Author Anon

“Nana, why are you leaving?” asks Lisa. “I still need you here to help with the baby.”

“I’m sure you have enough help with Rick home and now Lucy.”

“Lucy’s trying to get her marriage back on track. Rick is not available during the day. Besides, we’re thinking of taking in Lucas.”

“Why would you want to have a reminder of David Golde? He’s done enough damage.”

The doorbell rings and Lisa goes to answer.

“Good morning, Michael,” says Lisa, surprised. “Come in.  What’s up?”

“I’d like to talk to your mother and grandmother. And, by the way, you and Rick should come over to Amanda’s tonight. We need to discuss Lucas.”

Lisa shows him into the living room. “I’ll go get Nana and Lucy.”

“What can I do for you?” asks Blanche, entering the room.

“I have some legal issues to discuss with you,” says Michael. “It also involves your daughter.”

“What’s going on?” asks Lucy.

“I wondered if either one of you has any legal representation?” asks Michael.

“We have never had any need for one,” replies Blanche.

“Well, after what I’m about to tell you, you may need to consider it,” says Michael.

“Oh dear, is it bad?” asks Lucy.

“Well, most people would consider it rather good,” says Michael, thoughtfully.

“What is it?” asks Blanche.

“It has come to my attention recently,” says Michael, looking at Blanche, “that your father left you an inheritance.”

Blanche looks up, surprised. “An inheritance?”

“It’s complicated, but I have the name of the lawyer you may wish to discuss the details with. It turned out that your half-brother also included you and your daughter in his will. As this ultimately affects Julia’s will, I will have to reprobate it.”

“What does all this mean?” asks Lucy.

“It means you have a share in Golde, Inc., essentially,” says Michael. “You will need to find yourselves a lawyer who will represent your interests in the company. I suggest that after you make your decision, you should approach the Golde family.”

“We will consider it,” says Blanche.

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“Are you sure this is the right spot?” asks Gavin.

“I’ve done my research,” says Nicholas. “The Black girls have rented that shop up ahead. They’re getting it ready for the Grand Opening this weekend. They’ve called in Les Carr’s.”

“Sounds a bit silly,” says Gavin.

“It’s named after them, Leslie and Carrie. And they’re both silly girls.”

“How do you know?”

Nicholas laughs. “I recently remembered where I had seen them. They were hovering over Julia’s body at the memorial service. I had already viewed the body and looked very closely at everything. When I returned after the girls left, I noticed that a ring was missing from her hand.”

“You don’t say!”

“It’s true. Considering their parentage, I’m not too surprised.”

“Why didn’t you report it?” asks Gavin.

“I wanted to see what they were up to,” says Nicholas. “I wonder if they financed this business by pawning the ring.”

“Was it that pricey?”

“It’s possible. I’m no diamond expert, but it looked nice.”

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“So, what’s been happening?” asks Carl.

“I swear that house is haunted,” says Melanie.

“Haunted?”

“Yes, I’ve seen Julia’s ghost twice,” says Melanie, shivering. “She even spoke to me.”

“How would you know what she sounded like?”

“I don’t,” says Melanie. “But the ghost spoke to me.”

“It could be just a trick,” says Carl.

“By whom?” asks Melanie.

“Maybe the family. They probably aren’t too happy about you being amongst them.”

“Well, whoever is doing it, they’re frightening me.”

“You can’t let them win,” says Carl. “Now, we need to help the girls set up. They’re trying to open tomorrow.”

“What are you going to do after that?” asks Melanie.

“I don’t know,” says Carl. “I don’t dare go back to my house.”

“Oh, Daddy,” says Leslie. “Why don’t you stay here?”

“Here?”

“Yes, we can set up a bed back in this office area and you can sleep here,” says Leslie.

“But what about during the day?” asks Carl.

“You can help us out.”

“How?”

“You can disguise yourself and be a salesperson.”

“Women shopping for clothes wouldn’t trust a male salesperson unless he was gay.”

“You can disguise yourself as a woman.”

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“Congratulations, Amanda!” says Lisa. “Michael told us this morning.”

“Thank you, Lisa,” Amanda responds. “You know Marie and Dan?”

Marie and Dan greet Rick and Lisa.

Michael addresses them. “I’ve called you all here so we can discuss Lucas’s future. We’ve all offered to take him in, but the process to be approved for fostering is tedious.”

“Yes,” says Marie. “That’s why Dan and I have decided to go ahead with adoption. After all, I am his aunt and a part of his family.”

“Well, Eileen is his sister,” says Lisa. “So we thought they should be raised together.”

“We probably have the least claim on him,” says Michael. “But he is very attached to Amanda.”

“How are we to decide then?” asks Dan.

“That’s something we have to discuss,” says Michael. “We’re open to any suggestions.”

“Maybe we can give him a trial period in each home,” suggests Rick. “At the end of the trial periods, we can have him choose.”

“That may be very stressful for him,” says Amanda. “And there’s no saying his decision then will be any different from now. I guess it will depend on how open he is in each situation. At his age, he may be adaptable but he can’t be expected to be reasonable.”

“True,” says Dan. “But it’s the most satisfactory plan there is right now. We each have a claim but it’s too difficult to say who has the best claim.”

“Do we all agree to this?” asks Michael.

They all give assent. “Next, we’ll have to decide who he goes to first and for how long,” says Michael.

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Filed under: All That Glitters