by Mary Carmen
Amanda was not through. “I also found out you are sending money to Adam. If you want to treat us equally, why aren’t you sending money to me each month?”
I quickly replied, “Adam and his family agreed to meet my mother and me. The entire family visited her retirement home earlier this year.”
“I can’t do that,” Amanda wailed.
“I understand perfectly.”
The call to Adam was easier. Both his siblings had called to tell him about the properties, and he was ready to hear about his own trip to Wayne County.
“Everyone is just flabbergasted with those places,” Adam said. “The parcels are enormous and the houses are so beautiful. The three properties are nearly equal, each with wonderful views. I can’t wait to see ours.”
Adam and his family went with Muzz-the-Bald in the long Lincoln that next weekend. Muzz gave Adam the keys to the last property.
That evening after their return, Adam called me and said, “I can’t thank you enough. To have that property for my family means so much to me. We live in such a dinky place here, but we can go up there every weekend and enjoy life.”
“Thank you, Adam,” I said. “I appreciate your kind words.”
That was the last contact I had with Kenny, Amanda, or Adam. From time to time, one of them will call the builder to request a repair, and the builder sends the bill to me for payment. In late 2112, Muzz told me Adam had finished his thesis and had been awarded his doctorate at Princeton.
Settling Into Retirement
With the Wayne County houses distributed and the Rutland County property being built, I decided I had completed my goals. My mother was comfortable in her suite at the retirement home, Harrison was continuing with his education, each of my children had a nice house on a large parcel, and my father was suitably memorialized with a gravestone. In October of 2111, I had about ten percent of my fortune left, and I had not touched my retirement account.
I settled into a routine that has lasted until today. I still live at the Princeton Club, in the same suite. After my mother died in 2116, Mrs. Holly continued to occupy the sitting room and her bedroom until her death in 2120. In 2116 I took some pieces of furniture to the Princeton Club and, in 2120, I completed its furnishing, sending the extra pieces to Adam’s house in Wayne County.
Each summer Muzz drives me to Rutland County for a visit of at least a month. Muzz and I stay in the large house, and one or more of my children come to stay in the cabins.
Sometimes someone will visit me at the Princeton Club at Christmas, but I usually spend the winters reading and playing bridge in the club’s card room. I study religion, philosophy, and astrophysics.
Eliza and I have updated the Octula book four times, each time using different pictures from General Hsapv’s archives and newer pictures of the Anna Murphy house. Eliza returns from time to time to Octula, but she has never practiced medicine there. Instead, she teaches a semester a year at Johns Hopkins.
Franklin comes frequently to Earth to lecture, and on those occasions he and I always spend time in Rutland County. He and Mr. Eyres decided on the most outrageous furnishings for his cabin, including an exact model of our kaleidoscope.
Morris still runs Anna’s business, and he visits Earth about once every two years. He and Mr. Eyres decorated his cabin in many shades of blue, and I like to sit in that cabin when Morris is there.
Mattie married an Englishman who came to Octula as a tourist after reading Eliza’s book. While Mattie was conducting the tour of my wing, this man fell in love with her bubbly personality and her pretty face. They now have three children, and I see them often in Rutland County. Her husband has significantly expanded her cabin to accommodate his large family.
Harrison completed his work at Ursinus College in 2019, and he is currently a postdoctoral student in composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He comes to Rutland County every summer. In 2121 he performed as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Anna still stays in Octula. I write to her at least once a month to tell her about my contacts with the children. I always close my letters with a request to be invited to return home.
Do not worry about death. Your life will live forever in God’s consciousness. You will return to Its spirit and, perhaps, be asked to take another assignment.