Time Will Heal

Peter walked past the line of prefabricated buildings that were ready. Sadly, he raised a hand to wipe away a tear. He saw his senior walking up to him. “Are the buildings that were ordered by Zenith and Co. ready for shipment?” he asked. “Yes, sir”, replied Peter. “You seem upset. What’s the matter?” asked Mr. Brown. “Nothing at all… I better be on my way to check on the order…” And with that Peter avoided a question that quite a few people had been asking him too often since a fortnight.

Peter went to head office, took a look at the details of the order and then went to inspect the buildings one last time… Everything was perfect. The client was definitely going to love the industrial buildings that they had ordered. Once the shipment was on its way, Peter’s mind wandered over to the incidents that occurred two weeks back…

Peter was really happy at the time. His grand dad was going to be celebrating his 75th birthday! What a great party had been planned! Peter loved his grandfather to bits. He still remembered granddad’s 50th birthday celebration. The whole family had gathered at the ancestral house in Essex. What a reunion it had been! Tears of happiness flowed from everyone’s eyes. Work kept everyone busy and it was only on such rare occasions that the whole family would meet up. Uncle Sam had come all the way from the US too. Peter’s grandfather had forgotten all about the drainage as he was way too excited about seeing all his near and dear ones together. After the birthday celebrations, most of the family members left the next day. It was Uncle Sam who noticed that the septic tank was overflowing. They needed urgent help from a waste disposal company. Thank God they got it!

Peter’s parents had been there too. They had wanted to gift the ‘birthday boy’ something grand. Peter’s grandfather loved to cook. As their house was quite old, the kitchen was the ancient kinds too. Granddad had been complaining about the kitchen style for quite some time. So what Peter’s parents did was gift him a complete kitchen makeover. It was a kitchen installation to die for! And the ClicBox technology cabinets added that unique feel to the whole design.

All these memories were relived at gran’s 75th birthday too… Peter knew his granddad loved artifacts. He had thought of just the right present. Tucked away safely and securely in his suitcase, he had arrived at the house. Gran was there to welcome him with open arms. Once settled, he had spent all his time with his grand ad talking of the old days, how time had flown, how some things were still the same, how some others had changed and everything under the sun including Shania. Shania was Peter’s girlfriend in his college years. Peter had always been comfortable discussing even his love life with his grandfather. Gran knew how Peter had fallen head over heels in love with Shania the moment he had seen her, how romantic their first date had been, when they had first kissed… Yes, Gran was the first one whom he had introduced Shania to. Later on, when the whole family had met her and got to know her, Peter announced that Shania and he wanted to get married. Gran had been the happiest of all. The wedding ceremony was another grand affair. Unfortunately, the marriage hadn’t been successful. Shania turned out to be just another money hunting vixen. Yes, she had executed her plan well. Peter had been devastated to learn the truth. Then ensued the bitter court battles. She tried to squeeze every last bit of money out of him. Peter always took it badly as he felt cheated and stupid. Talking to Gran always made him feel a lot better...

A day before the birthday party, Gran had told Peter that he should now stop worrying about Shania. “She is not going to be able to get a single penny out of you.” Peter didn’t say a word. Gran continued, “You may have no idea son, but whatever I have, I will entrust to you. And I have an effective strategy in place that will ensure that you alone are the beneficiary. Not some vixen like Shania or one of her lowly lawyers!” Peter burst out, “Gran, I care for you not your money.” “I know, son but what I have to do, I must do! I had heard about asset protection trusts a couple of years back and acted instantly. Now whatever I have will come to you through the trust. So no one can lay a claim to your rights.” Peter’s eyes had welled up. He had been unable to say anything. All he did was get into his Gran’s comforting hug.

The following day was a huge success. Gran absolutely loved the bronze figurine that Peter had selected for him.Peter told him that they were made by UK sculptors. As was customary, Peter had decided to stay back with Gran for a couple of days more. The day after Gran’s birthday, most of the family had left. Peter was in the hall when he heard a thud from Gran’s room. He rushed to the room and found Gran lying on his face. He tried to revive him but… Gran was declared ‘dead’ by the authorities. Peter was inconsolable. Life without the man who had stood by him through everything was unimaginable. But other battles lay ahead in wait for Peter.

As soon as Shania came to know of the news and that Peter was now about to inherit his wealth, Peter received a call from his lawyer. The lawyer wanted the details of Peter’s grandfather’s will so that he could present a strong case. When Peter told him about Gran’s forethought and views on asset protection, the lawyer said “Aha! Now that’s what I call intelligence.” Shania and her lawyer could now go and bite dust. And Peter… Time will heal his wounds.

Zoe’s Troubles Finally End!

Zoe was worried. Her nephew John needed to be enrolled for pre-school classes. Ever since Zoe’s parents, brother and his wife had passed away in a car accident, she had single-handedly looked after John. She loved him and cared for him just like his parents would have. Zoe made sure John had the best of everything. And when it came to selecting the best toddler classes in Kingston for him, Zoe would leave no stone unturned. She had to pay the fees soon and she was short of cash at the moment. Her payday seemed a long way ahead… What was she going to do? She shared a good rapport with her boss. Should she ask him for a loan? “I think I’ll ask him” Zoe thought aloud. With this in mind, there was a noticeable spring in her steps. She quickly grabbed all that she wanted from the supermarket’s shelves and steel racking. Had she taken John’s nappy wipes? Check. Baby food? Check.

She would willingly forget to buy things for herself but check the trolley ten times to make sure everything that John needed was there. Once in the car, she sped up and tried to make it home in half an hour. John didn’t like to be left alone with other people. She had asked her neighbour’s teenage daughter to watch over him while he was taking his afternoon nap. She reached her apartment and rang the bell. Sally answered the door promptly and smiled at Zoe. “Hope there wasn’t any trouble”, Zoe said. “None at all! I’ll leave now. See you…” Sally said and left. John was still asleep. Zoe settled down and rang up her boss. After a long wait, he finally answered the phone. “Oh Zoe, it’s you! How are you dear?” Zoe couldn’t exactly make up her mind how to go about asking him for the loan. After exchanging pleasantries, she just shot at it. “Umm… Mr. Spence, I uh… needed your help…” She was expecting her boss to say yes but he said “Zoe, I’m so sorry… I had the cash but you know we’re getting bespoke office furniture. I paid the designers some cash yesterday and right now there’s nothing I can do for you…” Zoe said it was all right and that she’d manage. Once the phone was disconnected, she was again in despair. How was she going to manage?

Her eyes had now become dewy… She missed her mum. She thought of the time when mum and she had booked a cab in Kingston to travel all the way to her grandparents’ place in Surrey. They were short of cash at that time too! Zoe’s mum and her grandparents didn’t talk. Mum had married against their wishes and that hadn’t gone down well with them. As a last resort, mum had decided to ask them for a small loan. Zoe and her mum reached their place and were thrown out instantly. They didn’t even listen to Zoe’s mum’s pleas. They had all the money in the world to hire fencing services to install a high grade security fence around the huge property but no time at all to just listen to Zoe and her mum. Zoe and her mum had left in the cab in tears. At that time too, all they could think of was nothing. Zoe’s dad had been sick and needed an operation urgently. Zoe’s mum had then gone on to selling all her jewellery at a local store. Whatever cash she got was used to treat Zoe’s dad.

And here was Zoe, once again wondering how to come out of the financial trouble she was facing. Unlike her mum, she hadn’t been able to invest in gold or precious metals. All she had was a gold bracelet… It always reminded her of her loving mother. She could never sell that. Zoe’s mum had worn the bracelet every day. Zoe’s dad had gifted the bracelet to her. While all of Zoe’s mum’s body had become a mangled mess in the accident, all that was recognizable was her hand and the bracelet on her wrist. Zoe just couldn’t part with it. But John was already getting late for preschool. He should have been enrolled last year. Financial troubles never left Zoe alone...

Zoe finally decided to sell the gold jewellery for cash. She found a reliable website where she could sell it in the comfort of her own home and get the best value too. She liked the quote and waited for the company to mail her a package in which to send the bracelet. Once the bracelet would get evaluated, Zoe would be paid the amount. Zoe couldn’t bear the thought of having to split with her mum’s only personal belonging that she had held so close to her heart for four years. When the package arrived, she reluctantly placed the bracelet in it. Just as she was about to seal it, her phone rang. It was her boss! What could Mr. Spence want now? She picked up the call and they exchanged pleasantries as usual. “Were you able to manage?” asked her boss. Zoe could take it no more and burst out crying. She told her boss everything. Her boss had called to say that he was able to loan some money to her and that she needn’t sell her mum’s bracelet. Zoe couldn’t thank him enough! With the cash, Zoe was able to enroll John into a preschool. And within a few months, she even paid back all the cash to Mr. Spence. Want to know a secret? Mr. Spence and Zoe are now happily married and very much in love!