The Will

Mia sighed with frustration as she checked her watch. Did he not realize that she had a life to get back to? She wanted to make partner, be the youngest partner the firm has ever had. That meant not sitting around waiting for old men to do their jobs. Clearing her throat she asked firmly, “Uncle Jeff, how long is this going to take? Surely you can email me paperwork. It’s all mine anyway.” He looked up surprised, not responding as he looked back down at the will in his hands. Uncle Jeff had always been in charge of the family’s legal matters. Not physically her uncle, he had been in her life since she can remember, and he often told her how he held her as a baby. He was now the closest she had to family since her father’s death, but he was slow and seemed to be stalling. Mia got up, grabbed her bag, and said, “Settled then. I’ll contact you as soon as I’ve sent it all back to you.” Mia blew him a kiss as she headed for the door. “You better sit down for this, sweetheart,” his deep voice said and he added, “Prepare yourself. You’re not going to like this.”

Rolling her eyes, she threw her bag back onto the spare chair and sat down. “Mia, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your father left everything to the organization,” Uncle Jeff stared at her in concern waiting for some kind of response. Her father was a very generous man with a gentle heart. He had started his organization to help feed children from poor homes years ago. Mia gaped at him, “That’s a mistake, Uncle Jeff. Check it again!” Her voice sounded shrill, filled with panic. Her family friend’s expression told her that it wasn’t a mistake. She was walking out with nothing. She couldn’t believe it. “I can’t believe he didn’t leave me anything,” she said more angrily than hurt. “I understand that I had lost contact with him in the last few years, but honestly, who doesn’t leave their only child anything?” she said with desperation removing a cigarette from her bag, ignoring the fact that this was a smoke-free building. “Well, he didn’t leave you nothing exactly, Mia. He left you something very dear to him. Come,” Uncle Jeff said as gently as he could.  “Well, thank God. It better be the Ferrari,” Mia said suddenly feeling very excited. She followed her uncle out onto his balcony. “Here, boy,” he called. “What in the heavens are you doing, Uncle Jeff? I need to get back to work. What did he leave me?” Uncle Jeff smiled warmly at the small furry animal that approached from the shadow. A young Chihuahua came up to them, shaking its tail furiously before taking a seat and turning its head. “This was your dad’s dog, Spike. He only had him for a few months before the cancer finally took him. Your dad wanted you to have him, Mia,” Uncle Jeff picked the small dog up and wanted to pass him to Mia. She stepped away, hands waving at her sides as if she was trying to avoid a vicious animal attack. “He left me a fucking dog? Hell, no! All my furniture in my penthouse is Gautier, for fuck's sake, Uncle Jeff!” Mia was crying now, frustrated, shocked, and disappointed. Her uncle hugged her while holding the dog. She could feel its little body moving excitedly. “It was his last wish, child,” he said as he put the dog in her hands. “Fine,” she sighed exasperated, “there are hundreds of shelters around. I need to go, Uncle Jeff. Goodbye.” She saw sadness in his eyes as she turned to walk out the door. She could feel the little rascal squirming in her arms. She really hoped he wouldn’t scratch her limited edition handbag. She looked at her watch as she pushed the elevator button. Shocked by the time, she pushed it a couple more times knowing that it wouldn’t make it go any faster. Finally the elevator door opened and she hopped in. She put the grunt down immediately and straightened her little black dress. She looked down to check for any fur it might have left on her. Satisfied with the results, but unhappy with the little animal looking at her from the floor, she decided to just leave it on the curb when she got outside. It was cute enough. Someone would come by and take it home. Suddenly the elevator went pitch black, shook and came to a rough and loud stop. Mia shrieked in fear. “No, no, no, no, no!” she shouted as she realized the elevator had stopped. She heard only her own breathing. After about a minute, the lights in the elevator came back on. She started pushing the buttons frantically, having no luck in making it move. She was stuck in an elevator with that thing. Could today get any worse? First, the complete waste of time of her father’s will and now this. “Hello? Are you alright?” a small voice came from the intercom. With a huge sigh of relief, Mia answered, “Yes! Get me out. I’m in here with a fucking dog!” There seemed to be a chuckle on the other end which made Mia furious instantly. “Ma’am, there is a power failure in the city. The generator is running, but we’ve had a malfunction. We’re working on it. We have eyes on you, and we’ll get you down safely, but you better sit tight. It’s going to take some time,” the response came.

Mia felt like putting her fist through the elevator’s wall, but she had the best pedicure money could buy. She stared down at the dog who was now sitting with his head turned to the side, looking at her in confusion. “What are you looking at? Believe me, this is also not what I had in mind,” she said. The dog gave out a sigh and got comfy on the floor. He seemed to dose off. Mia was hot. The ventilation vents in the elevator had stopped working when it came to a halt. Mia removed her Jimmy Choos and fought the urge to think of how dirty the floor was. She sat down on the floor pulling a face. She was exhausted. Working the hours that she did would do that to anyone, she figured. She closed her eyes for what felt like a minute. She awoke with a jolt sometime later to find Spike curled up on her lap. Her initial reaction was to shove it off, but as she did so, the tag that hung around Spike’s neck caught her eye. It was unlike any tag she’d ever seen. It was shaped like a clock. On it in beautiful engraving stood the words, “Appreciate the time you have, Mia.” She gasped in surprise. This tag was a message to her, a message to her from her father. She became aware of her cheeks heating up as warm tears ran down them. It was the first time she cried for her late father. She’d been too caught up in work to sit and take a moment to feel the loss. She felt it now.   The pup looked at her and she felt like it understood. "He’s gone, gone forever. I never took the time to say goodbye,” she cried softly, wiping her nose. The pup crept up closer to her and laid his head against her heart. It was as if he could feel where the pain was. She cried and cried until she had no more tears to shed. The dog sat with her, a silent companion though her mourning. Mia started to rub his back and was surprised by how soft his fur was. She touched his ears and laughed when he closed his eyes as he went into a trance-like state. She wasn’t sure how long they sat like this, and she didn’t care.

“OK, madam, we are starting it all up again. Thank you for your patience.” Mia got up, and put her shoes back on. The elevator door opened and she squinted at the outside light crashing in. She picked Spike up and walked out of the elevator. The sun shone in brightly through the big windows surrounding the building. It was a beautiful day. Mia’s phone rang. It was Joan from the office. “Yes, Joan,” Mia answered with her free hand. “”Mia, just calling to check what time you’ll be in,” the older woman said coldly. “Not today, I’m afraid, Joan. I’ve got some shopping to do today. I just got a dog,” Mia smiled as she put her phone back into her bag. She looked at Spike and said, “OK, little guy, let’s go get you all set up.”