Carter

I was awoken out of a sound sleep by the feeling of being poked. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Zoey standing over me.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I mumbled as I placed my arm over my head.

“Nora’s attorney will be here in an hour and you reek like alcohol. Get yourself up, get in the shower, and get dressed. I brought you some coffee.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” I asked.

“I tried. You wouldn’t wake up.”

I managed to sit myself up and take the coffee cup from her hands.

“Why am I on the couch? I thought I was in bed.”

“I found you passed out on the beach last night and I could only manage to drag you this far. You’re lucky I didn’t leave you out there all night.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” I brought the cup up to my lips.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wasn’t going to let you embarrass yourself.”

I closed my eyes to try and soothe the massive headache that consumed me.

“I better go shower before he gets here.”

I got up from the couch and slowly walked up the stairs. Standing under the hot water and letting it stream down my body, I thought about all the changes my life was going to have now that Nora was gone. I hated change. I used to welcome it because I believed at one time it was good for the soul, but these changes I’d experienced over the past years were nothing but fucking torture. I was a thirty-year-old man who had more money than I knew what do with and it didn’t matter. If I could give it all up to have my loved ones back, I would in a heartbeat. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.

After I finished showering and getting dressed, I headed downstairs and heard a knock at the door. Walking over to it, I turned the knob and saw Brian Gainsley standing there.

“Hello, Carter. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks, Brian. Come on in.”

“You must be Miss Benson.” He smiled as he held out his hand.

“It’s Zoey. Nice to meet you, Mr. Gainsley.”

“I suppose we should go into the dining room,” I spoke. “May I get you anything, Brian? Coffee? A drink perhaps?”

“No thank you.” He took a seat at the table.

Zoey took her seat and I sat down next to her.

“I have Nora’s wishes, so to speak. I was instructed to deliver these wishes immediately following her death.”

He pulled out a large packet of papers from the envelope and cleared his throat.

“I, Nora Grayson, give to you the following that are my wishes and are to be honored upon my death. I will be cremated and my ashes will be scattered in the following places: Lake Tahoe, Grand Canyon, in the waters of Puget Sound, and my remaining ashes shall be scattered near Sweetheart Rock on the Hawaiian Island of Lanai. The scattering is to be done by two people: my brother Carter Grayson and my hospice nurse Zoey Benson in the exact order as stated above.”

“What?!” I exclaimed. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Shall I continue, Carter?” Brian asked with a raised brow.

I sat there and looked out the window as he continued.

“Upon the completion of my wishes, Zoey will receive a check for services rendered and Carter will receive the signed papers handing over my shares of Grayson Enterprises to him. Both Carter and Zoey will travel by car to distribute my ashes with the exception of Hawaii. Since Lanai will be the last place visited and not many ashes will be left, the remaining amount can be stored in a small Ziploc baggie and tucked away in between layers of clothing either in a carry-on or suitcase. Take note that when you scatter my ashes in Lake Tahoe, it must be done on the south side (Nevada), since it is prohibited in California. When you get back home to New York, please have a celebration lunch or dinner for me. Celebrate the fact that I am healthy once again and no longer in pain. No tears shall be shed and life will go on as usual.”

“Well, that’s it. Those are Nora’s wishes,” Brian spoke. “I’ve already been in contact with the funeral home and they will be cremating her today and you may pick up her ashes tomorrow. She was very prepared for this, Carter. Now it’s up to you and Miss Benson to see that her wishes are fulfilled.”

“She certainly was prepared, wasn’t she?” I sighed.

“If you don’t have any further questions, I have a plane to catch back to New York.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No questions.”

“Again, I’m so sorry for your loss. She was a wonderful girl.”

I walked Brian to the door, and after I shut it, I looked over at Zoey, who was still sitting at the table.

“What the hell was she thinking?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Listen,” I spoke as I walked over to her. “I can do this alone. I’ll write you a check and you can go home.”

“To be honest with you, Mr. Grayson, the last thing I want to do is to be stuck in a car with you traveling from state to state, but I respected Nora a great deal, and if this is what she wanted, then I will do as she asked.”

I narrowed my eye at her at the fact that she said she didn’t want to be stuck in a car with me.

“Fine. Then we’ll head to Lake Tahoe tomorrow after we leave the funeral home.”

“In what?” she asked.

“I guess I’ll have to rent us a car, won’t I?”

I left the dining room and headed down to the beach to do some thinking and call the rental car company. Me and Zoey, in a car for all those days and hours, alone. We barely got along as it was, and now, I had a feeling things were about to get worse. I was looking forward to parting ways with her in the next day or two. But now, we’d be stuck on this road trip together, which was already stressing me out and making my head hurt.