WHATEVER WILL WILLS

The lawyer arrived early that morning, just as William had requested. He had very little time left to put his house in order, and he was eager to see to it that his estate was distributed according to the will he had prepared that morning.

Will had been battling the disease for many years, and although the doctors had given him a clean bill of health a little over a year before, the disease made a swift return. It returned with vengeance. In a matter of weeks, Will was paralyzed from his waist to his feet, and the paralysis would have spread but for the swift intervention of his doctors.

He’d been bed-ridden for four months when his doctors came with the bad news. The disease had spread across his body and they estimated that he had just four weeks to live. They encouraged his wife and his only child, Tom, to spend as much time as was possible with him and to ensure the last weeks of his life were the best. They promised to do their best, but Will was a stubborn man. He’d rebuffed all proposals they made for trips to scenic locations around the world. He didn’t want to spend a penny on what he termed ‘unnecessary sight-seeing’, he was perfectly content with staring at the ceiling in his bedroom so long as it assured his money stayed intact. As far as he was concerned, traveling and sight-seeing fell into the class of frivolities he couldn’t be bothered with, any penny spent in the way of those activities was a colossal waste that he would never forgive himself for.

It was that approach to his finances that had led young Will, a boy from a severely impoverished background, to the heights of wealth and achievement. He had started out distributing newspapers for the regional paper when he was 15 years old. He was very meticulous about his earnings and expenses, so he gradually built up a pile of cash which he invested in a distribution network.

Once he’d saved enough, he hired a team of boys his age, offered them a lower pay than what he was getting from the newspaper, and had them distribute newspapers on his behalf. And because there were so many of them – eight to be precise – he was able to service a wider area than he would have on his own. He negotiated with his boss at the paper company and won the rights to be the sole distributor of the paper within the area he chose. That was when the money started flowing in. With no competitor to worry about, and since no other newspaper was interested in doing business in that region, Will had all the customers who lived within the area to himself.

Within the space of two years, Will gradually expanded his ‘area of command’ using clever business tactics and exploiting his boss’ lackadaisical attitude to business. By the end of his second year in business, he was the sole distributor of the paper in the entire region. It was then that he decided to diversify, he began offering other services to residents of the region using his delivery network. 

Within six years of starting the business, through clever business practices and thorough monitoring and management of the finances of his business, WillCo – which was the name he gave to his business – took full ownership of the regional newspaper and became a full-fledged logistics and delivery company, delivering goods on behalf other businesses and on behalf of the many subsidiaries that sprang up within the company, fertilized by the broad distribution network.

WillCo continued to grow throughout Will’s life, and by the time he lay on his bed, dying, the value of the company was calculated in billions. Billions Will never spent and would never spend.

The only luxury Will had dished out money for throughout his lifetime was the house he lived in. It was a beautiful ranch on the outskirts of the city, Will fell in love with it immediately he set his eyes upon it, but he wouldn’t make an offer till three years passed, at the peak of an economic recession, when the new owners were desperate to sell. 

Despite incessant protests from his wife, Flora, and son, Tom, Will saw nothing wrong with his approach to his finances. It was the tool that enabled him amass his wealth, and sticking with it was the only way he would remain wealthy. Never, in the 20 years since they moved into the ranch, had the family had a wholesome three square meal. It was either there was little or no proteins in the food, or there was too little food available to fully satiate their appetite, or Will hadn’t approved the list given him by his wife and so the family had to sleep on empty stomachs. There was always one issue or the other, especially when it came to their most basic needs.

“No penny must go to waste!” Will would say whenever his wife challenged him and accused him of starving their family of one or more basic needs. 

These and more, were the reasons why Flora and Tom closely monitored him as he began preparing a will. If care was not taken, he would stick to his ‘no penny must go to waste’ dogma and leave them to fend for themselves.

“What do you plan on discussing with the lawyer?” Flora asked, feigning ignorance as she poured him a cup of water.

He grunted. “It’s none of your business what I discuss with my lawyer,” he said, grumpily. “He is my lawyer after all, not yours. Whatever I discuss with him will be kept between him and me until it concerns you.”

She sighed. “We have been married for over 20 years, Will, and I have loved and served you and our son faithfully all these years. I hope you will take all this into account as you discuss with your lawyer.”

He grunted again. “It is not your place to tell me what to do. I have been in business since before you were born! I have made life or death decisions on multiple occasions, decisions that determined the course of many people’s lives! I know what to do, I will make sure no penny goes to waste!”

Flora began to sob. “Please, William,” she said, in-between tears. “Don’t let me and my son suffer. I’m not asking for too much, all I want is a comfortable life. Enough to feed, enough to clothe, enough to live a happy life, that’s all I ask for. I am not a demanding woman, or a greedy one. I am not asking for much. Please, be merciful!” she broke down in tears.

Will hissed. The show of emotion made him uncomfortable, it always had, right from when he was young. “Woman, you and your son will have what is due to you, it may not exactly be to your liking, but I will give you your due.”

“Please, Will, for once, give me what I ask for. Don’t give me what is due to me. Give me what I ask for, I am not asking you for much.”

Tom had been watching from the door, Will turned to him and said, “Get her out of here. I don’t need these silly tears, they are of no benefit to me.” As Tom helped his mother up and led her towards the door, Will adjusted himself in his bed, and then motioned towards the door. “Send in my lawyer and close the door behind you.”

***

The discussion went on for hours. Flora and Tom waited patiently by the door, trying to listen in on the conversation. Will and the lawyer spoke in hushed tones, so there wasn’t much to hear, but Will raised his voice occasionally, so they were able to deduce what the duo were discussing in that moment. By the time the lawyer walked out the door, they were still as confused about Will’s plan as they were when he first went in.

The lawyer closed the door behind him, and when he was sure it was shut, he gestured towards the duo and asked them to follow him. In the corridor, far enough away from the door to Will’s room, they stopped to discuss. 

“What did he say? What are his plans?” Tom asked, anxiously. His future was riding on the conversation that had just occurred in Will’s room. Tom had picked up a severe gambling habit, and he was in a lot of debt. The only reason why his debtors let him walk free was because they knew Will was on his way to the grave, if Will’s will didn’t favor him in any way, he would be in serious trouble. He didn’t want any trouble, and Flora didn’t want any trouble for him or herself either.

“What is he leaving us?” Flora asked.

The lawyer exhaled. “He’s not leaving you with much.” 

Tom groaned and began to pace anxiously. He would be in serious trouble if Will didn’t leave him with enough to settle his debts, and so would Flora. Once his debtors got to him, they would come for her next, and who knew what would happen if they were unable to recover their money from both son and mother?

The lawyer opened his briefcase, reached into it, and pulled out a piece of paper. Will had scrawled some bullet-points on the paper. The bullet-point detailed how his estate was to be distributed. The lawyer handed the paper to Flora.

After reading through the bullet-points, Flora was confused. She couldn’t believe her eyes. “He’s leaving the bulk of his estate to charity? I don’t understand it, he’s never given a penny to charity his entire life!”

The lawyer shrugged. “I guess he is doing that to change the image the public has of him. He wants to be remembered fondly. He even asked that we build a big memorial garden for him.”

Tom wasn’t concerned with what they were saying, he was more focused on what Will was leaving to him. “What is he leaving to us, mom? What is he leaving to us?”

“This house.” Tom stopped in his tracks. Flora shrugged, then she said, “That’s all he’s leaving us.”

“‘A roof over their heads’, were his words.” The lawyer offered.

“How much is the house even worth?” Tom pondered aloud.

“Not much. The value of real-estate in this area has been dropping since the ground-water started drying up.” The lawyer replied.

“What are we going to do?” Tom asked, he began pacing faster as panic set in.

The sound of paper being torn to shreds stopped Tom in his tracks. When he discovered the paper being torn was the one on which his father had detailed his final will and testament, he was shocked. The shock was mixed with confusion when he saw a smile spread on the lawyers face. He watched as Flora reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper which she handed over to the lawyer. The lawyer unfolded the paper, and as he skimmed through it his smile broadened into a grin. Tom took a few steps back as the lawyer slipped the paper into his briefcase.

“Make sure you get your hands on some money as soon as you can. The doctors told me the nurses are complaining, they have tried their best to pacify them, but they need something they can touch and feel if they are to stick with the plan.”

Flora nodded. “I understand. I will sort it out.” As the lawyer walked away, Flora turned to Tom and they locked eyes. She had a cold expression on her face, it felt like he was staring into the eyes of a different person.

Tom’s head was reeling as he said, feebly, “Mom, what’s going on?”

“I tried, Tom. I tried.”