Eighty Days: Redux

This is a story about two young lovers, who came into a fortune. Part 1 is primarily about spending the money, the story has been 'whitewashed' for the benefit of their parents. Part 2 is more about their relationship. It reads as a day by day account from the day Jason learns of good luck to the conclusion. Parts 1 & 2 are interdependent on each other to get the complete story.

Many thanks to mrwriterfromd for his many suggestions and editing.

EIGHTY DAYS:REDUX

PART ONE

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Fiona and I (Jason) waited nervously in the doorway of the Manor House, not a third of a mile from our parents houses. Fiona and I had turned off our phones earlier in the day, when we turned them back on we had numerous voice mails, e-mails and texts from our parents. We called our respective parents in the evening and asked if we could meet with them later, at about seven, at the large house down the road from them called The Manor.

It was a strange request, intentionally vague, that left them wondering, as the property had been up for sale for the past two years and only recently had the 'For Sale' sign had been taken down. We assured then that we were alright and all of their questions would soon be answered. We wanted to face both sets of parents at the same time, showing no preference to either family, thus ensuring that each got the same story. We had married about seven hours ago, more correctly, you could say that we eloped. I have been living secret life for the past three months, Fiona for the past two and now it was time to explain ourselves.

Fiona and I are both seniors and ranked in the 'top five' in our class at the prestigious prep school that we attend, Fiona has the higher standing. We both belong to Mensa, so is everybody else in our class; we have a Mensa chapter at our school. We run together almost every morning and frequently swim before going to school. We usually drive to school separately, as we frequently have after school obligations. We rehearse our music together, we both play the violin and piano, and usually do our homework together. We meet with our school friends on weekend at the mall and try to live typical teenagers lives.

Our story actually begins ten and a half years ago. It was late June when my family (Mom, Dad and me) moved into a lakeside McMansion on 2+ acres, part of a recently developed 240 acre gated community with 63 building lots, in Central Florida. We were the third family to move in, the developer had built a modern version of a Manor House for himself and there was a newly occupied house two lots down from ours. A girl came over shortly after we arrived and introduced herself as Fiona MacDonnell; she lived in the nearby house with her father, mother and older brother. Fiona and I were kind of thrown together from the start, since no other children had moved in, yet. Her brother was four years older than us and wasn't going to hang around with two seven year olds.

As it turned out, we were a couple from then on. Through the years, we received; music, swimming, sailing, tennis, golf, ballroom dancing and Taekwondo lessons. We also received three years each of French and Spanish language lessons from our au pairs in a semi immersive way concocted by our parents. Then there were the summer day camps and we attended the same private school. Anything to keep two active youngsters out of trouble and all of these activities gave our au pairs a chance for a breather. Whenever we were out in a new setting, we were often mistaken for being twins, as there was only five weeks difference in our ages.

Our parents, although loving, are frequently absent, as they have highly placed professional positions and are unaware of what we are doing. This gives Fiona and me an inordinate amount of freedom, it's been three years since we've had an au pair. My father is a surgeon, partner and administrator of a surgical out-patient center, as well as practicing surgery himself; my mother is head of the nursing department at a local college. Fiona's parents are both attorneys at a law firm started by her father's great grandfather, an interesting side story there.

Our parents, however, are quite different; professionally legal services vs. health care, politically Republican vs. Democratic, religiously Catholicish vs. Protestant, ethnically, she is Scottish vs. American mixed breed, first generation American by contrast my family went back well over a hundred years; all I know is that, my family came from Pennsylvania and New York and there are affiliations with Disney vs. Universal. There are some similarities; obviously, we are neighbors, senior members of the community homeowners association and both families belonged to the same country club. The glue that held this fragile friendship together is Fiona and me.

Our parents arrived at the front door together.

"Welcome to our new home," we greeted them.

Needless to say they were stunned, confused and speechless.

Once inside, Fiona's mother noticed the platinum and diamond rings on Fiona's left hand.

"Children, what have you been up to?" she demanded. We now had four frantic parents to deal with.

I stepped forward and delivered a prepared response. "First and foremost, technically and legally we are young adults. As we have already told you, this is our new home. Fiona and I got married earlier today, not as we had planned, but, there were extenuating circumstances."

Suddenly, Mr. MacDonnell started laughing, "So, Jason, you are Blue Horizons 2K?"

"Well, ah, yes sir, Fiona and I are now co-owners; you'll be getting the paperwork this week, sir."

The other three adults were dumbfounded. Mr. MacDonnell explained that their firm was handling Jason's significant business accounts. The Manor House estate was part of the Blue Horizons 2K portfolio, but he hadn't been aware of who the owner was.

"If you will accompany us into the living room, we will tell you our story and answer your questions," I continued.

Once everyone was seated on the large u-shaped sofa and refreshments were served by our housekeeper. I started, "This is a long and complicated story, so please hold back your questions until the end."

First, before we get started, we apologized for having our phones turned off all day. Then we explained that Andrew had upset our original plans and we were really sorry that we hadn't been more forthright and included them in our plans. It was supposed to be a Christmas surprise. Also, we didn't want this news to get out, it would be very disruptive at school considering that we already were an item. We wanted to have a public engagement announcement after Christmas and a big church wedding in June.

Our Story

In September, two days after my eighteenth birthday, I had taken my grandmother shopping. We had to go on Sunday, a day later than usual. There had been a party for me on Saturday, with many friends and relatives. On the way back to her home, she asked me to stop at a convenience store and pick up a lottery ticket for her and she gave me the list of numbers that she played and some money. I hadn't purchased lottery tickets before and inadvertently purchased her numbers on the wrong game. I realized my error too late and ended up having to purchase the correct ticket. I gave Gram her ticket; later I chucked my ticket into my glove box, as I chastised myself for being so stupid.

The following Thursday morning, as I was logging onto my computer, I noticed that there was a news alert about a winning lottery ticket had been sold in a neighboring county. I recognized the storefront from the accompanying picture and resolved to check my ticket when I got down to my car. When I checked the numbers on the ticket, I was stunned. The ticket had the winning numbers. This was the beginning, when a whole new world opened up to me. 'What do I do now?' I asked myself. Three things struck me, first tell no one, secondly and thirdly, get legal and financial advice.

I can keep my mouth shut for the time being, but legal and financial assistance would have to wait. I couldn't skip school, that was out of the question. Perhaps I could get an appointment after school. I was noticeably distracted during my morning classes; Fiona asked if I was alright. My explanation was that I was thinking about a new project, this temporarily satisfied her. During lunch break, I went to a deserted classroom and called my father's attorney's office from my cell phone. Mr. Dobson happened to be near his receptionist's desk when I called for an appointment and he overheard the call. We had met earlier in the year, when we were in the same foursome at a charity golf tournament and he remembered me. Anyway, he overrode the receptionist and granted me an appointment late that afternoon.

I showed up for my appointment at 4:20 still in my school blazer and tie. The receptionist gave me a sour look but Mr. Dobson greeted me warmly and invited me into his office. We exchanged pleasantries, then I explained why I was there. His first question was, if I had signed the ticket, as he offered me his pen. After I signed the ticket, he asked how I acquired it and may he look at it. I explained my mistake at the store then passed the ticket to him. After examining the ticket and checking on his computer, he told me to protect the ticket well as it could be worth, in the neighborhood of about $100 million dollars after taxes.

"So, Mr. Edwards, how may we be of service to you?" he asked, with a broad smile.

I told him that I didn't have a clue as to what I was supposed to do, that's why I was there. He said that I made a good decision by coming to him, he made a photocopy of the ticket, then explained that the fewer people that knew about the ticket, the better. He said that they would have to make inquiries to certify that the ticket was genuine, it was a formality. He continued explaining, that he would assign an established attorney as a team leader as well as an accountant/financial adviser to lay the groundwork, that needed to be done, before redeeming the ticket. He took my contact information and said that he would be in contact with me on Monday or Tuesday. We shook hands and I left feeling better, but was still bewildered by the scale of preparations that needed to be done before redeeming the ticket.

Dinner that night was with Mom and the housekeeper, Dad was working, so I didn't mention the ticket.

Friday morning Fiona and I were out for our morning run. She commented that I seemed more focused; I told her things were coming together and changed the subject to the upcoming Winter Concert. The rest of the day was typical; school, dinner and a night at the mall with Fiona and friends.

Fiona and I hung out together for most of the weekend, as usual. We ran, did the mall, meeting up with friends, practiced our violin duet for the Winter Concert, had some pool time and worked on the ever present homework.

To appease Fiona's curiosity, I told her that I was perusing financial independence from my parents thru an attorney. This would give me complete control over an investment strategy I was working on. She didn't make sense to her and she dropped the subject.

Monday I received a text asking if I could return to the Law Office on Tuesday at 4:30. DUH! Of course I could. I responded in the affirmative. Otherwise it was a normal day.

Tuesday I canceled out of concert rehearsal for the second time in a week, the music director asked if this was going to be a regular occurrence, I assured him that it was temporary. Later, I met with my team leader, a Mr. David Compton Esq., mid 30's and a Mr. Schwartz CPA, my accountant/financial planner, much older; notably, the receptionist was much more cordial this time. They had prepared a will for me naming my parents as sole beneficiaries, just in case. I informed them that I wanted it revised, including $20 million dollars be given to a Ms. Fiona MacDonnell.

Mr. Compton looked somewhat surprised, "Would that be Ian and Anne MacDonnell's daughter, perhaps?"

"Yes, she is, we are neighbors and very close friends."

Mr. Schwartz inquired, "We were going to send out to an outside firm to do the corporate work, would you prefer it to go to the MacDonnell's?"

"Can it be done through one of their associates, anonymously? I'm not ready for the MacDonnells or for that matter, my parents, to know about my lottery win, yet."

"That shouldn't be a problem, we can have them sign a secrecy agreement."

"Make it so then."

The will was modified and I signed it.

They were preparing to set things up to change my 'official' residence to a distant county to help protect my privacy; also, they were creating holding and investment companies for me and setting up several bank accounts. Understanding my situation, my out of pocket expenses were minimal; all loans and accrued expenses would be paid after the winnings were deposited. They also were planning to hire a personal assistant for me, with my approval, someone to take care of my business needs, do research and take care of the day to day operations while I was away at school. They would be sending me reports by email and I would have to sign paperwork occasionally. It seemed to be a reasonable plan of action.

In the following weeks an investment strategy was planned and the two properties that I was interested in were researched. I approved the assistant they recommended, a Mrs. Linda Esposito, a sharp middle aged woman, who had recently left a top level corporate position to regain her family life. She had answers for all of my questions and for many that I should have asked; she was efficient, knowledgeable and pleasant to work with.

Fiona and I spent our early mornings, afternoons, evenings and weekends together, as usual. I decided not to tell my friends or family about my good fortune until the Holidays, as a surprise and to prove that I was capable of responsibly managing my own finances.

Time was beginning to become an issue and I withdrew from the schools Cross Country Team. The only school activity that I continued was the Chamber Orchestra, where I was Principal Keyboardist and student conductor. As a side note, Fiona was First Violin.

Three weeks after the drawing, on a Friday, I scheduled a day off from school and accompanied by my attorney went to the Lottery Commission in Tallahassee to redeem my ticket. There were no problems as everything was in order, the winnings would be deposited in my account the following week.

Saturday morning after our morning run, Fiona and I were sitting by my backyard pool eating breakfast; she keeps some changes of clothes and swimwear in our pool cabana/guest house. She asked again what was going on in my head. I told her something good had happened and my whole life had changed but I hadn't shared it with any one, yet.

"Jason, are you gay or something like that?" she asked.

"Thankfully, no," I replied "No questions now, please, this is a heads up though; next week is your birthday, you'll be eighteen, a couple of days after that I'm going to ask you if you would consider being interested in spending the rest of your life with me. It won't be a proposal, more like a feeler, something to think about."

Fiona gave me an inscrutable look and whispered "Jason, you mean, like get married at some point?...Okay. You said not to ask questions, but I have a lot of them that need to be answered."

The following Tuesday, the funds were available. It was a busy time; invoices and loans to be paid, securities to be purchased, as well as two houses and cars. We also rented some office space, in a nearby shopping plaza, as well as office furniture. I now had investment and holding companies and it was somewhere for Mrs. Esposito to work out of.

It was a busy week at school too, after school activities and Fiona. Then there was the purchase of a new four bedroom house located in a development half way between school and home. It was convenient for me and was near the rented office space, ideal places that were also convenient for Linda. The plan was to use the house until a suitable permanent home could be purchased then rent out the first house. I also took delivery of two new Mercedes-Benz, an S Class sedan and a roadster, under my company's name Blue Horizons 2K.

On Saturday Fiona pulled me aside at her birthday party, "Thank you for the ankle bracelet and card, you're so sweet." She brushed her lips against my cheek. The bracelet was simple, but elegant, delicate silver chain sections connected by small golden balls. "When are you going to ask me the question?"

"Your welcome for the bracelet." (I had told Linda about Fiona's birthday, she picked it out and ordered it from Tiffany's as well as selecting a great birthday card.) Was there something special about that card; when I signed it I did draw emojis in the center of the a and o in my name? I couldn't remember. " As to my secret, not now, there are too many people around. I'll tell you on Monday after classes, before concert rehearsal."

Fiona asked, "Will you do the honor?" She handed me the bracelet, sat down in a chair and raised both feet.

"Ah, which one do you want it on?"

"Your choice, on the left can mean I'm available, on the right can mean I'm spoken for. Then again it might all be meaningless.

I immediately knelt down and affixed it on her right ankle. "Is that satisfactory?" I questioned.

"Very much so, thank you, Jason," she was beaming with delight.

Sunday she had family obligations, although we did get to do our morning run in and we got to talk on the phone later in the evening.

Monday afternoon came, we were sitting on a bench outside of the auditorium.

"OK, let's hear it," she started.

"It's as simple as this. Are you open to the idea of a possible marriage to me sometime in the future or is it completely out of the question, an absolute 'NO!'."

"I have too many questions that I need answers for. It's not a 'NO!'."

"Thank you. You're the only girl that I've really got to know and I sincerely believe that we could make it work. We both realize that you can change your mind and say no up until the last moment."

"Ya, I know, but when are you going to explain yourself."

"OK, you absolutely can't share this with anyone, I haven't even told my parents, yet. I'm planning on waiting until Christmas to tell them."

"So get on with it; what's this big secret?"

"Fiona, I've won over $100 million dollars. I have my own lawyers, accountants, an investment team, a personal assistant, a four bedroom house and a super cool Mercedes-Benz roadster."

"What? Where? When? How?"

"About five weeks ago, Gram asked me to pick up a lottery ticket for her. I messed up and bought numbers for the wrong game. Then I had to get the numbers for the game she wanted. I gave Gram the ticket that she asked for and kept the other, it was the big winner. My life has been a whirlwind ever since."

"We've got rehearsal now, can we continue this conversation tonight?'

"Not tonight, I've got a load of emails that I have to respond to as well as homework, sorry." I showed her the email inbox on my phone. "How about after school tomorrow, there really isn't any rush?"

"Okay, now you've got me thinking; so long as this isn't a prank."

That night Linda sent me an email that the offer for the 20,000+ sq. ft. Manor House, sitting in the middle of over ten lakefront acres, up the street from my parents house, was accepted and that we had access. Having lived near this property for years, Fiona and I had often fantasized what it would be like to live in such a house.

I responded that I would like to have a personal tour of the property tomorrow afternoon, if possible.

The next day, Tuesday, Linda texted she would meet me at The Manor, after school.