“Honest to God, Georgie, he hasn’t said a word and nothing’s come across my desk. I really don’t think this is about insurance. If it was he wouldn’t be dragging real estate agents around.”
Sitting in the kitchen, parsing through the evidence available, they had been unable to understand what Lou was up to. The whole situation was like a forest fire. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t quite pinpoint the source smoldering under the surface with so much smoke obscuring their way.
When Tyler suggested showing the financial reports to her mom, Marnie was quick to bring her in along with Tyler’s sister. Kira was a real estate lawyer and had never done any corporate work, but still, her interest was piqued and she offered to join their group.
After an hour of poring through reports, sharing their observations and compiling a list of issues, Carl managed to convince them all to have some lunch. He’d been puttering around with his homemade chili and served it up with fresh garlic bread. Everyone dug in, even Marnie who, among the cousins, was considered a notoriously picky eater. After lunch Carl had managed to move them, en masse, to the spacious family room.
They had been back at it for over an hour when Debbie Marsh broke in, apologizing, “I’m sorry ladies, but these foreign currency accounts just don’t add up.”
Tyler retrieved several printouts from her mother and handing them to Marnie, added, “Georgie and I found the same thing. Although it doesn’t look like money’s actually missing.”
“How’s that?” Marnie asked.
“From what we could figure out it looks like he’s been moving operational funds into holding accounts and vice versa.”
Lori, who was seated beside Marnie, let out a long loud whistle. Pointing to one of the spreadsheets, she said, “Where the hell did we get this kind of money? Every time I go to that bastard to upgrade something, he cries poor, and now I’m seeing we have an account with sixty million dollars in it?”
Marnie looked over the figures then handed the sheets to Georgie. She took a moment to compare the totals to her own notes. “Pension fund,” Georgie explained. “Not ours.”
“Fuck me!” It was out so fast, Marnie actually clamped both her hands over her mouth, as if doing so would take it back.
“If she’s right,” Debbie warned, “a few choice words will be the least of your problems. Employee contributed pension plans are protected by law. You could be looking at jail time.”
“We,” Marnie corrected her. Before Marnie had given Debbie Marsh access to the company’s records, she had asked her to sign a nondisclosure agreement and had given her a retainer right on the spot. When she learned Kira was a lawyer, she had immediately done the same with her too.
“Guys,” Kira interrupted. She had been reading through a stack of legacy documents related to the estate and how it was to be divided. “Your father’s will makes reference to the original proclamation in Luigi DiNamico’s last will and testament.” Holding up the document in question, she said, “This is a copy. Do you have the original?”
Georgie nodded. “Everything.”
Kira had managed to get her uncomfortably pregnant self into her father’s recliner. Now, lowering the footrest, she sat forward as earnestly as she would with any client when delivering complicated information. “Your grandfather had a unique vision of family for a man of his generation. He, or his lawyer, spelled out his values in detail. It’s not only unique, it addresses those things he considered discriminatory but allowable by our legal system at that time.”
All three of them, Georgie, Lori and Marnie, nodded; they were more than aware of the security old Luigi had put in place to ensure fairness between his three children.
“According to this, he describes his three heirs as his children, two biological and one by choice, and each by the Grace of God. He then goes on to specifically say that no preference will be made between them based on race, sex, age or marital status. The family company must be evenly divided between all three but here’s where it gets interesting. Once the estate passes into the hands of his children, your dad and your aunt, the future of the company and its division is strictly up to them. There is no requirement for them to pass their share to all of their children, or even any of them. He simply asks them to consider his example.”
When no one understood, she looked to her mother and Tyler. Seeing their helpless faces too, she tried it from a different angle. “Without getting into Georgina Senior’s estate, let’s just consider what happened when Luigi died. The company was divided into three equal shares, with only three voting board members. Technically Lou doesn’t even have a vote. Actually Lori, neither do you.”
Lori waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. Henry’s explained all of this. In his will, he divides his share of the estate evenly. Although I don’t know how Lou plans to divide the big house!”
“Going back to the will, you need to know it only applies to DME and the legacy DynaCraft Companies.” Still seeing their confusion, she was blunt, telling them, “Guys, you only inherited the company.”
“What?” They all were confused, peppering her with questions. Tyler listened while Kira explained the provisions in detail. She hadn’t expected Georgie to raise any questions but her sudden withdrawal signaled that she knew more than her sister or cousin did. Quietly giving her a nudge, she said under her breath, “You knew.”
Georgie nodded, looking embarrassed, but said nothing.
“So?” Marnie asked, unable to put the pieces together.
“Maybe it would be better if Georgie explained,” Tyler suggested.
Grabbing one of the spare financial reports they had printed out and flipping it to the blank side, Georgie said, “Complicated.” Scribbling Companies across the top, “DME!” she said, adding it on the page with a large ‘33% EACH’ written below. She added DynaCraft boats, with Danny’s and Henry’s names, and a 50/50 notation, then finally wrote DynaCraft Engines with the notation G. “Georgina.”
“Holy crap!” Lori took the page from her trying to figure out the split. “So my dad, Henry,” she qualified, “owns half of DynaCraft?”
“Boats…only.”
Tyler was way ahead of them and had already created a diagram on her tablet. She passed it over to Lori and Marnie.
Lori stared transfixed at the set of pie charts. “Okay I’ll bite. Who inherited the engine division from Aunt Georgina?”
Georgie groaned, head still down, and allowed Kira to explain. Referencing the copy of Georgina Senior’s will, she flipped to the first page she had indexed with sticky notes. “This is another interesting one. Let’s cover the real estate first, shall we?” She didn’t wait for consensus. “Georgina divided her estate into three separate parts. Her personal real estate holdings. Her share of the family real estate and of course the company—sorry, companies.” Feeling their anticipation, she offered consolingly, “Your aunt had an impressive real estate portfolio. The majority is in the Cattaraugus Creek property. The division of which is not detailed here. There is a reference to a special letter and a document requiring a signature from each of the heirs on or about their thirtieth birthday. Guys, this is significant.” Flipping to a copy of the surveyor’s diagram, she explained before handing it to Marnie, “According to that, she owned some three hundred sixty acres of prime waterfront property. I have no idea how many miles of shoreline that translates to…”
“Five,” Lori contributed, now just as embarrassed as Georgie.
“…And I have no idea from this, who the land actually passed to?”
Tyler wasn’t the only one who could tell when Georgie was holding something back. Marnie, studying the map carefully, said, “I had no idea she owned all this. Georgie and Lori inherited everything out there, but I’m not sure how that happened?” she asked, looking to her sister and cousin for an explanation.
Lori took the photocopy from her hand and picking up a highlighter, divided the property into three sections. “Okay,” she began showing the map to the
others. “Aunt Georgina had bought up everything north of the train tracks from Silver Creek to Cattaraugus Creek, including the island here. When I turned thirty, I was given a letter to read—”
“Wait,” Marnie interrupted. “I never got a letter when I turned thirty!”
“Would you shut up and let me explain?” Lori gave her an affectionate nudge. “Anyway…I’m sitting in the lawyer’s office and he’s all embarrassed trying to prepare me for some big shock but keeps stalling, so Georgie grabs the letter from him and tells him to get over it. Well I was shocked. I had no goddamn idea!”
“Still not getting it!” Marnie warned. “What the hell was this letter about?”
Silently, Lori looked to Georgie for permission to share the confidential details of their aunt’s personal message. At her nod, she explained with great glee, “Aunt Georgina was lesbian! I know! I couldn’t believe it either, but it was all there in black and white!”
“What?” Marnie was shocked. “How come I’m hearing this for the first time?”
“The letter,” Georgie began tentatively. “Different time…she worried for…us,” she said, indicating herself and Lori.
“Wait!” Tyler interjected. “I spent half an hour last night listening to John lament the loss of his beloved Georgina!”
Lori laughed. “That old poofter!”
“Her…beard,” Georgie explained, reminding them again, “Different time.”
Continuing with the explanation, Lori filled in the gaps. “The letter was really, really personal. Can I tell the story?” At Georgie’s nod, she continued, “When Aunt Georgina was in college, I think she said it was her last year, she met someone. Remember this was back in the seventies. Anyway, according to the letter, she fell madly in love with this woman Helen but kept the relationship on the sly, worried how her parents would take it. At some point she sat down with Uncle Danny and Dad, who said they’d stand by her no matter what. I guess it was just a little after the big wedding, you know when Mom and Dad and Uncle Danny and your mom got married. I guess that’s when she came out to her parents. I can only guess things did not go as well for her as they did for me or Georgie.”
Lori stood suddenly, still as affected by the story as she had been eight years earlier. Finally settling on the arm of the couch, she clamped her hands above her knees, her long arms locked straight to support her heavy shoulders. “Evidently old Luigi was heartbroken, but I guess having lost so many relatives back in the old country, he wouldn’t throw her out but he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with that part of her life.”
Debbie Marsh, sitting in the chair beside her, reached over, giving her leg a gentle rub. On the opposite couch, Tyler had discreetly done the exact same thing with Georgie before getting up to retrieve a box of tissues from the other room.
Always the tough guy, Lori was trying desperately to keep her emotions in check. Finally giving in, she accepted the tissues. Wiping her eyes and giving her nose a quick blow, she began haltingly, “See the thing is, I really loved Sophia. Marnie, I know you say you don’t remember her, but I really do.”
“Wait. Who is Sophia?” Tyler asked.
Clearing her throat, Marnie answered for her. “Our grandmother. She…died a few years after the accident.”
“Oh my God!” Debbie was shocked.
“Oh it gets worse,” Lori reassured them. “See, when Georgina came out, her mother freaked. Total complete meltdown. You know, saying things like ‘drop-dead,’ ‘never want to see you again as long as you live,’ and my all-time favorite, ‘I will pray for God to strike you down.’ After that Georgina said they never spoke again. Even at things like family functions, Sophia wouldn’t even acknowledge her. She went around telling all her friends that Georgina was dead. No wonder Georgie Senior’s life became nothing but her work.”
“I’m sorry,” Debbie interrupted, asking, “What about her lover? What happened to her?”
Surprised by the question, apparently never having considered it before, Lori turned to Georgie hoping she might know but it was Kira who had the information. “There was a provision for, let me see…” She read through several of her sticky note tabs, finally flipping to a different page. “Here it is. ‘And with great affection I leave the beach house on Moran Lane, Cattaraugus Creek, to Helen Jensen of Tonawanda.’ Wow, she must’ve really loved her to leave her a house! Oh, there were some bonds too.”
“Bitch!” Lori threw her hands up. “Yeah well, I can tell you she and Mister Jensen have been very happy in that house! Oh, man…that bitch!”
“Lori!” Georgie growled for her to calm down, finally signaling her to finish the story.
Suitably admonished, she apologized to Debbie and Kira for her language while suggesting Tyler get used to it. “Georgina’s letter was so…kind. Or maybe forgiving would be a better description. Eh, Bender?” At her cousin’s nod, she pushed on. “Georgina was very forgiving not to mention generous. She wrote that letter at a time when she had lost all connection with her parents, so what does she do? She fell madly in love with old Bender here. Seems our little Georgie Porgie was the only one out at the big house who would spend quality time with her. She was at that age, you know, when little kids don’t understand boundaries. She was so infatuated with our aunt. The letter included a sweet story about old Bender here starting school. Seems our Georgie got school and work mixed up, and howled like a banshee when she realized our aunt wouldn’t be going with her. Aunt Georgina’s solution was to drive her to school every day. She even went so far as to pick her up once a week and take her back to the office or the boatyard so Georgie could…help out.” She made quotation signs in the air, shaking her head with amusement. “Can’t you see it? Our six-year-old Georgie marching around the office in her little school uniform!”
“That year…” Georgie began haltingly, “her gift, Christmas…was, little suit…like hers.”
Marnie snorted. “Oh God, I remember that! Wait, wasn’t there a little matching briefcase too?”
“Oh yeah,” Lori confirmed, chuckling. “And don’t forget that erector set we were never allowed to touch! If it’d been Georgina’s, Georgie didn’t just covet it, she protected it with her life. What a pain you were! Anyway, back to the letter. She spoke highly of our moms but said she barely knew them, you know, since she worked so much. She loved Danny and Dad. That was clear in her letter. She wrote it just a few months after I was born. She said she saw all these babies coming and worried about what would happen if any of them turned out to be gay. She was sure that as long as old Luigi was alive, us kids would always have a home. Sophia though…not so much,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s when she decided that her estate should be divided between any of the kids who turned out to be gay or lesbian. That’s why the thirty years of age thing. When you turn thirty the lawyer has to ask you if you’re a homosexual. If you self-identify as LGBT and sign an affidavit to that effect, then a portion of the estate goes to you.”
“No one asked me,” Marnie said.
Lori plopped down on the couch beside her, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. “Marns, you were married with two children. That pretty much self-identified you as a good old het!”
“Evidently marriage is an automatic disqualifier,” Kira explained, still reading from the will.
“That takes care of me and Lou,” Marnie said. “What about Leslie? She wasn’t married when she turned thirty.”
“Asked,” Georgie said, adding, “we,” indicating her and Lori, “explained.”
“Yeah, good old Les! We couldn’t even convince her to lie for a third of the loot. Can you believe that?”
Tyler nodded. “She’s very nice and strikes me as a real straight arrow.”
“I’m sorry,” Debbie interjected. “There’s been so much tragedy in your family, I hate to ask but I have to know, what happened to Sophia after the accident? I mean, losing your husband like that would be crushing. Plus the boys must’ve bee
n shattered to lose their wives and have all you kids running around, all so little and needing love and attention. I can’t imagine what that was like and then the guilt…”
“You never mention her,” Tyler said quietly to Georgie. “Do you remember her?”
She nodded but left the explanations for Lori.
“Sophia was good with us. I mean, she really tried but you’re right, her heart was broken and there was guilt in everything she did. I swear she practically built a shrine to Georgina. She hung pictures of her everywhere, and then she was gone.”
Georgie cleared her throat, saying the one thing Lori never could: “Suicide.”
After a long silence Marnie, still sitting with Lori’s arm around her shoulders, turned the conversation back to their business concerns. “Okay, I guess that explains why you two got the property. That’s cool by me. And I knew the boat division was split between Dad and Henry. The engine division though, who got it?”
Kira answered, her tone a little sheepish, “According to this, Georgina DiNamico Junior.”
“And who else?” Marnie asked.
“Just Georgie Junior,” she said, tipping her head to her.
When Georgie nodded her confirmation, Marnie said, “I don’t understand. We’ve all been receiving dividends from the engine division.”
Georgie nodded again, trying to explain, “It is…fair.”
“I see. So…” Marnie picked up a few pages of the financial report Debbie had been working on. “Tell me if I’ve got this right. Lori, Leslie, Stella and I, each own about, what, a sixth of the company?” When Debbie gave her a signal that she was close, she added, “Off the top of my head, it’s sounding like Georgie here controls almost half of the family holdings.”
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