Ryan waved. “Will do.”
As Leah disappeared around the corner, Ryan slammed her eyes shut. I am so cool. I shook her hand. I fucking shook her hand. Walking back to the car, Ryan wanted to punch herself in the face. She didn’t want to be swept away or enamored with anyone, much less a woman nearly twenty years older than her with an as yet undisclosed history with her family.
The residue of Ryan’s childhood and adolescents with her family had left her feeling that everyone she had ever loved she had loved alone. Her mother had been a distant, critical woman who saw only herself in her daughter. She had never known her father, but more importantly, he had never shown an interest in knowing her.
Carol had been Ryan’s only true source of familial love growing up, but even she held her own feelings close because of the obscure and obstructed relationship she had with her own mother. The Myers women were riddled with contradictions, fears, and secrets.
Ryan sat in the car, her hands resting on the top of the steering wheel. She had spent nearly a third of her life educating herself, but since meeting Leah, she felt she didn’t know anything worthwhile.
***
7 February 1628
Isaac has been nominated for an Assistant’s Cabinet position to aid the Governor!
He bounded into our home a week ago with this glorious news. A position within the government of the colony will most certainly afford us favor with The First Comers. Though Isaac’s father was too one of the original Saints, and the Allerton name is on the very document that made this great colony possible, our financial struggles have put us at odds with debtors that otherwise would be friends.
Isaac assures me with this new appointment, and the promise of a bountiful spring and summer, our child will be born into its God given birthright.
I have opted to stay with Margery and her mother while Isaac attends the monthly council meeting. Their home is small, and though it has been provided to them by the church in exchange for Margery’s midwifing services, they show no less pride in its upkeep then if it had been their very own.
***
10 February 1628
Heaven be praised! Isaac returned today with wonderful news. The court has elected him as one of seven Assistants to the Governor. I could not be happier for my husband as he steps back into the role our family so rightfully deserves.
The only failing of the day was almost immediately upon returning home, Isaac was struck ill with a terrible ache in his stomach. Luckily Margery was paying her bi-weekly visit, and was able to assist the poor man.
Margery tended to him for nearly an hour, and then only left at my insistence as it was growing increasingly dark and cold outside. A short while after, Isaac was almost completely well. I thank God daily for Margery and her healing ways!
Isaac has warned me very little of our daily lives will be altered due to his recent successes, but I have no doubt that our standing in the community is on the rise. Our child is one of a Forefather, and will reap the benefits therein.
I will pray this night that my husband may lead this colony with guidance from our Lord, and that we should have the courage - as a people preordained by God - to walk His path.
***
25 February 1628
We have been truly blessed! The General Court has seen fit to grant us two additional plots of land for farming. The additional yields will allow us to repay our debts within two years. I cannot recall the last time I saw Isaac so elated. I dare say this gave his soul more joy than even appointment to the Governor’s office.
He has rushed out to procure additional contracts for laborers as poor William would be worked to death less we provide him further help. The spring and summer promise to be the most fortunate for our budding family. Margery tells me our child is doing well, and she can see no reason the birth should be delayed much beyond the middle of May.
Isaac will leverage this new land and procure seed for turnips, carrots, and barley. He has even gone so far as to advise the Governor to open trade with nearby tribes. I confessed my misgivings over dealings with the savages to Margery. I do not think she fully understands the dangers those people present, but true to her nature, she comforted me all the same.
I find myself hoping Margery and I may remain friends long after the birth of my child as I have grown so very fond of her.
Chapter 6
Ryan had received a call from her mother’s attorney Michael Johannes that she needed to go to his firm’s downtown Baltimore office to sign paperwork pertaining to Karen’s estate. Ryan thought it had been serendipitous that less than an hour after the call from Mr. Johannes, the Howard County recruiter had contacted her to offer her the Community Liaison position.
“That’s great news! I thought I would need to do another interview.” Ryan had practically gushed with excitement.
“Mr. Hammond was very pleased with you, and your qualifications.” The recruiter had assured her.
The salary was nearly ten thousand less than Ryan had been asking for, something the recruiter acknowledged and explained was beyond the hiring manager’s control, given the job grades inherent in government positions.
Ryan had accepted the position anyway, and felt fortunate that now she had the financial flexibility to do what she loved, regardless of the compensation. It was a novel position for her to be in, and certainly not one she took for granted.
Ryan had stood in front of her closet for nearly five minutes, wrapped in a bath towel, her hair damp from her morning shower, trying to decide what to wear to the attorney’s office. She finally decided she had spent entirely too much time thinking about it, and opted for a pair of Levi’s jeans, brown leather flats, and a lightweight green cable knit sweater.
“Where are you off to?” Nicole was working from home, and had strewn her work across the dining room table.
Pulling her pea coat on, and wrapping a brown wool scarf around her neck, Ryan hoisted her brown leather mailbag over her shoulder. “I got the job.” She had wanted to be casual about it, but in the end, Ryan couldn’t contain her excitement as a broad smile spread across her face.
Nicole squealed and jumped up from the table. Rushing towards Ryan, she threw her arms around her. “Congratulations!”
Ryan hugged Nicole as best she could while her friend hopped around.
“When do you start?” Nicole - leaned back, still holding Ryan by the shoulders.
“April 6th.” Ryan dislodged herself from her enthusiastic roommate.
“Where are you going?” Nicole looked at Ryan’s bag. “We have to celebrate.”
“Later. I have to go fill out some paperwork.” Ryan took her house keys from the hook near the front door.
“I hope you pass the drug test.” Nicole teased.
Ryan started to correct her friend, and tell her the paperwork didn’t have to do with the job. But for reasons she didn’t fully understand herself, Ryan continued to keep her secret.
Ryan took the MTA bus into downtown Baltimore, and smiled to herself as she waited at the crowded crosswalk. The Reynolds, Hawkin and King law firm was housed in a ten story office building that sat near the corner of East Baltimore and South Gay Street.
“Ms. Myers, can you follow me please?” Lisa Blakely was Ronald Perkis’ paralegal, and an attractive dark haired woman in her early thirties. She was wearing a black pencil skirt that hit just at her knees, with a form fitting, silk gray blouse. She had on a pair of tortoise shell Ray-Ban prescription glasses that Ryan had commented she liked. The woman had blushed, and Ryan decidedly liked that too.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a coffee, or some tea?” Lisa asked as she took Ryan down a long hall, and into a sprawling office that afforded Ryan a view of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
“Some water?” Ryan asked as she entered Ronald Perkis’ office and sat down in a Trevi style brown leather chair.
“Certainly. Mr. Perkis will be in shortly.” Lisa closed the mahogany wood door as she left.
Ryan looked around the office. It reminded her of her mother’s study - ornate and altogether too much. The door opened, and instead of Lisa, a man in his sixties walked in. He was dressed in what looked like an expensive black suit with a conservative maroon tie. As men went, particularly older men, Ryan imagined Ronald Perkis would be a catch.
“Ms. Myers, it’s nice to meet you. I was sorry to hear about your mother.” He crossed the office with his hand extended toward Ryan.
Standing, Ryan shook the man’s hand. “Thank you.” Sitting down, she crossed her legs and rested her bag on her lap. “You can call me Ryan.”
Sitting down on the other side of a large, rectangular mahogany desk, the man nodded as he opened a thick manila folder, and typed into a laptop that sat to his left. “I appreciate that.” Ryan took note that the man did not extend her the same informality.
The door opened again, and Lisa walked in with a bottle of water and a glass of ice. “Here you are, Ms. Myers.”
“Lisa, can you push the partner meeting back fifteen minutes?” Ronald asked without looking up from his laptop.
“Yes.” Lisa didn’t look at her boss, but rather put the water and glass on the edge of his desk, smiling briefly at Ryan.
Lisa left, and Ryan poured half the water into the glass, and took a long drink. She wasn’t prone to nervousness normally, but had to remind herself she was the client regardless of how pretentious the man across from her was behaving.
Leaning back in his chair, the attorney smiled at Ryan. “I’ve had Lisa prepare a reckoning of the assets your mother left you. The man scanned a sheet of paper. “It looks like in total - twenty two million, three hundred thousand.” He glanced up at Ryan. “Plus or minus a few thousand.”
Ryan put her water down. “May I see the portfolio statement, please?”
Mr. Perkis slid a thinner manila folder across the desk to Ryan. “That is simply the cash assets. Your mother owned three private residences and two commercial properties. All included in the summary.” The man thumbed through the thicker folder, and then slid several pieces of paper toward Ryan along with a black Mont Blanc pin. “Please review, and sign where I’ve marked. That will complete the transfer.”
Ryan pulled the documents toward her, and began reading. The documents consisted of several transfer deeds for the various properties, ownership updates to the brokerage and annuity accounts. Ryan signed, and slid the papers back to the attorney.
Glancing at the papers, Mr. Perkis nodded. “Very good. If I could get your driver’s license, we will get these notarized.”
Ryan took her ID from her wallet. “Out of curiosity, what’s the portfolio’s rate of return?”
Mr. Perkis’ brow arched, and he held up his index finger before pressing a green button on his desk phone. “Lisa, can you please come in with your notary pack?” Turning his attention back to Ryan, Mr. Perkis smiled. “The average is a little over nine percent. I’m happy to report that held, even during the downturn. Overall the portfolio grew. It helped, of course, that Karen wasn’t taking any income from the accounts.”
Ryan nodded. “Neither will I.”
Mr. Perkis frowned. “I was told -”
Ryan closed the folder. “I have a job and don’t see the point.” She slid the folder into her bag. “I will be taking a distribution of sixty thousand dollars, however.” Her student loan deferment was coming to an end, and she had decided after accepting the liaison position for substantially less than she had hoped for, that she would use some of the money to pay off the notes.
Ryan had not struggled with the decision to leave her mother’s money relatively untouched. She had a unique perspective on what that level of wealth could do to a person’s perspective. Often the shifts in priorities happened subtly, and she feared she night lose herself.
Ryan didn’t want to fall into the trap of believing wealth had any correlation to a person’s character and convictions. Her mother had so completely comingled her wealth with who she was that she became the sum of what she could buy, donate, sponsor, and chair. Ryan’s integrity was her most priceless commodity.
Mr. Perkis nodded. “I see. Well, we hope you will keep your business with us. We have managed your family’s finances for over seventy years.”
There was a faint knock at the door, and a moment later Lisa entered with a large brown book and an ink stamp. Without a word, the attorney handed the paralegal Ryan’s identification and the papers she had signed. The woman, leaning over the corner of the desk, began to write Ryan’s information in the brown book.
Ryan took a drink of her water, and hoped Mr. Perkis didn’t notice the slight tremor in her hand. “I haven’t made that decision yet. I need to look over the summaries, and will let you know by the end of next week.”
Mr. Perkis frowned, and Ryan saw a faint smile cross Lisa’s lips as she continued to focus on her notary task. “I was being rhetorical, Ryan. When someone your age inherits not only a large sum of money and property, but truly a legacy, it is always best to stay the course.”
Ryan had been unsure if she disliked the man, or was feeling intimidated by the nature of the meeting. In a split second, she knew the answer to be the former. “Ronald, I grew up with this money and its legacy. So don’t worry about my ability to determine the best course of action for it - and me.”
The man sat slack jawed as Ryan stood. “Please have the sixty thousand dollars withdrawn.” Ryan turned her attention to a clearly amused Lisa. “May I email you with the wiring instructions?”
Nodding, the dark haired woman handed Ryan her ID back, and her business card. “Please, and I’ll send you copies of what you’ve signed today.” The woman quickly winked at Ryan.
Ronald Perkis, however, nearly hurdled his desk to get out in front of Ryan and open his office door for her. “I - I look forward to your call, Ms. Myers.”
Ryan gave the man a brisk nod and walked down the hall toward the bank of elevators. Leaning against the stainless steel wall of the elevator, Ryan’s knees felt loose from the surge of adrenaline. She had no idea what she was going to do. She would need to find another attorney. Preferably one that didn’t have a stick up his ass. Already, the complications she had avoided for years by not associating with her family were raising their ugly heads.
Waiting at the MTA stop, Ryan was running through Remembrance’s diary in her mind. After reading just a portion of the book, Ryan realized now, perhaps more than ever, just how unlike her family she was. Her ambitions were wholly her own. Politics, money, lobbying, it all seemed vapid and inevitably self-serving to Ryan.
Ryan glanced back at the skyscraper behind her, and shook her head. On top of those inherent pitfalls, money also afforded you the all too exciting opportunity to deal with self-gratifying assholes.
***
“Are you ready to get this done?” A very enthusiastic Greg asked as Ryan, Nicole and he walked through Patterson Park toward the football fields on a clear but cold Saturday morning. The park was a sprawling one hundred and thirty seven acres in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore, and home to Hampstead Hill, the site of a major defensive hold against the British during the War of 1812.
Today, the hill boasted scenic views of the harbor, and was home to the beloved Pagoda. The structure, originally an observatory with its Japanese inspired aesthetic, was actually modeled after Victoria style architecture prevalent during its construction in 1890.
Ryan thought of the park as an oasis, since it was inspired by and modeled after New York City’s Central Park. Whenever she visited, she always felt a little nostalgic for her childhood and days in the park with Carol and her aunt.
“Are you focused today, Myers?” Greg nudged Ryan’s shoulder as they neared the sports fields.
“Calm down. We’ve got this.” The truth was Ryan was feeling off center. It wasn’t just thinking about her family that left Ryan restless. To her surprise, she was actually missing them – or at least, she was missing her cousin. But also
, she couldn’t stop thinking about Leah, who had agreed to attend the game today.
“Are you nervous?” Nicole looked concerned.
Ryan had told Nicole and Greg both about Leah coming to the game. She had shared some of her feelings about the woman with Nicole, though she had left the parts out about lust fueled heat flashes and still not talking to the woman about her history with the Myers family.
“You’re attracted to her. What’s the problem?” Nicole had asked over a bowl of Frosted Flakes and a cup of coffee. The two women were sitting at their dining room table, both still in their flannel pajamas Nicole’s mother had bought them the Christmas before last.
Ryan poured cream into her coffee. “No problem. It’s just never going to happen.”
“Because of the age thing? I thought people were over that. I mean fourteen year olds look thirty, thirty year olds are in wrinkle cream commercials, and obviously forty-somethings can look thirty three.” Nicole gestured with her spoon as if conducting a symphony.
Ryan took a sip of her coffee. “I don’t care about that.”
“Then what is it?” Nicole had pressed.
Recalling the conversation, Ryan looked down at the ground shaking her head as they walked toward the sports fields. The truth was, Leah didn’t seem all that interested in anything more than friendship. Add to that the still outstanding mystery of her relationship with Ryan’s mother, and the whole thing seemed doomed from the start. “I’m not nervous. I just hope Leah isn’t disappointed.”
“Well you explained to her how this works, right?” Greg was referencing the BSSC flag football divisions, and the fact that even though they belonged to the Super Extreme Social division, their game play was anything but super.
“Yeah. I told her we’re essentially out here to have a good time.” Hoping to spot Leah, Ryan began scanning the fields and the few intermittently placed bleachers as they approached the sports area.
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