Chapter 30

Carla Avery pulled into the long circular driveway. She slowly came to a stop and put the car in park, then grabbed her briefcase and stepped out of the car. She fumbled for her cell phone as she tried to shut the car door. She shook her head and walked up to the door, rang the bell, and waited.

A young-looking Mexican woman opened the door. "Yes, may I help you?" she asked. "I'm here to see Mrs. Blass," she announced. "I'm Carla Avery."

The young Mexican woman nodded her head and stood aside. Once inside, she spoke again. "Mrs. Blass is in the study. Follow me. I'll show you the way."

Carla looked around the large house. She thought it felt cold and unwelcoming. She followed the woman into a large room and saw Sylvia sitting on a large desk, typing on her laptop. She looked up as they entered the room.

"Ms. Avery, thank you for coming. Come in. Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable.

Can I get you anything? Water? Tea?" Sylvia asked.

Carla walked over to a large, overstuffed couch and sat down. She placed her briefcase on the table and unlatched it.

"I'm here to discuss the trust. I have some information to share with you," she said.

"I understand. You can go, Isabelle," she said to the young maid standing in the doorway. She watched Isabelle shut the door and turned toward Carla. "Thank you for coming out here. I just haven't had the strength to leave the house lately," she said.

Carla nodded. A moment of awkward silence passed, then Sylvia stood up and walked over to where Carla was sitting.

"I've looked into re-establishing the trust. It would seem Lily Blass inquired about the funds when they weren't released to the Marigold Homeless Shelter. Thankfully for you, she hasn't retained counsel or demanded answers from the bank, but I'm sure she will. The fact remains that if we establish the trust, we need to expose ourselves to the bank. However, we could simply make a large donation to the shelter anonymously."

"I was very rude to you the first time we met," Sylvia said. "I'd spoken to you on the phone prior to us meeting. Do you remember?"

Carla looked at Sylvia. "Yes, this is true. I'm not sure where you're going with this, Mrs. Blass."

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I thought you were white when we spoke. Needless to say, I was surprised when we met face-to-face," Sylvia said.

Carla's eyebrows raised, and she turned toward Sylvia. She smiled and said, "Mrs. Blass, it's unfortunate you'd think a woman who's educated and speaks with a firm grasp of the English language is white. Black women have been unfairly stereotyped by society. We're supposed to be uneducated, brash, forceful, angry, and rude. We're supposed to be less than, single mothers on welfare who are lazy and don't want to work hard. Your remarks only reinforce what I'm saying. I'm a damn good attorney. I've worked hard in school. I come from a stable and loving two-parent home. I finished top in my class at law school, and although I've proven myself to my colleagues, my professors, and my opposition, I still get remarks like 'You sound like a white woman.'"

Sylvia looked at Carla and said, "I've learned much about myself since my diagnosis. I don't know if the cancer is a blessing or curse. I mean, if I didn't have cancer, if I wasn't dying, I don't know if I would have recognized my own bullshit. It's funny how a thing like the color of their skin can change your attitude about someone before they even speak. I'm an expert at stereotypes, Ms. Avery. I understand what it's like not to like someone because of their skin color. And I also realize how incredibly stupid it all is. I think there's more to life than skin color. I think we're all connected, somehow. When you're faced with their own mortality, you begin to really understand what's important. So, Ms. Avery, I tell you this to say that I am truly sorry. You're a very capable attorney, regardless of what you look like. I just wanted you to know. I'm trying to right the wrongs with the time I have left."

"Thank you, Mrs. Blass. I'm sorry it took something so drastic to make you change your thinking."

"Yes, me too. I've already made plans to donate to the shelter under the name Lily Blass, my half-sister. I did find her, you know. I had my editor go and meet with her. She doesn't want to meet me, and frankly, I don't blame her. I can't go back and change what happened to her, but I can try and do the right thing now."

Carla was surprised by the ease of Sylvia's words. "I have these papers for you to sign." She said, handing the forms to Sylvia.

Sylvia didn't even read the forms. She just found where her signature belonged and promptly signed.

"Now, I do have something I want to speak with you about," Sylvia said. "I've been working on my will, and I want you to handle it."

"I'm not an estate planning attorney," Carla said, putting the forms back into the briefcase.

"You just told me you're a highly capable attorney. Your firm handles all my legal business, and I want you to handle this," Sylvia said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're one of the few people who have ever set me straight. That day in your office, I gained much respect for you, Carla. You didn't take any of my shit. I like that," she said.

"Well, Mrs. Blass, I rarely take shit, as you call it, from anyone. What did you have in mind for your will?"

"I want to donate my estate, money, and all my worldly possessions to my sister, Lilian Blass. I also want to donate to the American Cancer Society, and of course the Marigold Homeless Shelter." She handed Carla a notebook. "It's all written in here. I have no family, or pets for that matter. My only real family is Lily. I've also made smaller provisions for my maids - the ones I fired and an ex-employee named Anna. I fired her as well, not because she wasn't a good employee, but because she spoke Spanish and is Mexican." Carla shot her a disconcerting look.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Carla. I know how it sounds. I know what people think about me. I know I've been called 'Dragon Lady', 'the Bitch', 'the woman who sold out her mother for headlines'. Anyone who's ever given a damn about me, I've runoff. My friends aren't my friends. Money has brought me a lot of things, but not happiness. I don't think I've even been happy. But giving everything to Lily and others, well, it does make me happy. Funny, because I never would have guessed I'd be saying this."

She paused and smiled. "I've also decided not to have chemo/radiation therapy. I've looked into some holistic treatments and would rather go in that direction. I know we aren't friends, Carla, but I do trust you with my wishes."

Carla nodded. "Okay, Sylvia. Shall we begin?"