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Transitions Ch. 04

Thank you Tigerssman for putting up with me.

*****

Daniel was feeling especially well today, nightmares were gone just like Gram said. She saw 'Her Ladyship' and a young man sipping iced lemonade on the verandah. He looked familiar, but his back was toward Daniel.

When the young man turned around, Daniel froze in her tracks.

The young man said, "The person who sent me told me to give this to you."

As Daniel opened the box she went slack-jawed.

'Her Ladyship' remarked, you better close your mouth before the flies get in.

"Do not clean it or you will lose the patina."

It was one of Gram's broaches; the man was David.

David said, "Apparently, your Gram knows how to get information if she wants it. Even if she shouldn't have it."

Daniel said, "I am so sorry David, I treated you horribly. You were being so nice to me. Gram set me straight. Too bad Gramps was not here, I would have been better six months ago. He was one of those people who you couldn't disappoint.

Daniel quickly put the broach on her lapel and grabbed David's wrist and dragged him upstairs. 'Her Ladyship' was laughing so hard she was almost crying.

Daniel said, "Amy this is David," Daniel leaned over a little more.

Amy said, "Good to..."

"Hey, where did you get that Daniel? That's Grams! I wanted that since forever!"

"You and me both. Gram gave it to David to give to me."

David said, "So this is like an heirloom piece?"

Daniel said, "No not really, but Gram let us wear certain pieces when we played dress up. This was one of the prized pieces. Amy, I am sure she already knows who is getting what. You probably will get the wedding ring."

Amy's mood totally changed, "You think so? Even those super high-end rings can't compare to that ring."

"David, you should have seen Gram seventy years ago, such an elegant lady. Gramps almost lost her, twice. They were soulmates."

"Just so you know David, if you plan on marrying either of us, no Gram, no bride."

Daniel said, "Amy, I am going to get some pictures of Gramps and Gram. I am going to put one on the wall in back of my desk so he is always looking over my shoulder."

Now that Daniel was feeling better, she was doing much better at work and working half as much; she would go out with her team one day a week. Today was the big unveiling, the presidents came to Daniel's conference room. They were confused because they came from vastly different industries.

Daniel took over the floor, "Gentlemen, what I am about to propose is not conventional, in fact no one has ever tried it. You are the first I have asked, I believe it would grow all your companies."

Daniel had to go backwards during certain parts of her presentation to answer questions. It was hard to digest.

"Daniel, you know if this works you will rewrite our industries."

"I guess it is good I came to you first, I need to know soon. We will do the contract work. I suggest promoting and transferring your executives and then promote the next line to make your companies more efficient."

"Daniel, you want all four of us to have a sub-corporation that we could put out products for a fraction of what it cost if just one of us made the same thing?"

Daniel mentioned, "Of course, just your research would be about 1/3 the cost, you would get out your product about five years before a competitor. You all have pet projects you would like to do; I suggest each of you put forward one. The main company receives more money than the others.

Each contract would be very detailed, including penalties that would fit the crime, espionage may ban you from the entire industry for ten years. That would effectively close you down. Firing someone for a poor work ethic would be a light penalty.

Just like any contract we will negotiate all parts. Each company would be expected to do a certain amount of work on a project. If you are expected to do fifteen percent, but only do five percent because you think you will get the same check, think again. The others will split the difference for the contract and all royalties and other money generating items.

You already know I am the best around. I have groomed a follow-up team that can do some hand holding. Now we are even better. I asked you four because I know you have projects you can help each other with.

Let's face it, in business there are no secrets, everyone knows what every else is doing. Then it is a race and money. With our products, even if they find out, we would move much faster."

By the end of the day, Daniel found herself knocking on 'His Lordship's' door.

"Enter."

Daniel entered and placed a sheet on his desk.

"How did you get this Daniel?"

"Milord, no one has ever tried to do something like this so I had an advantage. I have been grooming my team for a year. We are good."

The document was a letter of intent by the four companies.During dinner Amy was very distracted, almost dazed.

'Her Ladyship' nudged Amy, "Amy, Amy wake up. Why are you so distracted?"

Daniel burst out laughing. "Ever since she saw Gram's broach and I happened to mention she might get Gram's wedding ring, she has probably not thought about anything else. The broach was a prized piece when we were growing up, but the ring . . . its beauty is just on another plane; many a tear were shed because one of us did not get it."

Amy said, "Daniel, I need to speak to you after dinner."

It was a short talk, Daniel agreed readily.

The next day, Amy sent a letter to Uncle Leon. A week later Amy got a package from him. It was agreed they would not open the box until they got to the shop.

They shop owner had never seen people as happy as Daniel and Amy.

As Amy took the dress out of the box, both were screaming in happiness.

Daniel said, "This is Gram's wedding dress. We have agreed to have identical weddings as Gram. Same music, flowers, and hopefully the same flower girl. She would be about eighty now.

This is where you come in, both of us are going to have identical dresses. The only difference will be the size. We will have an independent dressmaker to do a micro-inspection of the dress. We will not pay for a dress with imitation parts."

Leon went to a senior center where a friend of the family lived. He sat down to have lunch with her and all her many friends. "I need a future favor of you. When Daniel and Amy get married they want to replicate Gram's wedding."

She was confused, "So they want me as a guest at their weddings?"

Leon said, "Not exactly."

All her friends were peaked with interest, as few more friends joined the group.

Then the full impact hit her, she cried in remembrance.

She said, "I will be honored, Leon."

"My friends, when Gram was married I was just three years old. Amy and Daniel want to replicate Gram's wedding. I was just asked to be the flower girl. I bet I will be the only flower girl that is four times as old as the brides. I assume Gram will be 'Matron of Honor'."

Leon said, "If you can remember anything, or have pictures, we can add some bride matrons. I have a feeling we will need several ramps. I will see if Gram still has her guestbook."

Romance was in the air, Daniel was doing many things with David, anything that would relax Daniel.

'His Lordship and Her Ladyship' brought Amy to an art show. Amy was discussing pieces with someone she met, somehow, they got to talking.

'Her Ladyship' nudged her husband and whispered, "Look at Amy."

Amy was indeed holding hands with her friend; she was captivated by him.

'His Lordship' said, "My dear, it appears two bachelors will soon be off the market."

"My love, when exactly did you know you were going to marry me?"

"The third date, it would have been sooner, but Daddy had a three-date rule."

"So my love, you are saying it took me over a year to figure that out, and you did it in two weeks."

'Her Ladyship' giggled, "Well, you got it right."

'His Lordship' was talking to Aillis when Amy came to introduce her friend.

"Milord, this is Brian, the man I met at the art show," Aillis did not dare to look

into his eyes.

'His Lordship' asked Aillis, "What is the matter Aillis?"

Amy was totally confused, this was not like Aillis at all.

"Milord if I may.

Aillis how do you spell your name."

"A-I-L-L-I-S sir," Aillis squeaked.

"Full blooded Irish?"

"Yes Sir."

"Well Aillis, I think it best if you look me in the eye when I am talking to you or else I will think you are hiding something from me. We are equals, we should be on a first name basis."

"Milord let me explain, the name Brian means 'High' or 'Noble'. There was a Brian back in the eleventh century who was a revered high-king."

"Aillis don't you agree that to be a true king you must have a queen?

Aillis, I am between relationships right now. Do you have a boyfriend? If not, maybe I could take you to dinner after work."

Amy, being just slightly territorial of Brian, lashed out.

His world went black, Brian received many gashes from hitting the desk and the items on it, as he went down.

Aillis called for the ambulance and 'His Lordship's' doctor to meet them at the hospital. 'His Lordship' was using his handkerchief to stop some of the blood.

'His Lordship' said, "Aillis take over for Amy, she has a sudden urge to go to her bedroom. 'Her Ladyship' will go with Brian to the hospital."

'His Lordship' said, "Amy, I disapprove of violence in my household. What is it with your family and relationships?"

The ambulance personal used smelling salts to wake up Brian; he had to stay awake for at least a day.

The concussion was more severe than first thought. It was thought that a combination of fist, desk, floor scrambled his brain somewhat. He was admitted to the hospital.

'Her Ladyship' called 'His Lordship' to update him on Brian's status and that she was going to stay with him for a time.

'His Lordship' was furious, "Aillis, Amy is not allowed to work until the day after Brian gets better, that includes any in-home convalesce."

Aillis already retrieved Amy's laptop and put yellow caution tape on Amy's office door.

At dinner, 'His Lordship' asked Daniel, "What is it with your family and relationships? First you kick David out of your bungalow and now Brian has a very severe concussion. I am at my breaking point, there is a good possibility that Aillis will be promoted and Amy fired.

Aillis mentioned, "Milord, Amy cut through all the red tape to hire me, she gave me everything. Even a new family. I don't mean this as black mail. If Amy gets fired, I will give you notice. If saying that gets me fired, then so be it. Family and loyalty are important to me."

'His Lordship' looked at Aillis, she was not bluffing. She would hand him her resignation letter before he left her office. She would use vacation time to finish her notice.

Amy packed two large suitcases and started making the long walk into town, under the cover of darkness. She made the stay for a week, but was assured that could be extended.

'Her Ladyship' went up to talk to Amy, when she knocked on the door it opened. Amy was not there. She decided not to mention it her husband, he was in no mood to hear anything about Aillis or Amy.

'His Lordship' came down to talk to Aillis, "Aillis, can you call Amy, I want a word with her.

'His Lordship' saw two stacks of papers, he knew Daniel had crafted everything Amy and Aillis would need to get a job instantly.

"Milord, I can't. Didn't Milady tell you she has been gone three or four days? She just took a few things and left her phones and car and such; she doesn't want to be found. She didn't even leave a note."

While staying at the hotel Amy drained 75% of her accounts so she paid cash for everything. She bought camping equipment so it was easy to find a place to sleep and to carry things. She designed pockets in many of the items she had to hide her cash, never carrying too much.

Amy just took local trains and crisscrossed the country, she figured going back home was predictable.

'His Lordship' came to Aillis, "Aillis, how long do you think she will be gone?"

"Milord from what we can gather, she left right after our discussion. Our discussion was quite animated, she probably could hear it in her room. She took most of the cash from her accounts and bought camping gear; she could be anywhere."

"Milord, I think she feels you have already fired her. She doesn't know what to do now."

Brian and David left the estate to avoid all the drama, too many people were on edge. 'Her Ladyship's' maid asked permission to move her room to the far side of the west wing. It was granted.

Daniel went into the 'Garden Room' in search of clues. There were pictures of Gramps and Gram all over the room. On one wall, she had pictures of the family's summer vacations. The photographer did a brilliant job of matting each picture. The smallest picture was when she was three; each year the picture grew."

One frame on the desk was empty, Daniel knew it had a picture of Gramps in it.

"Milady, is it alright if your maid comes with me for a few days?"

'Her Ladyship' said, "Where are you going Daniel?"

"To get Amy, and she will need a friend, not a cousin."

"I don't know where she is, call it a cousin's hunch."

As Daniel got in Amy's car she showed the maid where they were going

"Miss Daniel that is days from here, how would she get over there?

"Miss Daniel, thank you for getting me out of the house. I almost quit last night."

"You are welcome, it is time for everyone to take a deep breath. Everyone in my office asked me to create a resignation letter and a made a circum vitae for all of them all a CV willhelp them get a good job if they got fired.

"I will explain everything at lunch, the clue was staring us right in the face. It was too common to understand. I had to confirm my hunch with Gram."

As soon as the food came the maid could not wait to hear where Amy was.

"This is a pure guess, but we don't have anything else so here goes:

"Every year our family took family vacations to holiday camps. We changed locations so we wouldn't get bored."

"Up in Amy's room there are pictures starting from when she was three years old and every year the picture got bigger, just like Amy got bigger."

"Guess what time of year it is."

The maid was entranced by the story, "She needs a new picture?"

Daniel said, "Exactly, since Gramps died, she took a picture of him to be in the new picture.

"Now here is where it gets weird, she bought all that camping equipment so she would have someplace to sleep every night."

"Now if it is raining and you didn't want to set up your tent, what would you do?"

The maid thought before saying, "Well, hitchhiking would be dangerous for a woman, not many busses around here. "Trains!" she exclaimed."

Daniel said, "Correct, but they need to be steam engine trains; Gramps loved them. I backtracked the routes and a steam engine route goes back to town; she has to go all over the country to make the connections."

"Remember, she left right after she thought she was fired so she did not have to ask for time off."

"Gram was unsure, I only have my cousin to lose if I am wrong."

The maid said, "So why am I here?"

Daniel said, "I have found people can talk to their friends easier than family, they are less threatening. You can comfort her better than I can."

After two nights in hotels and long driving the last night, Daniel arrived at the holiday camp late Friday night.

"Can I get a hut with an empty one next to me? If a woman named Amy comes can you put her into the empty one? I am her cousin, we need to have a big talk for the sake of the family."

Amy had missed some connections so she was running late.

Daniel headed to her hut, the maid came out of the office a few minutes later. She saw a familiar stride coming down the driveway. Like a shot, the maid ran down the driveway into the arms of her friend. She pulled Amy into the office.

The maid said, "Miss Amy never do that again, we thought we lost you. I know it was unpleasant at the house, things will get better if you want to come back with us. Miss Daniel has printed out too many resignation letters."

Amy said, "How could you possibly find me? I did not even know where I was going. What letters?"

The maid said, "Well to start, Miss Daniel wanted me to talk to you first. Miss Daniel said the key was your wall of pictures and the missing picture of Gramps. Then there was something about trains. I could not follow it all."

"After 'Her Ladyship' called 'His Lordship' about Brian he blew a fuse. He said, he might promote Aillis and fire you. Aillis said 'If you fire Amy, I will give you notice'. So, you, Aillis, Daniel and her entire team have resignation letters,. I lost count of who got all the letters after that. I almost quit the night before we left."

"Miss Daniel brought a picture of Gram so you both can hold your pictures tomorrow. Gram will like another picture with her husband in it."

Amy said, "Wow, Gramps really got into my soul, I was on auto-pilot, crying most the time. Steam engine trains are so comforting to me; I hopped from one to another. I just thought this place would be a good place to spend the weekend when I made the reservation.

"Here is his picture; I needed a big book so it would not get folded. It was a Holy Bible at the prodigal son story."

The maid giggled, "Well you did not spend time with prostitutes and you did not tend pigs, but I think 'His Lordship' can arrange a fatted calf."

The maid and Amy walked back toward the river.

The maid said, "You go in that one, I will go in this one."

Daniel looked up from her bunk as the door opened.

"AMY!"

Amy said, "Now this is weird, I am still doing things Gramps wants me to do. I did not even know where I was going, how did you know?"

Daniel said, "I followed Gramps. Gramps was always your favorite, you took his picture, so you were going to bring it somewhere. There was a spot for the next picture for vacations. It was easy when I figured out there was steam engine trains running all the way to here.

"I brought Gram's picture so we can get some good pictures of Gram and Gramps for Gram."

"Daniel, has anyone told you that you are creepy?"

Daniel laughed, "Not an original observation Amy."

The maid sent a text, "All joy Milady."

The next day, the maid took all sorts of shots and groupings; some just had Amy and Gramps, some had Gram and Daniel all four, just Gramps and Gram. Amy knew this would be the last of the family vacation pictures.

Amy got a large picture of all of them plus a picture of Gramps and Gram to go underneath it.

For Gram, Daniel and Amy got all sorts of pictures, magnets, her choice of inserts to go into cups, and a large SD drive with all the pictures. They both wanted to let Gram know that she and Gramps were still important to them.

"Husband, what do you plan to do now? My maid was relieved when I let her go with Daniel. David left because everyone was walking on egg shells."

'His Lordship' gathered his servants, "I am sorry for being such a growling bear these past few weeks. It is time for all of you to go on a three-week paid vacation. You can't stay here, let me know where your dream vacation would be to."

Most picked to visit a series to far flung family, two families decided to take three different one-week cruises. The change of scenery would do them well. It would put them past the three-week mark, but 'His Lordship' allowed it.

The break refreshed the entire staff; 'His Lordship' greeted everyone as they all returned. Brian never returned. He 'Call Blocked' all phone numbers he had from the estate.

Amy tried to call Brian from three different phones, all with the same result. Daniel had lost David, for a second time, and she was not sure she would get a third chance. Both were in terrible moods.
After both had skipped out of going on two consecutive 'Family Outings', 'Her Ladyship' had to lay down the law. "You two are acting like spoiled brats. Amy, Brian does not want to talk to you, you should consider your relationship with him over. Daniel, it took considerable arm-twisting from Gram to get David to come here. It will be up to him if he wants to come back."

"Whenever we have a 'Family Outing', you will clear you schedule or it will be cleared for you. You will attend many of the local events, just like we all do, including 'His Lordship'."

Amy and Daniel could only look down at their shuffling feet, it was like they were being scolded by their elementary school principal. It was worse because they held 'Her Ladyship' in such high regard.

The following week, Amy and Daniel came back from a concert only to see a darkened house, all the 'His Lordship's' family and servants were hiding in the west wing, the exception was a Skype channel with Gram on the other side. It was agreed by everyone they would give the family ten minutes to celebrate before everyone else joined in.

The house was always bustling with activity so seeing the house darkened was a bit eerie.

As the door was opened Amy and Daniel were greeted by horns, bells, and confetti. Gram proclaimed, "Happy twentieth Birthday, Amy. You didn't think we would forget, did you?"

Amy turned beet red, "Thanks Gram, thanks all."

David and Brian were at the party; Brian was in a highly-agitated state.

Amy came over to Brian, "What is the matter Brian?"

Brian said, "Happy birthday Amy. I really thought I could do this, I really did, but I can't. I just can't trust whatever you may do the next time you lose your temper. Goodbye Amy."

Brian went out the front door and motored away. Amy ran up to her room and locked the door.

'Her Ladyship' started to follow Amy, but stopped when she saw Daniel give her a firm shake of her head.

Daniel had to address the crowd, "As you know Amy and myself don't handle rejection very well. I have seen her go into two or three days of solitude, but this one is major. I have no clue how long she will hide herself this time. Thank you for coming, stay as long as you want, but please take your presents home, she doesn't want any reminders."

'His Lordship' had enough, he promoted Aillis to Amy's position and he had to demote Amy out of the executive ranks to minimize any harm she may cause.

Amy came to 'His Lordship', "Why are you making this decision?"

'His Lordship' was offended, "Well not that I need to justify myself to you, but Aillis had been there when you go out traveling around the countryside or hiding yourself in your room like a child. Just asking that question is another black mark against you. Every employer has to learn when to cut bait to stop loses."

That night 'Her Ladyship's' maid had a long talk with Amy.

She later reported to 'Her Ladyship', "Milady, Amy now feels so marginalized that she feels she has to quit. She knows she will then be effectively 'blackballed' by the industry and can't get a job better than asking people, 'Would you like fries with that'?"

"She feels even some relationships within the family have degraded as well as those outside the family. She is very scared Milady. The last time she went to 'His Lordship' about this he gave her another black mark, that means she has at least two with 'His Lordship'. No matter what she does, she can't stop getting another. All it would take is for him to be in a bad mood."

'Her Ladyship' was very concerned; her husband could hire and fire whomever he wanted to. Amy no longer trusted 'His Lordship', she could not bring in Aillis or Daniel as they worked for him.

A week later, the mail woman rolled in three large mail carts overstuffed with identical looking envelopes. She reached into her back pocket and added her letter to the pile.

"Milord, the first thing I would do is hire several people so they can hire your executives. Maybe even a mail clerk to go through your mail."

'His Lordship' opened just two of the letters in the piles that were delivered to him; he saw Daniel's hand in this. They all would be the same.

He stepped out of his office, no laughing, not a single tap on a keyboard. It was a ghost town.

There was a letter on Daniel's desk.

"Milord, we all have seemed to have caught the two-week notice flu at the same time. I am sure we will recover quickly." when he reached the main entrance there were piles of key cards laying on the floor.

When he got home 'Her Ladyship' informed him that her maid also gave notice.

The maid said, "Milady, I feel it is incumbent for me to be with Aillis, Daniel and Amy now. I can relieve them of the household burdens. I don't know what lays ahead for me, I am sure they have a plan."

Dinnertime was like a grave, the maid left with her meal shortly after she served 'Her Lordship and Her Ladyship'. 'His Lordship' stormed out of the room, his meal half-eaten.

'Her Ladyship' was distraught, her family had just been torn apart. She went up to her maid's room and knocked, "May I come in?"

"Yes Milady," said the maid.

"I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to worry about a notice, you can go when they are ready for you."

"I would like to ask a favor of you, to write out several simple recipes for each course and how you plan for the week so I do not make a hack job of things for 'His Lordship'."

"Yes Milady, I will scan everything for you so you can even have some of the fancy stuff. I will give you a year's worth of planning sheets so you know what to get when things are in season. It is not very hard once you get organized.
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