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I still tend to think of Mom as the gentle soul who raised and nurtured us as kids. Each time I see her, however, it seems that she’s grown a bit more calloused and flawed. It’s a feeling that is being confirmed by the steely look in her eyes.
“You’re going to like Mandy. She’s really pretty cool,” I try to reassure her.
“She’s good looking, in other words,” she surmises, giving me a snide smirk. “I know how young men think. It’s usually with the wrong head.”
“Well, yeah… she’s good looking, but you know what they say; hold your friends close and your enemies closer.”
The smirk remains as she shakes her head slowly from side to side. She’s giving me the look that says, “You stupid, stupid child.” It’s been a long time, but I still recognize it. I guess it was foolish to think that she might actually enjoy meeting Mandy after all these years.
“Have you already forgotten the lesson you learned in college?” she asks, breaking the tension silence filling the car. “You can’t trust people Trey, they will take advantage of you. You and Tyler are about to become the two youngest billionaires in the country. That makes you big, juicy targets for all kinds of conniving women.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve learned not to trust anyone,” I assure her. “I do think you are going to like Mandy though. Also, I guarantee that you’re not going to like Liv.”
“Okay…” she sighs. “I should’ve sent you to that relationship counselor years ago.”
“Yeah, she did so much for you and Dad,” I scoff, returning a bit of her attitude. Much to my relief, the car comes to a stop in front of the funeral home.
Exiting the car, we are immediately met by several of Dad’s relatives. My aunt Margaret and her son Chester share their shock and condolences with Mom and then with me. Who names their kid Chester? Maybe someone named Margaret, I guess. We have never been very close, since Dad bought out her share of the company back when she was getting married. I think she has always felt that he took advantage of her, since she had no idea regarding the future growth plans. In Dad’s mind, he was the one doing all of the work, so he should be the one to reap the rewards. She did receive additional stock after Papa died, so it’s not like she has been completely left out in the cold.
“Any idea what happened?” Chester asks as soon as the women are out of earshot.
“I was in Geneva, so all I know is what I’ve been told. I heard the scene was pretty gruesome,” I reply making small talk with him.
“Yes. It definitely was.” He pauses for a moment. “We had just met that afternoon to make some changes to the restructuring plan. I almost fell over when I saw it come across the TV.” Chester is an attorney, so Dad frequently ran ideas past him.
“You were working with Dad on that?” I ask a bit surprised, since no one is more biased than your own family members.
“Yeah, he had me draw up the preliminary documents,” he says, giving me a suspicious glance and then adds, “You boys were about to lose a fortune apiece.”
“I know, but I just couldn’t come back to New York. Working with him and Tyler would have been pure torture,” I explain, not realizing that Tyler is standing right behind me.
“And you say I’m the one with the attitude.” I hear his voice over my left shoulder.
“No offense, but you know how Dad and I were always butting heads.” I reach out and give him a hug. “Hi Vanessa.”
“Hi Trey. It’s good to see you.” She smiles, reaching out to me. The sweet smell of her perfume instantly transports me back through the years. I have always loved the way she smells.
“I really do miss you guys.” I look her square in the eyes, before glancing over to include my brother.
“I’ll catch up with you later,” Chester says, handing me his business card. “Give me a call sometime.”
“What did that piece of shit want?” Tyler hisses after Chester walks into the funeral home.
“I don’t know,” I tell him, still shocked myself by his admission. “Apparently Dad was working with him on restructuring everything.”
“Yeah. Dad really had lots of balls in the air.” Tyler scoffs, wrapping his arm around Vanessa. “We better go inside, too.”
Looking down at Dad’s coffin, I find it hard to believe that it’s actually him. I think back to the early years when he and Papa used to take Tyler and me fishing. I still remember catching my first fish and almost being pulled over the side of the boat. It’s the biggest fish I ever caught, not that I’ve done much fishing ever since. It’s so strange to think that he is gone.
