Dahlia's Ticket

"Again, the air quality is at 280, which is in the Very Unhealthy zone." the reporter on the news site said. "It will be in the Hazardous zone the next few days, so stay indoors when possible, use air filters, and wear a gas mask if you go out."

Dahlia exited the site on her phone and read her latest email for what may have been the 50th time. A forwarded copy of her late lover’s will, with no mention of her name as a beneficiary. She knew she shouldn't be surprised considering she was more of a mistress than a girlfriend. Yet she had difficulty believing that Drew would not at least have given her something of his mass wealth.

Lying in bed, she swung between being angry and disheartened. She lost Drew two weeks ago from a heart attack after being together for three years. It was only the day before his death that they were in his dining room, being served by his personal chef, one of the many people who looked the other way at their relationship.

She was daydreaming of opening gifts from Drew during their last Christmas together when her phone dinged. It was a reminder for a virtual meeting she had with Eliza, Drew's late wife. Dahlia knew that Eliza had been aware of the affair. In fact, it was Eliza who sent the copy of the will. Dahlia figured Eliza wanted to emphasize that she inherited most of her husband's possessions. She did not know how she got her email address, but the wife was adamant in having a meeting.

Taking a deep breath, Dahlia grabbed her tablet from the nightstand. She sat up straight in bed, positioned the tablet so it lay against its stand on her lap, and used her fingers to fix her hair. Having not washed her face, the make up she put on the previous day still looked presentable. She had a blouse on but didn't bother to change out of her pajama pants. While waiting for Eliza to call, she read the weather update that stated another flash flood warning for later that day. Constant bad weather was just one of the many consequences of people not caring about climate change.

The video call came promptly. She answered and saw Eliza also sitting up straight, but at a dining room table with an expensive hair style and in nice clothing, including the heart-shaped necklace she often wore. Eliza was donning a slight smile, but her eyes looked up and down Dahlia. This was the expression she always gave Dahlia at public events. It's as if, Dahlia thought, she felt she still needed to save face even though Drew was gone and they were talking alone face-to-face for the first time.

"Thank you for answering." Eliza began. Dahlia nodded but couldn't bring herself to smile back. "I trust you completely read the will."

"How it it possible that..." Dahlia stopped herself and breathed deeply. "Why did you send me the will? And are you sure this is..." she paused, "the most recent version?"

"Yes." Eliza replied, her expression not changing.

With tears in her eyes, Dahlia looked around the room searching for words. Eliza continued to speak.

"Joseph was the executor of the will. I do not know if the will has been made public yet, but you will soon be able to request a copy from the court to see for yourself."

"Joseph? Who's Joseph?"

"Joseph. Joseph. Drew's brother." Eliza grew agitated. "I know you never got to know his family, but come on, Dahlia, you screwed the man for three years."

With her face in her hands, Dahlia said, "I'm sorry. This is too much to take in."

"Yes, I'm sure this is a tough situation for you. After all, you didn't want him to die until after you cemented a fraction of the Hanson family fortune for yourself."

"Stop."

"Getting to know him intimately after securing a job as his assistant. Although, I should tell you, you won't be having a job for much longer. Vonnie will be taking over the company. Vonnie is his sister, in case you didn't know that either. Did you even read the entire will?"

"I said stop!" Dahlia leaned closer to the screen. "I loved Drew."

Eliza snorted.

"I did!" Dahlia continued. "I loved him more than you ever did, and he loved me! I find it impossible to believe that he would leave me nothing. Maybe he had not given an updated will to anyone. He died so suddenly."

"Dear, he was 72 years old. He had a heart attack, yes, but I'd hardly say his death was a surprise. With the way he ate and drank, he would have been a fool to think he'd live much longer. God rest his soul, but if it weren't a heart attack, it would have been an asthma attack considering he often disregarded his gas mask. In case you did not notice, he last updated his will five years ago. He may have been unhealthy, but he was organized. He would have certainly edited his will if he felt the need to."

Dahlia closed her eyes. Drew never seemed old to her. He had the energy and looks of a younger man.

"I know I am being harsh," said Eliza, "but I am being honest. However, I did not call this meeting to discuss Drew's will. I wanted to discuss this." She held up the heart-shaped locket around her neck. "This has been in the Hanson family for generations. As you can see, it is made of gold, something nobody has been able to buy new for over ten years. I certainly don't need nor want it anymore. It's yours now."

"A locket?! That means squat to me! If you're going to give me something of his, at least give me something meaningful!"

"I am giving you this to help you. I assume you will sell it."

Dahlia was fuming. Who was she, she thought, to suggest such a thing? "You do not know what Drew meant to me..."

"Oh, but I do." Eliza interrupted. "It was exactly what he meant to me."

"Wrong! Your marriage was loveless!"

"As was your relationship to him."

Dahlia was taken aback. She wished she had already exited the video chat, but she also wanted to know what the wife was going at.

"How old are you?" Eliza asked. "25?"

"32, and do not even begin implying that I am a heartless gold digger."

"Well, Drew was 20 years my senior. I was 39 when I married him. While he was charismatic and handsome, I certainly did not have strong romantic feelings for him. Before him, I had practically nothing to my name."

"So you admit, you were after his money."

"I cared for him. But love? You know, the world is much different from when I was a young girl."

Dahlia watched Eliza sigh and look up as if remembering something. She also noticed the pouring rain mixed with thick smog outside of Eliza's floor-to-ceiling window.

"I can't recall the last time I was able to go outside and take in fresh air. I wear a gas mask even on the rare days when the air quality index doesn't necessarily call for it. I miss the days when wearing a mask wasn't second nature. I miss not having to constantly prepare for floods, hurricanes, or heat waves."

"Let me guess. You also miss seeing elephants and tigers at places other than the zoo. Or that you can't believe how the government restricts how often we can use our own vehicles. Or that the seasons are basically just summer and winter because we don't get nice fall and spring weather like the old days." Dahlia rolled her eyes. She was tired of hearing older generations complain how drastic climate change has led humans living their lives almost completely indoors and with less individual freedom. The same argument was on loop on how humans have been too selfish to limit energy use and too stupid to make good changes. Sometimes she didn't even mind that the average life expectancy has dropped, considering how pessimistic she was about the earth improving.

"Well, you forgot how the cost of living has skyrocketed, and how jobs and food are getting much more difficult to come by." Eliza retorted. "I know that you were not paid well as an assistant, which my husband certainly made up for in gifts."

"Ok, I'm closing out of the meeting."

"Before you do," Eliza held up the locket again, "remember that you are free to come by and pick this up. I have no use for it, and you may want it as a symbol of your 'love', or you know, as a means of survival."

"If you keep suggesting that I would just sell it..."

"And if you do come to the house to retrieve it, that will be the last time we see each other. In fact, I will likely have one of the housekeepers bring it to you. I don't want to see you at the company anymore, and Vonnie agrees. However, I won't leave you high and dry. I don't need a token of Drew's affection anymore, so you will have more use of this more than I do. Again, you can't buy new gold anymore, so the locket's worth a very good, and I mean very good, amount of money. Whether you keep it or sell it is your choice to make, but I think we both know what you will do. I've seen the way you've looked at his belongings."

"I have kept everything that Drew has given me. You have no idea the moments we shared. I can still feel his arms around me. I still hear his voice as I fall asleep. I dream about him every night. You will never understand, and frankly, I feel sorry for you." Dahlia was hoping her words would pierce her, but Eliza showed no sign of it.

"You may come by anytime during the day. Take the locket as a promise you will not bother our family again. Goodbye, Dahlia. Remember, there is no shame in just wanting to survive. Especially in this day and age. Believe me."

At that, Dahlia closed out of the meeting. She looked straight ahead and thought about anything else she could do before resorting to taking the locket and saying goodbye to Drew's home forever. She went back to daydreaming about the previous Christmas, when she and Drew were laughing together as he put a pearl necklace around her neck. Pearls. Another depleted source nobody could buy anymore.

A month had passed as Dahlia undertook a thorough process into making sure the will was indeed the most recent version. It was. After accepting this, she put on a high-quality gas mask that Drew gave her, took a bus to the mansion (personal car use was limited that day) and retrieved the locket. Having the locket mailed to her was not reliable, as the postal service was not "rain or shine" anymore due to horrific weather. When she got home, she inspected the locket. There was nothing inside, as Eliza must have removed any pictures. After several minutes, Dahlia put her gas mask back on and took another bus downtown. She got off and passed some shut-down businesses before walking into a pawn shop. A man greeted her from behind a counter.

"Hello, Dahlia. Nice to see you again. Got anything new for me today?"

Dahlia handed him the locket, and he examined it closely.

"Very nice quality." the clerk said. "Even nicer than the pearls you brought last month."

She smiled when he told her his offer. However, while she was about to receive a large sum of money, she could not help but feel angry on how right Eliza was about her.