The next morning, I got up late and missed Desi. Good thing Sophia has to be up earlier these days, otherwise the child would be on her own. She can handle it, of course, but we love having that touch point in the morning. It’s so important that she leaves here feeling loved and cared for. I got breakfast but could hardly eat. My mind raced with dozens of ideas for what to do with all this money. I could quit teaching yoga for good and forget about the studio idea to focus on my SimTube channel. We could take Desi out of school and travel the world, giving her a hands-on education far greater than anything she’d get from a stuffy classroom. I went on and on down that slippery slope. But before I went too far, I reminded myself we have a plan, which is to make Desiree, Breanna, Lex, and Arvin’s lives better. But one million simoleons is a LOT of money, though. Surely we can spend a few thousand on whatever we want. Besides, how wise is it to give a kid fresh from high school hundreds of thousands of simoleons? Sophia and I need to talk and figure this out. In the meantime, we can continue celebrating in small ways without spending even one simoleon. I took the day off to focus on all the tasks I’d been neglecting, starting with meeting Mr. Ocampo, the inheritance lawyer. True, it’s the newest task on the list, but it’s the most important to me right now. I finished my food and put on some decent clothes so I looked like someone who cared about his future, ha ha.
He came in, introduced himself, and insisted I call him Frankie. I invited him into the kitchen, seeing as we’d probably need a table, but he preferred to stand. He said he gets passionate and ends up standing anyway. I liked him. He began slow and simple, explaining what wills are and what you can include in them. Then he got into heirlooms and why we may want to start designating our valuables and precious items as such. As he spoke, I tried to identify things we could make heirlooms, but honestly we didn’t have anything terrible precious or sentimental apart from that treasure Mama gave me. Maybe I could make gammy’s painting an heirloom. Other than that, I couldn’t think of anything.
“Do you have any questions?” he asked.
“Oh, no. I was just thinking about possible heirlooms.”
“Everyone does! Here’s a blank one to get you started. You can take it, work on it, and file it with any firm you want. Or, if you’d like to do business with us, we can discuss our fees.”
“No, of course I’d like to do business with you.”
“Some sims just like the free consultation, but we appreciate your business.”
He finally sat down and started talking about fee schedules and other services they offer. I paid him, and he congratulated me on securing my family’s future. He mentioned having three daughters around Desi’s age. I asked for their names in case she ever mentioned them. He seemed like an interesting dude. I’m not sure what the protocol is about befriending your lawyer, but I felt like I could go have a drink with him.
It was nearing 3:00, so he wrapped up, shook my hand, and left. Minutes later, Desi arrived with great news.
“Daddy, I got an A!!”
“That’s wonderful! I’m so proud of you!”
