The House

by Anjuelle Floyd

  “So Edward started Manning Ventures. The whole purpose of the company has been to bring together needs, those of consumers and business people, and ideas to fill those needs. Some of the money’s in stocks as you see. But many of the small startups Ed ward seeded came with profitable ideas much like Canning McGrath’s boxes, simple inventions that met the needs of consumers and businesses around the world. Edward felt like he was getting a lot more than he was giving.”

  It warmed Anna’s heart that Edward had achieved success fueled by such idealistic standards. Manning Ventures sold every thing from toothbrushes to tutorials on how to use various Internet sites. Customers ranged from foreign governments to independent schools across the globe to various philanthropic organizations seeking to improve the quality of life of those they served.

  Bryce said, “Throughout his travels, Edward became increasingly aware that foreign countries and consumers did not often benefit from the products they imported from the U.S. Most times they paid much more than the product was worth. Purchasing and overseeing the sale of foreign properties put him in contact with many of the countries’ wealthiest and poorest citizens along with government officials, a nice mix for developing entrepreneurial ideas and doing business. When he was out inspecting a raw piece of property near a village or small town, Edward would often see a little boy playing and tinkering with something. Or maybe he’d discover a device an old woman had made to help her carry water or to cook with. ‘It’s amazing what many people develop to survive,’ he’d say. ‘They’re small inventions that others could benefit from.’’ A bittersweet taste filled Anna’s mouth in considering all that Edward, the little boy and his mother, Violet, had done in their efforts to survive. And what that survival had made him see even beyond his success.

  “The knowledge he held as an American citizen guided him in counseling those who welcomed his ideas on how to make money,”

  Bryce said of his mentor. “As a liaison, he bargained for individuals with inventions that U.S. companies wanted to purchase. Ed ward mediated sales between various governments purchasing U.S. products. The American companies, mostly small, welcomed the opportunity to sell their products around the world.”

  “They were like Canning McGrath,” Anna said.

  “A win-win situation for all.” Bryce smiled. “Canning invested a little of what he made from the boxes into each new venture Ed ward founded. That, along with Canning’s grocery store, gave him plenty to live on. Edward always felt he owed him.”

  “But it was Edward who helped him sell the boxes.”

  “And it was Canning McGrath who first urged Edward to investigate the buying and selling of foreign properties. Much like he perceived the Internet would change the way commerce was transacted, Canning also foresaw the expansion of the global market. He told Edward, ‘The man who only does business in America is hamstrung.’” Anna said, “How did Edward meet Canning?”

  “Canning McGrath purchased the first property Edward ever sold. It was right here in Oakland. He’d come to Edward in search of a small warehouse to tinker with his ideas about making boxes. It had been sort of a hobby McGrath did on the side after a long day in the store. He needed some place to work and store the boxes. The two became friends while Edward searched for and then man aged the sale of the building Canning purchased. They maintained contact after McGrath acquired the property.”

  “Edward never mentioned Canning McGrath or his wife, Helena,” Anna said. “Not even when he was prepping me for the board meeting. He focused on Pierce Dawson, Elliott Thompson, Harrison Filbert, Claiborne Rochester, and the others. From your description, Canning McGrath is the closest to being what I would consider a father to Edward.” Anna wondered if McGrath knew of Edward’s dalliances, or that he even had a family.

  “McGrath made a fortune selling his boxes,” Bryce said. Bryce shook his head in continued amazement.

  A burst of energy flooded through Anna. “You check on Inman, I mean Mr. Hayes,” she said. “Find out where he’s worked. What do colleagues and clients who’ve used his consulting services think of him?” Throughout their relationship Anna had hesitated delving into Inman’s professional life. There were things she wanted to know about Inman, aspects of his professional life that she’d avoided treading into. Like how he’d been able to afford a year away from work after his accident. He’d been broken up pretty badly and had needed time to recover. He’d said nothing about having to sue the other driver. Nor did he seem worried about accumulating unpaid bills. She instructed Bryce, “While you’re doing that, I’m going to talk to Mrs. McGrath. Do you think she’ll see me?”

  “Certainly, if I make the call.”

  “Do it. And don’t share any of this with Edward.” Anna would confront in-person any ideas Helena McGrath had about overtaking Manning Ventures.

  A newfound strength in having addressed her first battle rose within Anna. Still she regretted how she had reacted to Edward. She was also still angry and hurt and would most likely remain so long after his death.

  The image of the Buddhist nun donning a burgundy robe, and her head shaven, appeared before Anna. The flames of anger burning upon Anna’s words from night fall of last evening, now slowed into a cloud of steam swelling with compassion. All I’ve ever wanted was to be with you, and share your life. She could not deny that some part of her relished the challenges of running a company.

  Manning Ventures was not some toy or a monopoly game. It was a way for her to make some money and to gain her freedom, something she had never possessed with Edward nor prior to their marriage. As his wife, Anna had received a house, wherein she had created a home, one wherein Edward had resided between business trips, and then sometimes only for a day or so. It would take time for Anna to become accustomed to accepting and acknowledging that Edward, in facing terminal illness, had given his company over to her before he died. For that reason, she needed to stop In man from carrying out what appeared to be a deliberate takeover of Manning Ventures.

  Back at home, Anna considered Bryce’s words as she started up the stairs. Edward has a way of seeing into the future. If he wants

  you at the helm, the company needs you. Bertrice had gone for the evening and Edward was sleeping. On reaching the landing, she headed for Theo’s bedroom where she had remained despite her recent intimacies with Edward. Anna laid down and recalled Bertrice’s questioning stare from earlier that morning. Anna had been on her way out to meet Bryce for breakfast when she encountered Bertrice in the hallway outside of Edward’s room. Had Bertrice’s look held what Anna had expected or needed to see?

  Anna turned over on the bed, placed her arm under her pillow, and chided herself for not having looked in on Edward before lying down. It was only ten-o-clock, not the dead of the night. Moments slid by. Anna forced herself to get up. While slipping back into her night robe, her cell phone rang. She clicked it on and placed it to her ear.

  “Hello.” It was Inman. “I’ve been waiting for your call.”

  “I’ve been waiting for yours.” Anna lowered herself back upon the bed.?

  Chapter 42

  The next morning around eleven, Anna arrived at Helena McGrath’s house located in West Berkeley. The spry and chipper old woman invited Anna inside then led her through the house and out to her garden.

  “Indian summer’s given my roses longer than usual to bloom.” Helena McGrath slipped her fingers back into her gloves and lifted her pruning shears. She focused her attention on the buds she was cutting. A basket of pink and orange roses lay at her feet. “At some point, I’ve got to till the ground and prepare for next season.” The octogenarian peered over her silver-rimmed glasses and stared at Anna. Had Anna’s mother lived, she would most likely have been Mrs. McGrath’s age. For a moment Anna felt as if her mother had come alive, and that Helena McGrath was harboring the “now transformed” spirit of Anna’s mother.

  “Thank you for seeing me,” Anna said to Helena McGrath. The two had foregone introduction
s and pleasantries in Helena’s haste of welcoming her inside and returning to her garden.

  “It’s my pleasure.” The old woman resumed cutting her roses. She laid another orange bud on the stack of what seemed a dozen or so in the basket. “I’ve worked for years to grow these Ecuadorians. And now they’re...” She turned to Anna. “But you didn’t come for a lecture on flowers.” Again she looked over her glasses and inspected Anna. “What can I do for you?” asked Mrs. McGrath. “Or perhaps I should I say, what would you like for me to explain?”

  Anna was torn. She could ask why Helena had chosen Inman to represent her on the board, and what were her intentions in offering to purchase more stock. More specifically Anna could ask if Mrs. McGrath had anticipated Dawson and Thompson pulling out? If so, had her desires to purchase more stock influenced In-man’s performance during the meeting? Then there was the nature of Canning McGrath’s relationship with Edward. Yet with McGrath now dead for over a decade, Anna wondered whether that was an appropriate subject to raise with his widow. The weight of these matters swirling in Anna’s mind jettisoned her thoughts back to last night’s conversation with Inman. Anna said nothing to Inman about having spoken with Bryce, and certainly not about having ordered Bryce to research Inman’s professional reputation. Anna’s conversation with Inman had been short, Inman instructing Anna to speak with Helena McGrath since she had been the one to hire him.

  “But why did you take the job,” Anna had insisted on knowing.

  “Because she asked me. It’s what I do.” Inman then confessed, “Helena McGrath is my aunt. She was my mother’s sister, my only living relative beyond Dancia.” That Inman had chosen family over friendship softened the blow. Yet, he remained committed to his position. “Believe me, I never knew that Manning Ventures was Edward’s company.”

  Confused and frustrated, Anna said, “I wished you had at least called and given me forewarning.” Hurt and anger had mangled Anna’s hearing.

  “I didn’t know it was your company,” Inman repeated.

  “You’ve never heard the name Manning as in Edward Manning.”

  “Of course I knew the name. I just never put the two together. You said he was in real estate. And you never told me that Edward had given you the company, that he had even formed one. Why didn’t you call me?” Inman said.

  Anna hadn’t spoken with Inman since their night at Scott’s and their time afterwards. Three weeks had passed, nearly a month, since lying in Inman’s bed, her body satiated in warm, and yet tranquil, passion. Her mind had absorbed so much during the last twenty-one days, wherein Edward, who despite growing weaker by what sometimes seemed the hour, had prepped her for the board meeting followed by the late night sessions with Bryce downstairs in the kitchen. Anna recalled her intimacies with Edward, the reconciliation of their hearts and souls.

  “Forgive me,” she said, “But my husband is dying.”

  “So now he’s your husband?”

  “Like Mrs. McGrath is your aunt,” Anna retorted.

  “Seems like we’ve both been duped.” Inman’s closing words toiled their way through Anna’s mind.

  Anna watched Helena carefully snip buds from her Ecuadorian rose bushes and lay them in the basket by her feet. They were the last ones that would sprout this season. Anna concluded others would return with Edward long gone.

  She said, “Why did you choose Inman Hayes to represent you on the board of Manning Ventures?”

  “It’s my prerogative.” Helena made a snip. “I also felt my holdings needed looking into.” Once more she gazed over the rim of her glasses. “All I have is invested in your husband’s company. It’ll be Inman’s when I die.” From all appearances Helena McGrath might outlive them all.

  “The company’s mine now,” Anna said.

  “I have no problem with that.” The old woman said. “In fact, I’ve been thinking for some time Manning Ventures needed new blood.”

  And just what did she mean by that? Anna folded her arms.

  The old woman said, “I like your husband, I mean your former husband. Or have you divorced yet?” She cut another stem bringing with it a beautifully formed pink rose.

  “No.” Anna was torn between her frustration in the other trustees and board members and Helena’s prying into her private life. Yet as her parents had taught, she honored the elderly, of which the trustees were, of which Helena was the most senior.

  “I hear he’s dying,” said Mrs. McGrath. The presence of what felt like the spirit of Anna’s mother in Helena McGrath intensified. “He is.”

  “How long does he have?”

  “Three to six months, or less.” Anna’s will to battle with the old woman left. Tears encroached upon her eyes. She wiped them.

  “You’ll need help with your company,” Helena said. Diligently attending her rose bushes, she was yet to look back.

  “I have Bryce.”

  “Bryce is loyal. But he’s young.”

  “So what do you suggest? Have Inman Hayes take over running the company?”

  “That wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But he’s my nephew.” Helena McGrath turned to Anna from her rose bushes. “And that would present a conflict of interest.” Helena stood straight. Laying aside the clippers, she let her arms hang. “Let’s have some tea, shall we?”

  Minutes later and at Helena’s kitchen table, Anna gathered her self. Helena returned the teapot to the stove and sat beside her at the kitchen table.

  “I never liked the way Edward ran around,” said Helena.

  Anna observed the basket of buds at the center of the table. Helena McGrath poured tea, gave Anna a cup.

  “Canning always urged him to stop his philandering, warned Edward he would come to no good engaging in it.” Mrs. McGrath poured her cup of tea. “Then again, some men suffer so.”

  The shock of how much the investors knew of Edward’s life grew thick and heavy. Then again, black folks were always in the know. It’s how they survived. Anna chastised herself for being such an idiot.

  Helena sipped from her cup then returned it to its saucer. “You’re not like most wives of today, particularly not the black ones.”

  “How is that? I’m more stupid?”

  “You bided your time.” Helena gave a knowing smile.

  “I never wanted Edward to die.”

  “No. You wanted him. And when it became obvious that might never happen, you set out to create a new life for yourself. And you did it with no fuss.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” On considering how much Helena McGrath knew about her, Anna reminded herself that Canning had been Edward’s mentor.

  “You have a lot of alternatives,” Helena said. “Your children are grown. All doing well, I hear.”

  “That’s debatable.” Anna lamented David and Theo’s marriages stitched together by a thread unraveling. And then there was Serine who couldn’t make up her mind about who she loved, or whether she was even capable of affection and commitment.

  “They’ve completed college, graduate school, I’m told” , Helena said. “Some are married.”

  An image of Linda and Brad rose in Anna’s mind. Her heart slowed. “My eldest daughter is expecting her first child, my third grandchild.”

  “That’s a blessing,” Helena said.

  Anna settled deeper into herself. “How much has Inman told you about me?”

  “Enough to know that you’re not eager to rush into another marriage.”

  “And is he?” A rush of relief filled Anna. Although she still felt exposed.

  “I’m not going to lie.” The old woman returned her cup to the table then interwove her fingers. “My nephew loves you. I should also say he had no idea that the company I held stock in was Ed ward Manning’s, or what do we call it now? Manning Ventures. Only after I asked him to look over the proxies and spreadsheets, did I add that I also wanted him to represent me on the board. He didn’t learn about the meeting until the night before.”

  “So why did you do this? Why
did you set me up?” Anna said. “Why do you presume that I’m trying to take over your company, that I set you up? Inman could say the same of me concerning him.”

  “Has he?” Anna said.

  “Not to me. You might want to speak to him about that. His mother was my elder sister,” said Helena McGrath. Anna wondered how much she could or should trust this woman. Helena said, “You’ll probably be seeing him before me.” Again she brought the cup to her thin lips and sipped her tea, then added, “He’s pretty angry with me right now.”

  Helena placed her cup of tea in the saucer, set both palms upon the table then pushed her slight body to stand. No more than five feet and perhaps a few inches in height, the woman wore a house dress that Anna wanted to wash. Anna detected an air of sadness as she observed the old woman wiping down her range. Perhaps Helena McGrath posed no problems.

  Anna lifted her purse. “Thank you for seeing me.” She walked to Mrs. McGrath and extended her hand.

  Helena smiled on accepting it. “I hate when people presume to know everything and don’t seek evidence of their fears. I’m glad we talked.”

  She led Anna to the door. It was a small house, a few rooms that sat at the end of the block on a street in Berkeley not too far from San Pablo Avenue. Few would recognize it as the home of the owner of over one hundred million dollars. Anna felt ashamed of her prejudices.