The Prodigal Heiress

by Vickey Rogers

  “Well, hello there. If I had known you would be here so early I would have dressed.”

  Lexi had on an old tee shirt; sweat pants; oversized socks; and a dark green, terrycloth robe. Her hair was piled on her head with bobby pins, and many strands stuck out wildly. She knew she was a mess. Not a speck of makeup either. Since Miranda had come to live with her, she had given up the fancy, not-very-comfortable loungewear for night clothing similar to her childhood slob clothes.

  “Well, if I had known how cute you can make old clothes look, I would have told you to wear them sooner,” Houston said with a teasing but caring grin.

  “Yeah… right. I’ll be back down shortly.”

  Lexi ran up to shower and change after she gave Houston a quick kiss. She did that and put on her makeup in record time and was back down to the dining room as Miranda and Houston sat down to eat.

  “Wow. That was quick,” Houston said happily.

  “Well, I guess the smell of the food and the good company down here just worked magic with me.” Lexi smiled.

  They ate and talked about the church they were going to. Houston said he had seen the church but had never gone to it. He went to his family’s church near his home when he was young but had stopped going. Not because of God but because the people there were not very nice to him after the accident.

  “It’s sad that some people don’t listen to God when he tells us straight-out not to judge others. Only he is able to do that because we can’t possibly know everything involved. But he does. He knows our hearts,” Miranda said.

  They arrived at the church at 9:45 a.m. The service started in fifteen minutes. Miranda led the way to the second pew from the front.

  “You always sit up front, Mama,” Lexi asked a bit self-consciously.

  “Yes. I want to make sure I can hear everything.”

  They sat down, and Lexi noticed that her mother was marking all the pages in the hymnal that were noted up on a board. She remembered the number plaque from her childhood church.

  Lexi followed her mother’s lead and started marking pages.

  “Good morning, Miranda,” a voice boomed to Lexi’s right. A large man with a happy face reached out and shook Miranda’s hand.

  “Good morning, Reverend. It sure is a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. I love the cooler weather. Makes people not as anxious to get out of the hot church.” He laughed heartily.

  “Reverend Wallace, I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Lexi, and her friend, Houston Cheyenne.”

  The minister shook their hands but paused when he shook Houston’s.

  “You seem familiar. Ah. I remember now. I am so sorry of the tragedy that befell you and your friends so long ago. I’m very happy to see it did not create a rift between you and the Lord. That does happen sometimes.”

  Houston was stunned. Not only that someone he never met remembered the accident, but he didn’t see him as a monster.

  “I should explain,” Reverend Wallace continued at Houston’s look of confusion. “I counseled your mother after the accident. I was working at St Peter’s church back then as resident counselor.”

  Houston’s face relaxed a little, and he smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Reverend.”

  The organist played an old-time hymn.

  “Well, that’s my cue to get ready. I’m so happy to have you three here.”

  With that, he turned around and disappeared through a dark red, velvet drape-covered doorway.

  The service started with an old hymn that was vaguely familiar to Lexi. She felt a kind of strange homesickness. That was the only feeling she could compare the feeling to.

  The sermon was very good. Pastor Wallace talked about how mistakes we make are most of the time sins and that we can be forgiven. She noticed that Houston was listening intently to the sermon, his eyes never leaving the minister. She diverted her attention to the minister and found concentration on the sermon was not difficult.

  The sermon seemed to end too soon, and it shocked Lexi that she would feel that way. It was very odd. She remembered as a child feeling that a sermon seemed to go on for hours.

  At the end of the service, the pastor walked to the back of the church to shake everyone’s hand as they left. He asked Lexi and Houston to please come back, and they said they definitely would. And they actually meant it.

  Lexi was quiet all the way home, so much so that finally Houston broke the silence.

  “That was a very good sermon, don’t you think, Lexi?”

  “Yes. I kind of keep replaying certain parts in my head. I like that I came away from there knowing a little more. Is it always like that, Mom?”

  “No. Sometimes it reaffirms what you already know, sometimes it calls into question things you think you know, sometimes it leaves you with a bad feeling when the Holy Spirit is convicting you of a sin you have not repented of, and sometimes it just leaves you with a good feeling. It all depends on where you are with God.”

  “No matter where you are in your faith, you really need church, huh?”

  “I believe that.”

  They talked about God and church the rest of the way to the country club.

  Miranda was thrilled when she saw the country club.

  “This is going to be so much fun. Lexi told me all about this place. We can even go shopping and not leave the grounds,” Miranda exclaimed as she took Houston’s arm. She chattered like a bird all the way to their apartment.

  When Lexi unlocked the door, Miranda gasped.

  “This is an apartment? It’s huge. And we get to use it just because… why?”

  “Aunt Cami contributed a large amount of the money that built this place and now maintains it. So you could say it kind of goes with the house,” Lexi said and smiled.

  “She really lived it up, didn’t she,” Miranda said with a sigh.

  Reeves and Houston brought everything inside from the car as Lexi and Miranda unpacked.

  Once they had finished unloading the car, Reeves left for his vacation with a few happy words and hugs. Lexi and Miranda would use the country club’s car and chauffer during their stay.

  When Lexi and Miranda had finished unpacking, Lexi turned to Miranda.

  “Mom, I’ve wondered, why me? Why didn’t she leave the money to Daddy?”

  “He told her he didn’t want it,” Miranda said with a shrug.

  “What? She was going to give it to Daddy? Why didn’t he want it,” Lexi asked a few tones higher than she normally spoke. Her eyes were wide and mouth agape.

  “Money can change people for the worst. Your father was happy with our life the way it was,” Miranda said with a peaceful smile.

  “And you were happy too,” Lexi ask, her head tilting slightly to one side trying to understand.

  “Well, at first, I fought him on it,” Miranda said as she looked up at the ceiling as if seeing the entire scene played out once again there. Lexi’s head dropped slightly, and she leaned in to stare at Miranda. “Yes Lexi,” her mother looked at her again and smiled at her surprise. “I fought him hard. I wanted the money. We almost split up over it. But God showed me something I have never forgotten. He showed me what a wonderful man your father was. He showed me that your father knew what he was doing.”

  “So why did Aunt Cami leave it to me then?” Lexi shook her head as if trying to unscramble her thoughts.

  “Obviously, the Lord saw fit for you to have it. You know He has a plan. You just need to find out what it is,” Miranda said with conviction.

  “Yes… I sure do know there’s something. I just can’t figure out what,” Lexi said, hitting her forehead lightly with the heel of her hand.

  “Well, you’ll find out in His time and not your own,” Miranda said knowingly as she took Lexi’s hand and smoothed her hair. “Don’t blame yourself for not knowing right now. You are seeking Him and when the time is right, He won’t let you be confused about His answer.”

  Lexi thought about it and knew Miranda was
right. She would know what God wanted her to do when He wanted her to know. She had faith in Him to take care of everything since she knew she would never be able to do it herself. She settled into a comfortable chair and watched as Houston started a fire in the large fireplace.

  Autumn was getting bitingly cold and damp. Lexi never really had a favorite time of year, but she was starting to enjoy the fall. With Miranda acting like a kid again and the almost constant presence of Houston, she was having more fun than she had ever had in her life. Even more than that, she felt content. The only thing that would make everything perfect would be if God chose to let her know what He wanted her to do with the money. She wanted to get started so badly but had no idea what to do. She only knew that it would help others.

  Around 7:30 p.m. there was a knock at the door. Houston opened the door to Jeff Grayson.

  “Hey, guy. What the heck? We haven’t seen you around in a long time, and here you are, sequestered with Lexi. What’re the two of you up to,” he asked as he brushed past Houston and sauntered into the living room. He looked at Lexi with one raised eyebrow.

  “Jeff, how nice to see you,” Lexi stammered at the unexpected visit. Houston looked very uncomfortable, and Lexi knew there was going to be a problem.

  “Well, it’s nice to see you too,” Jeff said with the same eyebrow raised. The sarcasm in his voice was thick. “We’ve all been missing you and Houston and Appel. It’s not the same anymore, and we want you two to come down to the pool and party with us,” Jeff said demandingly as he furrowed his eyebrows.

  Lexi and Houston could tell he had already been partying for most likely the whole afternoon. Jeff was normally very diplomatic when trying to get his way when sober, but he seemed ready to use force if needed.

  “Jeff, we miss you all too, but we’ve come to realize that we don’t want to party like that anymore. It was getting out of hand,” Lexi tried to explain without angering Jeff.

  “Oh, so you’re better than us now? You think we’re out of control,” Jeff asked angrily as his face turned red, and he took a step towards her.

  “No, I was. Not you. I couldn’t handle it,” Lexi said quickly. She made her voice sound as self-loathing as possible, hoping Jeff would be convinced.

  Jeff looked at her with a sneer and then shook his head.

  “Fine,” he said, looking her up and down as if she were something disgusting. “Be a snob. You’re not worth the effort. But, Houston, bud, you can’t walk out on us,” he said as he swung around and put his arm around Houston. Houston slowly stepped away from Jeff while holding the door open. Lexi saw he was holding his anger in check, but his eyes were smoldering.

  “Jeff, I think you’d better go,” Houston said evenly with little emotion.

  “No. You’re one of us and always will be. Don’t let that wench change you,” Jeff said pleadingly, nodding his head at Lexi.

  “Jeff, now,” Houston said more firmly.

  “Fine, but this isn’t the end of this,” Jeff said determinedly as he stomped out the door.

  Once the shock of seeing Jeff so angry and being near him without having been inebriated herself wore off, Lexi said, “Maybe we shouldn’t have come here.”

  “Nonsense… Your aunt just about built this place herself. If anyone shouldn’t be here, it’s them,” Houston said through clenched teeth.

  “They need some guidance. They need to know the Lord in order to change their hearts,” Miranda said softly.

  “Yes, but they don’t want to hear about Him. I tried at different times when I thought they would listen. But they don’t want to know about Him. It makes them feel ashamed of what they like to do, so they push Him away, make Him into a joke or say He doesn’t exist,” Houston said as he sat down on the floor by the fireplace, next to Lexi.

  “Yes, that’s true of a lot of people. It’s so sad. In the end, they hurt themselves and all who care about them. I mean, they think they’re having fun, but it’s really hollow fun. No reality to it. And the fun is never worth the horrible consequences. It’s so very sad,” Miranda said as she slowly shook her head.

  “I hope they don’t intend to start trouble.” Lexi got up and stated to pace the length of the living room. She wrung her hands and looked from Houston to Miranda. Then she stopped, her face cleared and she said, “Maybe we should do something for them to stop it before it starts, be there for them when they wake up out of sorts and then let them know that even though we won’t party anymore, it doesn’t mean that we don’t care.”

  “Excellent idea Lexi… You sure are a good person,” Houston said as he got up and went to her. He took her hands and gently squeezed them lovingly.

  Lexi felt her heart swell. Houston thought she was a good person. She knew she had a lot more changing to do, but it felt good to know he thought so highly of her.

  The rest of the evening the three sat talking and staying warm by the fire. They drank apple cider Miranda had made, which was a deliciously perfect mixture of tart and sweet. The cinnamon stick in each cup added to the coziness of the evening.

  Lexi didn’t think life could get any better than this, and it cost very little money. The cider ingredients and the logs for the fire were all that this lovely evening had really cost. They could have been in a rustic cabin for all it mattered. Most of all it was the people around her that gave her the heartwarming happiness she now felt. And all these years she had thought the only way to find true happiness was with money.

  How wrong I was, Lexi thought.

  She knew that if she was starving, then money would help her. To have a lot more money than she needed, it was not what made happiness. It brought no happiness sitting in a bank account, collecting interest. It would be better spent making others happy, but what others? She said a quick prayer to remind God that she was waiting on Him. Then she rejoined the conversation, which had turned to driving up into the mountains to play in the snow.

  “We’re all going into our second childhoods, it seems.” Lexi smiled and teased two of the people she loved most in the world.

  They all laughed, and the room became quite as they stared into the fire.

  “So what should we do to make them understand that we care, but we don’t want to participate anymore?” Lexi asked quietly.

  “You know, they’ll all be feeling a bit under the weather tomorrow.” Miranda smiled. “Why not bring them a cup of coffee, some aspirin, and a shoulder to cry on about their aches and pains just as you suggested?”

  “You know, I would have loved for someone to take care of me like that some mornings,” Lexi confided.

  “It might not work, but we can keep trying. After all, these are the people who accepted me as I am. They didn’t shut me out when everyone else did. I want to at least try,” Houston said with a small smile. His attitude had change significantly from his earlier confrontation with Jeff.

  The next morning, Houston came over early; and the three got going on their nurse maid plan. Everyone was exceptionally welcoming to the pampering except for Jeff, who threw them out and slammed his door.

  When they returned to the apartment, Lexi said, “Well, at least the others were responsive. We’ll have to work on Jeff.”

  “I think Jeff will be very hard-won,” Houston replied.

  “Why,” Lexi asked, tilting her head and looking into Houston’s eyes.

  “Because he likes you, and you’re with me. It’s not that he doesn’t want us together so much as he wants you worshipping at his feet. When he likes a girl, he wants her to want him more than anything in the world. I know he loves Dotty, it’s really just an ego thing,” Houston said with a smirk. Lexi saw that Houston disliked that part of Jeff’s personality.

  “Is that it? Well, maybe I need to work on that. Or maybe we need to work on it. Start telling him how hardheaded I am and that I boss you around all the time but that you can’t give up because you’re mad about me.” Lexi smiled. “I remember how he hated the way Dotty tried to boss him around. If he thi
nks I’m worse than Dotty…”

  “Great idea, we can even stage a confrontation to make him realize he doesn’t want to be with you.” Houston smiled.

  “Yes. I’ll be a real ogre,” Lexi said baring her teeth, scrunching her face and crossing her eyes with her hands up in front of her, looking like claws.

  Houston and Miranda laughed, and Lexi soon joined them.

  The three plotted more as they walked back to the apartment. Lexi could not believe how much fun she was having. At the same time, she felt guilty knowing that there was something she should be doing. She had never felt so happy, nor had she ever felt so guilty for feeling happy. She just did not know what God wanted her to do.

  Once they were in the apartment, Lexi excused herself to take a hot bath and talk to God. She prayed earnestly for half an hour and then felt that she should get back out with the others. She felt a new peace about the situation of knowing what God wanted. She knew He would tell her when the time was right. She just needed to leave it in His hands and have patience and faith.

  Later that day, Houston and Lexi found Jeff in the solarium, reading. They pretended not to notice him there.

  Lexi turned to Houston quickly and shouted, “I told you, I don’t want to go to the mountains this weekend.”

  Houston took the hint and took up his part, talking quietly but just loud enough that Jeff would hear. “But you said you wanted to go last week.”

  “That was last week. I don’t like to plan things so far in advance. I’d rather just go when I want,” Lexi said as she folder her arms across her chest and tilted her head back a bit while looking away from Houston.

  “But that’s hard to plan,” Houston said with a sigh as if trying to explain to a child.

  “I told you I don’t like to plan things. Get it in your head, Houston,” Lexi said pointing her finger in his face. “We do things my way or no way. If you don’t like how things are, find someone else. I have agreed to be with you because you don’t annoy me as much as other people, but if you start wanting to plan things and run my life, well, then it’s over!”