In most ways, Don Mueller had led a charmed life. He was hired out of college by a massive software company in the early nineties, and by 2010 he had founded and sold two small software companies of his own to giant monster corporations. That year, he decided to back a couple of friends and open a restaurant. It was far from his comfort zone, but they hired an up-and-coming chef who soon became a star. The restaurant was another money maker for Don, but the lessons he learned there led him to his greatest success. He discovered that restaurant software was hopelessly out of date.
He devised an innovative and comprehensive software system that he felt would revolutionize the industry. It didn't, at least not at first. Then the pandemic came, changing the restaurant industry forever. Don's ideas became a driver of that change. On January eleventh, his fiftieth birthday, he sold another company to another giant corporation, but this time the money was more than he ever dreamed. He was entering his sixth decade with no need to work another day in his life. He had no intentions of idly passing the days, though; he was sure he would end up doing something else meaningful. In the meantime, though, he decided he would take an extended break.
Being single didn't mean being alone. Don had never married and had no children. His life had been his work. He dated and even had a few relationships that lasted several years, but never one that felt like forever. He loved women, though, and he often enjoyed the company of a gorgeous female companion. With this idea in mind, he sold his house and rented a fully appointed villa in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, for the following year. There were private beaches, lovely ladies in town, and everything he could desire. He even bought a boat. Just before leaving, he got a phone call that would change everything.
Don didn't have any family to speak of. His parents had both died young from cancer. He and his sister had never been especially close, but he had been saddened by the news of the car accident that had taken the life of her and her husband, leaving behind two teenage daughters who had been fifteen and sixteen at the time. The girls had gone to live with their paternal grandparents, and he hadn't heard from or seen them since the funeral. He was leaving his lawyer's office when he got a call from Elise, the older of the two.
"Hi, Uncle Don, remember me?" A young woman's voice said over the phone, "It's me, Elise."
"Hi, Elise!" Don said, genuinely happy to hear from her, "How are you and your sister?"
"That's what I was calling about," she said with sadness, "Our grandfather died."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Don said sympathetically, "So are you girls still living with your grandmother then?"
"Oh, I thought you knew; she died of Covid last year."
Don immediately felt terrible for the girls. "I'm so sorry, Elise."
"Thanks. We'll be ok. We're in town. Could we maybe grab lunch or something?"
"Sure, I'd love to see you girls." Don said, "I'm leaving town the day after tomorrow, though. Does today work? Swing by my office around noon?" He told her the address.
Despite their estrangement, Don had always loved his sister, and he was sorry they had never patched up their relationship. Now, hearing about her girls and their continued tragic circumstances, he was hoping he could do something to help. He assumed that's what they were coming to see him for and looked forward to helping in any way he could.
Nora Jensen frowned at her sister as soon as she got off the phone. "He's going to think we want money, Elise, you know that, right?"
Elise nodded, "Yeah, but we don't, and I didn't know how to tell him that on the phone without sounding like we did and that I was making excuses."
"I guess," Nora replied, "It's just that we barely know him. He might think it's weird."
Elise sighed, "Why? Because we want family in our lives? I mean, we have no one except him, and we know that mom always wished they had been nicer to each other. She's gone, but we're here, and maybe he feels the same way."
"Maybe," Nora said, not entirely convinced, "It will be good to see him, though. I remember when we were little, he always brought us something when he'd visit."
"I remember," her sister replied. "I think that's why I want to see him. Maybe we do have some family left."
Nora nodded and smiled at Elise. Elise was older, but Nora often felt like the big sister. Her parents had known it and always treated them the opposite of their age difference. Even when they were younger, once her sister made up her mind, she was unlikely to let it be changed.
After their grandfather died, the girls had left their grandparents' house in Iowa, which was currently up for sale, and returned to the Chicago suburbs where they had grown up before their parents died. They had been renting an Airbnb close to some of their friends and, as Elise found out, their Uncle. They left the apartment and headed out to see meet him in the city.
Don wasn't sure why he had chosen his office for the girls to meet him. All he was doing there was packing up the last few things. It was primarily personal items as everything relating to his former business was gone. Even this office had been temporary as he had wanted a place to work as he helped the company get settled. All that was left was his desk and two chairs. A couple of boxes sat on the floor.
He had left the door open so the girls could easily find him, but he heard a knock and saw his nieces standing in the doorway, smiling. Elise walked in first. She was a stunning blonde, about five foot eight, with wavy hair flowing just over her shoulder. Elise had applied her makeup flawlessly, and her lipstick was ruby-red. She wore a pale green floral sundress that showed off some cleavage and looked like she could have been a model. Don smiled as he realized how much Elise looked like her mother. She stepped in the door and hugged him.
"It's awesome to see you, Uncle Don!" Elise said, stepping out of the hug and smiling.
Standing a few steps behind her was Nora. The two young women could not have looked more different. Nora was a few inches shorter than Elise and had wavy rouge-red hair that plunged over her shoulders and ran halfway down her back. She wore a grey tank top with lacy trim and cut-off jean shorts. Her breasts were larger than her sister's, probably a C cup to Elise's B cup, but she too was showing a healthy amount of cleavage. Her makeup, Don noticed, was less model-like and more girl-next-door. That made Nora no less gorgeous. He hugged his younger niece as hard as he had her sister.
Don stepped back from the girls and looked at them both. "You girls are beautiful! You know that, right?"
"I guess," Nora smiled.
"Of course we do, Uncle Don!" She grinned, "that's sweet of you, though."
Typical Elise, Nora thought, agreeing with a compliment. Sure, she knew she was pretty, but unlike her sister, she didn't feel the need to play to it.
"So, Uncle Don," Nora said, looking around the room, "There's not much here. Are you moving out?"
"Yep," Don said smiling, "I sold my business in January with the agreement I'd help with the transition through June; that's tomorrow." He moved towards the door, "I'll tell you all about it, but I'm starving; let's eat. There's a great pizza place down the block."
Nora smiled, "Sounds great to me! How about you, Elise?" Her sister nodded in consent and grinned.
After they got to the restaurant, Don suggested they order the house specialty pizza with pepperoni, bacon, and ricotta cheese. The girls agreed, and they sat back, awaiting their pizza. Don told them about selling his business and his plan to spend a year in the Virgin Islands.
"That sounds awesome, Uncle Don!" Elise said, "It sounds like you need the break."
"I do," Don replied, "I'm looking forward to doing nothing for a while. Tell me about you guys, though. What are your plans?"
Nora said, "Well, I graduated high school three weeks ago, but I want to wait a little bit before going to college."
Don looked at Elise, "So you graduated last year then?" He asked.
"I did. I worked as a server at a pizza place " She made a motion with her arm, " kind of like this for a while we waited for the lawyers to figure out the estate stuff."
"Oh," Don said, "estate stuff? Tell me about that."
Nora answered the question instead, "Estate and life insurance, actually," She said, "Our parents named us in their wills to split everything equally, and our parents wrote the life insurance policy that way too. It took a while, is all."
"Do you mind if I ask how much you've inherited, it's ok if you don't want to," Don said.
"A little over five million dollars altogether, after the lawyers get theirs," Nora said, with what looked to be a little embarrassment.
Don laughed. Both girls looked at him strangely. He composed himself, "Sorry, I had planned on offering you girls some money to help with college or whatever, but now I'm thinking you should pick up the check for the pizza!"
Elise and Nora both laughed. "I guess we could," Elise offered.
"I'm kidding," He said, "I've done pretty well myself. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"You can take us to St. Thomas," Elise answered, smiling, "it sounds like it would be awesome!"
Nora smiled, too, "It sounds fun, but we don't want to spoil your fun." She continued, "Do you want us to come?"
Don smiled back, "Of course, the place I rented is huge; we'll have fun!"
For the next hour, they talked about details. Don said he would take care of finding flights for Nora and Elise. The girls had a meeting with their lawyer but would be ready to go in a few days. Everyone was excited.
Elise was unbelievably excited as they got to O'Hare Airport to fly to St. Thomas. Uncle Don had left a couple of days before, and he was going to meet them at the airport when they arrived. She and Nora had decided to travel light and buy what they needed when they got there. Still, Elise had two bags to check and a carry-on. Nora did better with one each. It wasn't that hard as most of their stuff was in storage.
"How great is this, Nora?" Elise smiled as they got in line to board their flight.
"Pretty great," Nora agreed, "I'm sorry about doubting you for wanting to see Uncle Don."
Elise grinned, "I bet there are lots of hot guys there, too!"