It was a remarkably warm March day. Malachite was now thirty-six weeks along, and Garnet and her mothers couldn't have been more excited. It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Ruby and Sapphire would officially become grandmothers to a special little child. They had no idea what Malachite was having, but that was the least of their worries. All they needed to look forward was a happy and healthy child, and that child would grow up with one of the best mothers on the planet.

On this remarkably warm spring day, Ruby and Sapphire were setting up brunch together to eat along with their daughter, Pearl, Amy, Belinda, Jasper, and Peri. Nyoko was a no-show, however, since she was staying out at Alexandra's motel room in West Virginia to play video games with her.

"Alright, those bagel sandwiches are almost ready," Sapphire announced. "Ruby, do you know where the cream cheese is?"

Ruby rummaged through the fridge for a bit before finally producing it from the middle of one of the interior shelves. "Right here!"

Sapphire turned to see her wife holding up the tub of cream cheese. "Oh, thank you, Rube. I was worried for a sec that we might be out."

"No problem, babe. Man, I can't wait to visit Steven later this month. He's been doing so much better since he met Ulysses."

Sapphire smiled and nodded. "I've noticed. He seems happier lately."

"Yeah. Okay, so, uh... is everything ready to serve?"

"Almost. Just gotta assemble the sandwiches first. Then I'm gonna have to bring out the orange juice and that leftover salmon from last night."

"Gotcha." Ruby gave her wife a wink and called everyone else in the house to come over and eat.

"Alright!" Amy yelled out while coming into view. "It's about time, guys."

"Same here," Pearl joined in. "I'm starving."

The rest of the group chimed in their own agreeing statements.

"Alright, guys, dig in!" Ruby shouted happily.

The brunch left everyone at the table feeling somewhat as full as ticks. Amy, however, still craved something sweet and so went rummaging through the freezer for some ice cream. Meanwhile, the rest of the people started going over what to do for the day.

"Alright," Sapphire began to speak. "Well, I guess I'll start going through the mail and see if we got anything important today."

"Good idea," Ruby replied. "You can do that while I clean everything up."

Sapphire just blushed at this. "Aw, thank you, Ruby."

Ruby just gave out a smug grin. "Anything for my wife."

While Sapphire went outside to get the mail, Ruby got to work cleaning everything off the table and putting away all things that needed to be cleaned. Meanwhile, Amy was happily eating ice cream straight out of the carton when Pearl came along and chastised her for not leaving enough ice cream for everyone else. Amy couldn't help but just roll her eyes at this and then have a mischievous idea come to her head.

"Food fight!" Amy flung a scoop of mint ice cream at the back of Pearl's head. "Ha ha, gotcha!"

Pearl immediately flinched from the icy-cold, sticky feeling. "Amy! Why do you have to act like such a child?"

"Uh, 'cause I am one?"

"No, Amy! You can't just throw food at people's heads!"

"Oh yeah? Why don't you try to stop me?"

Pearl let out a growly scream and started chasing after Amy. "You're going to act like an adult whether you want to or not!"

Sapphire just ignored that and continued sorting through the mail. She sorted through the bills to be paid later after the kitchen had been cleaned up. She continued to sort through the mail. Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as she could tell. However, there was one envelope that stood out. It appeared to be from her grandmother's estate. Curious, she opened it up and began to read the contents. One part stuck out to her most of all:

To my two remaining children, Golda Ariadne and Maya Dorothea Diamond, I leave them with $1,000,000 each. To my grandson Steven Curtis Universe and his father Greg, I leave them with two-thirds of my wealth. Lastly, to my granddaughter Sapphire Elizabeth Dahl, I leave the entirety of Diamond Bright Records to her, including all the artists currently under contract.

Sapphire let the paper drop, the rest of the words fading into nothing; clauses and situations, numbers and facts she couldn't process right then.

"What, are you okay?" Ruby asked out of concern. "Did somethin' happen?"

Sapphire did not give an immediate response.

"Babe? Can you hear me?" Ruby asked again.

"It's Grandma Diamond," Sapphire finally replied, starting to tear up. "She's gone."

Sapphire's expression darkened while she tried to control her sobs. If there was one thing she'd prided herself on, it was her self-control. Still, Ruby hugged her wife tightly as Sapphire failed to suppress her tears.

"Just let it go, baby…" Ruby softly told Sapphire while patting her on the back.

Sapphire did as she was told. Her screams shook the very foundations of the beach house, cracking every pane of glass along the way. Sensing the pain Sapphire was going through, Amy and Pearl proceeded to stop whatever they were doing and get out of the house.

"What's going on?" Garnet asked as she walked back out of her room. "I could hear Mom crying from in my room."

She was met with absolute silence.

"Great-Grandma Diamond's dead, isn't she?" Garnet asked again.

More silence was her answer. It was all she needed to confirm her fears.

A minute went by before Garnet sadly lowered her head to the ground. "I figured just as much. Great-Grandma Diamond wasn't doing so well. It was only a matter of time before she had to go."

Sapphire sniffled. "Well, your great-grandmother did leave the entirety of Diamond Bright Records to me, so... I guess there's that."

Garnet looked at her mother in confusion. "She did?"

"Yeah. That means the weight of that whole record company is on my shoulders now..." Sapphire still tried to let it sink in that she was now owner of her grandmother's record company. "Oh my God, I don't think I even know the first thing about running a company." Her breathing began to hitch. "How the hell am I supposed to run a company with no experience whatsoever?"

"I... I don't know," Ruby answered, seemingly as lost as Sapphire was. "I'm really sorry about what happened to your grandma, though. I know we didn't exactly like each other or anything, but... it's sad that she's gone, you know?"

"I didn't care that much for her, either, after she started treating me badly when she found out I was gay. But... she was my grandmother. I just..." Sapphire started tearing up again. "It's complicated."

"I'm sorry, Sapphy..." Ruby hugged her wife again. "I really am, but we'll get through this."

"This doesn't even make any sense. As far as I know, Grandma Diamond wouldn't have put me in her will until very recently. Why would she do it now, especially after everything she put me through? Guilt, maybe? I don't know. I..." Sapphire let out a shaky sigh. "I don't know. I don't know."

"It's okay, we'll be okay. We'll get through this."

Sapphire's sobs started deadening the longer Ruby held her tight. It was hard dealing with so much at once, but she knew she needed to be strong.

There was a somewhat gentle atmosphere within the funeral home, especially given the nature of the deceased. Laying within the open gray casket was Whitney Blanche Diamond, the elderly record mogul who'd recently passed away in her sleep. The mortuary makeup artist must've done a thorough job doing Whitney's makeup, nails, and hair because the late matriarch actually looked better at her own funeral than she ever did while alive. With the guidance of Whitney's twin daughters and grandchildren, the makeup artist picked out the kind of colors Whitney had worn in life. Whitney's smoky gray eyeshadow was held in place with some hairspray, and her dark blood red (practically black) lipstick was diligently painted on as if it were applied on a porcelain doll. Her nails were painted black because that was her nail polish color of choice and it always juxtaposed starkly against her milky-white skin. Her foundation was also airbrushed on, especially to cleverly hide away signs of decay. Her hearing aids had been diligently placed into her ears as well, perhaps for the sake of accuracy. As for attire, Whitney was outfitted with a long, flowing, billowing white dress and accompanying cape covered with glitter and stars. This dress had held some sentimental value to the now-deceased woman, as it was the very dress she'd worn when she publicly opened Diamond Bright Records to the world in 1965. Amazingly, even after all those years, it still fit her.

In attendance were Whitney's twins Goldie and Maya, her granddaughter Sapphire and family, her grandson Steven and his father, her caretaker Spinel, and Petunia's sperm donor father Ulysses Scheele and his family. Gustavo and Rogelio were also there, extending their condolences to their boss Goldie.

"Hey, Miss Diamond," Gustavo said to her. "Rogelio and I heard what happened, and we're sorry."

Goldie was silent, the signs of weariness obvious on her face. The showers she had taken were merely out of necessity rather than want. Her clothes were also unkempt, her yellow suit jacket especially completely wrinkled up and her matching suit pants just as wrinkled.

Now it was Rogelio's turn to speak. "That's fine. You're still in the shock phase. You don't have to say anything…" He placed his thick hand upon his boss's shoulder and sighed. "I think we all know what it's like to lose a parent."

Goldie began to tremble, silently crying to herself and not noticing the world around her. She didn't even feel the record producers hug her tightly and cry with her.

"Gustavo, Rogelio…" Goldie sobbed in between gasps for air. "It hurts…" She clutched Rogelio's suit jacket and sank to the floor. "It really, really hurts!"

"It's alright, ma'am…" Rogelio picked his boss up from the floor and helped her into her chair. "Tell you what, how about we go outside? Get some fresh air?"

Goldie couldn't help but nod, and she proceeded to follow her employees out of the building for a moment.

Just as Goldie, Gustavo, and Rogelio had all stepped foot outside, a woman of Sino-Japanese descent rolled up in her hot pink 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo, her husband and children in tow. As the woman and her husband and two children stepped out of the luxurious sports car, Gustavo and Rogelio couldn't help but observe that the woman and her family were all dressed in black.

"Well, hello, um..." Gustavo was about to speak before the woman's beauty (as well as her scantily clad funeral outfit) distracted him.

The woman just walked in past the men and their boss. Clearly, there was a lot more on her mind than the death of her boss. Her husband and children followed right behind her. The woman and her family then sauntered over to where Maya was.

"Excuse me, Miss Diamond?" the woman quietly asked Maya. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"S-Sure," Maya replied, her eyes still red and sore from crying so hard. "But what is it that you need?"

"Well, I was hoping to tender my resignation today."

Maya's breath caught in her throat, not quite knowing what to say.

"Yes, yes, I know," the woman quickly said. "It's not exactly the right time to do that, but I don't think I have quite the same passion for music now than I did when I was 16 and still a new artist."

"Are you sure you want to do that, Junifer?" Maya asked, still not quite over the shock of the news.

"Absolutely. I want to actually be there for my kids. They need me to be there for them."

"I mean, if that's what you want... but you've had a good run. You don't have to..."

"Yes, I do, Miss Diamond. My mind has been made up. I'll be giving my two weeks' notice after the funeral."

"Alright, fine." Maya made a quick glance at her mother's coffin. "Speaking of... do you want to stay for a little bit? The service is about to start."

Junifer softly nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Just as quickly as Junifer gave her answer, Goldie and her loyal employees had already come back inside. ABBA's "Thank You for the Music" played softly in the background. It was Greg who suggested it be played during the funeral. First up to give a eulogy was Steven. He started off by going into great detail about his grandmother and what her life had been like. After he finished giving an oral history on his grandmother (especially the sordid details of her life), he started giving the surviving family advice on how to stand strong in the face of tragedy and hardship. Meanwhile, Goldie just sat there, listening to Steven give his eulogy. She couldn't help but fume during it, but it wasn't until Steven brought up Sapphire's story of overcoming homophobia that Goldie finally felt the need to say something.

"To hell with Sapphire!" Goldie yelled. "The only reason she even got ownership of Mom's company is because Steven told her to give it to her!"

This caused the entire congregation to gasp out loud. Ruby and Sapphire promptly left in humiliation, with Garnet trailing right behind them. Spinel just gave Goldie a steely glare.

"Whoa there, Goldie," Greg piped up. "I get that you're still in pain, but bringing that up was just uncalled for! How do you even know that's what happened? You don't! Besides, don't you think Sapphire's gone through enough terrible things in her life?"

Goldie scoffed. "Oh, that's rich coming from the man who killed my sister!"

Greg could only sit there and tremble in anger while Steven gently pat him on the shoulder.

"Uh, Goldie?" Maya quietly asked. "Maybe you should go."

Goldie huffed in response. "Why should I? I'm only speaking the truth."

"Goldie, please..."

"Get off my back, Maya! I'm not in the mood to hear your bullshit!"

"Goldie, stop. I'm only trying to help..."

"I don't need your help right now, Maya! Back off, for serious!"

Maya let out a silent but heavy sigh and sat down in her seat.

"Get out of here, Goldie," Keanu suddenly spoke up. "Right now."

Goldie said nothing.

Now it was Ulysses' turn to speak. "Just go, Goldie. You've already caused enough of a scene today. Be sure to let your niblings know when you're ready to apologize to them for insulting them."

Goldie finally did as she was told and left the service before the second eulogy had even begun. She knew that she was nowhere near ready to go home to the house her mother died in, so she decided to stay at a hotel for a few days and try to reflect on as much of her life as she could. She felt this was something she needed to do in order to heal and (hopefully) move on with her life.