Chapter 17-
Returned
It was
the day after William had sent Lily Pad Frogleap out the door with Velma. He felt
pretty badly about pairing the two, Velma was difficult to live with at the
best of times, and Lily Pad could be a downright nightmare. However, he felt
oddly light and carefree as well, as though a burden had been lifted.
William
had walked in the doors and glanced out the windows to the backyard. What he
saw there froze him in his tracks. He cried out a little in surprise as he
began to run. He could hardly believe his eyes. Slowing down, he came to a
stop, eyes wide, mouth open.
The
statues had returned.
Kiley
and the maid had followed him out. Both approached the statue garden slowly
gazing at the art returned to its home.
Marcie
comes to stand near William.
“These
have never been here during my memory. It’s beautiful,” she said simply.
“They
are.” William answered.
Marcie
genuinely wondered, but didn’t want to ask where they had been. She was sure
she didn’t really want to hear the answer she would get.
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Craig
had asked Helen and Peter to come over after school let out. When the two got
there, Helen stopped out front to talk to Craig while Peter went to find most
of the rest of the household standing in the statuary acting like they’d never
seen them before.
“Do you
all come out here to view the statues a lot?” He asked to the crowd in general.
He really wanted to fit in and didn’t want to insinuate that he thought what he
was seeing was unusual.
Marcie
sat down on the grass, pulling out her homework. William would take care of
this one, and she now had an excuse to pretend not to listen.
“The
aliens returned them!” William proclaimed with glee.
Peter
blinked. “The… aliens,” he said slowly. “The aliens returned them?”
William
was glowing with jubilation. “Yes.”
Peter
looked at the ground. Maybe he wouldn’t fit in as well as he hoped after all.
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Helen
was feeling just a mite apprehensive approaching Craig. She and Peter had hung
their hopes on this. It wouldn’t do to mess it up.
“So
Peter told me that he told you about our idea,” she began. “The idea where we
want to move in here with you.” Helen paused, feeling just a little bolder now.
“I
really want to have the opportunity to get to know you better, we were so
little when Mom took us away from here. And we just don’t get along. Mom and I,
I mean-“
“I’ve
already talked to my lawyers about Peter’s idea,” Craig interrupted with a
smile. “They were supposed to call Kristine this afternoon. I’m not too sure
what she’ll say about it, but I think having the two of you living here will be
a good thing.”
Helen
let out the breath she had been holding since walking through the gate.
“I
really hope she says yes,” Helen said. “The house is really beautiful.”
“The
house is most of the point,” Craig interrupted again. “The board recognizes
that I’m not going to be around forever and they are pressing me to name an
heir. Right now, I think you and Peter should have just as much a shot as
William. Bernadette is a little too devoted to Kristine for the board to take
her seriously. I want the two of you in the house to learn some of what goes
into running the businesses in town. It’s a lot of work.”
This
time it was Helen’s turn to interrupt.
“I
thought, and I know Peter did too,” Helen said. “We thought that as the oldest
William would be the one to inherit. And Mom said there’s some clause…”
Helen’s
confusion slowed to silence. Craig was thrilled to know that she had attempted
to familiarize herself with family matters.
“William
shouldn’t be the only one with a shot just because he’s the oldest,” Craig told
her kindly. “I’m not the oldest male, Christopher was. But he would have hated
to be tied to the corporation. Christian’s ethics were not what the board
approved of. And so it fell to me. Christalyn helps me quite a bit, even though
she isn’t the heir. She spent a lot of time when she was younger making sure
she knew the basic ins and outs. It wouldn’t be fair to exclude you entirely.
You could be a great asset to whomever takes over after I’ve retired.”
“It’s
ok if it’s William,” Helen said. “Really. We’ve discussed it a lot. We were
dead sure and quite prepared for it to be him. It’s ok.”
Craig
smiled at Helen kindly. “Peter is in the running, too. And you should learn the
ropes.”
“I’m
sorry you can’t inherit,” Craig tried again to reassure Helen that she could be
vital to how the company runs. “But, you know, babies. I’m sure you’ll want
them and you don’t need such stress.”
“Surely
not,” Helen thought, looking quizzically at Craig. She and her siblings had
decided that the corporation didn’t want the family name to change and had
decided that most of the males in town were too proud to give up their names in
favor of their wife. She had no idea such a medieval practice was still in
play.
Craig
caught the look she was giving him and frowned.
Helen
quickly threw a smile at him which Craig returned. He was anxious to begin
watching his children to see who was most suitable.
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“I went
ahead and called Mom,” Peter had found Helen and Craig lightly chatting out
front. He’d done his best to chat with William before deciding it simply wasn’t
possible today. William was too focused on aliens to make much sense.
“I
pulled out all the stops, even shouted a bit for her to get the idea,” Peter
was easily able to keep his excitement concealed. He loved injecting drama into
his life.
Helen
waited patiently for him to get to his point. She knew all too well that he
enjoyed every moment of making her wait, spinning his tale long.
“Tomorrow,”
Peter said happily. “Bernadette will bring all our clothes with her on the bus.
Mom doesn’t want us back home!” Given the subject, you’d think he might be a
little upset, but it was what the two had been hoping for.
“Ha!
Seriously?” Helen asked as she gave her brother a hug. She was so happy she
could have danced. Life with Kristine was hard, despite the nice house. She and
Peter had convinced themselves that Craig was really the better parent, that he
would pay them attention, give them love, direction, support, take care of the
things. Kristine was not easy to live with if you weren’t prepared to worship
her, Helen and Peter didn’t.
Peter
pulled back, grinning at her.
“She
doesn’t even want us home tonight,” he exulted. “Says she’s washing her hands
of us, that we’re too much trouble.”
“Tonight?”
Helen breathed.
“Tonight.
Do you think Dad will mind? Did you talk to him about it?”
“Should
be no problem at all. We may need him to call her, but he’s already talked to
his lawyers to smooth the way,” Helen answered.
“We can
really live here,” Peter said. His mind could hardly grasp the wonderful truth
of it.
“HelsBels,”
Peter said, suddenly acting serious. “I absolutely must tell you that your
brain is marvelous. Why, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t finally be leaving
the mess behind. You have my eternal loyalty and gratitude.” Peter finished
with a deep bow of mock reverence.
“Did
you ever doubt me?” Helen asked when Peter had straightened back up. “What did
you expect? To end up on the streets?”
The two
smiled at each other and their good fortune.
They
turned toward the house. Kiley was calling everyone in for dinner, the sun had
set, and a large slice of moon gave the house a serene glow. Both had been
watching the house from their own windows at Kristine’s for years, longing to
one day live there again.
Peter
looked through the kitchen windows as family gathered to grab a plate. He could
almost hear the familiar banter, smell the food. His stared so hard his eyes
watered.
Helen
stared just as hard at the front doors. She was ready to make this move
official and walk in through them.
“C’mon,
Pete,” Helen said starting toward the house. “It’s time we went home for the
night.”
They
walked toward the house, Peter with one hand on Helen’s back. Whatever
happened, they were finally home.
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Aw. A
sweet homecoming. I know I had made it seem like Peter and Helen were up to
something a little more sinister, but, to me, this is a bit underhanded. They
didn’t reveal their true motives, and were using their own means to achieve
their ends. However oily and wheedling they attempted to be, their goal was
fairly pure.
In my
Nothing is Free challenge I had placed a rule on myself that the heir must be
male. As I mentioned it in one of my previous NIFC stories, (Generation 5 I
believe) I figured I’d better follow it here. I did it because I’m too lazy to
open Master Controller and change some poor dudes last name. Also, as it was a
genetics experiment I enjoyed seeing Scarlett Red and his lime green hair.
Maybe I’m cruel, but it made me lol. And so I stuck to the male inheritor line.
NIF and Random Legacies do not require that though… Just an FYI.
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