Vicki's Story Ch. 03

Gary looked disappointed. "Hang on Vicki, there's no need to rush off. What say we help you get Livvy, back to your hotel room?" I shook my head. "No thanks, I don't think that's a good idea."

The two were looking worriedly from one to the other. "Umm we should help. You won't be able to carry her by yourself." He mumbled.

I stood and waved to the barman who had been watching ever since Gary went to the bar for drinks. He could see the distress on my face and sent over the security guy from the door. When he arrived, I said, "I think our drinks have been spiked. Something has happened to my friend."

He took one look at Livvy and waved to the barman who got straight on the phone. Gary and his wing man started heading for the door but the security guy grabbed him. "Hey bud, I think you need to stay. The cops are on their way."

I thanked him and pointed to my drink. "I didn't drink mine because it tasted funny. So, they can test that one." Gary reached for it but again, the security guy intervened, grabbing his arm forcefully. The barman arrived and not far behind were a couple of uniformed cops. They interviewed us all and took the drink. They made us all go to the station where our statements were filed.

We were released after Livvy was checked out by a paramedic and blood samples were taken.

We drove back to the hotel in silence. Livvy was almost unconscious anyway. We climbed into bed and snuggled up.

In the morning she was a mess. With a hangover you could hang your hat on. We went out for breakfast and Livvy wouldn't let my arm go. As we sat and ate she mumbled. "Thank you for saving me last night. It was stupid to trust those guys."

I gave her a hug. "Hey it's OK. I just sensed something was wrong but I didn't get a chance to warn you before you had your drink."

"Well thank god you were so switched on. God knows what would have happened."

"Yeah well, at least the cops are taking it seriously." We ate on in silence and went for a casual walk. We got a couple of strange looks with Livvy hanging on to my arm as we strolled.

We were on our way back to the hotel when my phone buzzed. When I checked the ID, it was Mom. "Fran honey. What time are you headed back to Toledo?" I looked at Livvy, she shrugged. "Um well we were going to stay for another couple of days. I am going to try to set up a meeting with the lawyers to sort out Nan's will."

Her tone brightened. "Would you and Livvy like to come to dinner?"

Livvy nodded as I mumbled. "Yeah, that would be nice but, what about dad? Is he going to be there?"

"Yes dear, of course he is. He wants to talk to you."

We got back to the hotel and Livvy crashed. She was asleep for a couple of hours. When she woke, we both raced around frantically, getting ready. Livvy giggled, seeing my distress. I had every outfit I had brought with me spread over the floor. "Vicki, just relax babe. She went through my clothes and helped choose an outfit. I had chosen pretty plain clothes to bring with me. I didn't want to scare Mom upon our meeting.

We pulled up at home and Mom met us at the door. She welcomed us in and dad was waiting in the dining room. There was no hiding from the mood, it was tense. We stood silently staring across what appeared an enormous void. Mom broke the Ice. "This is Olivia, Fran's girlfriend. She likes to be called Livvy."

Dad reached out his hand to shake Livvy's. "Nice to meet you Olivia."

We sat down at the table and Mom rushed off to get us drinks. Dad glanced at me, his brow deeply furrowed. "Is this how you see your life Fran? Is this permanent or a phase?" He looked confused, worried and definitely uncomfortable.

"Yes dad, this is who I am." He nodded. "Jackie told me you are calling yourself Vicki. Is that Mom's name?"

I nodded. "Yes dad, that's Nan's name.

He struggled with words for a few minutes. "Did she encourage this? Is she responsible for making this happen?" His tone had darkened and he was visibly trying to hold back his anger.

I was struggling as well but, I was struggling to hold back tears. "No dad, Nan never even knew. I don't think she would have been angry or upset but no, she never knew, nobody knew."

We sat quietly and Mom and Livvy carried the conversation. Slowly dad started to talk about work and what I was doing.

Before I could say too much, Livvy interjected proudly. "Vicki is in charge of our IT and single handed, she has taken us into the future. She has been amazing. Since starting with us, she has made a huge difference. Our turn over has increased by twenty percent."

Dad was begrudgingly listening, biting his bottom lip. "What's your role Livvy?"

She smiled warmly, "I am a senior account manager. I hope to become a full partner within the next year."

Dad immediately looked impressed and the conversation flowed a little better. "How does this work, you two are a couple?"

Livvy answered. "Yes, we are a couple, and most definitely in love."

Dad sucked in a deep breath. "What about children? I assume, Fran, that you are still capable?"

I just about choked. "Yes dad, I am capable as you so eloquently put it. We have only been going out for six months or so. We haven't talked about the future. We're still trying to figure this out."

After a long pause he mumbled. "You know Mom always warned me. She said you were different and fragile. When you were growing up, your mother and I suspected you were gay."

Livvy giggled. "Well in a way you aren't wrong. She is a lesbian now." It was Mom's turn to choke but dad laughed. "Well at least you like girls, I guess that's better than the alternative. We may get grandchildren yet."

That got us all laughing and the evening turned into a pleasant one. When we left, it was hugs all around.

I rang the lawyer's office the next day and was able to set up a meeting. As I sat in their office, the attorney, Frank, pulled out a huge pile of papers and handed them over to me. At the top was a letter. Frank coughed, clearing his throat. "OK Francis, I guess the first thing is to discuss the house. Your Grandmother left the entire estate to you. You are the sole beneficiary. The house is currently let out so you will need to decide whether you want us to continue to manage that on your behalf or whether you want to manage it yourself. Of course, the option is there to sell or even take up residency yourself." He opened up the files and handed over some bank balance statements. "This is the monetary value of the estate."

I looked at the statements. Holy shit, there was over two hundred thousand dollars in the account.

He handed me some more documents which outlined a local storage facility where there were some of Nan's possessions stored. As I played with the letter he stood up. "I will leave you alone to read the letter. Just call me when you are finished."

I slowly opened the letter. It smelled faintly of Chanel, Nan's favorite perfume.

Dear Fran,

Obviously, if you are reading this, then I am but a distant memory. I hope for you, it is a warm memory.

Fran, I want to start this by saying thank you for caring for me and loving me. You were such a wonderful help to me. My life would have been empty without you. I wanted to try and repay you for your years of selfless devotion. I didn't deserve it but I was eternally grateful.

I always knew you were special. I loved our shopping trips. I loved you helping me choose my outfits. For putting up with my stupid fashion shows and for letting an old woman feel young again.

I always knew about your love for fashion and yes, I got a great deal of joy from watching you dress in my clothes. You weren't as clever or as sneaky as you thought. I heard you click clacking around in my heels. I suppose it was mean of me to keep it secret but I didn't want to embarrass you.

Fran, I love you so much. I don't know what you are going to do with your life but please my dear, be honest. Let the real Fran out. You will be something special, I just know it. You now know I have left you the house. You spent so much time looking after it I thought it only fair that you get to enjoy it.

I have left you what is left of our money. Let's be honest your dad doesn't need it, the tight little moneybags.

I have left you something else as well. You can decide on what you want to do with it.

PS: Fran, I love you and I know you won't let me down but please darling, be true to yourself. Don't worry about what the world will think. Just be yourself

Love Nan xxxx

It took me a while to stop crying. Reading her words and knowing that she always knew. It was amazing. It felt empowering knowing that she was supporting me even now.

I read over the rest of the paperwork and decided that until I could make up my mind about the house, I would leave it in their hands.

I went back out and Livvy could see I had been crying and rushed up and hugged me.

We walked hand in hand out to the car. As we drove away she asked. "So how did it go? All sorted?"

I chuckled. "Well, at least now I know." She looked at me strangely as we headed out of the car park. I set the coordinates for the storage facility in the GPS and we headed across town. The moment I opened the door on the storage locker I was blown away. There, in rows, were all of Nan's clothes. There was rack upon rack of clothes and the shoes. Every single pair. Livvy, just stood staring open mouthed. "Wow." She muttered. "Oh my god."

As she stood there, I walked through the racks of clothes with my arms outstretched enjoying the feel of the silk and satin rubbing over my arms. There, among the racks, was a large dresser. I remembered it immediately. It was from her bedroom. As I opened the drawers it was obvious all her lingerie was there as well. Nan, being Nan, everything was of the highest quality. These were all timeless classics. At the back I found the smaller dresser and as I opened it there was all her jewelry laid out carefully each piece having its own little compartment. God it was beautiful.

Livvy walked through and stood beside me as we looked inside. I could see the look of absolute surprise written on her, face. Gobsmacked might be the correct description. "Oh my god, this is incredible. This stuff must be worth a fortune." I burst into tears as I leaned on the dresser. Livvy hugged me. "Babe she must have really loved you."

I turned in her arms and we kissed. "Not as much as I loved her."

As we looked through the racks of clothes I told Livvy my story, warts and all. She was shocked when I got to the part about why I ran away but, she cuddled me in her arms and she attempted to kiss away my tears.

As we were locking up the storage unit, Livvy asked about the house. So, we took a drive out to Nan's place. As I pulled up outside, she cried out loudly. "No way! No fucking way."

We drove back to the motel and it was pretty much silence the whole way.