Yours, Mine and Ours

Chapter Five: Last Will and Testament

Following Lionel into the lawyer’s office, Katania felt her stomach twist and turn at the sight of Allison already sitting inside; she had no idea why that woman was here but she knew it wasn’t good.

Allison smirked at the two, she had arrived early for the meeting with the lawyer and she was excited for the moment that he announced that Sophie would be coming to live with her.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Mr Cross greeted shaking first Lionel’s hand and then moving to shake Katania’s, he hoped that after today that everything would fall into place.

Katania unshouldered her black cross body bag and moved to sit down, she wanted to get this over and down with as quickly as possible; they had left Sophie outside with the social worker since this meeting was about the little girl’s future care.

Lionel smoothed out his grey suit as he sat down between Katania and Allison, they didn’t need any fighting when they just wanted what was best for Sophie and it was clear that Allison wouldn’t be it.

Katania was wearing a red chenille jumper and black bi-stretch pinstripe suit trousers paired with black patent ballet pumps; they both wanted to be prepared for whatever happened inside the office and dealing with Allison.

“Shall we get down to business?” Mr Cross asked looking between the three gathered, he was going to read the last will and testament of Sergio and Martha Perón Collins.

Katania and Lionel both nodded their heads, they didn’t want to be around Allison for longer than they needed to be; they wanted to make sure that there was a plan to ensure that Sophie was looked after.

Lionel was hopeful that Katania would be able to look after Sophie, she was the best choice that he could think of since she was a better family member than Allison.

“Now we are here to hear the last will and testament of Sergio and Martha Perón Collins,” Mr Cross said looking down at the document before him, he took a deep breath knowing that what they had decided would change everything.

Katania swallowed, she had no idea what her cousin might have decided but she prayed that Allison would never get her hands on Sophie.

“Mr and Mrs Perón have decided that they wish for their daughter, Sophie Isabel Perón Collins in the event of their deaths to be place into the care of…” Mr Cross said reading from the will, his glasses sliding down his nose as he slowly read what had been decided by the couple; he didn’t get too finished as Allison jumped to her feet interrupting him.

“Why thank you… I’ll make sure that Sophia has the best possible care,” Allison gushed not allowing Mr Cross to finish, she ignored the glare from Lionel and Katania as she got Sophie’s name wrong.

Allison smoothed out her expensive dress suit and started towards the door, the sooner she and Sophie were out of the country the better; she couldn’t wait to start fixing the little girl.

“Actually Mrs Collins… Lionel and Katania are her guardians,” Mr Cross said interrupting her before she could leave the room, he looked at Katania and Lionel knowing that they would be surprised about the last wishes of Sergio and Martha.

Katania swallowed, she didn’t know where this was going but she had a feeling that her cousin had left a condition about this arrangement; she didn’t know how her and Lionel were meant to raise a child together.

Allison turned around and stared at the lawyer, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing; she would be a much better mother to Sophie than the other two would be.

“Now there are some conditions about the two of you being Sophie’s guardians,” Mr Cross said pushing his glasses up his nose, he looked at Lionel and Katania sure that they would be able to handle them.

Katania nodded her head slowly, she was sure that Lionel and her would be able to come up with some way of raising Sophia between them; they were a better option than Allison.

Mr Cross cleared his throat, his brown eyes looking over the document and he wasn’t even surprised that there was a social worker waiting outside for this since there was a lot of paperwork to sign; it was a lot to ask for two people that weren’t together.

“They wish for the two of you to live under the same roof and raise Sophie together in Barcelona,” Mr Cross said reading out the wishes of the deceased, he had to get through it so that Lionel and Katania knew what was expected to happen.

Lionel felt his stomach churn as he realised what Sergio had expected him to do, not only was he expected to look after Sophie but he was expected to take in Katania as well.

“The house that the couple owned will be part on the market with the money going towards Sophie’s future, the same goes for any items of theirs that you sell,” Mr Cross said setting down the document, he looked across his desk at the two hoping that they would agree.

The lawyer had already read ahead and he knew what would happen if they didn’t go through with the wishes; he didn’t want that to happen but there was a lot to ask.

“What if I was to leave Sophie here with Katania to raise alone but support them in any way that I can?” Lionel asked not wanting to force Katania to move to Barcelona, he was sure that she would be able to raise Sophie on her own.

Lionel had to think about his girlfriend, and he doubted that Antonella would be pleased with having a stranger move in with them with a young child.

“Neither of you can raise Sophie alone, that is there condition. Allison will be given full custody if this happens,” Mr Cross said making it clear that they had to do this together or not at all; it wasn’t an easy ask but if they wished to keep Sophie from Allison then that was what they had to do.

Allison smirked, she doubted that anyone would agree to those conditions and she was moments away from getting Sophie; she just had to have one of the two say no.

Katania opened and closed her mouth, this was a lot to take in and she wished that Sergio had warned her about this; she wasn’t sure what to make of the decision she had to make.

“Could you give Lionel and me a moment?” Katania asked brushing some hair from her face, she looked at the footballer knowing that they had to talk about this; they had to make a decision that would affect Sophie’s entire life.

“Of course… but a decision must be made today for Sophie’s sake,” Mr Cross said nodding as he got to his feet and led Allison out of the office, they didn’t have long and they had to make a decision and quickly.

Sophie was important and the last thing that anyone wanted was to leave her with an uncertain future; a decision had to be made and soon before anything else could happen.

Lionel ran a hand through his hair, he looked at Katania who look just as lost as he did; he had no idea what to do but he knew that Allison couldn’t take Sophie.

“What do we do?” Katania asked scared as she thought about the thought of losing Sophie to Allison, she couldn’t bear it and she was now reliant on Lionel’s decision.

Lionel groaned and got to his feet, he paced the office trying to make a decision; he couldn’t call Antonella since she had gone away with her parents and he was expected to make a decision.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” Lionel said looking out of the office window, he prayed that he was making the right decision; not just for himself but for Sophie.