them to do so since she found out about her illness and when I say we tried, I mean we did everything you could possibly imagine but to no avail. They refused back then and now that I updated them on the situation, they are even more adamant than before. I have tried to reason with them to let you finish school without disruption and made them aware that you will have no financial educational or heath issues but they wouldn’t listen and insist you’re too young to live on your own without adult supervision and support. They want you back. »
« They want me back? I’m almost an adult and I have been basically living by myself for years. I can take care of myself »
« I know that and I told them you were quite independent and mature but they refuse to believe so »
« Would it cause a legal issue if I don’t do as they request? »
« Technically, it wouldn’t be an issue if they don’t make it one »
« But they said they would » It wasn’t a question but rather a statement to say she understood the situation.
« The truth is that they have no case if they were to take this to court but it won’t look good »
« You don’t have to tell me this, I know going to court with this is not an option. I can already see the headlines all over the media if it gets out and it probably will. Our business is family oriented and everything will look even worse than it is for us and we can’t afford taking such risks. »
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to process the meaning of all this. When she opened her eyes, she couldn’t help the small chuckle at the look on the lawyer’s face « Stop looking so sorry. It’s just one year and I may be going across the world but it’s not like I’m going to war. It should be good news that my parents want me, don’t you think? » she smiled to reassure him and continued « anything else I should know? You said grandmother knew of this, did she say anything I need to know? »
« No » he answered « She practically said the same thing as you »
« I guessed as much but I had to ask anyway » she stood up to leave and he followed suite and she shook his hand « I’m guessing that’s all for now. The rest of paperwork of my school transfer and details with my parents are taken care of I presume? »
« Yes, everything is all set for you to leave as soon as you can »
« Thank you. I suppose I ought to go start packing and tie my own loose ends for now »
« Yes, you should take care of that and one more thing? » she waited expectedly at him to finish « call your doctor, will you? You missed your appointment and she worries about you so can you please reschedule? and you need her to help you find someone trustworthy across the world to take over for her. »
« Right, sorry. I’ve been busy lately and it slipped my mind. Just tell her I drop by same time as usual tomorrow. »
« You should tell her that, not me. Just call her today or she’s going to have head » he argued as he walked her to the door
« You know, you’re not the only one who’s secretly intimidated by your wife » she argued back jokingly « I’ll stay in touch » she said at door
« Bye, Hanna » he smiled fondly watching the strong-willed girl walk away.
Hanna left with one too many thoughts rushing through her mind, she was making checklists in her head of everything that needed to be taken care of and by the time her ride dropped her in front of her apartment she had made the necessary calls to take care of the packing, the moving and the apartment cleaning and maintenance while she’s gone and rescheduled her doctor’s appointment. Once she got inside, she was warmly welcomed by soft bark and puppy eyes craving her attention and affection which she was more than willing to give. She spent some time like that releasing all the pent-up tension that has built up all this week and ended with a ridiculous outcome. After a while, she put on a collar on her over eager companion and left the apartment for a walk and to meet up with the one person who will understand and will make everything better just by being there.
She walked to the place she knew he would be waiting for her as always. They didn’t need words to understand, nor hugs to comfort. They never did, they just knew what the other needed and gave it to them. Once he knew, they just sat playing with ever-excited dog that didn’t know any better so they just did the same and treated this like any other day. They both didn’t do goodbyes so they had silent agreement that they would just skip it because it wasn’t goodbye; not really. They sat silently for a while and watched as the sun started to set behind the green hills ahead of them just like every other day before they go their separate ways.
He looked at her and said quietly “Promise me you’ll make a friend, a human one, just one is enough. Not one to exchange pleasantries with but someone who can get you to forget, even for a moment, about being polite, about proper behavior or manner, someone you can yell at if you think they deserve instead of killing them with politeness or kindness that you don’t mean”
She laughed at those words then smiled sadly, looking at the darkening sky filled with lonely stars and sighted “I don’t think anyone can make that happen. That’s kind of your superpower; Just yours”