Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Connor Doyle stepped into the bathroom, locked the door, and took a deep breath. He needed a couple moments to collect himself before going back out to face his well-meaning friends and family. He much preferred the solitude of his apartment in Juneau. Everyone’s condolences and remembrances of his mother, Fiona, weighed on him.
He stood in front of the mirror. The past nine days had taken their toll. He appeared haggard, even in his best suit. All the white hairs in his red beard made him look as old as he felt. There were big black bags under his eyes. If one of the Littles he played with looked the way he did, he’d put them to bed for a nap, whether they liked it or not. He needed more sleep, but a nap wasn’t an option right now, and even if he had the opportunity to lie down, he doubted sleep would come. His lack of control over this situation had him spiraling.
Generally, he wasn’t a drinker, but he’d been tempted to start off his Sunday with a shot of whisky before coming to the wake. But his mother wouldn’t have approved, and since it was her wake, he abstained. The same could not be said for his sister Hannah who was currently on her third and becoming morose.
Connor turned on the cold water, and had to hold back tears as he watched it slip down the drain. He shook his head, cupped some water in his hands, and splashed it on his face. After blotting his face and beard with the hand towel beside the sink, he squared his shoulders and went back out to endure the family gathering.
He walked down the hall, through the living room full of people, and into the kitchen full of even more people. They’d decided to have the wake at his son’s house, because Michael was the only immediate family member who still lived in Oregon, but the tiny house was cramped.
“Hey, Connor?”
He turned to see Tessica Alvarez standing next to him holding a plate with a turkey sandwich and chips. He’d known her since high school because she was friends with his twin sisters, but they’d never been close. Back then it was because she was three years younger than him. He’d married his high school sweetheart at eighteen when Tessica was still fifteen. But now they were both divorced and in their fifties, and he couldn’t help but notice how well she’d aged compared to a lot of the women he knew. She still had a waistline, her light brown skin didn’t have any visible wrinkles, and her black hair didn’t have any gray in it. Her brown eyes were puffy from crying, but even so, she looked better than he did.
“Hi Tessica, what’s up?”
“Could I talk to you in private for a moment?”
“Sure.” He nodded toward the hall. “We can talk in the master bedroom.”
He led her down the hall, into the bedroom, and shut the door behind them. “If this is about the will, I already told you we’re not reading it until tomorrow, and I don’t know why you’re named in it.”
She gently put a hand on his arm and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about the will.” She held the plate of food out to him. “You haven’t eaten all day. Why don’t you sit down and eat while I talk?”
He frowned. It had been a long time since he had a wife or anyone else to fuss over him, but it felt nice to be taken care of in this particular moment. He was usually the one who took care of others. He took the plate and sat on the edge of the bed. Eating hadn’t been high on his list of priorities today, but once he put a bite in his mouth, he realized how hungry he was, and ate while she spoke.
Tessica sat on the edge of the bed beside him, keeping a respectable distance. “I wanted to go over what I’ve done over at Fur-ever Friends since your mother… passed.” Her voice cracked, and she had to clear it a couple of times.
He swallowed a bite of sandwich before speaking. “Thank you for your help while we figure out everything. I appreciate it.”
“Of course. Since you’re the executor of her estate, and they’re reading the will tomorrow, I thought you should have a rundown of what’s been going on the past week and a half.”
“That’s a good point. Go ahead.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever met her, but there’s a vet named Gwen who filled in for your mom whenever she went out of town.”
“I’ve heard the name from Mom, but we’ve never met.”
“Gwen has been going in every morning to feed the animals and check on them. I usually work Monday through Friday from noon to five, so I’ve kept those hours and added the weekends to it. We currently have three dogs, five cats, a couple of rabbits, and a snake.”
“Rabbits and a snake?” He hadn’t realized his mom took in anything other than cats and dogs.
“Your mom never turned anyone away when they brought in an animal they weren’t able to take care of anymore. She was always afraid they’d throw them in a dumpster or the river. But I haven’t taken in any new animals since, well, since that day. And I also adopted out two parakeets and a cat.”
“That’s good.” He put the last bite of sandwich in his mouth, glanced down at chips, and then set it on the bed between them. After not eating all day, his stomach rebelled at the idea of greasy chips. “I’m sorry I haven’t been more help. I probably should have stayed in her house instead of a hotel, but…”
She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t be sorry. It’s okay. I understand. We all grieve in our own way. Both of your sisters flew back home that first day, and they’ve been a great help. But neither of them want to stay in the house, either. It’s probably hard because it’s changed so much since we were young.”
“Yeah.” His childhood house no longer felt like ‘home’ once it was renovated. After a short pause he added, “I’m glad the twins have been helping.”
“I’ve enjoyed having Erin and Hannah around again, despite the circumstances.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
“You know that I’ve done your mom’s books and taxes since 2006, right?”
“I know you do them now, but I didn’t know you’d been doing them that long.”
“She was one of my first clients once I got my CPA degree, but I didn’t start working at the shelter until 2017. Anyway, I thought you should know that the shelter has never been profitable. She runs it at a loss.”
Connor frowned. “I’m sorry. What?”
“It’s not a huge loss, she almost breaks even, but I’d say on average she puts in at least a hundred dollars of her own money into the business per month.”
“I had no idea.” He was baffled by the news. “Why would she do that?”
Tessica raised one eyebrow. “Why would a retired seventy-four-year-old vet still work seven days a week when she owns her own home and has over five hundred thousand in retirement funds?”
Connor sighed and his shoulders slumped. “Because she wanted to.”
“Exactly. Because the shelter wasn’t her job. It was her calling.” Tessica gave him a tiny smirk. “And because she was stubborn as hell.”
He chuckled. “Yes, she was.”
There was a quick knock on the bedroom door before his son’s wife, Marcia, walked in.
“Oh, I didn’t realize anyone was in here,” Marcia said. “I need to change my shirt.” She pointed at the blob of mustard on her black blouse. “But I can go to the bathroom to change if you?—”
“That’s okay.” Tessica stood up. “I was done anyway.” She turned to Connor. “Unless you have any questions?”
Connor stood as well and shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not right now anyway. But I appreciate the update. And the sandwich.”
“No problem.”
Connor followed Tessica back out to the kitchen, feeling guilty that he knew so little about his mother’s business.
Monday morning, Connor sat in the conference room of the law firm his mother used. Erin and Hannah were already there, along with his mother’s lawyer, Mr. Schaffer.
Connor glanced at his watch for the third time in as many minutes.
Erin said, “Checking your watch won’t make her magically show up.”
“Not everyone is perpetually ten minutes early,” Hannah added.
Connor scowled at his twin sisters for their snide remarks, but before he could reply, the conference door opened, and Tessica came in.
She smiled at Connor and sat next to him, which helped ease his earlier annoyance.
Mr. Schaffer spoke up. “Now that we’re all here, we can begin.” Opening the file folder on the table in front of him, he pulled out a stack of papers. “As some of you may know, Fiona updated her will every year in October on the anniversary of her husband’s death. I’ll read the parts of the will that pertain to all of you out loud, and then you’ll all have a chance to look over copies of the official document, which has a lot of legal jargon. Once you’ve all read it, I can answer any questions you may have.”
Mr. Schaffer cleared his throat and read.
“I, Fiona Doyle, being of sound mind, do hereby declare this to be my Last Will and Testament. At the time of this Last Will and Testament dated October 3, 2023, I have three children as follows:
Connor Doyle born August 11, 1969
Erin Doyle King born May 13, 1972
Hannah Doyle Griffin born May 13, 1972
I hereby appoint Connor Doyle as the Executor of my Last Will and Testament. Should he be unavailable, unable, or unwilling to serve as Executor, then I appoint Erin Doyle King as the alternative Executor.
Immediately following my death, the Executor will be authorized to use the assets from my estate to pay off any and all debts and funeral expenses.
After payment of all personal debts and expenses, I bequeath my assets as follows:
My retirement account, savings account, and checking account, are to be divided equally between my two younger children, Erin and Hannah.”
Connor frowned. He had to do all the work but got none of the money? Not that he needed the money, but it was the principle.
Mr. Schaffer pulled out another sheet of paper from his folder. “As of today, those accounts are valued at roughly $508,000.”
He set the page down and continued to read the will.
“I leave my business, ‘Fur-ever Friends’, to my employee, Tessica Alvarez, along with all the business assets and equipment. It is my hope that she will continue our work.”
Connor heard Tessica gasp. They exchanged a glance. She was clearly shocked by the news, but he couldn’t tell if it was a happy shock, or an unpleasant one. Considering that the business always ran at a loss, he couldn’t imagine she’d be happy to be saddled with the burden.
“I leave my house and all of my personal belongings to my eldest child, Connor, with the following stipulation. He will allow Tessica Alvarez to operate the animal shelter, Fur-ever Friends, on the bottom floor of the house for the next five years. If Connor doesn’t agree to that stipulation, the house is to be sold, and the profits from the sale are to be divided equally between Connor Doyle and Tessica Alvarez.”
Connor glared over at Tessica suspiciously, but she didn’t look his direction.
Tessica had a hand over her heart as she shook her head. “That can’t be right.”
Erin put an arm over Tessica’s shoulders. “Of course it’s right. Mom loved you, too. She’s known you since you were fourteen, and she talked about you all the time.”
Hannah spoke up. “You’ve spent more time with her over the past seven years than any of us have.”
Tessica glanced at Connor, winced, and then looked away.
He realized he was wearing his suspicious Daddy glare, and took a deep breath to calm down. She didn’t deserve the glare he generally gave the Littles he suspected of misbehavior. It wasn’t Tessica’s fault that his mother was too stubborn to let her business go even after death.
Mr. Schaffer spoke up. “There’s also a list of some sentimental personal items that Fiona has bequeathed to specific family members.” He handed out copies of the will. “That’s on page three. Now you can all look through the will in its entirety, and ask me any questions you may have.”
Connor picked up his copy, but doubted it would provide any insight as to what his mother had been thinking when she made it.