by Jana DeLeon
“I thought you might.”
“Well, if you’re opening up shop, you’re going to need some capital.”
Marina stared. “You mean the money?”
“Of course. We made a promise. And you killed it on your end of things.”
“Oh, but my divorce isn’t final. I know you don’t understand our laws, but if that money appears now, I might have to give half of it to Harold.”
“Don’t despair. My people researched all of this.” He handed her a folder. “That’s all the information concerning your inheritance from a very distant cousin. Inheritance is not community property, so no sharing required. You will, however, have to pay taxes on it or risk trouble with your IRS, so we added a bit on top to cover that end of things.”
“Seriously? You did that?”
“I don’t think you understand how happy Zeus is.”
“Probably not as happy as me right now.”
Marina threw her arms around Alexios and hugged him, bouncing them both up and down.
When she stopped bouncing, she blew out a breath. “That’s incredible.”
“Incredible is an understatement. It’s literally out of this world.”
Halcyon walked back in, carrying a large square package covered with brown paper.
“What’s out of this world?” she asked.
“I’m getting the money!” Marina yelled, and Halcyon let out a loud, “Whoot!”
He laughed. “I thought you might be excited, especially after the splurge on that trip to Mexico the two of you took.”
“How did you know about that?” Marina asked.
“Zeus has this way of rewinding the view, so to speak.”
Halcyon narrowed her eyes. “I hope he doesn’t view everything.”
“Unfortunately, no,” he said. “Was that surfer as good as he looked?”
Halcyon grinned. “Better.”
“We thought things might end,” Marina said. “Soooooo…”
“It was a really good choice,” Alexios said. “Maybe next time you can bring Hunky. You know, once you go ahead and admit you want him.”
“Thank you!” Halcyon said.
“I’m not discussing this with the two of you,” Marina said.
“Talking is the last thing this situation needs,” Alexios said.
Marina smiled, then grew serious. “Do you think I’ve had the ring my whole life? Or did it turn into that toy when I came into my power?”
“I don’t know,” Alexios said. “I don’t think we’ll ever know. But it does give me pause. To think that all those before you might have had the ring just sitting in a drawer all their lives.”
“But if it was there the whole time, why didn’t I feel it?” Marina asked. “I mean, I did when I took it out but before then, nothing. And I packed that box myself.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that either,” he said. “My historians have been over everything, including the moment when you realized you knew where the ring was. They wanted to know if you’d tell me what you were thinking about. There was a particular expression on your face that they felt was powerful emotion attached to a memory.”
“It was,” Marina said, and she told him the story about the fair.
Alexios shook his head. “It’s an incredible story, and I have to wonder if that moment of contemplation along with coming into your power so late in life and all the emotional stress and hard choices you faced that week all culminated in your success.”
“You think that finding myself allowed me to find the ring?” Marina asked.
“Why not?” he said. “It’s as good an explanation as any.”
Marina nodded. Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn’t. But none of that mattered. The only important thing was that Zeus had won the war and earth was safe. With luck and a set of good doctors, Marina could live to play with her grandchildren. Or maybe grand-animals if Avery stuck to her newfound all-people-suck stance.
Alexios gave her a hug and kiss. “I have to run.”
“Another assignment?” she asked.
“No. A much-needed vacation. There’s this cute barista that I met in a neighboring star system.”
“Will we ever see you again?” Marina asked.
“I don’t know,” Alexios said. “But I wouldn’t count it out.”
He gave Halcyon a kiss and headed out the door, then disappeared.
Marina stared out the glass storefront, then sucked in a breath. “I just realized something.”
“What?” Halcyon asked.
“That woman—the pretty lady who bought me the princess set—it was Dottie’s mother.”
“You’re sure?”
Marina nodded. “There was a picture on Dottie’s fireplace when I went over to sign the papers. I kept thinking she looked familiar but it just clicked.”
“That’s so cool. And it makes total sense. First the mother, then the daughter. It’s a fairy godmother family.”
“It kinda is. Do you ever wonder if some things are fate?”
“You mean that we’re destined to do or become whatever due to some preassigned set of parameters?”
Marina nodded.
“I don’t think so. I think things are put in front of us and our life becomes what we make of those things. Some people turn dust into gold. Other people sprinkle water on it and roll around in the mud.”
“So you’re a believer in free will.”
Halcyon grinned. “Of course. So what are you going to do with all that money? Pay for the building, right? And get it decorated to the nines. What about a trip to Italy? No! Bora-Bora.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I can’t just fling money everywhere or someone will tell Harold, or worse, the IRS.”
“But you have paperwork for everything.”
“And would still have to put up with a bunch of auditors crawling up my butt, which could also result in freezing the funds until they’re satisfied.”
Halcyon sighed. “I hate it when you being right spoils my fun.”
“But some of it will go into the shop for sure. And I’ll keep plenty set aside for Avery’s schooling and expenses.”
“And a new house.”
“I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. I like the cabin.”
“You have mice living in the attic.”
“Adelaide is giving me one of her cats.”
Halcyon stared. “Wow. She must really like you. But what is Snooze going to think?”
“I suppose he’ll think I’ll stop harping on him to catch the mice.”
“At least get some new furniture.”
“I will definitely do that,” Marina said. “And I really need to fund my retirement. I’m not getting any younger.”
“So true.”
“Neither are you. In fact, you’re getting older before I do. By six months anyway.”
“So rather than journey down that dismal path, why don’t you take a look at your gift?” Halcyon handed Marina the package.
Marina sat it on the dusty counter and as she tore the paper wrapping off of it, a picture frame came into view. She pulled the rest of the wrapper off, then gasped.
It was a photo of her. But one like she’d never seen before. She was standing in her bedroom, wearing the dress she’d borrowed from Halcyon. But the background was blurred and the entire picture had been rendered in black and white. Marina was touching a lock of her hair and had her other hand on her hip. It looked like one of the old pinup girls’ pictures.
“I thought you could hang it in the shop,” Halcyon said, shifting nervously. “But if you don’t think it’s good enough…”
“Are you kidding me? It’s incredible. How did you— Oh my God, Halcyon. This is gorgeous. I’ve never looked this good. Not even at that moment, but this picture…”
“I just played around with it a bit in Photoshop. It’s no big deal.”
But it was a big deal. Marina didn’t pretend to know fine art, and Photoshop looked as hard
as preparing a tax return, but she knew quality when she saw it. And the photo was simply beautiful.
“That picture you have hanging in your living room,” Marina said. “The one of the sunset over the bayou. Did you take that?”
Halcyon nodded.
“Wow.” Marina shook her head. “I thought you’d bought it somewhere. I knew you were a talented artist, but this…Halcyon, you have to do something about this.”
“Like what?”
“Take some more classes. Get some cool camera equipment. I have the money for it. Put up a website and sell these.”
“I don’t know…”
“Listen, you have a gift and you’re bored. The theater here doesn’t keep you busy enough and we both know you’re not going to move to a larger city. You have to find something more to do with your time and talent.”
“Sleeping and daytime TV are something to do,” Halcyon protested, but Marina could tell her sister was thinking about what she’d said.
Halcyon reached over and took Marina’s hand.
“You and I are going to take on the world,” Halcyon said. “Sisters—Act 2.”
Marina shook her head. “The Final Cut.”
About the Author
Jana DeLeon grew up among the bayous and marshes of southwest Louisiana, and she loves writing about the unique setting and the people that make Louisiana special.
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If you enjoyed her humor, please check out her USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal bestselling Miss Fortune Series.
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https://janadeleon.com
Paranormal Women’s Fiction
If you enjoyed this midlife tale of strong women kicking butt and taking names, then check out the other FAB 13 authors, who launched their #PWF stories on the same day.
All the stories by these New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling authors are listed here.
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The FAB 13 authors are:
Jana DeLeon
Kristen Painter
K.F. Breene
Mandy M. Roth
Shannon Mayer
Michelle M. Pillow
Deanna Chase
Darynda Jones
Denise Grover Swank
Robyn Peterman
Elizabeth Hunter
Christine Gael
Eve Langlais
