AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You two have absolutely nothing in common,” she told them, “but I think you’re going to get on swimmingly.”
She grabbed two of the smallest mugs from the cupboard and placed them down in front of the stuffies.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said. “Alaska, you should probably know that Chase smells of bubblegum. And he makes this noise.”
Peach squished Chase’s tummy and the PAW Patrol theme tune played out of the muffled speaker inside him.
Immediately, Teddy began yelping with that fingernails-down-a-chalkboard bark of his. Then, he began running around, chasing an invisible intruder, growling at pairs of shoes, ornaments, and even the coffee table as the song played.
Peach couldn’t stop laughing. “Teddy, you silly-billy! It’s just a song playing in Chase’s tummy! But it’s good to know you’re such an amazing guard dog!”
Teddy looked up at her and she lifted up the Chase toy. “Look!” She squished the tummy again, trying to show Teddy where the noise had come from. The second the song started up again, Teddy began his crazy act, running around the house even faster this time, knocking over an expensive-looking Greek-style vase.
Time seemed to slow down to a standstill as the vase tumbled down. Peach reached her hands out toward it, but there was no chance of getting there in time.
“No!” screamed Peach as the vase shattered to pieces. Just as she began picking up, she heard a deep voice above her.
“Ms. Trimble,” it said. “It’s time to get your life in order.”
*
Peach was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in one hand and a questionnaire in the other.
Opposite her was Dan, her life coach. They’d spent a little time together the other day, but hadn’t done much because she’d been so busy and tired. Today though, it seemed like Dan had plenty of things for them to do. Dan was dressed more like a sports coach than a life coach, and he had a whistle around his neck.
“Well?” Dan asked. “Have you had a chance to answer all the questions?”
“I… I don’t think I can answer any of them,” Peach said unsurely.
Dan tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch with an air of impatience. Peach wondered why Isaac had even booked a life coach for her. Was it because he’d seen her crying in Dade-D Bar? Was it because he thought her life was a mess?
Dan took the questionnaire off her. “Let’s go through some of the easier ones. Here.” He pointed at one of the early questions. “What would you say is your primary objective in life?”
“Um. To have a good time?”
Dan chuckled. “Well, sure. But what drives you? A desire for wealth? A desire to help others?”
“Both, I guess?” said Peach uncertainly.
“Alright,” said Dan. “Let’s examine that. You’re about to receive a large sum of money. Do you want to use the majority of it to live a life of luxury, or do you want to do something altruistic with it? What would make you happiest?” He smiled at her. “There’s no wrong answer.”
“I kind of feel like there is, though,” said Peach. “When you ask it like that, I feel like there’s no way I can say I want to keep even a single cent of the money for myself.”
Dan raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? You can’t make others happy until you’re happy yourself. Do you own your own home, Ms. Trimble? Do you have a healthcare plan in place?”
Peach pouted. “Isn’t this a conversation for my financial advisor?”
“You can only be advised about how to use your finances when we figure out what you want. I promise you, nobody’s going to call you selfish if you want to make plans to spend all of this money on yourself. Look at Isaac. He’s built this empire. Do you thinkhe’sselfish?” Dan gestured around the luxurious Mediterranean-style mansion, then out of the window, toward the rest of the compound.
“I never thought about it before, but… I guess he is,” said Peach. She felt a sting of guilt in her gut as she said that. “But then, he bought me all this wonderful stuff this morning. So, maybe he’snotselfish. He’s too generous to be selfish. But maybe I could say he’s… a consumer? And maybe you could say that consumers are… greedy?” She suddenly gasped as she remembered what had happened at the brasserie. “He’s definitely uncharitable.”
“You seem to be asking me a lot of questions,” said Dan. “I’m the one here to ask you. I just want to help you realize. You’re about to receive ten million dollars, Ms. Trimble. That’s a life-changing amount of money. An overwhelming amount of money. It’s important that this money brings you happiness. And for that to happen, we need to figure out what it is you want.”
Peach took a few long, deep breaths, trying to steady herself.
What I want.
What do I want?
