Chapter 2

As the weeks turned into months, Joe got into the routine that he felt was both strange and yet rewarding. Madeleine explained that Joe could use Mr. Preston’s car all of the time, as long as he kept up the car clean. Joe could not keep the smile off his face when he drove home in an Aston Martin convertible to show off to Laura. To him, the job became worth it, as the perks now outweighed the insane quirks of the Preston’s.

Mr. Preston did not ask the crazy sexual questions, but focused more on his family. Who was his father, what did he do? Who were his grandfather and such. He asked about religion and seemed happy with the nonchalant attitude he took towards organized religion. He seemed to know a bit about his grandfather, and he did mention that they knew each other back in the day. Joe could not confirm this, as both his father and grandfather had passed away.

Although Mr. Preston asked questions all the time, like Madeleine, he still had the crazy sexual things going on, too. Strippers came to the house daily and would perform strip dances for almost three hours. Joe thought that he was just a pervert that could afford such luxuries and never complained that he had to watch. He never mentioned it to Laura, as he saw it as one of the crazy things he liked to do.

As time passed, Joe got use to the odd behaviors of Mr. Preston, Madeleine and Josephine. While Josephine dressed with high skirts and flirted endlessly, she was still super nice. She would often flash her bra, and her ass was always on display, but it never got further than that. Joe got used to getting slight erections around her, as her thong panties were almost shown daily. He liked that he did not even have to make an effort to look, as she just would bend over like she wanted to show him that her ass was perfect.

Madeline was the nice, sweet, elderly lady that acted like a cool grandmother. He also knew she could cross the line from cool grandmother to pervert with just a question. She would ask him endless questions about his sex life and what he liked in a girl. The questions started off innocently, with questions about what he found attractive about his girlfriend. Then, she would ask if she was pleasing him like a good girlfriend.

As time went on, she got daring with her questions, though. She asked how he liked to get his blowjobs and what his favorite position was, when he was having sex with his girlfriend. Joe wondered if he should have stopped her, but he relented and told her. To him, having money that paid for everything came with strings attached.

Mr. Preston started out as an elderly man who could walk and almost function normally; except for a few times he looked like he was going to fall over. Joe wondered during the first three weeks, if he was really needed. Between taking him to the racetrack daily and the countless trips to bars, it was like an endless party. Strippers were a common sight and were the tamest, compared to the lesbian sex shows or the normal sex shows. The parties ran late and guests would frequently come with more drugs and girls. It was like a never-ending bachelor party. He felt more like a paid friend than a caretaker.

Joe found himself staying later and later and even sleeping in one of the many guest quarters. He wondered if Laura was going to get upset, but when she found a job that paid more and was further away, he knew he was going to be spending less time with her. Joe focused on the job and the endless strippers were always a nice distraction, as Laura spent more and more time at her new job further away.

It was when Laura’s job was relocating and offering her money to move, he knew a choice had to be made. Laura asked if he wanted to move and he wondered what job he would have to have to pay the money he was making. When he spoke about this to Mr. Preston, he then offered to pay him more money to stay. The pressure to choose was then made for him when Laura questioned him about the daily strippers.

He had no idea how she found out, but she exploded in a rage saying that all he did was spend time with strippers and not enough time with her. He knew he was never with any of them, but it didn’t matter in the end. The breakup was quick, as he knew she wanted to leave him for her job anyway. It was like the Band-Aid was ripped off and the scar was there healing.

Moving on seemed easier than he thought, as Madeleine brought in strippers just for him to perform endless lap dances for the entire day. The parties continued and before he knew it, he thought less and less of Laura. Madeleine also reinforced the idea that she was not right for him anyhow.

Mr. Preston’s strength and his coordination deteriorated quickly after a quick bout of the flu. It was six months since Joe had started, and Mr. Preston was now wheelchair bound. The need for the Aston Martin ended, as a van was now needed. Although Joe liked the fact Mr. Preston said he could still drive it around; saying it needed to be driven and not garaged.

It had been almost a year since he began being Mr. Preston’s manservant, and he could not think of a better job. It was like an endless party that paid him. He banked enough money to pay off all his bills and get a new apartment, if he wanted to. The old apartment seemed fine enough though, as he was barely there. To him, it was just a place to sleep from time to time. The guest room began to accumulate more and more of his things and weeks went by before he would even consider going to his own place.

Mr. Preston seemed full of life, even though he was wheelchair bound, but it began to get worse and worse. And soon enough, he was in bed unable to do anything. It was then that Joe figured he needed to look for another job soon, he had the feeling that the good times were ending and he needed to look to the future.

It was a Monday when Joe arrived at the house in the afternoon. He needed to make sure the water and electricity was on at his apartment, and to drop off some clothes. He knew time was short and he should start moving stuff from the guest room to his own place when the time came.

Madeleine greeted him at the door, almost in tears. “You need to come upstairs now.”

“What’s wrong?”

“He is asking for you,” she answered, pulling his hand to guide him upstairs.

“Why me?” Joe responded, as he climbed the stairs thinking that maybe family members should be called. He knew that they never spoke of children, but maybe they should now.

He walked in to see Mr. Preston lying down with his oxygen mask on. He looked like death was coming for him any second. He figured today or tomorrow he would die, and the man he had cared for would be dead. It was like losing a friend that just got to really know.

He then turned to him, removing the mask and with a low, eerie tone said, “You’re here. Good.”

“Do you need anything?” Joe asked, as Madeleine guided him to the chair next to the bed.

“No ... no. I don’t need anything, but I do need to ... leave us.” Mr. Preston said to Madeleine, who then retreated out of the room, leaving just the two of them to be alone.

He looked back over at Joe, once the door closed. “I am dying ... but then you already knew that. What you don’t know is that I am leaving you something.”

Joe instantly thought that the old man was going to leave him the car. Why else would he be allowed to use it for all of this time? In his head, all he could think about was that the old man knew he loved the car.

He watched as he reached for a small jewelry box and opened it. As he opened it, Joe could see a gold ring. The ring looked oversized and it had a whole bunch of symbols on it. He figured it must be a family signet ring and definitely something that went to a family member. “I am giving you this. This is what I want you to have.”

“Thank you ... but maybe you should give this to a family member.”

“I am.”

“What? We are not related,” Joe answered, as he thought the old man had lost it.

“Your grandfather George was my son.”

Joe instantly thought about how the old man must have lost it. He never remembered his grandfather, but also knew his father would have said something to him. There was no possible way that his father would not have asked for money when he was a child and times were tough.

“You don’t have to Mr. Preston. The ring can be left to family,” Joe replied, thinking that he needed to make sure he could snap him out of his delusion.

The old man’s eyes grew small and then his hand moved to his handing him the box. “It’s yours now.”

“Mr. Preston ... Mr. Preston. You don’t have to,” Joe said again, but could see the old man was now sleeping.

Thinking there was no arguing with a sleeping and dying man, he retreated downstairs to give the ring to Madeline, so she could give it back to him later. He walked downstairs to hear the front door open and close. The sounds of other men in the foyer now could be heard when he reached the end of the staircase.

Madeline rushed over to him. “Did he tell you?”

“About the ring?” he responded, confused to why the old man was giving him an elaborate ring that no man could wear because of its huge size.

“Did he tell you about your grandfather?” she asked, with her eyes almost tearing up.

“What? Are you telling me he is serious? Was it an adoption thing?”

Joe quickly thought that the old man gave his child up for adoption, or maybe that his great-grandmother never told him, or something. The idea of Mr. Preston being his great-grandfather was still mind boggling and hard to fathom, though.

Madeleine wrapped her arms around him. “I wanted to tell you. I was not allowed to tell. Please ... forgive me.”

“Wait ... are you telling me that you’re my...?”

Her eyes were tearing up and her voice cracked with sorrow. “Yes. George was my son. He was my baby boy.”

Joe looked at her as he was struggling to comprehend what was going on. He was looking at his great-grandmother and still trying to figure out the math in his head. Madeleine had to be in her nineties and yet seemed agile, as if age stopped hurting her. He never asked her age as a question, as it always seemed inappropriate.

“What happened?”

“Come sit. All will be explained to you. Just know that there was a reason,” she said, sounding not as sad, and leading him forcefully to the dining room table.

Once there, he saw two men in suits sitting already as if they were waiting for him. One looked to be in his sixties and the other much younger. They also looked well groomed, as he thought they must be high-priced lawyers of some kind. Both stood up and motioned for him to sit. Madeleine guided him to the seat and sat down next to him. Her hand on his lap in a comforting way, as the two men each opened a briefcase and pulled out a large packet of papers.

“All of this over a ring?” Joe asked, as the two men finally closed their briefcases.

The younger guy laughed for a second. “You could say that.”

The older man then slid over the papers to him. “You are the only eligible heir to Mr. Preston’s estate. And with that, you are entitled to his household.”

“Wait ... he handed me a ring,” Joe responded, wondering what was going on. He put the ring box on the table.

The old man smiled and then looked at Madeleine. “Was he told about the household?”

Madeleine looked at the man and then at Joe, before looking back at the lawyer. “No. Henry was about to. I just got off the phone with Cassandra, she is on her way.”

Joe now knew Mr. Preston’s first name, as she never referred to him as anything other than love. It was the first time he heard it and wondered why Madeleine used that name now, but then he realized it must be a legal thing. She referred to him as love, or even mister, but never by his first name. It was confusing and Joe now felt underwater with all that was happening.

The older lawyer then looked at him and gave a sigh. “Okay. I am going to have to have you sign first, and then I will explain everything. It’s going to be a while, too. But once you sign, everything belongs to you. The owner of the ring gets the household.”

Joe looked at the paper and realized that the name of the law firm was the same one that offered him the job. He thought of the house and possessions, but also the debt that the old man might have. He then wondered why Madeleine was not getting anything; he felt it was almost like a setup. Why was this happening, this way? All he knew was Mr. Preston was still alive and yet he was now being told craziness about him being related.

The sound of the intercom buzzed and a scratchy voice of Mr. Preston came through interrupting the awkward silence. “Send my boy upstairs.”

Both lawyers stood up as did Madeleine. She motioned for him to go upstairs with her hands and he did just that. As he ascended the stairs, all he thought was why him, and what was this thing about a household.

He walked in to see the old man sitting up and looking at him with a dead stare. “Sit ... I don’t have much time.”

Joe sat on the chair next to the bed, and wondered what he meant giving him a confused look that seemed not to leave with all of the craziness going on. “What is going on?”

Mr. Preston gave a gravel-hard cough before talking. “I am dying ... that’s what’s going on. But that’s not the issue. In this world, there are groups that control things and groups that envy them. We are a part of an old group that used to control things and long ago, we were forced from our homeland to live in a foreign land.”

“What is going on? I am so confused. Am I getting everything? Why? Why me, and how am I related?” Joe rambled, as if he felt the need to vent about his frustration.

The old man put his hand up to stop him. “It’s a tradition that is very old and is rarely used, until times like now. You see, each father must send a son off to the world alone. That son must not be connected to his family, unless there is an emergency, like there is now.”

Joe interrupted as he felt that the old man was giving him an excuse for being a horrible father to his own grandfather. “Wait, so you’re telling me it’s a tradition to send your son off for adoption? What kind of story is that?”

The old man put his hand up. “Let me explain. You see, long ago. Very long ago, leaders of a city sent their eldest sons off for training. During that time, the city was attacked and destroyed ... wiped off by the hand of God they say. As if it was to be forgotten with every single person in it dead. But you see, the sons sent off were not dead, nor was their memory of how the city lived. They remembered their city’s ways, the customs and had the spirit of the city within them. That and the power their fathers gave them.”

Joe sat up as the story seemed odd, but maybe plausible. The old man seemed coherent and had never lied to him in the past. He was always full of life and fun, even at his elderly age. He wanted to question the validity of the story, but he knew that everything the old man said in the past was true and he knew he was not one for joking around with certain things.

“Who destroyed the city? When and where was this?” Joe asked, wondering if it was the truth or some fish story.

“It doesn’t matter who now. You just have to understand that it is custom for every household to send one son away, just like they did three thousand of years ago.”

“Three thousand years ago? Joe asked, wondering how old this custom was and what he was really talking about.

“Almost four thousand years, but the past is the past. I need you to take control now. You’re the lost son that has come back to keep the household going. Your grandfather was the son that was sent away and now you are brought back to keep the family alive.”

The old man coughed and then coughed again hard, almost unable to talk. He heard footsteps and Madeleine was there. She approached quickly, putting her hands on his shoulders to move him away, as the old man continued with his coughing fit.

She walked him out of the room as his thoughts still were confused, but just not as frustrated as before. Madeleine took him to another bedroom that was not used and sat him down. Her soft face was smiling at him, even though he knew the old man was probably dying in the next room.

“What city was he talking about? What household is there?” Joe asked, as her soft eyes looked upon him.