Mai Legacy
1.29 - The Power of Words
“Hello, Seth, my name is Doctor Brock,” a man said, looking Seth up and down.
Seth had his plastic surgery appointment scheduled for today, and this man he was meeting was his plastic surgeon. Ever since that one disastrous interview on Leah’s show, Seth had been haunted by the few words he heard from that phone call, he’d spent nights awake just staring at himself in the mirror.
“Seth,” Jocelyn had whispered, having gone to check the bathroom when she found Seth missing yet again. “Come to bed, it’s one in the morning and you need some sleep.”
Seth stood there in silence for a minute, and when it became clear that Jocelyn wasn’t going back to bed without a response, he spoke slowly. “…why did you marry me, Jocelyn?”
Jocelyn gave him a look, and closed the door completely behind her. “Because you’re amazing, Seth. No woman is going to rush into a relationship with a man they’ve only known as gay unless that man is something else. We’ve all suffered that heartbreak before, and no one wants to experience it again outside of school.”
“But… I’m ugly. I have accomplished nothing when compared to Leah, who’s pretty, runs a talk show, and is married to a man that both of us have been into. I have no chance of becoming the heir once dad passes.”
Jocelyn frowned sympathetically. “Now you listen here, Seth. No matter what, at the of the day, you have a pure heart and soul. You didn’t spend your school days terrorizing boys and you’re not on a quest to accelerate your own fame like Leah is now. You exist here, an honest man. That’s all that’s going to count in the end.”
Seth had hugged her, and, after a little more talking, he finally went to bed. But, all the same, Seth kept returning to that mirror, the same doubts and fears plaguing his mind. So, one day, when Jocelyn wasn’t around, he’d made a phone call to Doctor Brock. And that was how he sat here now.
“Is there anything you can do about the eyes?” Seth asked quietly.
Jocelyn thought he was at work. She wouldn’t be happy about this, but Seth needed this to be confident again.
“I assumed it would be that,” Doctor Brock sighed. “I saw the interview, you know. Wasn’t right of the caller to say that. But don’t stress, Seth! I’ll make sure no one ever has reason to say anything like that again!”
“Good,” Seth nodded firmly.
As this was occurring, James and Susan sat at a table, dressed in all black, surrounded by all the friends they’d made over their many years. Some looked worse than others, and a special few, like Akira, Salim, and Penny, finally started to show how much younger they were than the rest of the group. But none were as bad as Lily. She’d finally passed, the night before. Oscar, her only son, arranged a brunch in their old apartment, telling everyone in his invite that unlike Victor, Lily preferred class to the tradition on Victor’s side of the family. She wasn’t about to have her memorial service in some run down building in a bad area of San Myshuno.
“You never realize how old you are until your friends start dying,” Akira sighed, his eyes bloodshot. It was clear he wasn’t taking both of the Fengs being gone lightly.
“It’s hard to believe that I used to fear them,” Aarohi said quietly. She turned to her husband, Joe, who’d lost a lot of hair since the last time James and Susan had seen him. “Can you believe that, Joe? One of the very first things I said to James was that I was terrified of their reputation. And now here I am, sitting in their apartment building, celebrating their life.”
Joe shrugged. “I’d never picture it. I used to get jealous when you’d go out for coffee with Lily.”
“I’ll never be able to repay Victor for helping me found my legacy,” James sighed.
“And for…” Eliza started to say. She quickly stopped herself. “Ah, never mind, just a little detail that’s… so not important now. Go on, everyone else. I’m sure you all have memories to share.”
“Are you sure, Eliza?” Bob asked. “I know you and Lily-“
“Shut up, Bob,” Eliza snapped.
The room fell into silence for a moment. No one in that room knew why the two hadn’t gone through a divorce yet.
Susan spoke up, breaking the silence. “Those two gave us the cribs for Seth and Leah…” she laughed slightly. “Ah… who would have imagined a young girl like me who used to fight landlords for lower rent would wind up receiving cribs from the Fengs?”
“Lily single-handily set me up as an art curator at the museum,” Ulrike shrugged casually. “I’d still be living with Maaike in that evil little cottage if it weren’t for her.”
“And she gave credence to my blog when she sat down and let me interview her,” Salim grinned. “Still haven’t forgiven you for destroying my original career, Penny…”
“Oh, shut up!” Penny laughed.
“You’re right, that’s ancient history by this point,” Salim said.
The room plunged back into silence. They all knew he was right. Stuff like that was years in their past, it was hardly relevant anymore. Especially in light of Lily’s passing.
“Speaking of ancient history, I heard that Joaquin Le Chien passed this week as well,” Akira said quietly.
“Seriously?” James stammered.
“And so soon after Hajar…” Susan said thoughtfully. “Their poor children.”
“I’ve heard their eldest, uhhh… can’t be bothered to think of the name, but they are old enough to keep that family afloat on their own,” Ulrike nodded.
“That’s good,” Aarohi said, smiling slightly. “I know you and Joaquin were far from friends, James and Susan, but I couldn’t bear to see anything befall their children. Especially after hearing from you and Susan what Joaquin said to Hajar in that courtroom… I wish them all the best.”
“Lily and Victor used to be good friends with Joaquin’s parents, right?” Eliza asked.
Salim nodded. “Yeah, I used to see them out and about while I was working back in another time.”
Eliza frowned. “Hm.”
“San Myshuno will miss them, the Fengs,” Penny cut in. “A lot of their money runs through this town, that’s probably what gives them that horrid reputation. But I hear Oscar is building a mansion near the sea to commemorate them, he’s going to move himself and little baby Whitney into it as soon as it’s finished.”
“That’s right,” Oscar said, heading down the staircase towards the group, his sister, Whitney, beside him. “That mansion will be finished by the end of the year, a monument to my parents that all will witness from all bayside areas of San Myshuno.”
“That’ll certainly be a sight to see,” Penny nodded. “Would you mind-“ she quickly cut herself off. “Sorry, sorry, old habits die hard. I swear, I’m not here to interview you about your parents.”
“I certainly hope not,” Oscar coughed. He cleared his throat, and straightened his shoulders. “Anyway, I’d like to say a few words about my dear mother.”
Back in Oasis Springs, Colette loudly slammed the back door behind her on her way into the house.
“Colette!” Jamie yelled from the living room. “You know better than to slam that door!”
Colette groaned audibly and decided to avoid the living room and head through the kitchen to reach the staircase. In the kitchen, she ran into Ty.
“Remember that time when you slammed that door so hard, it flew off it’s hinges?” he said quietly.
“Yes, dad,” Colette sighed.
“Alright then, you know better than to do that. Don’t do it again.”
Colette rolled her eyes. “Can I have my phone back now? I’ve been tending to the milk producers all day, I’ve done more than my fair share of work.”
“They’re called cows, sweetie. And yes, it’s in the upper left drawer in my bedroom.”
Colette wasted no time hurrying upstairs, and snatching her phone. Unlocking it, she saw one message, which, by itself was unusual because Colette didn’t have many friends. She opened the message, and her eyes widened as she read it.
Hey girl, this is Leah. Don’t text this number again about this cause I really don’t want my dad finding out I’m doing this, but you should do you! If you can’t stand it on that ranch, run! I’m sure I could convince my dad to find you a place to stay once you get out here, he’s way too nice to let anyone live without a home. Hope to see you soon!
This was the Leah Mai texting him. Screw James and whatever lecture he’d given, Colette had better things to do with her life than tend to cows all day. Colette headed into her room, and carefully started to brainstorm a plan.
I downloaded the hospital Doctor Brock works at from the gallery, you can find it on @XTSMasterID's origin page!