1990

Dear readers: The following story contains over 70,000 words, so be forewarned of its length. There is no sex in this story, but there are some scenes involving some brutal violence.

While a work of fiction, major factual international and domestic events that took place during 1990 are intricately woven into the storyline. In some cases, names of the people involved in a particular incident were changed to protect the innocent, but otherwise, the events are described as they actually occurred.

"1990" is a prequel of sorts. It details the backstory of select characters who have been featured in multiple stories within the Brandt Universe, explains their relationship to major characters in those stories, and how they came to be associated with them. It is not necessary to read any of the Brandt Universe stories first, but hopefully reading this story will motivate you if you haven't read them already.

The Brandt Universe (in order): "His Daddy's Car", "Change", "Searching", "Elements"

Satellite Stories (in order): "Heavy Traffic", "Betting on the Aces", "Little Differences"

Wednesday, January 03, 1990

"Damn, damn, damn," Suzy groaned to herself after closing the front door.

What a way to start the day. How in the hell did they track her down? She had been so careful to use only cash and rented the furnished cottage from Mrs. Gomez, the widow who owned it, under an alias. She avoided contact with anyone who knew her since she had left Missouri. Even her lawyer didn't know her exact location.

Suzy walked into the small kitchen, took a seat at the eat-in counter where her cup of coffee waited, and stared at the envelope that the process server had handed her. She stared at it for several minutes. Suzy didn't have to open it. She was pretty certain that she knew what it contained. The only mystery would be the date that she would be required to appear before the Barton County Probate Court.

From where she sat in the kitchen, Suzy could look through the living room to gaze upon the framed picture on the far wall of her and Chet on the evening of their senior prom. She often thought back to when she had first seen the tall, athletic-looking boy standing in the yard of the house next door to hers. Suzy had initially been confused because she and her parents had returned from a two-week vacation the night before and she had slept in later than normal that morning. Staring out the kitchen window, she had just noticed that the for-sale sign which had been in the yard of the house next to theirs was no longer in place, and there were an unfamiliar car and pickup truck in the driveway of the house. Her attention had returned to the boy gazing up and down the street.

Realizing that the vacant home had new residents, and the boy that she was watching was likely one of them, Suzy found herself suddenly feeling bolder than she ever had. Slipping into her sandals, she bravely exited through her front door and walked purposefully out to the sidewalk and towards the house next door. She saw the boy turn his head and watch her as she approached.

"What are you looking for?" she asked with a smile.

His smile made her weak in the knees, but she steeled herself as she stopped beside him on the grass. He said, "I was just wondering which direction my new school would be and if it was walking distance from here. We finally finished enough of the unpacking that my mom says that I am free to do some exploring. I'm Chet, by the way. Chet Diego"

"I'm Suzy," she replied, trying to size him up without being too obvious about it. His height and rugged handsomeness made him appear several years older than her own age of thirteen. She made a decision, pointed to the north, and added, "Lamar High School is four blocks that way."

"Is that where you go?" Chet had asked.

Blushing, Suzy said, "No, I start at Lamar Middle School this year. It's five blocks in the opposite direction."

Chet looked up the street in the direction that Suzy had indicated and asked, "Would you mind showing me the way?"

Realizing that her guess about the age of her new neighbor might have been off a bit, Suzy asked, "What grade are you going into?"

"It looks like you and I may be classmates," Chet had replied. "I'm going into seventh grade too."

When Suzy gasped, Chet chuckled and then explained, "I know. I have been on a bit of a growth spurt this summer." He pulled up the bottom of his t-shirt to show her the elastic waistband of the board shorts that he wore. Suzy's eyes were so focused on his tight, tanned stomach that she hardly heard his next comment, "My mom says that I have to wear things like this until right before school starts because I have outgrown all my regular clothes this summer."

Suzy wasn't about to complain about this boy being big for his age. She too had experienced a surge in height over the summer, along with other physical developments, which had made her a little apprehensive about her return to school. She hadn't had much contact with other classmates over the summer, so hearing from her new neighbor that her changes weren't unique gave her the first encouragement that she wouldn't stand out at school by being taller, or worse, wearing a bra.

It wasn't until Chet had lowered his shirt that Suzy was able to return her gaze to his eyes. "Let me run in to tell my mom, then I'll show you the way to school."

"Cool," Chet enthusiastically replied. "I'll go tell my mom too, and meet you in front of your house in a minute."

So many components of their relationship had evolved without comment, discussion, or even conscious thought by either. By the time they reached the middle school on that first morning, they had been walking hand in hand. They had shared their first kiss that evening after roasting marshmallows in the fire pit behind her house. Their commitment to one another and solidarity as a couple required no words and left no doubt in anyone else's mind. Chet saw the person inside of her that no one else saw, while Suzy dedicated herself to reading every chapter of Chet's soul. Chet believed that Suzy's whisper could bring the sunrise. She believed that Chet's kiss could stop the rain.

Although Suzy was popular in school, and most often selected by her classmates to be their "princess" or "queen" for the various football games, proms, or other dances, she was never asked out by other boys, and few would even flirt with her. While the knowledge that he and Suzy were a devoted couple, committed entirely to each other was respected by boys, girls were inclined to at least try their luck wooing Chet away. Chet had to learn how to politely dissuade several girls and a few women who periodically threw themselves, and sometimes even their underwear at him.

In a twisted set of horrible coincidences, while rendering aid to a stranded motorist, Suzy's father was struck and killed by a drunk driver, who then careened into a head-on collision with the car carrying Chet's parents. Within a matter of seconds, her father, both of Chet's parents, and the drunk driver were all killed. That fateful evening, occurring shortly before their graduation from high school, became the first night that Suzy and Chet slept together in her bedroom. Chet moved in with Suzy and her mother until he left for basic training later that summer.

Suzy had started college but only took a minimal course load so that she could more readily travel to be with Chet when he was granted leave. As soon as he was allowed to live off base, they moved in together.

On "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving in 1988, Suzy's mother, Joleen, and stepfather, John Capshaw, were both shot during a home invasion robbery. The perpetrator or perpetrators were never apprehended. Suzy and Chet had planned on spending that Thanksgiving holiday weekend with her parents but had instead celebrated the holiday as a couple at their small apartment in Southern Pines, North Carolina, near Fort Bragg. A decision that might have spared their lives.

Since she and Chet were not legally married, the Army didn't view the death of a soldier's girlfriend's parents as justification for a hardship leave. It was through Suzy's impassioned pleas to one of the base chaplains that finally garnered the support of Chet's chain of command and won him the leave that allowed him to accompany her back to Lamar to make the final arrangements for her parents. Chet had been her rock of love and support then, as he had always been, and always would be.

It was upon Chet's return to duty after the funerals that they learned of his future "out-of-country" assignment. Knowing that Suzy would need to spend some additional time in Lamar dealing with her deceased parent's affairs, they agreed that she would return there to live, while Chet was on his assignment, and they would get married as soon as he returned.

Having to deal with the Probate Court now was bogus. Suzy's mother had established a revocable living trust that was exempt from probate proceedings. Her stepfather had died before reaching the hospital, and her mother succumbed to her injuries the next day. They both had wills with an identical "Titanic" clause which designated Suzy's mother as the surviving spouse should they both die within thirty days of each other.

Due largely to the way that her stepchildren, Grant and Carrie Capshaw, had treated Joleen and their father since she had married him, Suzy's mother's will had stipulated that nothing from her estate should go to either stepchild. Her mother knew that their father's will designated his children as secondary beneficiaries if Suzy's mother wasn't alive to inherit the entire estate. As a result, the survivor clause effectively cut Suzy's stepsiblings out of both their father's and her mother's estates, with everything going to Suzy. "Everything" in this case was a combined trust in excess of seven million dollars after the life insurance death benefits for both were added in.

At the lawyer's office when the terms of Suzy's mother's will were being explained to the three surviving children, Grant and Carrie had both experienced a behavioral "meltdown". Their screams of profanity escalated into breaking lamps and other furnishings in the lawyer's office and culminated in the police being called to escort the two out of the building. Suzy tried to calm them when she eventually left the building, but even her offer to sign their father's car dealerships, Capshaw Motor Group, over to them wouldn't placate either step-sibling. They insisted that they deserved everything that Suzy's mother had inherited from their father as well as half of what was in the estate of Suzy's mother.

When their belligerence continued over the next several months, turning to threats against Suzy and her infant daughter, Lily, Suzy had snuck away in the dead of night and headed west. With no specific destination in mind, she eventually stopped in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Chet Diego had painted a wonderfully detailed mental picture of Las Cruces, a place that he remembered from his elementary school days before his family had relocated to Missouri. Suzy felt at home there because of all the details that Chet had shared with her over the years. She also thought that it would please Chet when he finished his latest assignment and was able to join her there. She had been the only thing holding him in Missouri since his parents had passed away, so they were both free to either remain in Las Cruces or choose someplace else to live.

The sound of Lily beginning to stir in her playpen brought Suzy's attention to her daughter. Lily loved to take her naps in her playpen set up in the small living room, which Suzy appreciated because it allowed her to monitor the sleeping little angel from almost anywhere Suzy was in the small cottage. After quickly changing Lily's diaper, Suzy turned the television on. Lily seldom paid attention to the images on the screen, but Suzy believed that the sounds of other people's voices were stimulating for Lily and would help her develop her language skills much faster. Suzy sat on the sofa with the envelope in her hand and listened to the news story currently being aired.

For the last two weeks, the invasion of Panama by the United States had been front and center on every news broadcast. This latest report indicated that General Manuel Noriega had finally exited the Vatican diplomatic mission in Panama City and surrendered to U.S. forces. Suzy had been wondering since the invasion began on December 20^th if Chet was playing some role in Panama. If so, maybe Noriega's surrender would allow him to finally come home for a while.

Chet couldn't share with Suzy exactly what he did. Of course, she knew that he had joined the Army directly out of high school. She also knew that he had nearly killed himself in his efforts to become a Green Beret. She didn't know why he frequently let his hair and beard grow against Army regulations, or why he left his uniforms at home now, when he left for wherever he was being sent. What Chet didn't know was that he had a seven-month-old daughter.

Communications between Suzy and Chet had been one-sided since he had left last in February of 1989. He would write to her, but there was never any return address that she could use to reply. Chet could never tell her where he was or what he was doing, and Suzy understood that the primary purpose of his letters was simply to let her know that he was alive and well, wherever he might be, and to remind her of his love for her.

His last communication had been in September when he had sent her a birthday card. There was a phone number that she could call to leave a message for him, but she had only called that Washington, D.C. number once when she had felt that she should let Chet know her new address in Las Cruces so that he could find her when the time came. They were supposed to get married when his current assignment was over, and that would be better facilitated if the groom was able to find his bride.

Straightening the clasp prongs on the envelope allowed Suzy to finally open the flap. A large paperclip held the multiple papers together, so Suzy extracted the entire set at one time. The first page was a typed letter from the clerk of the Barton County Probate Court that essentially provided an inventory of the documents included in the set. Suzy focused her attention on the second page, which was the court summons requiring her presence in the Probate Court on Friday, January 12^th. That was only nine days away!

Returning her attention to the first page, Suzy verified that her attorney was listed as having been sent copies of all the documents. She picked up the cordless phone handset that she kept next to the sofa, glanced at Lily and saw that she was happily occupied sucking on her toes, and then placed the call.

"Truman, Carter, and Finch," the receptionist at the law firm answered.

"May I speak with Mr. Finch, please? This is Suzanne Ferguson, and I am one of his clients."

"One moment, please. I'll transfer you to Mr. Finch's personal assistant."

The sound of "hold" music was so brief that Suzy wouldn't have been able to "Name That Tune" if she had been a contestant on the syndicated game show. Fiona Clark, an old friend of Suzy's mother came on the phone too quickly.

"Suzy? Where are you?" Fiona exclaimed.

"Lily and I are in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I was just served a summons to appear in the Probate Court there and I need to speak with Mr. Finch about it. Is he available?"

"He's in a meeting with the other partners, but I know he'll want to speak with you. Give me a minute to interrupt them."

The music on hold this time brought a smile to Suzy's face. It was the Bette Midler version of "Wind beneath my Wings". It had been a top ten hit in the months preceding the birth of her child, and the words had spoken to Suzy as a future mother; the bond already forming with the fetus inside her, and her conviction that everything that she would accomplish in life could be attributed to the strength that her child would provide her.

Fiona came back onto the phone and said, "Mr. Finch will be with you shortly. He asked me to get your mailing address and telephone number while we're waiting for him."

Suzy provided the requested information and then heard Fiona say, "I'll transfer you to Mr. Finch now."

Without preamble, Mr. Finch was asking, "Suzy, what's this I hear about you receiving a summons from the Probate Court?"

That question surprised Suzy. She answered, "Didn't you receive a copy of the paperwork? The letter I received from the court clerk lists you as being copied on everything."

"Hold on one second," Mr. Finch said. He must have placed a hand over the mouthpiece of his phone, but Suzy could still hear him shouting for Fiona to get the Probate Court clerk on the phone.

He then returned his attention to Suzy and said, "I'll get a copy of everything over here this afternoon..."

Suzy interrupted him, "Grant and Carrie are claiming that my mother and their father were not legally married and that the trust that my mother established was never filed with the state. The main reason I am calling you though is that the summons says that I am supposed to appear at the court on January 12^th. I can't get there that fast traveling with a seven-month-old infant. Can you try to get an extension on the court date?"

"The fact that the court hasn't provided me with copies of the case documents should be justification for an extension," Finch assured her. "Let me get the case documents in hand and review them. That will allow me to better position my reasoning when I file for the extension. Now, let me ask you something else..."

"What?"

"How long have you been residing in New Mexico?"

"Since around the first of October. Why?"

"If you've been living there exclusively for more than ninety days, the probate court might consider you a resident of that state now. I'll need to do some research along with reviewing the claims now being made by Grant and Carrie."

"I don't understand how my residency would affect the estates of ..."

This time Finch interrupted her, "The court will have to review the status of John Capshaw's estate being inherited by your mother, your mother's estate subsequently being inherited by you, and finally, your own estate. If you are no longer a resident of the State of Missouri, the Probate Court here may not have jurisdiction where your estate is concerned, which in turn could impact its jurisdiction where the other estates are concerned. As I said, I need to do some research. If the claims being made by Grant and Carrie are in the petition they have filed, I will need to get a certified copy of the marriage license. They were married down in Joplin, weren't they?"

"That's right."

"Okay," Finch said, "We'll get someone down there to obtain a certified copy for us. Where the trust is concerned, we have a copy of the original filing here in our office. It will have the seal from the Secretary of State's office with the filing number on it. How soon could you get here? It might help me in requesting an extension to be able to provide an alternative date."