Foolish Hearts

by Synithia Williams

  “Levi?” Ashiya asked.

  For the first time, the confidence in Brianna’s features wavered into something more pensive. “Yes. He’s currently running the company. He expected to inherit, since he’s the only one of the cousins who’s actively involved in the business.”

  Ashiya sucked her teeth. She’d spent years avoiding infighting on the Robidoux side, only to be tossed in the middle of another fight with her dad’s side of the family. How could she be this unlucky?

  “Seriously, he’s already trying to get his hands on my grandmother’s money?”

  Brianna’s eyes widened. “No, it’s not like that. It’s just, he’s worked for the company for most of his life. He wants to make sure things at the company continue to run smoothly after the death of your grandmother.”

  “I guess I’m going to mess that up.”

  “It will be hard for him,” Brianna said, almost as if she felt sorry for him.

  Maybe she did. Ashiya was the person who’d never been around. Now she was supposedly inheriting everything. Brianna might care about the company and obviously cared about her grandmother enough to respect her wishes, but that didn’t mean she wanted Ashiya to take over instead of someone who’d been around all along.

  “Well, this Levi can have the company. No matter what the will says, I don’t want it. I’m turning everything over.”

  “Seriously? But...your inheritance is worth millions.”

  “My sanity is worth more.”

  The sound of the door slamming made both of them jump. They stared in silence for several seconds before they spun toward the library door.

  She glanced over at Brianna. “Are you expecting anyone?”

  “I was hoping he would wait,” Brianna said at the same time.

  “He who?”

  “Levi,” Brianna said. “He found out you’re coming, and he wasn’t happy about it.”

  Heavy footsteps preceded a figure filling the door of the library. He was tall, almost as tall as Russell, she thought, then hated that she’d thought of him again. Her cousin Levi had skin the color of pecans, with eyes as dark and hard as onyx, and a determined set to his jaw. Ashiya immediately guessed he wasn’t going to welcome her to the family with open arms.

  “You’re Ashiya.” He stated in a cold, arrogant voice that matched everything about his appearance, from the condescending look in his eye to the tailored blue-and-white-striped dress shirt and navy pants.

  Having grown up in the mix of the Robidoux clan, Ashiya wasn’t afraid of a challenge. She didn’t want the inheritance or to be a part of another family game of tug-of-war, but that didn’t mean she was going to be bullied.

  She stood, straightened her shoulders and met his stare. “I am.”

  The corner of his lips lifted in a sneer. “Already here to try and snatch your fortune.”

  “I’m here because my grandmother wanted me here,” she said matching his sharp tone.

  He scoffed. “Your grandmother? What right do you have to call her that?”

  She may not have any rights. She hadn’t seen her grandmother since she was a kid, and that hadn’t been a warm and fuzzy meeting. Despite any of that, she didn’t like the accusation in his eyes or his voice. No matter what Levi thought, Gloria Waters had been Ashiya’s grandmother, and she’d wanted Ashiya to have her fortune. Ashiya might not want it, but what right did he have to undermine her grandmother’s wishes?

  Ashiya placed her hands on her hips and glared at her cousin. “Again, she wanted me to be here. That’s my right.”

  “If you think you’re going to come down here and take everything away from me, you’re mistaken.”

  “I’m not here to snatch anything from you.”

  He pointed. “Then turn over the inheritance. You don’t deserve it.”

  The matter-of-fact way he said that further raised her defenses. “She gave it to me.”

  “Aunt Gloria was sentimental in her old age. She may have gotten softhearted, but that doesn’t mean you deserve it.”

  “You don’t know anything about me or my relationship with her.”

  “I know your mother married your father for money. When the money didn’t follow, their relationship was strained. I know you’re the lame duck of the Robidoux Family. The owner of a little thrift shop that’s barely making a profit. You’re out of your league, and you know it. If you’re smart, you’ll sign the paperwork over to me the second after the will is read.”

  His words hit their mark. Hit the mark and drew blood. Still, Ashiya refused to bleed out on the floor in front of him. “And what if I don’t? I have other cousins I can sign things over to.”

  “If you don’t, I will ruin you and your family.” He looked her up and down as if she were nothing. “And it won’t be hard.”

  He spun on his heel and stormed out. Ashiya stared at the empty doorway with her mouth wide open. She pointed at the door, then turned to Brianna, who still stared in the direction he’d taken.

  “Did he really just threaten to ruin me?”

  Brianna let out a long, sad sigh. When she looked at Ashiya, her eyes were filled with empathy. “Welcome to the family.”

  * * *

  THE INSISTENT BUZZING of her cell phone’s alarm forced Ashiya’s eyes open the next morning despite the sleeping pills she’d taken the night before luring her back to sleep. She didn’t sleep well when she wasn’t at home in her own bed, which was why she’d taken the pills. Back when she’d dated Russell, they’d typically meet up at his place or in hotels. She’d never had a problem sleeping when he was next to her. He’d reach over and rub her back whenever she tossed and turned. His warm hand always soothed her anxiety, and she’d drift back to sleep, feeling safe and secure next to him.

  That was her first thought as she reached for her phone and swiped off the alarm. She lay in the king-sized bed and stared up at the ceiling. Very much groggy and still in the remnants of sleep, she didn’t stop her mind from wondering what Russell would have done if he’d been there with her. He would have held her the night before. He would have rubbed her back while she talked about all of the mixed-up emotions rumbling through her. Why would her grandmother put her in this situation? Why did she think Ashiya could handle running a major corporation, or would even want to? How was she going to get out of this?

  She had no answers. She let out a long breath and pushed back the covers. She had the funeral to prepare for. No more thoughts about Russell and what things would be like if he were there. She had enough on her plate to worry about besides how she’d messed up that relationship.

  There was a firm knock on the bedroom door before it opened. Ashiya jumped up in bed with a gasp. She jerked the covers to her chest, even though she’d slept in a nightgown and wouldn’t flash whoever decided to come in. Brianna stopped right on the other side of the threshold.

  Ashiya let out a long breath. Her heart struggled to go back to a normal pace. “Brianna, what are you doing?”

  “I’m here to make sure you’re up and tell you about your schedule for the day,” Brianna said as if Ashiya should have anticipated her barging into the bedroom first thing in the morning to update her on the schedule.

  “You couldn’t wait until I was up and came downstairs?”

  Brianna stopped in the middle of opening the curtains and turned back to Ashiya. For the first time since Ashiya had met her, she appeared unsure. “Oh, sorry. I’m so used to coming into your grandmother’s room in the morning to go over her plans for the day. Now that you’re here and—”

  “And I’m not taking her place.” Ashiya held up her hand. “Let’s get that straight.”

  Brianna turned away from the curtains and clutched the tablet in her hands to her chest. Her lips lifted in a pacifying smile. “If you say so.”

  “I do say so.” Ashiya shot back. She pushed back the covers
and got out of the bed. “Since you’re here, you might as well tell me what the schedule is for today. I mean, there’s the funeral, then the reading of the will. That’s it.”

  “Those are the main things, but first you have to meet The Dragons.”

  Ashiya froze. “The what?”

  Brianna’s lips twitched. “Your grandmother’s sisters. They’re the matriarchs of the family. Though they’d do anything for any of their kids and grandkids, they can also be a bit...challenging to work with. That’s why they are affectionately known as The Dragons. They pretend to be fierce, but they’re really cute.”

  “There’s nothing cute about dragons,” Ashiya said, going to the closet where she’d put her overnight bag and toiletries.

  “Their growls are worse than their burns.”

  Ashiya groaned. “I don’t like growls or burns.”

  Brianna chuckled as Ashiya pulled the pink toiletry bag out of her luggage. Brianna updated Ashiya on the schedule and plans for the day while giving her a rundown on the different family members Ashiya would be meeting. Not only were there “The Dragons,” but also their various offspring. Cousins who were successful in their own right.

  A small kernel of excitement bubbled in her chest at the thought of meeting the rest of her family. Her introduction to Levi hadn’t gone well, but he wasn’t the only new family she had. She enjoyed hanging out with her cousins, aunts and uncles on the Robidoux side. The idea of having more cousins to get to know was the one good thing about this entire debacle.

  “Don’t get too excited,” Brianna said later as they made their way to the church where her aunt’s funeral would be held. “Your cousins aren’t close at all. They get along during family events, but they don’t hang out with each other.”

  “Why?”

  Cousins not hanging out was foreign to Ashiya. Though the Robidoux family fought for dominance, at the end of the day they always had each other’s back. No matter what happened, she couldn’t imagine not being able to go to India, or even Elaina, for help if she really needed it.

  “It goes back to The Dragons,” Brianna said as she smoothly turned the black Lincoln Town Car onto another street. “They all married well, but while your Aunts Maggie and Gertrude both worked to help your grandmother build the Legacy Group, your Aunt Helena didn’t. There wasn’t really any animosity between the sisters, but when their kids didn’t want to work for the Legacy Group, there were some hurt feelings. Not to mention the rivalry between the husbands all vying for their positions of dominance in a matriarchal family. Some of the hard feelings spilled over to their children and the grandchildren, aka your generation. Your grandmother and her sisters pretended to be okay with the way things are, but I know they all want the family to come back together again.”

  Ashiya absorbed all the information. She could easily see how the same thing could have happened on the Robidoux side. Her mom and Grant were committed to Robidoux Tobacco and the legacy they could build from that, which could have easily created a rift between their other siblings and family members. Except Grant and Elizabeth insisted on keeping the family close and bringing everyone together every few years for a family reunion, because family connections were important to them both. Sounded like that hadn’t happened on this side of her family.

  “Is that part of the reason why she left me everything?” Ashiya asked. “To bring me back to the fold?”

  “Yes, but it’s a small part. Your grandmother knew about you, your shop, the way you’ve been able to stay out of most of your family’s drama. She admired your spunk.”

  Ashiya smiled. “My spunk. I fear she grossly overestimated me.”

  Brianna glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve seen some of your spunk as well.”

  They arrived at the church before Ashiya could inquire more about her family. Brianna led Ashiya to a private room in the back of the church. Three women sat on separate couches in what the gold plate on the door labeled the pastor’s office. All of them appeared to be in their late seventies to early eighties. One had short, tapered natural hair that was white as a cotton ball. She eyed Ashiya up and down while taking a drag on a cigarette. The second’s hair was jet black and styled in perfect curls. She gave Ashiya a welcoming smile while her hands flew as she crocheted purple yarn into what looked like a blanket. The third’s hair was a soft honey blond, also short and cutely curled. She reached into the black bag next to her, pulled out a peppermint and held it up for Ashiya.

  Ashiya took the candy because she didn’t have a good reason not to. “Thank you.”

  The one with the cigarette spoke first. “So, you’re Gloria’s granddaughter.”

  Ashiya nodded. “I am. And I guess you’re my grandmother’s sister?”

  “I’m Helena Drakeford, your oldest aunt. That’s your Aunt Maggie Salvant.” She pointed to the one crocheting. “And that’s your Aunt Gertrude Gaillard,” she said about the one who’d given Ashiya the candy.

  “Nice to meet all of you,” Ashiya said.

  “You’ve met us before,” Maggie said in a sweet voice.

  “I did?” Ashiya tried to remember. She’d only gone around her father’s family a few times before they’d disowned him.

  “Yes,” Maggie continued. “Right before your mom turned your dad out and forbade him from coming around family.” Maggie’s voice kept the same syrupy sweetness. Her hands never lost a beat while she crocheted.

  Ashiya coughed and cleared her throat. “Well, sorry, but I don’t remember.”

  “You were young,” Gertrude said, taking another piece of candy out of her purse and opening the wrapper. “I didn’t think you’d remember.”

  “I’m glad to meet you all now, but I wish it were under better circumstances.”

  Helena took another long drag out of her cigarette. She eyed Ashiya through the smoke. “Your grandmother wanted you here, so that’s all that matters. I suppose Brianna already told you what we know.”

  Ashiya glanced at Brianna standing next to her, but her face didn’t give away anything. “What’s that?”

  Helena’s head tilted to the side. “That you’re about to inherit everything. I don’t think she should have given it all to you.”

  “Of course, my Levi should have gotten it since he works for the company,” Gertrude supplied before putting the candy in her mouth.

  Aha, so that was Levi’s grandmother. “Levi. I met him yesterday. Nice guy,” Ashiya said.

  Maggie shook her head and stopped crocheting long enough to give her sister a dubious stare. “Levi is an asshole and a bully and you know it, Gert.”

  Gertrude lifted a shoulder. “Don’t hate on my baby because he’s confident.”

  “Confident my ass,” Helena said, taking another long drag from her cigarette. She focused on Ashiya again. “Pay your respects to your grandmother and relax while you can. Once they read the will, you’re going to have a fight on your hands.”

  Ashiya shook her head. “But that’s the thing. I don’t want—”

  The door to the office opened, and a short Black man wearing a preacher’s robe came in. “Ladies, we’ll be starting soon. The rest of the family is arriving.”

  Ashiya didn’t get to finish her statement as they were ushered from the office to the larger fellowship hall to gather with the rest of the family. There she was introduced to everyone by Brianna. All of them eyed her as if she were a new toy they couldn’t wait to play with. If she hadn’t grown up around the Robidoux clan, she might have been intimidated.

  Instead, she hid her nervousness behind a confident expression and kept her face solemn as everyone gave her condolences on the loss of her grandmother. Even though they all knew Ashiya hadn’t been close to her grandmother. Her dad had decided not to join the family. When Ashiya spoke with him the day before, he’d decided to drive up and planned to sit
in the back of the church.

  “I don’t want to deal with the drama after all this time. I’ll go to the church early and the graveyard late. I’ll pay my respects to my mother without the rest of them watching me.”

  Just as Brianna predicted, her cousins were there, but there wasn’t any real comradery between them. There was Levi, arrogant and glaring at her as if she were there to steal the bibles from the church. She started to say something snarky about him to Brianna but stopped herself when she noticed the way Brianna’s eyes turned mushy whenever she looked Levi’s way. Ashiya really hoped Brianna realized she could do ten times better than Levi. She also met her cousin Preston, Maggie’s son and a writer currently living in Greenville. She heard about Antone, Helena’s grandson, who was a professional wrestler too busy to return for a funeral. His sister, Shanta, was there. She was a school administrator and eyed Ashiya as if she were a kid sent to the principal’s office. After that she lost count of all the various aunts, uncles and cousins she was introduced to.

  The funeral was long. For someone who hadn’t gone to church in years, Ashiya fought not to fidget. She listened as the preacher gave words of comfort and the choir sang every song in the hymnal, and she barely stopped herself from groaning when the praise dancers came out. She threw glances at The Dragons sitting in the front pew and sobered as she watched them wiping tears from their eyes. She might not have known her grandmother, but the women had lost a sister. Ashiya settled into the seat and got through the rest of the funeral.

  The anticipation of her family grew at the graveside. The shifting, whispers and restless movements increased with each scripture reading and selection from the deacon board. As if she knew everyone couldn’t wait longer, Helena directed everyone back to the fellowship hall after the graveside service to “get things over with.”

  Ashiya sat at the back, her fingers crossed under the table as she prayed Brianna, The Dragons, and her father were wrong. She didn’t want the company. She wanted to appear poised and calm, to hide her dread about the contents of the will. Instead, her palms sweated and she fidgeted with the gold cross she’d worn with her black dress. Her stomach was so twisted in knots that she could barely swallow a sip of water. Silently, she prayed for this all to be a dream, for Brianna to have been mistaken, but as the lawyer pulled out the paperwork and read, Ashiya’s worst fears were confirmed.