Page 41 of Spending Forever With You

I opened the door to a bright eyed Skyla as I stepped aside to give her space to enter.

“Oh wow, you two have a beautiful home,” she said upon entry, coming face-to-face with a set of the pictures we had done by Hollis’s people.

“We appreciate that. You can follow me to the kitchen. We were just having breakfast, so Hollis is at the island.”

“Oh, I apologize for the inconvenience,” she said as we walked in to Hollis cleaning up.

“No need for apologies, Skyla. Would you like something to drink? We have coffee, freshly brewed, water, and orange juice,” Hollis said, wiping her hands on the towel.

“Oh, no thank you. This won’t take long. As promised, here are the keys to your property. I just need a couple minutes to go over the next steps.”

I frowned while Hollis voiced her confusion.

“Wait, what do you mean next steps? It’s not done?”

“Oh no, this is just the start of the process. With heavy detailed wills such as this one, I try not to overwhelm my clients with all the information at once. So, I do steps to help break them into what’s to come. Step one was proving your marriage. Step two, now this is where the fun begins. Per Jimmy, after step one, you two have to stay married and live together for six months before you can officially sign and take ownership of the property.”

Six months?

That would take us to the end of the year.

Hollis gasped lowly before she played it off with a cough I knew was fake. I glanced at her wide eyes and horrified expression, letting me know she had done the math just as I did for how long it would be until she would be able to leave me again.

She was just as taken aback as me, but the difference was I knew my wife was fuming by the flare of her nostrils.

“Wait, is that legal? And six months? Can we sell during this time?” Hollis asked, then grabbed her cup and took a sip.

“No, because legally you aren’t the owners, consider this the probation period. You have some benefits. You can go to the property, but you can’t make any major decisions regarding it. Cleaning it is okay, though. Now, I know a lot can happen in that timeframe, but no matter what, you two must stay married and live together. You can change addresses as long as you two move together, and jobs, hell, even the size of your family. But names and titles must remain the same. Am I clear on that?” Skyla put two sets of keys on the island then pulled out a manila envelope and proceeded to open it to a stack of papers.

I put my eyes on Hollis who had horror written on her face as her eyes doubled in size with her mouth wide open.

“Yes. Trust me, Hollis and I are a forever thing. You don’t have to worry about that,” I said while Hollis just stood there stuck.

Since Skyla’s head was down sorting through papers, I took the opportunity to mouth to Hollis,

“Please fix your face, Hershey.”

“Well excuse me for asking so bluntly, Skyla, but how will you know if we stick to this plan?” I asked while Hollis turned her back to us, busying herself with wiping down the counter but I knew she was trying to calm herself.

“Oh yeah, the extra part of step two, I will be doing monthly check-ins here when I drop these off for you.” She placed two envelopes on the counter, getting Hollis’s attention again as she made her way over to us, standing close to me.

“I don’t know what’s in them, and yes, they are sealed.” I glanced at the letter sized envelopes with mine and Hollis’s names written on them in Jimmy’s handwriting. While I hesitated, Hollis grabbed hers.

“One final thing, if for any reason you two get divorced, one moves out, or you falsify anything during this process, your cousin Raymond Deacon will inherit your share of the will. And to ensure that I made this very clear to both of you, this is just a statement stating you understand. I’ll need you both to sign and date for me, then I’ll be out of here.”

Skyla put down two pens for us. I went to sign when Hollis put her hand out, stopping me from even picking up my pen.

“I’ma have our lawyer look over this first. You don’t mind, do you?” Hollis smiled as she grabbed both sets of documents, crossing her arms and tucking them underneath.

“Oh, of course. I’ll give you a week to get them in.”

“Is there anything else?” Hollis said, tone full of sarcastic humor that let me know even if Skyla said no, the conversation was over.

“No, ma’am. You two have a good day.”

“You too. See you soon.” That was my cue to escort Skyla out immediately.

Once she was gone and I made my way back to the kitchen, Hollis was gone. I checked outside in the back and saw her by the pool, her feet in with her phone to her ear.