Charms

Kevin sat his desk, the document in front of him and his mind miles away. When his mentor and friend asked him to help take care of his affairs, he never imagined this was what would be involved - going over a last will and testament with a young man that was, a week ago, in a horrific car accident, the same accident that claimed the life of his only parent. No, Kevin didn't foresee this. A little over a month ago, John had asked him to be the executer of his will. Despite the somber topic, the older man had been in a jovial mood. Apparently his only son was coming home, from what Kevin understood, to be a long stay in the hospital. And although it went unsaid, Kevin had a suspicion that the hospital in question was an institution to treat those suffering from mental illness.

Kevin opened his briefcase to pull out his notes. John's son, Jesse, had been unavailable for the reading of the will. In life and in death, John had been an efficient man. When he was making his plan, he left explicit instructions with his lawyer to have the reading of the will done as soon as the executor was available. He didn't want his death dragged out to a month long affair. The funeral, wake, reading, and memorial service all took place within three days of his death. Jesse was unable to attend anything, still in the hospital, recovering from the injuries he sustained in the accident.

Kevin looked over his notes again for what felt like the thousandth time. All of his mentor's life boiled down to one sheet of paper. The door to Kevin's office opened and a young man walked in. He wasn't at all what Kevin imagined when he heard John speak about his fun-loving, adventurous son. This man looked pale and drawn, and his eyes spoke of pain that John would never understand.

After a few minutes, he realized he was simply staring and stood up to introduce himself properly, reaching out to shake the man's hand.

"Hello Jesse. It's nice to meet you, unfortunate circumstances, but its still good to meet the son John spoke so fondly of."

"Er...um...he talked about you too." Jesse mumbled somewhat awkwardly before taking a seat across from Kevin. "How long do you think this'll take?"

Kevin looked up from the page of notes that his eyes had drifted to once again only to find Jesse, head down, staring at his own hands which were currently fiddling with a rubber band.

"It shouldn't take too long. Everything was laid out very..." Kevin searched for the right word, "succinctly. We should be out of here within the hour." The only response he receives is a silent nod from Jesse.

Kevin spent the next hour going through John's last wishes. He left everything to Jesse, with the exception of the company John owned and Kevin was employed at. John left the company to both Jesse and Kevin, equal partners, although John did acknowledge that Jesse may want to take on the role of silent partner, seeing as how he had no interest in business.

Jesse was left the entirety of his father's estate, valued at a little over 5 million dollars. John also left instructions for what should be done with each home he owned, three in total - two vacation homes in Florence and Quebec, and their home just outside of the city. Most of John's personal belongings were to be sold and the resultant funds donated to charity. The domestic staff were given the option to leave with a generous severance pay or to stay under Jesse's employ. The final decision of what to do with the two vacation homes was left up to Jesse, he could sell or keep. But John made it clear that his wish was for Jesse to keep their home in the family.

It was a lot to take in for anyone, let alone someone so young. Kevin looked up to see how the man was taking it all. His gray eyes were a little shiny but his voice was firm, "Is that all?" Kevin was caught off guard a bit by the blunt question.

"Um...yes...I guess so. John wanted to have everything done as soon as possible so you should probably try to go through his things sometime this weekend. If you need any help…" He didn't get a chance to finish his offer.

"That won't be necessary. Thank you for your time. Have a nice day." And before Kevin could stop him, Jesse was out of the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kevin stood on the open porch, the sun warming his skin and hurting his eyes. He had no idea what he was doing at the house. Jesse had made it very clear that didn't need or want any help from him. But what about Kevin? He was still grieving. John had hired him right of law school, mentoring and teaching him. He became the closest thing to a father that Kevin had ever had. John was even making plans to introduce him to Jesse, his family. Kevin had lived his life without a family here, and John was offering to share his. Now John was gone. That relationship was pulled from underneath him. And maybe he was grasping at straws here, but the only piece of John left in the world was Jesse. And was it so wrong that he wanted to get to know the young man?

The door swung open to reveal Jesse. The man's mouth was a tight scowl and his eyes were suspiciously rimmed red.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was cold.

"I came to see if you needed--"

"I already told you that I am perfectly capable of handling things." His voice was cold and he was already trying to close the door Kevin's face. Kevin couldn't let that happen. He forged ahead, putting on his kindest smile he pushed the door further open, insinuating himself between Jesse and the doorjamb before walking into the foyer. He turned around to look at Jesse.

"I don't care whether you need it or not. I want to help, so let me help." Jesse's ramrod posture slumped a bit in a defeated kind of way.

"Fine."