The Ultimate Gift

The Will 📑

Hearing a loved one's will can be both overwhelming and heartbreaking because it means that your loved one is gone; it's like their last words and desires are being read. Stella Kidd is no stranger to death; she lost her parents in a car accident at ten; she and her sister Valerie went to live with their grandparents in a small town in North Carolina; when she was sixteen, her grandfather died in his sleep; and now she is twenty-five and just laid her grandma to rest after a two-year battle with cancer.

She sat in the attorney's office, tabbing her foot impatiently. She was completely devastated by the loss of her grandma, her best friend. Her grandma was always there for her. After graduating high school at age eighteen, she decided to go to the Culinary Institute of America in New York City. She loved cooking and learning different things about cooking, and she dreamed of running her own restaurant one day. Her grandma paid for her college and made sure she always had money; her grandfather owned a software developer company, so money was never an issue for Stella and her sister. Two years later, she earned her associate's degree and then decided she wanted a bachelor's degree too. She was six months away from achieving her bachelor's degree when her grandma called and told her she had cancer. Stella's whole world stopped. She was twenty-three and not ready to lose her grandma, so she quit school and moved back home to take care of her grandma.

She has spent the last two and a half years living with her grandma and taking care of her. She left her boyfriend, friends, job and apartment in New York; her grandma was her top priority. Now that she's gone, Stella feels it's time to go back to her life-back to her boyfriend, whom she thinks she loves-but she's not sure anymore. Grant was pretty special when she met him when she almost hit him with her car five years ago. They clicked from that moment on, and they moved in together three months later. A year later, he wasn't who she thought he was. When she decided to move back to take care of her grandma, he refused to come with her; he didn't like her grandma, and her grandma despised him.

Grant stayed in New York, and Stella sent him money every week to pay the bills and whatever else he needed. Grant didn't work or go to school. Stella took care of him, and her grandma hated it. She always told her she deserves someone who loves her, not her money. But Stella believes he loves her, somewhere deep down. She believes she can change him. At least at one time she did, she's not sure now.

She looks at her phone, questioning where Jackson, her grandma's lawyer, was. He texted her earlier this morning, while she was packing up, and said he needed her to come to his office, saying it was urgent. He's an hour late, so in her opinion, it wasn't that urgent.

"Stella. I am so sorry, my court session ran late."

Stella smiled. "It's okay; don't worry about it, Jackson. It's not like I'm busy or anything."

Jackson sat down and dug through the flies on his desk. "I'm sorry my office is a mess; I need an assistant."

"What happened to Jennifer?"

"She got married and moved to Florida, two days ago."

"Wow! Good for her." Jackson glared at her. "I'm just saying she wasn't happy here, so I hope she is happy. She wanted to find a decent guy to marry, me to, but that's not happening anytime soon."

Jackson looked up at her if she only knew how much her life was about to change. "I know this is hard, Stella. Your grandmother loved you so much."

"I know. Did you get a hold of Valerie?"

"She did text back and said she was too busy to attend the funeral, but to just mail her check." Jackson shakes his head. "Your grandparents gave her a good life; they paid for her schooling and made sure she had everything. I think they spoiled her too much. And she was never grateful."