Eden Franklin

Always the last to know, Eden thought bitterly.  She had called Mr. Patterson, the lawyer Dad has chosen to be his executor—also the one who handled the divorce!—and asked when she would be getting the measly twenty thousand dollars her dad owed her.  Mr. Patterson explained to her that most of her father’s estate had been tied up in something called Allgate Reality, which was now under Federal investigation for money laundering.  The twenty thousand most likely would not be there any time soon, if at all.

Shocked, Eden had put down the phone, only to pick it up about ten minutes later to ask about her father’s personal property, like his Mercedes sports car and the BMW iX.  Mr Patterson unkindly said, “If you reread your copy of the will, it clearly states that all personal property goes to the widow.”

“Widow?  You mean Black Widow!” Eden shot back.

There was silence on the other end before Mr. Patterson said calmly but coldly, “Eden, I know you’re upset about your father’s death and that you never accepted Heidi Fairfax Franklin as your step-mother, but you have to let it go.  It’s basically over and done with.  Your father gave you a good life and a good start for your future.  That’s more than most people your age have.  So you are blessed.”

“I want to be blessed with my fucking twenty thousand dollars!” Eden shot back before she slammed down the phone.  Blessed.  If someone provides you with the advantages she’ll admit she had through her younger years, they should continue to provide them because that’s what would be expected.  It’s like those models who marry football players and divorce them after a couple of years.  They get to keep their standard of living.  Why shouldn’t she!

She called her brother Frank.  “Did you know about this?  Of course, you did!” she said before he had a chance to answer.

“I assume you’re referring to Allgate Reality?”

“You knew.”

“Yes.  Only because Allgate had come up in some work I’m doing. Or was doing.  I didn’t want to mention anything until there were more developments.”

“Did you tell Riley?”

“I let Riley know, yes, because I knew she would be rational about it.”

“Meaning?”

“Look, Eden, you have to move on.  Dad and his money are gone.  I advised him not to invest so heavily in real estate.  He told me it was a sure thing, that he and all his partners were investing.  I couldn’t dissuade him and now we’re stuck with this unfortunate situation.”

“Unfortunate!”  She hung up on her brother.  The prig!

She stewed all night and had to call in sick the next day.  This was too much for her.  Not that twenty thousand was that much but to know that nothing was coming, not from her father or her mother—how was she to live?

Maybe there was some mistake.  She put in a call to Dad’s old office, told the receptionist who she was and asked to speak to Dr. Horowitz.  Twenty minutes later he called her back.  “Eden, my darling girl, what can I do for you?  Again, so very sorry about your father.  Between patients, so—“

“Did you invest in Allgate Realty?” She could be just as abrupt.

A sigh. “I’m afraid we all did.  Some more than others.  After all, it was one of your father’s best friends who gave us that advice.”

“Who?”

“Will Stanton.  He has an office here in—“

But Eden had hung up the phone.  Will Stanton.  Mr. Stanton.  Oh, yeah, she knew Mr. Stanton—and the Missus.  Lily Stanton, bright bubbly, on the cheerleading squad with Eden, was Eden’s best friend in high school.  They did everything together, including a bit of shoplifting.  They were so close until— Until Lily stole Eden’s boyfriend senior year just ahead of senior prom.  Captain of the football team, he and Lily were voted king and queen of the senior prom.  While Eden was reduced to going with a member of the swim team, someone who looked ridiculous doing the butterfly in cap and nose clips!  Oh, those Stantons.  There was going to be hell to pay now!