Rachel From the Edge Pt. 06
by G. Lawrence
Daniel Benson's funeral becomes a circus
Still recovering from a deadly bout of pneumonia, Rachel is asked to attend Daniel Benson's funeral, creating a media sensation. Rory is in love with Rachel, John is studying her, and Pamela Benson is plotting ways to use her. In a turn that will have dire consequences, the angry youngest son arrives to cause chaos. Much of this story is now a family drama with immensely rich people dealing with the media and a strange young woman they still don't understand. All characters are over 18 years old.
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Chapter Six
THE FUNERAL
As the sun set over the Pacific Ocean in the distance, Rory joined Pamela, John and Oliver on the flagstone patio. The late September evening was pleasantly cool.
"Rachel fell asleep on the floor," Rory said.
"On the floor?" John asked.
"I don't want to risk waking her," Rory replied.
"She really is a delightful child," Pamela said. "And very smart. Did you know that spatial engineering can make a Summit A9000 search engine four times broader than its design coefficient? And that all you need are multiplying layers of disassociated integrators properly aligned to achieve a solution?"
"I don't even know what that means," John said.
"I know! Isn't that wonderful?" Pamela replied.
"Mom, what are you saying?" Rory asked.
"Are we talking privately? As a family?" Pamela said, looking toward the house to make sure no one was watching.
"Not if it hurts Rachel," Rory said.
"Sweetheart, it's the farthest thing from my mind. I swear to God."
"Okay. Let's hear it," Rory agreed.
"I should have gotten suspicious two weeks ago. Sheila came to me about buying Marbury & Benson. Said to sell while I still could. And she wanted to know if M & B had Rachel under contract. It was all there, but I was so caught up in my stupid vengeance campaign that the truth never dawned on me. A cold bitch like Sheila never puts anything on the line for nothing."
"Did you offer to sell?" Oliver asked.
"No. Sheila was afraid to press too hard," Pamela answered.
"What's the big deal, Mom? M & B was Dad's dream, not yours. Go ahead and sell it," John said.
"I shouldn't need to say why it's a big deal. Should I, Ollie? Because you've known all along. Haven't you, Ollie? Wouldn't it be nice if you finally shared with everybody else? Wouldn't it be nice if you finally shared with me?"
"You're in a cantankerous mood," Oliver said.
"I've spent the whole afternoon with a cantankerous young lady. I'm in training," Pamela said.
"Mr. Mendelson?" John said, eyebrows bent in a frown.
Oliver walked to the pool, gazing down into the dark blue water.
"We're over here, Ollie. Not down there with the goldfish," Rory complained.
"You know Danny and I were fraternity brothers at Yale," Oliver said, speaking cautiously. "Friends for forty years. I haven't wanted to say anything that could be misunderstood. And in some instances, I was afraid people would understand all too well."
"Yeah, I'm getting that impression, too," John said.
"Pam obviously suspects some of this. Just not the scale. One of our fraternity brothers, Jabby Borowski, is an economics professor at Harvard. He told me about this amazing undergraduate. She had these eccentric ideas about quantum analysis. Really groundbreaking stuff. But she was so introverted that no one was paying attention to her work. And those who did, didn't know what to make of it. Then one day this student needed money. A lot of it, because her father was dying. I brought her out to meet Danny and he hired her on the spot."
Oliver finished his drink, walked back to the table, and stole Pamela's.
"Officially, Rachel worked in forensic accounting, but most of her time was spent alone in her lab. Co-workers resented her special status. When Danny started flirting with her, they assumed she was sleeping with him. Actually, it took Danny over a year to seduce her. It was a lot of work, too. He offered her a luxury apartment. New clothes. She said no to everything. Eventually, he turned it into a special project."
"That's disgusting," Rory said.
"It wasn't just about sex. Not for Danny," Oliver explained. "He never had trouble getting women. He wanted to keep Rachel close. Make sure none of our competitors would steal her. He considered Rachel the company's most valuable asset."
"The bondage?" Rory asked.
"Danny always liked that. He liked the dominance. But with Rachel, being as shy as she is, it was a way to win her trust at the most intimate level. And in Rachel's world, trust is a rare commodity."
"Why is that?" John asked.
"It's not my place to discuss her personal secrets," Oliver said.
"Would they still be secrets if I hire private detectives? Like you did?" Pamela said. Oliver took a deep breath.
"Rachel hasn't shared much about her past, and I've wanted to respect that. But Danny's death hit her harder than I realized. If Ro hadn't pretended to be her friend, I don't think we'd be having this conversation."
"Pretended? I'm not pretending!" Rory protested.
"Come on, Ro. I've known you your whole life. Since when do you care about anybody but yourself? Any of you? Just look at Billy. And Johnny was the most spoiled child I ever met. It took five years in Boston for him to grow up. That's why I was working with Sheba to get Rachel away from here."
"You did what?" Pamela asked.
"I tried to get Rachel to leave M & B, but she refused. Danny's hold on her was too strong."
"And when Daddy died, you left her to rot in that tiny apartment on 14th Street," Rory said.
"I wasn't thinking," Oliver confessed.
"It's obvious why Rachel doesn't trust you," John said. "Why wouldn't she trust us?"
"I'm on thin ice with her already," Oliver answered.
"You're on thin ice with a lot of people," Pamela warned.
Oliver leaned forward, speaking softly.
"Rachel's gifts emerged at a young age. When she was four, her mother took her to the park. Rachel came home speaking Spanish. While her first-grade class was learning to add and subtract, Rachel was doing Algebra. In Sunday school, Rachel could quote the Bible better than the pastor. Her parents grew afraid of her. They took her out of school. They abused her. When she was put in foster care, she was abused again."
"Rach told me about that," Rory said. "This army guy--"
"It was bad," Oliver interrupted, giving Rory a guarded look.
"Yeah, Rach said it was bad," Rory agreed.
"Life didn't get any easier," Oliver continued. "Living on her own, without money or family, she struggled to finish high school. Rachel's strange moods made it difficult for her to make friends. Her co-workers at M & B are backstabbers. Time after time, when Rachel's offered her trust, she's been betrayed."
"Dad, too?" John asked.
"No. Definitely not," Oliver insisted. "Not in the way you think. When Danny realized Rachel had these challenges, he did everything he could to win her confidence. It took two years, but when Rachel finally gave him her trust, he fell in love with her. The most swaggering, cynical man I've ever known, fell under her spell."
"So, let me get this straight," John said. "Dad brainwashed a vulnerable young woman to protect his business interests, while using her for kinky sex?"
"I said this might not sound good," Oliver admitted.
"It sounds awful," Rory said. "What am I missing?"
"You're assuming Rachel didn't know what your father was doing, and you're wrong. There were no tricks. No false expectations. She entered the relationship fully aware of what Danny wanted. He filled needs she'd had her whole life. Warmth. Patience. Companionship. Understanding. Now that he's gone, I don't know what she's going to do."
"Rachel is strong. She's going to get through this," Rory insisted.
Martha waved from the door, announcing dinner. They went back in the house and up to the dining area on the north level. The table was set for five, but Rachel wasn't there.
"Is she all right? Did she go back to bed?" Pamela asked. Then she heard noises from the kitchen and followed the sound. Rory and John were right behind her.
"What the hell?" Rory said, stopping in the doorway.
As Martha rushed around preparing dinner plates, Rachel was strapped to a heavy stool in the middle of the kitchen, issuing orders. She was wearing red sweatpants, a green turtleneck sweater, and pink kitten slippers.
"The timer only has twenty-five seconds left," Rachel warned. "Reduce the temperature. Don't let the pasta cool before adding the sauce. The bread needs to breathe."
"Why is she tied up?" John said, going toward the stool.
"You stop right there, young man," Martha said, jumping in his path. "You leave that girl right where she is."
"Why?" Rory asked.
"Because that little hurricane will run herself to death if you let her. She wants to do everything herself, and she don't have the strength," Martha insisted.
Rachel was watching them from the stool, her arms crossed, pouting.
"Okay, this is a side I haven't seen before," Rory said, hugging John's arm. "That girl still has a spark plug."
"She sure does," John agreed, unable to take his eyes off her.
Oliver went to Rachel, whispered in her ear, and freed the strap. Rachel needed help finding her balance.
"Rachel and I are going to sit near the fire for a few minutes," Oliver said, leading her down the ramp into the living room. Rory followed. Pamela and John took seats at the dining table.
"What are you thinking?" Pamela asked.
"She seems to be doing well," John said. "She's struggling, of course, but that's natural after losing a spouse."
"Then you believe they were a couple?"
"Absolutely. Dad wouldn't have offered grandma's ring if they weren't. What I don't understand is how she got so sick. Wasn't anyone watching out for her?"
"I can't make any excuses. My behavior was disgraceful. When I finally did help, it was only to avoid bad publicity. Rory is the hero. She really stepped up."
"Too bad Billy won't step up. Have you finally heard from him?"
"Last night. He'll be at the funeral. And he wants an advance from his trust fund."
"Make him go back to school," John pressed.
"No one makes their kids do anything these days," Pamela sighed.
