The Prodigal Heiress

by Vickey Rogers

  Jeff called for Reeves to pick Lexi up; and then, as he was leaving, he planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. Lexi had never met a man like Jeff. Then again, all the ones she had known were all boys—poor boys at that.

  Chapter 5

  Soon it became normal for Lexi to go out every night with her new friends. She became more and more like them. She had never experienced this kind of life before; and it was, in a way, freeing. They laughed at the way they woke up feeling like death warmed over and the periods of time they could not account for. They also relayed tales to each other of finding themselves in the oddest places when they awoke. Oddly enough, Lexi always woke at home in her own bed. She could never remember what had happened past a certain point.

  She had started smoking also, but only when she drank. Mornings were always bad, a hangover and lungs that felt like they were on fire. By 5:00 p.m., when she would take a bath and get ready to go out, she felt much better.

  Houston started to warm up to her. He still never really smiled, but he was now in a habit of helping her out of the car and opening doors for her. She was in a habit of teasing him about his quietness and making him smirk ever so slightly. She knew he loved the attention. She even became bold enough one night to kiss him soundly on the mouth as they celebrated a day without rain.

  Houston seemed to be watching over her, which Lexi found comforting in a way since she never awoke in public places the way Dotty did. Nor did she end up in bed with anyone after that first night with Jeff, when she could not remember what happened. She thought maybe he was protecting her from herself. She also never saw her photos or stories about her wildness in any of the tabloids. She knew Houston had a big part in that, as his father was one of the main owners of those tabloids. He had good connections. She also never saw Houston take a drink and wondered why he was with this crowd, but they accepted him the way he was, and so did she. She went on with her friends and lived a different life than she had ever dreamed of.

  In this new world of hers, she found that every day had something in it they could celebrate: no rain, someone getting a new car, someone buying a new house, or updating a wardrobe that hadn’t been updated in the last few months. Lexi realized there was always a reason to party. She found the little voice inside her was getting smaller and softer. It was the one that kept telling her she was doing very bad things and would regret them. After the first couple of times that she awoke feeling ashamed, a few laughs with the others made the shame dim dramatically.

  The partying continued, and Lexi lost more and more of her inhibitions. She even won Dotty over by giving her meaningless compliments in public, which she found was something the very shallow girl ate up. Lark was no one’s friend, but she accepted Lexi as much as anyone else. Appel and Lexi became like sisters, but they spent all their time together drinking. No real connections were made, which at times bothered Lexi; but she accepted things for how they were. It was better than the boredom she had felt in the fall.

  It kept her not so much happy as occupied her time. It totally obliterated the boredom.

  One morning, Tabitha knocked on her door. It was almost noon. Lexi was upset because she had a very bad hangover.

  “Come in,” Lexi said, lying on her stomach with her arm hanging over the side of the bed.

  Tabitha opened the door and poked her head in. When she saw Lexi looking at her with blood shot eyes, she walked in a little further.

  “Miss, did you want breakfast or lunch,” Tabitha asked softly.

  “No. Why are you bothering me with this,” Lexi asked, rolled her eyes, and turned her face away.

  “We are worried about ya, Miss. We don’t see much of ya, and you always seem to be under the weather,” Tabitha said quickly and held her breath as she wrung her hands.

  “I’m fine, Tabby. Just sowing my wild oats… I never got a chance to do that before. So please leave me alone.” Lexi appreciated but felt overly annoyed that Tabitha had come to her room.

  Tabitha kept her distance after that.

  One day blurred into the next. She vaguely remembered a Christmas tree, the noise and kisses of New Year’s, and then Jeff got all the girls large boxes of chocolate for Valentine’s Day. The Fourth of July was spent on Jeff’s parents’ yacht, partying hard and throwing up over the side.

  The next thing Lexi knew, she was laughing and drinking spiked cider on a Halloween hayride. She and the group laughed at all the disgusted looks they got from people with kids who all decided to wait for the next wagon instead of getting on with the inebriated group.

  Time was flying by at a tremendous speed. Lexi spent her time either drunk or sleeping off the alcohol. A few times, she felt scared at the way her life was flying by and how she was not actually in control of things; then she would think of her friends and somehow felt safe in their company.

  Then she saw the Christmas tree in Appel’s house and realized that over a year had gone by since she met this group of people, and she felt sick and oblivious to the world around her. It frightened her more than she had ever been frightened before. She decided to talk to Appel about it.

  “Appel, do you ever feel afraid? I mean, time seems to have sped up so fast. I’ve known you guys for over a year now, but we don’t really ever talk. We just drink and joke around. It’s already Christmas again. I feel like I have totally lost touch with the world and normalcy.”

  “Nah… What else is there but boredom? All the bad things that happen in this world, I would rather be disconnected from this miserable place. You’re just being silly.”

  “You really think it’s better to go through life numb?”

  “Of course I do. Nothing can hurt you when you’re numb.” Appel laughed and grabbed a bottle of bourbon. She took a long swig and handed it to Lexi.

  Lexi took the bottle and stared at it.

  “Come on, Lex. Don’t start getting all thoughtful. You’ll ruin a great party. Dotty has a band flying in tonight. We can dance to a real band. Now that’ll be loads of fun.”

  “You’re right. Why spend the evening being depressed when I can have a good time?”

  “Exactly!”

  So Lexi worked hard to forget the fear and just go along with her friends.

  Lexi fell into a kind of hibernation, not caring about anything and feeling content to feel that way—until the news of her father’s death shattered her contentment in early August. In her quest for relief from her boredom, she had forgotten to inquire of his health. She had also not bothered to read the growing stack of letters from her mother until Mr. Sutton called to inform her of her father’s passing.

  Now she sat down to read them and found that her mother had frantically begged her to come for a visit, that her father missed her terribly. She also found that her mother had been trying to beg her for help. They needed money for treatments that might have saved her father. Lexi had been too busy trying not to be bored, trying to stay numb.

  Now it all crashed in on her. She had never seen herself as a selfish person, but now her selfishness had caused her father’s death. He had died without knowing his daughter, his only child, had still loved him.

  If only she had read those letters. She could have made a difference. She knew it. She was too busy drinking under a tree in the Goshmeir’s orchard or cleaning vomit up off the floor of whoever’s house she had gotten sick at. She felt such shame and loathing that she could not stand it. She needed to get to her mother right away. Oh how her mother must hate her, and with good reason.

  Lexi sent a telegram that she would be arriving that afternoon. She tried calling, but the phone had been disconnected.

  Chapter 6

  The flight seemed to take forever. Once the plane landed, Lexi took a cab to her parent’s house. She gave the man a large tip and jumped out and ran to the house. She opened the door and found that her parent’s house was very sparsely furnished. What had happened to all the antiques her father loved so much?

  “Mom,” Lexi called. ”Mom, where are
you?”

  A neighbor woman came around the corner from the kitchen.

  “Well, if it isn’t Miss Too-good-for-her-own-family.” The woman seemed to look at Lexi from the end of her nose.

  “Mrs. Witherby, I know I have been horrible. But I need to see my mom right now.”

  “Oh, you need to see her, huh? What about when they needed you?”

  “Gale, please.” Miranda Hunter hugged and then stepped around Mrs. Witherby.

  Lexi was shocked at the thin frame that glided toward her and hugged her. Lexi hugged her mother back and felt as if she were hugging a sickly thin child. She was bone thin. She must have gone through hell. Lexi’s eyes welled up with unshed tears, tears she would have cried for herself but hated herself too much to do so. Now they came freely for her poor mother and father, the people who took care of her as she grew up, the people who made sure she had everything she needed. She had been so blind with the lust for money. She realized she had blamed her parents for not being rich. How could she have been so hateful?

  The realization was a shock. Maybe these were things she had always known, but never had she given them room to grow until she received the news of her father passing away.

  “Oh Mama… I am so sorry for what I have done.”

  “Dear, you haven’t done anything.”

  “Exactly... I was so busy playing that I didn’t have time to read your letters. If I had, Daddy would still be alive.”

  Miranda led Lexi to a ratty couch. The beautiful antique with dark red velvet covering and dark, shiny mahogany, sculpted wood was gone. They sat down, and Lexi cried harder.

  “I am so ashamed, Mama. Please forgive me for how horribly I have treated you.”

  “Lexi, you’re human. Don’t beat yourself up or try to blame yourself for this. You were given something that was much too big for you to handle, and it drew all your attention. It would’ve happened to anyone. You’re not alone in that. And your father has gone to heaven because that’s where he’s supposed to be. He’s not gone from us forever, you know. He has just gone home, and we will join him one day. Please, baby, don’t blame yourself. It’s how it’s supposed to be. I fought to keep Daddy here with me, but God wanted him. It was his time, and I know that now. It’s something you need to accept also.”

  “But if I had read your letters I could have done something.”

  “No. If God had wanted Daddy here now, he would have put an urge in you so strong to read those letters that you couldn’t have resisted.”

  Lexi looked at her mother with wonder. She was seeing her mother as if for the first time and loved what she saw: a brave, beautiful woman who loved and trusted God more than her own life.

  “Mama, I’m so sorry for how selfish I’ve been. I’ve spent two years drunk with people I barely know. I’ve lived so foolishly, so stupidly. I want to make it up to you, but I also want to make it up to Daddy. And it’s too late for that.” Lexi sobbed even harder.

  “Honey, Daddy always wanted you to be happy and have everything you needed. He was so happy for you. You need to remember that your happiness made your father happy. And the drinking, well, it obviously didn’t make you happy. But it’s never too late to change your life.”

  “But I should’ve brought you both with me. I could’ve afforded to get Daddy the best possible care.”

  “Lexi, honey, you’re going in circles. You need to forgive yourself for this and realize that God just wanted Daddy with him.”

  Lexi realized she was making her mother console her when she should be the one consoling her mother.

  “Okay. I’m all right. How are you doing?”

  “Well, I have good days and bad days, but that’s the grieving process. I spend a lot of time with Jesus, and that makes me feel a lot better. And I know your father is in a good place now. No more pain and he can never get sick again. So I’m just dealing with missing him.”

  “And the huge bills that are left behind,” Mrs. Witherby exclaimed, giving Lexi a hard glare.

  “They will all be paid in full tomorrow. And, Mama, I want you to come and live with me. We’ll bring Daddy to Washington and have him put to rest in the family plot on the manor grounds.”

  Miranda looked at Lexi. There was such astonishment in her eyes that Lexi felt even more ashamed.

  “That’s very sweet of you, honey, but—.”

  “No buts, Mama. I’m doing too late what I should’ve done to begin with. So you go and start packing everything, and I’ll make all the arrangements.”

  Miranda stood up and looked as though she would faint.

  “Are you okay, Mama?”

  “Yes. I, uh…I…guess I better start packing,” Miranda said in amazement and went to her bedroom.

  “Fine how you can do so much now. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Missy.”

  “Believe me, Mrs. Witherby, I am more ashamed of myself than your tongue-lashing will ever make me feel,” Lexi said as she brushed past an astonished Mrs. Witherby, who had never been the kind of person anyone ever talked harshly to. Lexi was on a mission for the first time in her life. She was thinking of someone other than herself for once. It was not just to ease her guilty conscious, she realized. She really did want to make her mother’s life better. Her mother deserved it.

  Lexi made all the arrangements, asking for constant approval from Miranda; and soon, they were on their way to Washington and Rivenwood Manor.

  Lexi held Miranda’s hand as the plane took off, since Miranda has never been on a plane before, and she was very nervous. Lexi teased her and made her feel more comfortable. She was actually enjoying herself. This was something she never felt with any of her friends. With them, it was all about going along to get rid of boredom. With Miranda, it was easy and fun and no pressure. All this time, she had this wonderful woman she could have been close to, but she had to wait until she appreciated her. It was all making sense now. Her life had brought her to this point. She was very glad she was finally here. At the same time, she was immensely saddened by the fact that her father was not with them to enjoy it.

  Lexi decided she wanted to help more people, and she decided that the next people would be Tabitha’s sister and nephew. She did not really like the idea of having a kid running around the manor; but if Tabitha kept him under control, she would be all right with having the boy there. Her mother might like having a young child around sometimes. Miranda loved children.

  Chapter 7

  Lexi got a thrill out of showing Miranda around Rivenwood Manor. Miranda was like a child, wide-eyed and oohing and aahing at all the right places that made Lexi feel that she was giving her mother a present.

  Lexi gave her mother the master suite and took a less grand but just as beautiful suite next to it down the hall. Miranda protested that she did not need anything so big, but Lexi would not take no for an answer. Miranda sensed that Lexi needed for her to take it, so she finally gave in.

  “Mother, look at the size of this tub,” Lexi said as she led Miranda into the bathroom. Miranda stopped short when the tub came into view.

  “It’s not a tub. That’s a swimming pool,” Miranda said and laughed whole heartedly.

  “I have an idea. Do you have a suit?” Lexi asked with a gleam in her eye. She was almost dancing with the idea that was forming in her head. Her feet would not stay still.

  “No,” Miranda said as a smile slowly spread to her eyes.

  “It’s all right. I have one that should fit you. Let’s get in,” Lexi said as she ran to get the suits.

  Both put on suits and got into the very warm pool. Lexi turned on some music, and they relaxed for a while.

  “This is wonderful, Lexi.”

  “I wish I had brought you and Daddy here with me right away,” Lexi said with a sad voice.

  “Honey, like I said, things always happen for a reason and in the way they are supposed to.”

  “But doesn’t that make God bad in some way?”

  “Only to people who don’t
know him; He has a plan for everything. There’s nothing that He doesn’t have control of.”

  Lexi marveled at her mother’s faith. She had seen Miranda break down in tears again and again at the loss of her husband, but she kept saying that it was because she missed him. It was the pain of her own grief, not any grief for Lexi’s father. He was in a much better place. She kept saying this so often that Lexi started to believe her.

  “Mom, Tabitha has a nephew. He’s about four years old. Would you mind if he spent some time at the house?”

  Miranda looked up at Lexi with eyes that were full of questions. “Honey, this is your house, not mine.”

  “This is our house, Mom. What’s mine is yours, just like you told me when I was growing up. So again, would you mind?”

  “Of course not, dear. You know that I love children. I didn’t think you really cared for them being around though.”

  “Mama, a lot of the things I like and dislike are changing. I mean, kids have never been my favorite people, even when I was one myself. I haven’t been around them much in a very long time, and I feel I need to make some drastic changes in my life. I feel like there’s some purpose behind my life that I’m not aware of. I want to find out what it is, but I can’t do that without testing things.”

  “Well, you’re right about that. Oh, honey, I’m very excited. When is the little one coming?”

  “I need to talk to Tabitha about it. Then I’ll let you know.”

  Miranda had a sparkle in her eyes that Lexi had not seen since her father was alive. She knew this was a step in the right direction. She could feel it, and her heart was growing warmer and more content.

  The next morning, Lexi called Tabitha into the study.

  “Yes, Miss?”

  “Have a seat Tabitha.” Lexi gestured to the high-backed, deeply padded chair that was very comfortable to sit in. It was much nicer than the hard chair she had offered Tabitha in her suite what seemed a lifetime ago.