Chapter XXXI *Bottle of champagne *

Bittersweet

The time came for them, sitting there listening to the exposition of John and his assistant about the inheritance left by his father, he gave them a bittersweet touch, the days of waiting and anguish were over, John stood out as a speaker, he detailed step by step what has been achieved. At the end he asked them if they had any objection, the three brothers remained silent as Peter had indicated, he stood up and congratulated John for the exhibition, since there he showed courage by providing data reserved only for the administration of the bank, then streamlining the procedure, the secretary brought them the forms that they had to sign with the authorization to proceed to the public auction of the goods.

(end 5 minutes)

It was passed to them, stacks of papers which Peter reviewed first, once he gave the go-ahead, he passed them to each one, the documents sealed with an identifying hologram bore the seal of the administration of the island in which the respective payment of inheritance taxes was reflected. Everyone with serious faces remained silent until they finished signing the last form. An additional form that they had to sign, gave Peter and Andrew authorization as proxies so that together with John they would act in the act of execution of the auction whose profit would be in favor of the heirs, the bank would also receive a low percentage related to their administration .

In the auditorium, those present applauded as everything had turned out smoothly, the excited sisters rose from their chairs and hugged each other, Thomas Jr. next to them could not believe even what was happening since only a few minutes ago he was a gray person, full of debts and with an uncertain future, now his ego moved him to a universe that he still had to travel to enjoy the promises that his sisters told him the day he visited them. Mindy realizing that he was there, she went to meet him and told him that both she and Angeline appreciated him, he was now the brother they never had.

At the same time, Peter and Andrew, knowing what was to come in the next few days, did not have much to celebrate, they knew that this moment represented just the beginning of the journey necessary to make effective the fortune left by Thomas. John remained paralyzed, what happened meant a defeat due to Peter's actions, even so he had to show them his gallantry since this was just one of many, which would not overshadow the achievements he had obtained as the main support of the team executive.

John's beautiful assistant

Rita, John's beautiful assistant, began to collect the documents that were left on the table, and was also careful to turn off the computer and the projection equipment. Thomas Jr. knew her since they had studied together in primary school, so he approached her after greeting her and sharing the joy of the moment, without anyone hearing her offer, invited her to go to a restaurant to remember old time. She, who hadn't saw him in years, thought twice before saying yes, they finally met in the pub near the bank in the afternoon. There the atmosphere of the pub encouraged those present with popular music from the island, Thomas Jr. was happy since he always wanted to go out with Rita but she always slipped away with another, now he thought that being his moment of glory for what happened, perhaps would allow him to woo her, since his thought was to get her to take an interest in him and to slowly address more serious issues. One of the questions that he asked himself mentally about what his marital status would be, he hoped she was not married. Rita arrived at the stunning date with an air of triumph, since she considered that Thomas had been right in daring to invite her. Not every day she had a proposal as interesting as that of that day, she thought that she should hide her feelings since Thomas Jr., should not realize that her interest in him turned for now in the money that he had received as heir . When she got there she saw Thomas Jr., sitting at a table next to the pub bar, she was not intimidated at all since the most she wanted was for everyone to see her with him, since she would begin to compromise him. As she approached the table, she said aloud:

"Here I am honey, you must be bored for waiting for me"

Thomas, surprised by the confidence she was showing him, got up from the seat, kissed her on the cheek and, adjusting her chair, asked her to sit down. So they continued enjoying the good music of the premises in which the dimmed lights invited them to cordialize, Thomas ordered the special dinner of the house, consisting of steamed fish and potatoes. Rita was dazzled with how kind he was, finally she was seduced by the tenderness of his words.

Sharing at home

After the victory that was achieved before the ramblings and delays of the bank to deliver the goods of the inheritance of Thomas, Peter and Andrew approached the girls, they congratulated that they began to see light at the end of the tunnel they thanked them for supported in those crucial moments. Accepting their flattery, they were more interested in sharing with them elsewhere, however, Mindy felt a little weak that she told them that she wanted to return to the villa. Angeline knew that her sister sometimes had such fits so she told them please to withdraw. Peter immediately put himself on command saying he would take them in his car. Andrew a little worried about Mindy's condition, he told them, and if we go to a doctor to have it evaluated.

Mindy quickly feeling alluded to said flatly that no since she have "the days of the woman", Angeline, laughing at her occurrence, picked up her bag and then heading to the exit said goodbye to John and his officers.

The return in the car was pleasant, already relieved of the weight of the doubt, Peter returned using the path of the promenade in which a splendid sailboat was visualized in the sea in which some sailors hurried the task. Angeline then comments:

"I feel that today my father has been by our side, helping to raise the sails so that we can begin to navigate the sea of ​​happiness"

Andrew, laughing, says to him:

"Angeline, I love when you express your ideas in the form of poetry, it is very sweet to hear you declaim"

Peter realizing that his lexicon is somewhat poor, he replies:

"Andrew, truly being with people as prepared as you are makes you feel helpless"

With that comment, the laughter made them forget the bittersweet drink they consumed at the bank.

Upon arrival at the villa everyone got out of the vehicle, Angeline politely invited Peter to stay with them for a while since he had previously prepared a potato pie with meat, only that he would have to put it in the oven for fifteen minutes and serve it, since that this was one of his specialties. They entered heading to the living room, where the TV equipment was still on, at that time the newscast announced the news of the suicide of John, the bank's chief executive, they without believing what the newscast was saying, since the man was good humor.

Peter, previously knowing of similar cases, told them that despite being a sad news, this was not going to tarnish the purpose of recovering the goods left by Thomas, since that day all the necessary documentation had been signed for his transfer to the heirs.

Mindy even without understanding what they were talking about asked them to apologize since she had to go to rest.

When Mindy left, the three of them were talking about the event, Angeline went to the kitchen from time to time to check how her cake was baking. Peter now told them that the next day, he and Andrew and Thomas Jr. would go to the bank to coordinate the next steps to fulfill, he could not let the procedure cool down in any way.

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The bank event

At the bank, the employees heard a shot coming from their boss's office, they thought that as it had happened on other occasions, the sound came from the street, since some renovation work was being carried out outside a neighboring building. As it was closing time one of the assistants went to John's office, there he lay with her head on the table in a small pool of blood, the young girl gave a scream alerting the others. Coincidentally, one of the local TV reporters was in the bank, who quickly reported the event, the TV assistants appeared there and filmed the scene, an ambulance in a few minutes arrived at the bank where a man was going inside doctor who certified the death. All with tears of crocodile could not believe that the man had taken his life, one of the most awakened employees, asked them to leave the place in the conditions it was in since the investigative police were already going to be present to begin to investigate the facts as to whether the act was a suicide or a homicide.

The police station received the notification of the bank incident, so the chief investigator and his assistant headed towards the scene, when they arrived, John still with his head on the table, only covered by a handkerchief gave the scene a macabre touch, the investigator resolutely removed the handkerchief, realizing that this was the man who had been accused and dismissed his case by the court, who now lay inert in that place. Investigating the place, they began to question those present about what had happened that day and who had been there. Since everyone could somehow be suspected of murdering the boss. Once the inspection was carried out in detail, the investigator called the morgue to remove the corpse to perform an autopsy.

Rita, as she had left a few minutes before the event for her meeting with Thomas Jr, did not yet have knowledge of what had happened, with him she was having the best of things, the conversation they had, so that their past love misadventures began to be forgotten. Thomas, understanding her disposition, invited her to dance, when she was getting up from the chair, her mobile phone began to ring with a call from the office, she ignored the call, turned off the phone and continued enjoying the night. After a couple of hours they decided to leave and Thomas decided to drive her home. When they got there, it caught their attention that a police car was parked on the sidewalk. Thomas got out of the vehicle to accompany his partner, when she was going to open the door of her house a policeman stopped next to them, asking for identification of each one, took a photo of the cards and transmitted them to the Central Police, from there they gave the order to the police to stop them. They, without even knowing the reason for his arrest, without resisting, accompanied him in the police vehicle to the police station.

There, upon arriving at both, they reviewed them and sent them to two separate cells. Thomas, stupefied by what was happening, dared to ask the police officer that he was opening the cell for the reason of his arbitrary arrest. The man in a low voice said him:

"It is that you are not aware that John the chief executive of the bank was assassinated, for now we have begun the investigations and it turns out that she is his assistant, so she could be involved"

Thomas, remaining silent, could not believe that this sweet creature with whom he had spent the afternoon could be a murderer. That night both Andrew and Rita had only patience and sleep in those cold and hard beds.

Early in the morning one of the police officers brought her a cup of coffee and asked her to accompany her to the investigation room, where she sat down and the man placed sensors on both hands and chest connected to a polygraph, she without to know what that man did to her, claiming:

"I don't know what you accuse me of, my conscience is calm"

After they finished placing the sensors and turning on the machine, the chief investigator introduced himself and began to question her.

All her answers were given with confidence, she was still intrigued and did not make any amends. Suddenly the investigator spoke her that the police presumed that she had been the murderer of John, his boss, keeping the polygraph needle unchanged, she reacted saying:

"When did that happen? I was with him all afternoon yesterday, today in the morning, if they hadn't stopped me I would already be there."

The investigator realizing that she did not know anything about the fact told her about of John's death, seeing that she had nothing to do with the fact, he released her without charges. Meanwhile Thomas was waiting in his cell. As the chief investigator conducted a more detailed expertise, he left there without charge. Freed from the bad drink, they left the police station and went immediately to the bank to find out first-hand what had happened the previous afternoon.

When they got there, all of them saw her crying saying that she had run out of a boss, that the man had committed suicide. She could not believe it, went to what had been her office, a pool of black blood still remained on the table, her boss's chair turned carelessly, it generated in her soul a great pain for the departure of her boss in those terms.

At that moment of tension Peter and Andrew appeared, even the atmosphere was uncertain, Thomas Jr. upon seeing them there, was glad that his friends were there. He told them about his arbitrary detention and Rita's from which they were released without charges of any kind. Peter, since he valued his time, asked Rita to put her in touch with the person who commissioned John to speed up the auction procedures. She immediately took them to the office of the second on board of the bank who kindly attended to them. The meeting was held in a cordial manner and it was decided that the public auction would be called announcing it by social media and local TV, the day and time were set.

Once everyone agreed they decided to leave the bank since there what was breathed was a scent of death, Rita exhausted at night that she spent in the police asked permission to leave so she left there together with them. Everyone was stressed and needed to freshen their throats, so they went to the Italian restaurant on the corner where they ordered pizzas and soft drinks.

The conversation of that moment only revolved around the event of John's death, one of the conclusions that Peter reached is that the man must have been involved in the alleged swindle that they had wanted to apply to Thomas's assets, however, I emphasize that now he will be subject to divine judgment.

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The auction

For the day of the auction all the heirs of Thomas, Peter and Andrew showed up at the bank headquarters, once the guidelines of the law were followed, the conference room that was overflowing was where the offer began, in the center a TV camera recorded the bidder, since the auction was decided to be held globally with buyers who had previously registered on the bank's website and had canceled the emoluments to participate.

Mindy, thanks to her anxiolytic treatment, she remained calm. Angeline was a little disturbed, although she had taken chamomile tea before leaving the villa. Thomas Jr., the family man, was stoically waiting and with a calculator and a notepad he kept the accounting of the money he was entering from the sale of the goods. Soon the numbers that were adding became unmanageable. Peter and Andrew for their part as support of the heirs were there supervising that everything was done with transparency.

After two hours the last good was finally sold. In the room, those present applauded. The heirs without believing what had happened to them began to cry with emotion, even Thomas the strongest, he only thanked now his father, who hugged his feet when he was little from the care and affection that he had for his children that even his spirit, being dead at that moment, was present as if returning from a journey from the continent of eternity.

Peter, satisfied that he had reached a port with calm waters, hugged Andrew with affection, and said:

"Brother, without your help we would never have been able to discover the rascals and not can recovering the inheritance of Thomas' descendants"

Andrew without paying much attention, thanking him for his words went immediately to where Angeline was, there without further protocol he declared his love and said that from now on he should no longer be afraid of anything or anyone. She in turn replied:

"Andrew was waiting for you to express yourself with that assurance that you show me now, if I accept, if I want to share the rest of my life with you."

Seeing that her friend Andrew was reuniting with Angeline, she saw that Mindy alone was still crying with emotion, so without further hesitation she went to where she was sitting to comfort her. Being next to her he gave her his handkerchief to dry his tears, she thanked him with sweet words. Feeling unarmed and seeing that this would be his last chance to approach her before she got sick from receiving so much money, he assured her that he loved her that he would do everything in his power to make her happy. Mindy, hearing bells in her ears, was glad that the man finally noticed her and declared her love. So he held out his hand, he took it and affectionately squeezed it in a gesture of mutual consent.

Rita as assistant to the bank's management was there to help those present with what they needed, as the auction event had already ended, but more relaxed she took the opportunity to approach Thomas who remained standing even taking accounts of what had happened. When he saw her at his side, he greeted her with appreciation and immediately without hesitation asked her to marry, she still expected him to declare himself in a more romantic place and not there surrounded by cold walls with third parties, assuming that they were congenial and that they could not postpone the moment any longer, she accepted the request. Without noticing that they were surrounded by more people, they kissed warmly.

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A new life

Released from their late father's stormy past, the affection of the brothers grew day after day, despite the fact that they had not been raised together and were from different mothers, they all had in common the sharp and mysterious figure of their father. Now without discussions or problems between them, they only had time to plan what their future would be from that moment on. Something that was being a blessing to them, was that each of them got their soul mate, who sweeten their soul senses and allow them to enjoy perfect love in real company.

Mindy and Angeline decided to stay on the island for a while, with good memories of their late father Thomas, it was only a matter of time to take the final step to unite their lives with their partners, for now something they valued was strengthening friendship with them They did not want to be wrong again as in the past. Once the whole inheritance issue was resolved, the treatment with anxiolytics was no longer necessary for Mindy, feeling good, she began together with her sister to take daily walks along the promenade and the outskirts of the city, as the island did not have excess population, it was very comfortable living there.

Thomas Jr., even though he no longer had any financial problems, decided to continue his life as a tourist promoter, but he invested part of his money to acquire a franchise that was now allowing him greater flexibility, with all his experience accumulated by years the results he was obtaining every day brought more money to his coffers, his girlfriend Rita after retiring as an assistant to the bank's management, he assumed along with him, the ship of the tourist agency in which his previous experience in managing financial matters led them towards continued growth.

For his part, Peter, thanks to his triumph over the Thomas heirs case which made him famous in many countries, decided to form a law firm, hiring legal specialists in various topics of law, who are diligently dedicated to advising clients of much money, was allowing Peter a high standard of living that he had never thought to enjoy. His courtship with Mindy encouraged him since she being a woman of purpose their lives now had the sense of affection that he never enjoyed with his first wife.

For his part, Andrew decided to stay on the island since he would be closer to his beloved Angeline, however, as he appreciated having some independence, he decided to rent a house with all the comforts that would allow him to carry out his investigations of the island's past, there He had achieved a veritable streak in which jewels with information from the island's pirate past were present in every corner. When even there docked large boats in the port, their crew with their stories of the sea delighted their moments of relaxation in the afternoons when he sometimes passed by one of the pubs.

After the unfortunate events that occurred in the bank, tranquility returned to the island, so the police now only had to be careful with the control over the pubs closing at established times, maintain order, attend insignificant cases of robberies to tourists. Being alert in one or another binge case, but none of it was comparable to the times when John the banker decided to take his life.For all this, the chief investigator of the police now with less work was dedicated to serving his wife and son as a good family man. Everyone at the police station realized that their boss was no longer the same as his new aptitude towards them allowed them to have more flexibility when dealing with specific cases that they had to solve.

The businesses of the city now with the rebound of the economic activities of the island thanks to the massive arrival of tourists, thanked the hard work of Thomas Jr., additionally now they had better financial conditions on the part of the bank. The low interests of the loans that had to pay the bank, their had reduced their rate substantially. The streets of the city and the highways were renewed adapted to the new times. With a substantial improvement in electricity and water services, the quality of life of the residents improved substantially. In the city, two new shopping centers became the obligatory reference for foreign visitors. Already now they are no only that gray reference in which their only strength was based on past stories of pirates.

One of the characters who most enjoyed the new face of the island was the priest who was in charge of the church near the house of Mindy and Angeline, now as the faithful had more money for the contributions, he launched a plan to completely renovate the church with new furniture, a new set of speakers, acquired a new organ. Seeing the change, the local youth integrated into the parish choir, so now the Sunday services offered have the freshness of youth, the old women who always come to receive comfort in the church already now enjoyed a life renewed thanks to the joy of young people.

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A lavish party

Mindy now felt fulfilled, she no longer had the stress she suffered when she had to go to work offering beauty products as a salesperson, nor did she have to be attentive to meet a daily and monthly billing goal, she felt happy that her relationship with Peter also made her feel loved, considered that it was only a matter of time that they established their family keeping the promise of which her mother always spoke to her when she was a teenager and that she had always been part of her dreams, to find a good man who respected and consented her. She always remembered fondly the last two years of the life of her late father Thomas, with whom she sometimes went for a walk in the Central Park of the city where she lived, his sympathy for the children gave him the touch of a grandfather that he could never enjoy, the adventures that he narrated of his life as a sailor also impressed her, something that always caught her attention had been his stubbornness in that she did not know anything about his intimacy, he always shut himself up in the evenings to write his personal diary. For her, it was a great shock that he couldn't walk anymore, having to spend his last days in that wheelchair that took him to his grave. Sometimes she meditated the moment of the call of her half sister Angeline who on the other side of the phone without waiting for her, participated that they were sisters of the same father, as she gave more details about her father, agreed to meet her and then from that moment He began to change his life so now there on that island sharing with other people and his previous life in the city had been relegated to the past.

Angeline who had only lived on the island that saw her born under the care of her dedicated mother and the love of her beloved father, a sailor of seven ports, was pleased with her new life, even though she now lived in a much larger city. Different from the town where she came from, the affection that both Mindy and Thomas Jr. showed her made her new life in the city cover everything she had always wanted. Andrew turned out to be a good adventure companion with each week touring picturesque corners of the island where one of the attractions was watching the sunsets. Now having more time available, she dedicated herself to supporting Andrew in his studies of ancient documents, in addition to transcribing the stories that would soon come to light published by the most renowned publishers. Now also calmer since her sister Mindy had overcome her problems caused by the days of depression due to the absence of her father, they made her time more bearable and exciting and her days as a new resident of the island.

After a reasonable time the memory of the bad moment lived by the suicide of John, and the new adjustment in their lives of them, Mindy and Angeline began to think of holding a gala party in which in addition to inviting Thomas and his girlfriend Rita , Peter and Andrew who could not miss, to thank so much happiness and pay tribute to the late Thomas, he would invite prominent personalities from the island, the new CEO of the bank, while before starting the party there would be a brief religious service in which those present would be blessed and a donation to the city would be presented. After a reasonable time the memory of the bad moment lived by the suicide of John, and the new adjustment in their lives of them, Mindy and Angeline began to think of holding a gala party in which in addition to inviting Thomas and his girlfriend Rita , Peter and Andrew who could not miss, to thank so much happiness and pay tribute to the late Thomas, he would invite prominent personalities from the island, the new CEO of the bank, while before starting the party there would be a brief religious service in which those present would be blessed and a donation to the city would be presented.

The day of the party arrived, the attendees upon arrival were greeted by Mindy, she placed a rose on their lapels welcoming each of them. The chosen party hall was gradually filled with attendees, and at the scheduled time with everything prepared a bell ringing announced the start of the protocol act, those present were amazed as they did not expect the event to be of such relevance and seriousness. The local TV journalist, pleased to have all the personalities of the city gathered in one place, was happy that his work that day had been made much easier thanks to the new millionaires who were proving to be people with a big heart.

Andrew called the priest to start the blessing ceremony for those present, he with words of kindness chose a prayer to God thanking the present moment and wishing those present a long life, after these words he gave them a brief homily in the I call you to change your lives and be more dedicated to service to others and that everything they did in this life would be rewarded in eternal life. Everyone was shocked by his profound words. After his homily ended, Andrew had a huge picture covered with a sheet behind him, so he asked the priest and Thomas's children to accompany him to discover the portrait, with a few words from Mindy, Thomas Jr. and Angeline proceeded to discover the painting, there those present were astonished as a burly sailor looked at them all seriously, bringing to their minds the memory of the glorious past of the island. Those present at the time applauded, confirming to Thomas's heirs the appreciation that all of them had for him, as they shared giving the island's nursing home a significant donation of money.

Andrew had at his side a vase with a bottle of champagne that he uncorked at the moment, pouring its contents into a copy of his new book published with the signature of him and his companion Angeline in which the seafaring adventures of a burly marine named Thomas are narrated, which everyone was admiring at the time. With joy he invite the waiters to serve a glass of champagne to those present to celebrate the moment in style.

After the event, the party began in honor of the guests, in which popular music pleased those present. At one end of the room a large table had been set up where those present could go to taste special dishes and sweets.

Since the lives of the three brothers would no longer be the same, Mindy, Angeline and Thomas Jr. would always carry in their hearts the memory of their burly father who was part of their lives.

(The END)

© 2020, Felix Garcia P. All rights reserved

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