Chapter 16

Well that was unexpected. So far, I think he is the only person I have met in months that came in to not only take responsibility for his people screwing up, but also tell it like he saw it.

Penny picked up her papers and packed up her electronic gear. I was taken to where the officer behind the desk used one of those magnetic tag removers to get the case off my belt. He then handed it to me to take the key out, so I couldn’t say he pulled a fast one. Penny seemed as surprised as me when I opened the lock, unlocked my suitcase and found my stuff right where it had been put before it was secured. The only things I signed was that I got my things back and then a form, after Penny read it, which was pretty much me signing out as if I had been a visitor here voluntarily.

“It is good for you that Katie’s favorite place happens to be open late during the holidays. Little miss prissy pants is going to have a coming to Jesus hour tonight. I had a very long chat with her aunt about April. The shitty way April has treated her aunt is beyond deplorable. Paul hasn’t been any better. It isn’t like April is hurting for money. Her parents each had ten million dollar life insurance policies. She has been earning an average of about three hundred grand in interest yearly. That doesn’t even touch the interest, profits and dividends from the billion dollars given to her in her surrogate parent’s will. Her aunt has been living in squalor as April lives the life her money affords her,” she told me as we tried to work through all of the hallways to get back out into the main part of the airport to get to baggage claim. “I also investigated the possibility of claims against her inheritance by blood relatives. There are established precedents regarding an adopted child inheriting their adoptive parent’s wealth over blood relatives. In her case, even though she was conceived using Paul’s sperm and his wife’s egg. Her mother gave birth to her and Georgia law recognized that woman as her mother. Being married, her husband was listed as the birth father on her birth certificate. That is all she would need to refute claims by any of her birth parent’s blood relatives. Fortunately, her parents went the extras mile to ensure she was listed as an owner of their L.L.C.s as well as listed on every title for all properties. She was even setup as an account holder on all their bank, escrow and brokerage accounts. All of this is prior to their death. Of course, we won’t be telling her that unless a reason arises.”

Well damn. Her birth parents really loved her and made sure she was going to be well taken care of at least until she turns twenty-one. I don’t think they meant for her to be this little snotty bitch though.

When we got to baggage claim I saw April was sitting over in a chair like a proper young lady, not the spoiled little bitch I have seen her doing when I didn’t make her stop. She turned when we walked up, but didn’t move from her seat. She looked at Katie, me and then back to Katie. Once Katie nodded April was hugging me.

She finally let go and said, “Miss Katie said that I would call my driver to tell him I wasn’t going home and his services weren’t required anymore today. Instead he is to take my Aunt, cousins and any relatives visiting her out to a nice dinner at Ruth Chris on me. I’m staying at your house tonight. Tomorrow Miss Katie and Mrs. Penny are going to be taking me home to pick up my aunt before continuing to Mrs. Penny’s office. I have from now until then to attempt to come up with an honest, from the heart apology to my aunt for the way I have treated her since she was given guardianship of me.”

I’m not saying anything. I do know I’m not going to ask Katie what she said to April or did to make her behave.

Katie beat me to pointing to April’s bags as I got my loaded cart. Penny and Katie led the way to Penny’s SUV as April carried her luggage for perhaps the first time in her life.

I love this cart. No way would I ever make it anywhere having to take multiple trips to get it all checked in at the counter and have any luck of it arriving otherwise.

I offered to let Katie have the front seat, but she told me April and her were going to talk as we drove to dinner.

Sure. I will take the front passenger seat.

Penny made sure the radio was up enough that I couldn’t hear them talking behind me. I knew Penny well enough that when she turned the radio up like this she’s seriously processing what she had in mind to bitch slap the airport police for harassing me at the point of a gun. While we could easily get a class action lawsuit going against them, she wouldn’t go that far unless they pissed her off. My guess is that she would write up some form of admonishment with some nasty consequences if they don’t comply. Attached to it would be a bill for her time. They would pay it without question as it would be much cheaper than the amount they would pay in punitive settlements and their legal costs.

When we arrived at the restaurant they were very happy to see Katie and I there together. We were taken to a private table away from the main dining room. April was given a menu only to have Katie take it away from her. Instead she was given a box of crayons and paper hat to color. While she tried to look pissed off about being treated like a little kid she couldn’t quite pull it off since she was actively coloring it in.

“She will have turnip greens, corn and the spinach house salad with the steak, roasted chicken and braised pork. Bring her a side of corn bread as well. She will be having the peach iced tea to drink,” Katie said before putting in her and my usual orders.

Penny, on the other hand, couldn’t decide so the lady that owns the place took her menu and told her, “Dear you aren’t going to decide on nothing with your head off in the clouds. We’ll bring you something better and fresher than those expensive places you eat with clients in Atlanta.”

I saw fire in her eyes.

“Cool your heels there girl,” the old woman told her. “I’ve raise me more kids than a woman’s body can have in three lifetimes. Almost all of them were hard headed with tempers that make what you are thinking about doing look like a two year old’s hissy fit. I don’t care how much money you got or how important you are. You come in my house to eat with Katie, then you aren’t going to be treated any different than any of my other kids.”

She turned toward April and said, “Don’t even let me get started on you little girl. I can tell Katie already tore into you today. You pull any of your spoiled princess attitude here and I will have you shoveling pig shit in your prissy panties. If you weren’t dealing with the woman’s curse you wouldn’t even have them on. You hear me,”

“Yes ma’am,” April said as she sounded like a kid that got in trouble and didn’t even know why.

Damn! Katie must have really torn into her to have April not even try to think about something venomous to say back.

When the food came I saw Penny raise an eyebrow. April didn’t have a clue what any of it was other than the salad. Katie pointed to the salad and then pulled April’s plate over to cut up her meat into little kid bites. April picked around at everything for long enough that Katie leaned over to say something in her ear that made April start eating everything in earnest.

I turned to look at Penny to see her look like she was on the edge of a big orgasm as she chewed a bite of what looked like a steak.

After she took another bite she turned asked Katie, “Where the heck do they get their beef? I have eaten at some of the highest priced restaurants where most people only dream of being allowed to access their lobby. Never have I had a steak taste like this. It is amazing.”

“Dear it had better be, or I will have to go have a talk with my boys, since I cooked it. The roast we cut that steak from has been dry aging since Black Friday. Katie only gets the best when she eats here. Most of our customers couldn’t tell a nice dry aged steak from one we just cut off a cow that was mooing this morning, even if the meat is stringy and tough with as much flavor as the leather made from that cow’s hide,” she explained with pride. “Our cows are mostly grass fed with some grains thrown in from time to time. We also get our pick of cows we slaughter here, as well as the hides, so the farmers don’t have to do it themselves. This steak came from a Black Angus that was sent out to pasture during the day and had grain in the barn at night. They won’t tell me what is in their grain mixture, but this is some of the best beef to come through here.”

I went back to eating until I heard April let out a long “mmmmmm” as the chewed on a bite of something. Her eyes were closed with her head tilted back slightly as she enjoyed the flavors. She ate very slowly, but cleaned her plate without Katie having to say another word to her. Surprising the heck out of all of us, she very politely asked if she could have more of the turnip greens, another spinach salad and more cornbread.

Man, that girl can eat. Was the food at Paul and Robert’s houses not to her liking or was she doing that girl thing about only eating a little bit so someone didn’t make a snarky comment about her getting fat if she ate like she is doing here?

The woman that owned this restaurant was more than happy to keep the food coming until April finally said she was full.

Penny started ask for the bill, but Katie stopped her.

“Leave a big cash tip. Did a little pro-bono work for them a while back and helped them make their farm very profitable from making some simple suggestions. They took me in as if I was one of their own. Never have let me pay a dime for a meal no matter who I have brought in here with me or how much they ate. To them this is just like we pulled up a seat at their dinner table,” Karen told her. “Even with April eating like she has been starved for years, I doubt our meal cost more than two hundred dollars at the menu price. The steaks we had aren’t on the menu. Just be ready to hurry out the door after you leave a nice big tip. If we don’t hurry they will insist it is too much and try give it back. Most of the people that come here can be very generous with their tips, but they aren’t.”

On the way out, April surprised us again as she slipped off into the kitchen to give the lady that owned the place a big hug and thank her for one of the best meals she has eaten in a very long time. Not even her personal chef has made her anything close to her dinner here.

As we drove to my house Karen educated April in good old southern country cooking. She didn’t know where the chef at her house came from, but it sounded like he was trying to make her outrageously elitist, high end restaurant type meals instead of feeding a growing teenager what their body needed. She was sure that her aunt was going to be doing a much better job of providing April good old-fashioned home cooked meals that were closer to what she had for dinner tonight. Being in the front seat beside Penny, I didn’t get to hear much of what they said once they lowered their voices a bit.

Something is afoot regarding the big changes about to happen in April’s life. Paul might even be surprised and happy about it too.

When we pulled up to my house I saw the Gator was waiting in the yard.

April isn’t going to like what is coming, but she is going to have to deal or face Mabel’s wrath.

Inside I found just what I was expecting. Juniper and Sally Mae were there waiting for us. By the time I had lugged in my gear, luggage and April’s bags, they had April sequestered in the guest bathroom with the shower going.

Juniper came out of the bathroom to grab April’s suitcase so she could get all of April’s dirty clothes out of it. All of those went into the washer before Juniper went out to get into the Gator to head over to their house. The shower was still going when Juniper came back in with a long-sleeved flannel shirt, overalls, boots, socks and a pair of black panties. She took those into the bathroom.

Katie had a huge predatory grin on her face as she said, “There has been a change of plans. Penny and I both got a lot of very detailed accountings of April’s inheritance, expenses and charges by the firm to manage her money on her behalf. Penny says she knows who sent it, but can’t divulge any details due to lawyer client privilege. While the fees charged by the man managing her inheritance don’t even take a dent out of the income earned, it is still many times larger than is the norm. I’m not happy with what he has been up to or the brokerage firm handling her investments. I don’t care if she was a total worthless human being that a mosquito wouldn’t suck blood from, I can’t let this shit go since they are using her inability to comprehend that they are doing it to their financial gain, not hers.”

We were interrupted by a freshly scrubbed April wearing the flannel shirt, overalls and boots Juniper had brought from her house. After Sally Mae got April’s dirty clothes into the dryer they told me that April was going to see how the working-class people lived until Penny and Katie took her back to her Aunt’s.

Yep. April doesn’t look the least bit happy. I can see the venom waiting to creep out as soon as she is out of earshot of Karen and me. Boy is she going to get a serious attitude adjustment.

When I was young my dad used to tell me about how the kids in his family were sent out to a family farm, in the middle of nowhere, to have their attitudes adjusted over the summer. If they were still being a pain in the ass, they got transferred to the school near the farm and stayed put until they were behaving properly. While this wasn’t quite in the middle of nowhere, I’m sure that Katie or Penny would have no problems “negotiating” to have April transferred to the school up here while she learned how to be a proper southern lady, or at least one that learned to hold back her venomous tirades to the times where there were appropriate.

“Joe? Am I really going to their house to work on their farm,” she asked.

I smiled as I told her, “No. You are going to their house to learn how to not be a snotty, stuck-up, spoiled little rich bitch with a nasty mouth. You will need to talk to Mabel Marie and Wilbur to see what they have in mind for you. Maybe you will work on the farm or maybe you will be keeping up the house. Not my call.”

Her face started to turn really red and she started begin a venomous rant without even thinking about the consequences from me or Karen. Luckily, I hadn’t even begun to decide if I was going to tear into her or Karen was going to beat me to it.

Before we could even start to respond Juniper backhanded her and said, “Don’t you ever let that come out of your mouth again little girl. You’re really lucky ma and pa didn’t hear you. They won’t care one bit if you are bleeding when they tear into your bare butt before they start to punish you. Pa is a little bit easier on us girls, but ma would have had you out sitting on the floor wondering what the heck just happened. Even I’m not that strong or fast yet to dodge her wrath.”