A little experiment that takes place during Kim and Ron's college years. I adapted a story I heard many years ago as a child. I do not remember the title, or the author.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters…
Inheritance
Act 1
Scene 1
"WHY have you done this?" The blond man said to his redheaded wife. "You KNOW how short we are money! The bank needs to be paid, the electricity is 2 months past due, and you go out and buy a pair of one hundred dollar shoes?"
"I'm sorry…" She said, her head dropped low, red bangs framing her face. "When I saw them, I knew I must have them. Besides, my old dress shoes are falling apart!"
She looked up at her husband with glistening green eyes. He only returned the look with disdain. "But you could have gotten a pair for less than half that price, and you know it. Now I need to ask my boss Old Man Withers for another advance on my paycheck. That's 3 times in the past 2 months. THREE TIMES!" He held up three fingers in her face.
"I can… return them…" She said, her voice just loud enough to be heard.
"It's too late now. Besides, all the businesses around here know us by sight. If you walk in to that store carrying a bag, security will just throw you out. We are so lucky that your second cousin is letting us stay in this old house for free." He paused for a few seconds. "Please, just go to bed, and I will be in soon. I need to figure out how to shuffle the bills so this hundred dollars doesn't bankrupt us."
The redhead went into the bedroom, and quietly shut the door, leaving her husband sitting at the kitchen table with a stack of bills to go over.
"Why does she keep doing this?" The young man said as he gripped the pile of papers in front of him. "It's almost as if she doesn't understand where money comes from."
He began shuffling through the papers on the table, and not finding what he wanted, stood up and went to a small cabinet nearby. He pulled out a drawer, fingered through, and then opened another drawer. "Now where did I put those Life Insurance Policies…?"
Scene 2
The young man sat in an easy chair, thumbing through a rather large packet of papers on his lap. Suddenly a brown tabby cat jumped on to his lap, and he jumped. "Darnit Morris! Stop bugging me! If you weren't my wife's, I'd have you out on the street faster than you could meow!"
He set the cat down on the floor, who then ran off to most likely play with a ball of yarn somewhere. "Now where was I?"
He picked up the papers again, and read aloud. "In the event of death, or disappearance, the surviving party shall inherit a sum total of 2.5 million dollars, tax exempt. "Hmmm…" He rubbed his chin a few times, thinking.
Scene Three
The next evening, we see the young man cleaning a small rifle while he sat on the couch. His wife walks in, and she calmly sits in a chair to the side of the couch. "Why are you cleaning your old hunting rifle?" She asked.
"I'm actually thinking about selling it. I should be able to get at least a couple hundred, maybe a little more. It's not much, but at least it will help."
"But that rifle has been in your family for generations! You shouldn't sell it. Didn't you once tell me it was your prized possession?"
"Yes, I did say that." The blond turned the muzzle of the gun towards himself, looking down the barrel. He continued to wipe the barrel, and his finger brushed past the trigger.
"Please, do be careful" His wife said, as he continued to wipe excess oil from the metal parts of the old rifle. Turning the gun around he placed the butt on his shoulder, and checked the sites.
"Honey… please be careful. You know many accidents happen when they are cleaning…" BANG!
The young man lowered the muzzle of the gun that just happened to be pointing at his wife's chest when it went off. The look of surprise on her face was quickly turning white, as the blood loss in her body was already becoming severe.
"Dear God… NO!" He said as he dropped the rifle, and went to his wife's side. "I… I never m… meant t… to…"
His wife coughed slightly, blood dribbling out the corner of her mouth. "I… I l… love you… T… take care of M… Morris for m… me." She then dies in his arms as he wailed his misery over her body.
Act 2
Scene 4
Whistling a melancholy tune, the young man was in the basement of the old house fixing a breach in the wall that had been there for months. His wife's second cousin would be happy that he finally repaired it, as dirt had been falling in from the hole gradually for over 6 months now.
The clink of his trestle as he dipped into the metal bucket to place another layer on the brick in his hand, echoed in the darkened area he was working. A small kerosene lamp was all he had for light, and he was about finished with the job at hand.
He brushed a bunch of red hair that had fallen over the bricks back behind the wall, and bent over to pick up another brick. He never saw the small hairy animal jump behind the wall.
"I am so… so sorry to have to do this." He said aloud, as if the body behind his wall repair could hear him. "But if someone were to find you, the bullet could be traced back to my gun, and the insurance money would then go to the state. I simply cannot let that happen."
He continued to whistle and work, the sounds of laying brick echoing off the damp, dank walls of the cellar.
Scene 5
The next day, the young blond man was relaxing in his easy chair, reading the paper. It was quiet, and the only sound in the old house was the incessant tick, tick, tick of the old grandfather clock.
He looked up at the clock, and noticing that was about 8 in the evening. He went to the kitchen, and opened a can of cat food. He plopped the contents into the un-washed cat bowl, called the cat, and went back to his chair and continued to read the paper. He never noticed that the cat never came to eat.
"Rrrrrrooooonnnnnnnn!"
"What was that?" He jumped up from his chair, dropping his newspaper.
"Rrrrrrooooonnnnnnnn!" There it was again!
"Is that coming from the… basement?" He turned towards the door, his face frozen in a look of fear. "Could she still be… alive?"
"Rrrrrrooooonnnnnnnn!"
He backed further away from the door a few steps, bumped into a chair, and jumped back from the chair, startled by the sound of it moving.
"If she's alive… then we could… NO! She's dead, and I killed her! I killed you!" He screamed at the basement door. "Didn't I?" He then said quietly to himself.
Scene 6
The blond man swung the sledgehammer with all his might as he beat on the brick wall he had repaired just the night before. It hit with a dull thunk.
"Rrrrrrooooonnnnnnnn!" The sound was louder now, and it was definitely coming from behind this wall! He had walled up his wife while she was still alive!
"I'm coming! I'm here! I'll get you out!" He yelled as the tears began to flow down his face. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Finally with a last Herculean effort, the sledgehammer broke through the brick, and he peered in. "I see you! I see your hair! Your arm! Please, please forgive me!" Tears began to flow freely from his dark brown eyes.
He raised the sledge again, and a huge hole appeared. Her red hair could now clearly be seen, and it looked as if it was moving!
"My Darling!" He reached out to brush the hair from her face, and suddenly a brown feline lept at him, making him shriek in surprise! The cat landed on his head and shoulders causing the young man to stumble backwards, and trip over an errant brick.
He fell backwards, the cat jumping off his shoulders. He fell without being able to catch himself, and his neck hit the edge of the wheelbarrow he was using, effectively snapping his neck. The lamp burned out, and darkness fell upon to two bodies.
Knock! Knock! Konck! The sound of knuckles rapping on the front door echoed through the deathly silent old house, and a disembodied voice could be heard echoing as he spoke loudly from just outside the heavy oak door.
"Cousin! Cousin! You're not going to believe this! Please, open the door! Our great Aunt June has passed away, and you have received her full inheritance! You hear me? FULL INHERITANCE! About 2 million dollars worth!"
The knocking continued, and finally faded into the blackness of the old house as the sun set on a late, cold afternoon.
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The audience was stunned in complete silence for a few seconds, and then the applause rang through the darkened theatre! The house lights gradually came up, and the stage lights followed soon after.
Ron stood up, and walked over to the wall, pulled the remains of the fake wall down, and helped Kim to step out from behind the prop. They both walked to the center of the stage, held hands, and bowed to the raucous audience. Whistles and cat calls continued, as they bowed over and over.
Flowers were thrown on to the stage, and even a pair of panties landed at Ron's feet. Both of them, looked down to where they had come from, and the two saw Tara and Bonnie sitting there, pointing at each other with Cheshire-like grins on their faces.
When the applause finally started to subside, Ron leaned in to Kim while he continued to wipe the make-up off of his face, and whispered into her ear. "Kim? Did I ever say 'Thank-you' for signing us up for this Drama Class?"
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The play "Inheritance" was written by, directed by, and starred Kimberly Possible and Ronald Stoppable.
The end…
Just a little experiment I thought I would try and see what y'all think… Until the next time, laters…