I sat on the small brown ottoman in benny's apartment listening to the usual sounds of the chess clock ticking away and of wood on wood over and over as he plaid against himself up the dining room table, I looked up at him as he sat there in his black turtle neck his sleeves rolled up to his elbows playing away, as usual, his jeans much looser than usual, and he had actually stolen my white bunny slippers but I didn't mind. Surrounding his board was not only the usual paperwork, taken pieces and his coffee cups but bundled up tissues the box beside him too.
He hasn't been very well for about a week now, nothing more than a cold. But he was instant he was much sicker than that.
Man flu as I called it.
he came back from Paris with the sniffles and had been like this ever since, honestly the last few days he'd basically just sat on his leather chair huddled with a blanket complaining.
And I had a thought to myself.
"Benny?" I asked
"Umm?" he asks with a slight sniffle
"Do you have a will?"
"I know a will"
"No, benny I mean do you have like a last will and testament like a legal letter explaining what you want after you die"
"why? you planning to kill me?"
"No, but it wouldn't be a bad idea"
"What do you think I'm going to die?" he asks in a panic
"No. No benny. but it wouldn't be a bad idea" I shrug
".... your right," he says clearing the table and fetching his typewriter sitting it on the table cracking his fingers and loading a bit of paper "The Last Will and Testament, Of Benjamin Watts"
"Benjamin" I giggled
"Quiet you" he snapped "Umm where to begin?"
"Well, what do you want people to do with your body?"
"Hummm" he hummed "I'd like to be perfectly preserved in a glass coffin and sealed in a gothic mausoleum with a stone chess floor with stone chess pieces in front of my coffin so that people have to play chess with my ghost if they ever try to get into my mausoleum" He explained
"That sounds... expensive."
"and an amazing find in the future, they'll think I was a god"
"Benny, don't confuse the archaeologists of the future"
"Fine" he sighed "But I still want my chess mausoleum"
"I can offer you a grave with a giant chessboard on the top"
"alright" he sighed "But it's going on the will. depends on the stonework at the time," he says
"Fine" I sighed as he typed it out
"Ohh and I wish to have my girlfriend entombed with me"
"I don't wanna be shoved in some chess mausoleum"
"Why not? we can cuddle in the glass coffin? play chess for all eternity"
"No Benny."
"Don't you wanna be entombed with me?"
"I don't know"
"We're engaged"
"Yeah to death do us part. nothing about eternity in a mausoleum with a giant stone chessboard"
"I'll let you design it after I die"
"Alright"
"Good."
"Will there be booby traps?"
"ooohh with booby traps" he adds
"You just want a pyramid don't you?"
"If I could have a chess-themed pyramid I would," he says "Next. worthy possessions... I don't have much of worth."
"Well, who gets the apartment?"
"The landlord. I down own this place"
"Fine, what about... your car?"
"If it's still running by the time I die sell it for parts I don't care damn thing barely runs right anyway"
"Honestly NYPD will probably impound it over the hundreds of unpaid parking tickets it will likely have when your dead"
"That's a good point" he nods "Still I don't mind" he shrugs "Hummm... my clothes will go to harry Beltic. He needs the help," he says "But my hat and coat stay with me. I want to be in my glass coffin in my favourite outfit"
"I would have thought you'd want your kimono?"
"No, You can have that if your still alive when I die, to cuddle with. you can have it with you when you come to join the tomb"
"And if I die before you?"
"You can have it I'll let you take it in the tomb till I join you" he explained "Now, My trophies. will be in the tomb on a nice shelf"
"This is gonna be an expensive tomb"
"Then, My books. Hummm.... all of my chess books are, to be given to the new york city library as the Benny Watts collection"
"They'll have to give get a whole shelf for that"
"yes and people of the future will thank me"
"Alright" I laughed
"Beth. will get all my chess boards she can have those."
"she'll like that"
"she will." he laughs "Now, My knife."
"You wanna be buried with that too?"
"No. if by the time I die I have children. then my knife goes to my firstborn."
"I hope if we have kids this whole will, will receive an edit"
"maybe an amendment"
"But if we don't have kids. then Weiss can have it"
"so generous" I giggled
"He can also have the chair because he loves that chair" he explained as he typed "Wexler, can have... my debts. he can sort that shit out" he typed "Uuhhh Clio. what do I leave to Clio. Ahh my old cigarette box. she can have that when I die" he explained "Towns. Eh do I wanna give towns anything? He can have my polaroid camera" he shrugs
"What do I get?" I giggled
"You can have the first pick of anything you want regardless of anyone else. and I get to follow you as a ghost"
"Fine" I smiled
"On the Condition. That you don't get remarried"
"I promise benny"
"Good, And my book can be rereleased as a legacy edition after I'm dead, and the royalties of my books-"
"I'll get those once were married and your dead there residuals that's a marriage thing"
"Ohh. alright then that solves that problem" he shrugs "I was going to give it to matt and mike on the condition they guard my tomb"
"I am so happy this isn't legally binding"