Inheritance

Chapter 13

After getting dressed, I reluctantly headed downstairs, wishfully hoping I wouldn't have another unpleasant exchange with Kendall. As I entered the kitchen, I was welcomed by the delicious smell of blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs cooking on the stove.

"Oh, there you are Sasha. Dad wants to see you in his office." Frank said, as he casually sipped on a cup of coffee and sat at one of the lounging chairs on the island counter.

"For what?"

"I don't know, I'm not a psychic. But, I will say it sounded pretty serious."

"Okay..." I said cautiously, exiting the kitchen as quickly as I had entered. Walking down the barren corridor to my uncle's large office, I took in a hefty breath. After releasing the light air through a muted exhale, I knocked on the steel black door with a veil of uncertainty clouding my mind.

"Come in." I heard from just beyond the door. Turning the knob, I entered the notorious office space only few had the privilege of seeing.

"Sasha, good morning." My uncle greeted, as he stacked together several thick documents that were currently haphazardly scattered across his desk.

"Hey Uncle Darrell, how are you?" I asked, wondering why the room's atmosphere felt so terse.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you. Sit down, will you?"

"What's wrong?" Alarm signs immediately went up in my head.

"Sasha, please sit." Hesitantly, I obeyed his request and took a seat at the open chair across from his desk. Silence persisted between us before he eventually decided to speak up.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but it's about Mrs. Franks. She recently suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, she's alive, but very ill. Sasha, it's not looking too good for her. I understand that you haven't been to California in a while, but I think you should consider going out there to see her for what may be the last time." 

I released a string of exasperated curses, completely at a loss for words from the morbid news. Of all the things I had expected to hear, this was not even a plausible consideration. I hadn't seen Mrs. Frank's since I was a child and learning that she was terminally sick felt like an iron clamp rifting at the apex of my chest. All of the childhood memories I had formed with her began to flood my conscious, causing me to wonder whether we'd ever have the opportunity to forge new ones.

"How long?" I asked, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to leave my eyes.

"Sorry?"

"How long does she have left to live?" I repeated. In response, my uncle placed his elbows on top of his desk, then leaned over to brush a finger against my cheek in the gentlest of ways.

"The doctors aren't sure, but five days. Give or take."

"I-I should have visited her more often. She did so much for me and I was so fucking stupid! I can't believe I never went back. There's no way she'd want to see me now." I practically yelled out, slowly beginning to feel my heart tremble.

"I'm so sorry Sasha, I know how much she means to you. But, you're wrong. It was Mrs. Franks who asked her caregiver to call me. She wants to see you. I've already booked you a flight for this evening. It's there if you need it. Look, I can't force you to make this decision, you're going to have to trust yourself to make the right choice on your own."

"But, what do I do? I have so many memories from that place that I've tried to push away. My heart won't be able to take going back there." Tears began to flood my face. I wiped pointlessly at them, but they only continued to sprout down my cheeks.