TEN - NIKITA

"Why are there so many papers to sign?" I complained as I scribbled my name on yet another piece of paper.

"That's what lawyers do," Aiyssa reminded me with a straight face as she stapled a few sheets that had already been signed together and put them in a folder. "We make tons of documents, have everyone sign them, and then store them in huge warehouses so that we can pull them out ten years from now when the IRS audits you to show that you don't actually owe them the GDP of a small country in back taxes because someone mistyped a number somewhere along the line."

"I can't believe you learned this in school." I tried to hide my smile when she said that her job was just like any other.

"Yes, well, aren't you glad I did?" She asked in a nice way. "Otherwise, you'd be on your own with all this nonsense."

The idea of spending hours on the phone, in the mail, and sorting through my grandfather's and my parents' lives was really scary.

"I will always be grateful to you," I told her.