by Cooper, Doug
As the hour pushed past midnight and yawns surpassed the laughs, the mood became more serious. Maura said, “I was really sorry to hear about the show closing, kid. That was a tough break. I tried getting a hold of you to see if you needed help finding something, but you never returned my calls and eventually the numbers no longer worked. I must say I was a bit worried. I kept an eye on the trade news in Vegas to see your name pop up in a new show, but it never did. Hearing from Penny was a blessing. To see what you have created and how you interact with those kids really makes me happy.”
“I’m sorry for disappearing on you.” Crystal looked down, stirring the straw in her club soda. “It’s just after my mom’s passing then losing the show—it was really hard on me. I went through a pretty dark period.”
Maura reached over and stroked Crystal’s arm. “All that matters is that you’re happy now, and are surrounded by people who care for you.” A playful smile curled at the edges of Maura’s mouth. “Speaking of the people around you, what’s the story with this Bill guy? Ha-cha-cha-cha.”
Penny burst out laughing. “Oh Maura, you’re quite the handful. I’m not sure he could handle you.”
Crystal scrunched her face and plugged her ears, shaking her head back and forth. “Noooo, I don’t want to hear this. It’s like imagining your parents having sex.” She became still, a pensive look hanging on her face. “You know, on second thought, maybe that’s exactly what he needs. He’s been so down lately.” She looked at Penny. “He’s become absolutely obsessed with what is going to happen after he dies. That’s all he talks about.” She turned back to Maura. “He made us promise that we’ll take care of everything exactly as he and his late wife wanted it. He’s even having a will drawn up so it’s all legal and can’t be questioned.”
“I obviously don’t know him,” Maura said. “But I’ve seen many of my friends go through this. It’s just a phase. They don’t want to be a burden on anyone. Once they get everything taken care of, they let it go and forget about it.”
Crystal shook her head glumly. “No, it’s more than that. He’s always talking about how he has lived his life and is ready to move on.”
“Does he have any kids?” Maura asked.
Penny filled her in. “His son is married with kids back on the East coast, but they have been estranged for years.”
“Maybe we need to change that,” Crystal said.
Penny bobbed her head in shock. “What? Am I hearing what I think I’m hearing? The person who has vilified me for butting in and getting involved in other people’s lives is suggesting we get involved?”
“I don’t know,” Crystal reached over and clutched Maura’s hand. “I guess it works out sometimes.”
Dow Jones Close: 18,024.17
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Date: Monday, December 29, 2014
Dow Jones Open: 18,046.58
Christmas had come and gone without much excitement. December was always a slow month in Vegas until the few days before New Year’s. None of the group had immediate family to travel to, so they had spent the holiday serving others at the Oasis and delivering meals to homeless people in other parts of the city who weren’t aware of the Oasis or couldn’t make it in. On Christmas Day they served 117 people at the Oasis and delivered another 150 boxed dinners to people on the streets around the city.
Support, both volunteer and financial, for the Oasis was at an all-time high. Many of Crystal’s students and their families had become regular contributors as well. Eleven of the mission guests had become fulltime employees for Max and were living on their own in apartments nearby. Of course, there was more than a fair share of problems, too. For every one success story, there were ten or eleven failures. It wasn’t all sunshine and jackpots. People would start working and walk off in the middle of a shift, or leave one day and just not come back. Some would show up weeks later, back in line at the Oasis like nothing ever happened, and some they never saw again. Max was initially discouraged by the success rate, but he didn’t really have the space to hire more people anyway. All the press and publicity had flooded MDI with applications. For every person that left, there were several external applicants willing to take their places. The program was still available to the Oasis guests, but Les and Max were just much more selective in the people they offered it to.
For being on the verge of bankruptcy midyear, Max ended the year in quite a different position. He had fulfilled the McDonald’s quota every month and extended the deal for an additional five hundred thousand units per month for another year. He had also signed deals with the MGM Resorts group to supply Lapkins in their rooms and Darden Restaurants for all their Olive Garden, Longhorn, and Bahama Breeze restaurants across the US. The downside was that the online ordering had trickled to a halt. With the notoriety and success of the Lapkin, a proliferation of knockoffs became available. Max had initially gone after the impostors with legal action, but for every one he shut down, several more would spring up. He instead just focused on the corporate business. It was much simpler to ship bulk orders to one address anyway, and they wouldn’t risk the potential damage to their brands buying from a cheaper but illegal supplier. Max had always known the Lapkin life cycle would run its course at some point. Until then he was going to ride that little magic napkin as far as he could.
To celebrate the good year everyone had had, once Christmas had passed and before things got too busy before New Years, Max invited everyone over to his penthouse for a holiday dinner. Afterward they all walked across the street to the El Cortez to play blackjack at a table Max had reserved with me as the dealer. Not sure if it was intentional, but they sat in the same order as the night when they first met: Crystal was at first base next to Bill, then Penny, then Les, and Max sat at third base. But unlike the first night, there was no drama or bickering. The mood was festive, especially for Bill, who was happier than he had been in a long while. But that could have been because he was winning, too. In a little over an hour, he had turned his hundred dollar buy-in into over $650. His usually conservative play of five dollars per hand had grown to twenty-five and sometimes fifty.
After he split fours against my six and pulled another four to expand his one hand to three, on a fifty-dollar hand, then got another seven on top of one of the fours to double down and increase his total bet to $200, everyone cheered when his twenty-one, nineteen, and twenty beat my eighteen. With a mound of green and red chips in front of him, I scooped up the $200 in green and paid him out in four black.
Penny said, “Somebody was obviously on Santa’s nice list this year.”
Max pointed at the lonely four red chips in front of Penny. “That would explain why you’re down to your last four.”
Penny snarled and stuck her tongue out at Max. “I didn’t think Santa ever let his elves leave the North Pole.”
“We’re union now,” Max said. “We get a week off after Christmas.”
Bill sorted and stacked his chips. His bet circle was empty. I waited to deal, asking if he was playing another hand. He shook his head. “Nah, I think I’ll call it a night.” Immediate objections fired from all seats at the table. “Sorry to break up the party,” he said. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.” He pushed his chips to the center. Eight hundred fifty dollars went back to him. He counted out three-fifty and slid it to Les for the Oasis and pushed the purple $500 chip back at me.
Crystal reached over and put her arm around Bill. “I knew we could convince you to stay.”
I started counting out change to break up the chip.
“No, that’s for you,” Bill said edging it closer to me. “Happy holidays.”
I nodded in appreciation, announcing it to the pit boss. “One purple tip coming in.”
The others were quiet. Looks ranged from curiosity to concern. Penny said, “Come on, stay a little longer. This is the last time we can all get together before it gets crazy fo
r New Year’s.”
“Nah,” Bill said. “I’m going to get out while the getting’s good.”
Crystal slid her chips to the center of the table. “Think I’ll cash in, too.”
The others followed. First Les, then Penny, and even Max. For people who had played hundreds of hours by themselves and in varying combinations with each other, it was strange that no one wanted to stay if the others left.
“Don’t leave on my account,” Bill said. “Stay and enjoy yourselves. You’re making me feel bad for breaking up the party.”
Penny stood up and hugged him. “Come on, Bill. It’s not a party unless you’re here.”
“Have a great New Year’s, sweetheart.” Bill squeezed Penny, holding her for an extended period of time. “Take good care of yourself.”
“Don’t be silly,” Penny said. “I’ll see you over at the Oasis before then.”
“Never can say things too much.” Bill broke their embrace, then moved down the line to Les. “Thanks for everything this year, my friend. Your friendship has meant everything to me.” Les mirrored the sentiment and emotion. Bill didn’t embrace Max, but extended his hand toward him. “For a miserable little prick, you sure turned out OK. Keep up the good work.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, for an ex-pig.” Max pulled him close and reached his free arm around and patted Bill on the back several times. “Now get out of here before people think I’m a nice guy.”
When Bill and Crystal got home, Bill, who hadn’t said much on the way, asked her to sit down at the dining room table. His actions at the El Cortez had worried her. Now he was flat-out scaring her. The sentimentality had become seriousness. He retrieved a folder from his safe in the closet and sat across from her at the table. She couldn’t hold back any longer. “What’s going on with you? You’re really freaking me out.”
“I need to go over something with you.” Bill took out a document from the folder and slid it to her. “My lawyer has the official copy, but I wanted you to have a copy and to explain everything to make sure you’re OK with it.”
Crystal looked down at the document, which said, Last Will and Testament of William Bronson Price on the top. Her eyes snapped back up to Bill. “Do we have to do this now?”
“I just don’t want there to be any surprise or confusion if something happens.”
Crystal said, “Why would something happen?”
“Can we just do this?” Bill asked. “It’s important to me.”
Crystal sat back in her chair, both her legs bouncing from the stress. “Look, I wasn’t going to say anything, because we wanted it to be a surprise, but with the way you’re acting I think you should know now. Don’t be mad, but Penny and I contacted your son and invited him to come for a visit. He arrives tomorrow afternoon. Let’s just wait and do this tomorrow when we can go over it all together. You may want to change it.”
Bill didn’t react at all. Crystal and Penny had decided not to tell him because they thought he would be angry. Now she wanted that anger. At least then she would know he still cared. Instead there was nothing. Just a monotone, dispassionate response. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Stop being so stubborn,” Crystal said. “It’s time you two finally talked and put all this to rest. You have been so amazing to me and to the others. He needs to see that side of you. You need that. Do you know what I would give to be able to have one more conversation with my mom? It’s not too late for you two.”
“I know your hearts are in the right place, but don’t you think Darlene tried everything before? What makes you think if she couldn’t do it over the years, you’ll be able to now?”
“Well something’s different,” Crystal said. “He’s coming here, isn’t he?”
“I guess we’ll just deal with that tomorrow. Can we at least go through this now?”
Line by line, they went through the will. Bill had bequeathed the apartment, household goods, furnishings, automobile, and other personal property to Crystal. Anything not wanted by Crystal and all of Darlene’s belongings were to go to Hughie. The residue and remainder of the estate, after all payments, debts, expenses, and taxes, was to be divided. Half went to Hughie, one-fourth went into a trust for Bill’s grandchildren, and the remaining fourth went to the Oasis.
Crystal was overwhelmed. “I can’t accept this. You’ve already done so much for me.”
Bill said, “Too late. It’s already done. If you don’t want it, then it’ll go to Hughie, but it would mean a lot to me if you would accept it.”
She looked at the will again. “OK, I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” Bill turned to the second page. “Besides you haven’t seen what I’m asking you to do.”
Last Will and Testament
of
William Bronson Price
I, William Bronson Price, resident of 353 E Bonneville Ave, Apt 804, Las Vegas, NV 89101, being of sound mind and disposing memory and not acting under duress or undue influence, and fully understanding the nature and extent of all my property and of this disposition thereof, do hereby make, publish, and declare this document to be my Last Will and Testament, and do hereby revoke any and all other wills and codicils heretofore made by me. I declare this my last will and testament.
ARTICLE I:
I direct that all my debts, and expenses of my last illness, funeral, and burial, be paid as soon after my death as may be reasonably convenient, and I hereby authorize my Personal Representative (or Executor), hereinafter appointed, to settle and discharge, in his or her absolute discretion, any claims made against my estate.
I further direct that my Personal Representative (or Executor) shall pay out of my estate any and all estate and inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death in respect of all items included in the computation of such taxes, whether passing under this Will or otherwise. Said taxes shall be paid by my Personal Representative (or Executor) or Trustee as if such taxes were my debts without recovery of any part of such tax payments from anyone who receives any item included in such computation.
ARTICLE II:
The entire residue of the property owned by me at my death, real and personal and wherever situate, I devise and bequeath as per the following:All tangible property including the apartment, household goods, furnishings, and automobile to Crystal Moore.
All personal family belongings and any property not wanted by Crystal Moore to Hughes William Price.
The financial holdings, including all retirement, banking, and other investment accounts are to be divided as per the following allocation:50% to Hughes William Price
25% to my grandchildren Margaret Elizabeth Price and Samuel Edward Price.
25% to Lester Banks and the Oasis Mission.
If for any reason, property may not pass or does not pass by way of or through the before-mentioned, are specifically made a part of this Will by reference and all properties shall be held, administered, and distributed pursuant to the terms thereof, and the Personal Representative (or Executor) will assume and perform all of the duties of the Trustee.ARTICLE III:
My Personal Representative (or Executor) is to act without bond and to the maximum amount possible without court supervision or control so that the estate can be settled as much as possible as a nonintervention proceeding. I nominate and appoint the following people in the following order of priority as Personal Representative (or Executor) until one such person qualifies.
My attorney, Amanda Burns
My friend, Crystal Moore
My son, Hughes William Price
My daughter-in-law, Grace Fortune Price
I grant to my Personal Representative (or Executor) full power to do everything in administering my estate that said Personal Representative (or Executor) deems to be for the best interest of my beneficiaries.
ARTICLE IV:
Of the provisions made h
erein for the benefit of my wife, an amount equal to the maximum allowable widow’s (widower’s) statutory interest in her husband’s property, if any, shall be deemed received by my wife by operation of law as such statutory interest, and only the excess, if any, over such amount shall be deemed received under the provisions of this Will.
ARTICLE V:
If any beneficiary under this Will, or any trust herein mentioned, contests or attacks this Will or any of its provisions, any share or interest in my estate given to that contesting beneficiary under this Will is revoked and shall be disposed of in the same manner provided herein as if that contesting beneficiary had predeceased me.
ARTICLE VI:
Upon my death, I direct that my body shall be delivered as soon as after my death as practicable and to the full extent legally possible, without autopsy or embalming, to Wolf Funeral Home in Las Vegas, Nevada, where all fees and charges have been prepaid for my remains to be cremated. Following the cremation, my ashes are to be combined with my wife Darlene Renfield Price’s and a small funeral ceremony is to be held. After the ceremony, the ashes are to be surrendered to Crystal Moore, Penelope Market, and Lester Banks and to be scattered in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
ARTICLE VII:
This Will has been prepared in duplicate, each copy of which has been executed as an original. One of these executed copies is in my possession and the other is deposited for safekeeping with my attorney, Amanda Burns. Either of these wills is to be considered as the original. If only one copy of this Will can be found, then it shall be considered as the original, and the missing copy will be presumed inadvertently lost. Any clarifications or instructions concerning this Will may be obtained by calling the above-mentioned attorney who is requested to do everything necessary to implement the provisions of this Will.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, William Bronson Price, the testatrix, sign my name to this instrument consisting of four pages this 14th day of November, 2014, and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my Last Will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it, and that I an 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.