The Work of a Legacy

Chapter Twelve

Mr. Ryan, please send this to my mom.

Dear patrineto,

I miss you dearly. How is your treatment working out for you? I will be back before you know it. I look forward to seeing you, Rozabela, and Orabela in about a month. I love you so much. Say hello to patro for me. Please make sure that his flowers do not die and that his grave place stays clean.

Mi amas vin per tuta koro,

Stelara.

"Thank you again for curling my hair. I've never been able to get it right."

Anna nods absentmindedly. "No problem, now stay still."

"Sorry," I grin, trying to side eye her dress. It's almost the same structure as the very first dress she wore here, except instead of being red, it's pure white. Somehow, she manages to look just as beautiful, regardless of the color. White has always been a bad color for me.

I look in the mirror and watch her facial expressions in fascination. Her eyebrows are curved downward, making her look almost angry in concentration. Unconsciously, she clicks her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

"Done." She turns off the curler and sets it aside. "Look at that! Supermodel curls in just twenty minutes. That's what I call skill."

"It's awesome, Anna. Thank you so much."

She smiles proudly. "You're welcome."

I turn on my phone absentmindedly to check the time, realizing by the time it turns itself off that I hadn't actually registered the time in my mind. I turn it on again. "Ah, crapadoodle! It's already nine! We're supposed to be in the limo with the others by now!"

I slip on my shoes quickly and race out the door with Anna in tow, just as the limo begins turning out of the driveway.

"WAIT!"

The limo pauses, then backs up slowly.
"You've got to be kidding me," William stares at us in annoyance, a huge contrast from his oh-so-polite behavior a few weeks ago.

Sarcasm.

"You ladies are late," he tisks, as if we might not have guessed this already by our only ride leaving the station.

"Tell me something I don't know, Ned," I grumble, purposely saying his name incorrectly.

"It's-"

"William, I know. You going to unlock the limo? We're going to be late."

Sighing, he unlocks the doors and we're off.

"Guys, do y'all mind if I take the last drink?" Adaeze asks, opening the fridge.

"Sure, go ahead. Not like anyone else wanted one," Zara mumbles.

"What was that, Zara?" Adaeze whips around.

I groan.

Not a fight, please.

"Nothing. I just think it would have been nicer if you had waited for a response before going and grabbing the drink."