"Words aren't necessary, Billie. We're family."
"We could lose our shirts."
"Well, guess what? Your namesake said if that happens, she would design us new ones. You can't beat an offer like that."
"No, you can't. How are things going on the Bright White Way? How's Sunny? Is Birch still giving you heartache?"
"I'm in the conference room here at Babylon, Billie. I'll call you this evening. I'm taking the kids to lunch at Peridot."
"That place where you and Sallie used to go?"
"Oh, Billie, I miss her so much. She had such faith and trust in me. I hope I can live up to all of her expectations. I know in my heart she would approve of what we're doing. Family, Billie, is what life is all about. Sallie always said our famihes' destiny was in your hands and mine. Together, we'll work toward that end."
"We won't fail, Fanny. You can take that to the bank. Do I dare ask about Simon?"
"Tonight, Billie. Give everyone my love. Now, take a nap, okay?"
"At ten o'clock in the morning?"
"Why not? Aren't we independent women? If we are, then we can take a nap anytime we want. Actually," we can do anything wc want. Both of us have earned that little perk. Talk to you tonight."
The Peridot restaurant was as old as Las Vegas itself It was also Fanny's favorite restaurant for the very reason Billie Coleman had mentioned earlier.
"I love it when my brother finally acts like a grown-up and holds our chairs out for us," Billie said.
Sunny's voice was blunt yet sad when she said, "You're leaving, aren't you, Sage?"
"I want to. I'm willing to stay until you have the baby and get back
536 Fern Michaels
into the swing of things. We're just flunkies, Sunny. You know it, and I know it. I glide around the floor trying to look important. I'm not sure what you do behind those closed doors. I don't know if you're aware of the latest developments. Is anyone interested?" The women nodded just as Bess Noble, Fanny's second-in-command, joined them.
"I heard that," Bess said as she kissed everyone before taking her seat. "Now, tell us what the latest development is."
"Dad and Birch want to buy riverboats in Biloxi, Mississippi, for gambling. He planned to apply for a mortgage, but you beat him to it. Mom. At least I think you did. Dad and Birch can be secretive at times. Those riverboats are a great big can of worms. I spoke up and said it had to be put to a vote, but they ignored me. At the risk of repeating myself, what the hell kind of family is this? Tell me. Mom, what you want us to do to help Aunt BiUie."
"I'm going to call Simon this evening and discuss everything. We'll sell off all our shares of Rainbow Babies and Sunny's Togs. Simon never sold them. He fibbed to us about that transaction. Thank God he did. We're going to move out of SaUie's bingo palace. It will go on the market tomorrow. It's prime real estate, so it wiD fetch several million. I'm going to mortgage Babylon. By tomorrow the news will be on the strip and the sharks will start to gather, so be prepared. I'll empty out that monster safe in Sunrise. I'll mortage Sunrise. I'll sell all the jewelry Sallie left me. That's already in the works. I'll borrow what I can to make up the difference. The only monies we'll have coming in will go to make the mortgage payments. I did have a thought, though, and I'd like your opinions. SaUie never raised the rates for the other casinos to tie into her sewage and electrical systems. It's time for a hefty increase. Those fees, I believe, will keep our heads above water." The sighs of rehef could be heard around the table.
"Good thinking, Mom," Sunny said.
"It's about time," Sage said.
"This might be a good time to unveil my latest creation," Billie said as she dug into the voluminous bag she was never without and pulled out two soft dolls. "Meet Bemie and Blossom. I showed them to a few of our salespeople who took them on the road. Guess what! We already have orders for ten thousand. The big question is, how are we going to market them? The next question is, where do we get the money? Do we form a separate company, or do we license them under Rainbow Babies or Sunny's Togs? I thought we could
hire the Bemsteins to get our publicity started. We can have a million of these on the market by next Christmas."
Sage stared at his sister, his face full of awe. "Just like that! Where are you going to manufacture them?"
"Made in the good old U.S. of A. Forty bucks a pop or $39.95. People like to walk away with change even if it's only a nickel. We learned that in marketing class."
Fanny held the soft fabric doll in her hands. As 2dways, she marveled at her younger daughter's abihties. "The scraps from Rainbow Babies, right?"
'*Yes, but each face is different. I know eight people that come to mind who will be willing to work on the faces. The doll itself and the garment can be made for under a dollar if mass-produced. The faces are what will cost, and labor of course. Sign on, Sage, we can use your expertise. You said you want out of Babylon. So, what do you all think?"
"I think this is one of your best ideas," Bess said, a calculator in hand.
"Billie, these dolls are priceless. I wish I had your talent. Can I have the first one off the line for my new baby, Bemie if he's a boy? If I have a girl, I'll take Blossom. They are so adorable. Raggedy Ann and Andy will be passe."
BiUie reached into the bag again and withdrew two tissue-wrapped bundles. "I already made them for you. I wanted something special for you. That's where I got the idea, Sunny. Think about it, Sunny; you have a clothing company named after you and now you're the inspiration behind these two dolls. I don't think we're headed to the poorhouse just yet."
"This calls for a celebration," Fanny said.
"Let's have some of that same wine you and Grandma Sallie had that famous day when you met her for the first time. Tell us the story again, Mom," Sage said.
"It was wartime and I was meeting your grandmother for the first time ..."
The moment the door closed behind Ash Thornton, he went into a rage. "Now, do you see what your mother is capable of? She undermines every single thing I do. If she'd keep her nose out of the casino business, things would be just fine. Do I interfere in her business? No, I do not. Your mother has to dabble in everything. She's not content to own two of the biggest clothing companies in the
538 Fern Michaels
country, she has to make her presence felt in everything that concerns me. I'm not going to let that happen. We're going to go ahead with those riverboats. I want you in Mississippi tomorrow. Get everything under way. She won't stop us. If she does... I'll deal with it then and there. When Sunny comes back from lunch, send her in here. She's out of here until that kid arrives. I have enough problems without her jinxing me. Why are you looking at me that way, Birch? Business is business. We're on top, cmd I plan on staying there. So I already took a mortgage out, so what? I got a good interest rate and cut Tisdale's markers to half That's how you do business in this town. I love bankers who gamble. Hell, the governor was in here two weeks ago, and he shot a load that made me blink. You suck up to these people, and you can get anything you want. You have to know how to play the game. Your mother doesn't know the name of the game much less how to play it. I even know what her next move is going to be. She's going to raise the rates on the sewage and electric plants. That won't endear us to the rest of the owners. The dark stuff will start to fly. Anything can happen in this town and take my word for it, something will happen as soon as those rate hikes go into effect. Your mother talks a good game about tightening our belts and all that crap. Don't kid yourself, son, it's what Fanny wants when Fanny wants it. Thanks for sticking up for me. They'll eat our dust yet."
"Dad, this is all wrong. Why in the hell does it have to be like this? The past is past. Can't we let it die and make things better? I know you can't go back, but you can go forward and make it better than it was. Sage is going to walk. I could see it in his face."
"Sage is not a team player. Neither is Sunny. You and me now, we have the same goals. We'll make those goals too."
Birch watched as his
father swallowed a handful of pills. He could feel his shoulders slump. Sage was his twin, his other half. He never felt quite whole unless Sage was close by. He adored Sunny, always had. It was all getting away from him, just like the last time when they sided with their father against their mother.
"You can't tell Sunny she isn't needed right now. If we do that. Mom wiU shut this place down so fast we won't have time to blink. She'll do it. Dad. I'd hate to see you make the mistake of pushing her to the edge. If you do that, she won't jump over the edge, she'll plow you right under. She takes her commitment to Grandma Sed-lie and this family very seriously. You're wrong about Sage too. Sage has the charisma to make this place work. He works the floor like a
pro. Any casino on this strip would hire him and pay him five times what we pay him. He'd be worth every dollar too. Don't mess with Sage, Dad."
Ash eyed his son, his one remaining ally. His thoughts were scrambled with the pills he'd just taken. His chaotic thoughts reeled back in time when he was Birch's age. He'd been just as tall, just as good-looking, just as virile, just as mobile. He stared at the repUca of himself and wanted to cry. "Sage is weak," he mumbled.
"You're wrong. Sage has more guts than the two of us put together. I'll walk out of here before I let you put S^e down."
Ash stared at his son and knew he meant every word. He waved him out of the room. When the door closed behind Birch, great wrenchii^ sobs tore at his wasted body the custom tailoring couldn't hide. "I hate your goddamn fucking guts, Fanny," he sobbed.
In his office, Birch sat down behind his desk. His head dropped to his hands. He v^dshed he could turn back the hands of the clock to the day he and Sage left for college with Simon behind the wheel.
He knew the story behind his father and his uncle Simon. He'd heard his father's version, his grandmother's version, Simon's version, and then his mother's version. Somewhere in between was the real story. Late at night in the college dorm, he and Sage had put their own spin on the story and came up with one they could both hve with. Now, fifteen years later, history seemed to be repeating itself He was his father and Sage was Simon.
Deep shudders ripped through him when he remembered how his uncle Simon had come out the winner from all the different stories, even their own. That meant Sage was a winner and he was . . . his father all over again.
It was three o'clock when Birch closed his briefcase. "Biloxi, Mississippi, here I come," he muttered. The knock on his door st2utled him. "Come in," he called.
"Nah. I don't think so," Sage said from the open doorway. "I stopped by Dad's office to drop this off, but he was asleep. He'd just tear it up anyway. You can do whatever you want with it. It's my resignation. You going somewhere? Let me guess, Biloxi, Mississippi, right? Big mistake. Birch."
"Come on, Sage, we go through this at least once a week. You always back down. This thing is going to blow over the way these things always blow over. This is our business. We need to pull together."
"That's really funny coming from you. Birch. I've had it. What
540 Fern Michaels
we voted for was right for all the right reasons. I don't have any regrets. All I want is a life, and I'm damn well going to get one. Uncle Simon walked away and got his life. I've got the guts to do the same diing."
"Let's not forget that good old Uncle Simon walked off with the queen of this parade. Our mother."
"Mom's personal life is none of our business. Justify what happened with Sunny, Birch. Don't tell me nothing happened either. I J know how you and Dad do things." ;
"Sunny belongs at home taking care of herself. Mom stayed home and took care of us. Why isn't that good enough for her?"
"The why of it doesn't matter. It's her choice. We made a pact early on. You can't slough Sunny off. You're gonna do it, aren't you? I refuse to be a party to anything that hurts one of us. What the hell happened to you. Birch? For months now we've been at opposite ends of the spectrum. I miss the old Birch, my buddy and my pal. Where'd he go?"
"Get your ass in here and stop telling the world our business. What about Dad?"
"Ah, the emperor's son has spoken. The queen's son is speaking now, the son who is his own man, and he says, fuck you. Birch." In a dramatic gesture. Sage threw his hands high in the air. "Jesus, do you have any idea of how good I feel right now? Because I'm in such a good mood, I'm going to give you some advice for free. Forget those riverboats, they're going to sink to the bottom of the Mississippi River. Give some thought to buying a gondola. Isn't that what emperors ride around in or sail in... ? Whatever. See you around."
"Sage, wait. We need to talk. Sage, get in here. What the hell is bugging you? Come on, we can talk this through and make it work." j
"Sorry, Birch, not this time."
The sound of the door closing behind his brother sounded ominous, finsd. Birch cried then for what he'd allowed himself to become: the emperor's son.
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