He placed the notebook on a table beside the chair. “Well, how did that go?”
“It was a bit of a mess,” she admitted through laughter.
“How so?”
“Well, he lives in the projects with his wife and he has a heart condition and a drug-dealing foster son. And get this… when I went to visit him, his house was raided by the police.”
“Wow, that’s a lot. Where’s that going?”
“Well, the kid is in jail, my dad’s recovering, and his wife invited me to dinner tonight.”
His brow raised with curiosity. “You going?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Is that safe?” the doctor asked with a frown.
“Probably not,” Rebecca quipped. “But the foster kid is in jail. So, maybe it’ll be okay.”
He retrieved his notebook and asked, “What else?”
Rebecca picked at her nail polish that was beginning to chip.
“Anything else?” he repeated.
“Nah… well… I’m going clubbing tomorrow.”
“Clubbing? That’s not on the list.”
“Yeah, I know,” Rebecca admitted with a grin. “But it’s something. Who knows? I might meet the man of my dreams, fall in love, and check that off my list.”
Dr. Thantos smiled. “Ahh, the possibilities…”
He jotted something in his notebook and flipped the page. “What about loose ends?”
Rebecca’s mood turned grim. In addition to completing her bucket list, arrangements had to be made for her disposal after her death. The legality of it all was depressing. She had no loved ones to lay her to rest. Everything she’d worked for would go to no heir. And her personal property would be dispersed to friends.
“I’m working on it,” she muttered feebly as she stared down at her hands.
“Let me help.”
Rebecca's eyes flew upward to connect with his. She blinked at him with furrowed brows. “Help me? How?”
“I’ll assume the responsibility of laying you to rest,” he declared with a nonchalant shrug.
Rebecca gasped. “What? Really? Why would you do that?”
Without looking up from the notepad, he said, “Because helping you is my job. You have so much to worry about. I don’t want this to be one more item of concern for you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. I volunteered. I just need you to write down your wishes.”
“Dr. Thantos,” Rebecca whispered.
She couldn’t believe what he was offering to do for her. Could she actually accept his offer and allow him to do something so personal? Admittedly, the thought of not having to deal with the details was a huge relief.
“Doc, are you sure?”
