Virginia Dredd had been awake for quite some time when the letter came. She had been reading a novel when
she saw a miserable looking boy on a bicycle deliver it. She also heard her 3 German shepherds bark at him as
he breached the property line. She shrugged on a silk robe and went outside. Her house was set back quite far
away from the street, and it took a while for her to make it to the mail box. She finally made it, and grabbed
the letter from the mail box. She then trekked back to the house and went back inside. She tore it open and
read the contents. As she suspected, it was the annual charity event hosted by the country club.
Virginia was reluctant to attend any social event. In fact, she had never showed up for any of the
previous charity events. But this was an exception, as it came at a time when Virginia was exceptionally bored
with retirement.
What were you thinking, old girl? She would often tell herself. This was also said to her by her
partner at Dredd & Associates, Sinclair, her secretary and at least 5 of the rookie attorneys. It had been a
novel experience, but it was now growing very old. She was actually considering taking up old lady activities,
like knitting or jazzercise. There were only so many rare orchids she could cultivate, and only so many origami
figures she could make.
And that is when you know you’ve hit rock bottom. She would say to herself. she didn’t know how people could stand
retirement. It was disgustingly mundane. Virginia was used to the fast paced, high-stakes drama that was the
law. Just being involved with a case had often been enough for opponents to simply urge their clients to drop
it. They were convinced that Ms. Dredd couldn’t be beat. Virginia, with grim humor, thought that her rivals
were resting easy now.
Virginia decided that there was no harm in going to this charity event. $75 was chump change at this point.
She went to the kitchen and began to make breakfast. As usual, it was a spinach omelet and a cup of chai tea.
She sat out on the back porch, watching the light breeze create ripples in her Grecian themed swimming pool.
Virginia looked at the clock on her phone. It was 7:15 a.m. Virginia decided she would go for a bit of a
walk. She let her three German shepherds out in the backyard and went upstairs to her bedroom.
Virginia changed into a black track suit with a grey t-shirt. she put on a pair of large sunglasses and
exited the house. She came out upon the sidewalk and began to walk, wondering what she would do for the rest of the day.