After the service Marissa prepared to head off for the reading of the wills. She gave her three children a hug and fastened up their coats. It was getting colder again and they could see their breath as they exhaled. After the unexpected thaw it looked like there could be more snow on the way. Stuart, Marion and Camilla were waiting to take Miranda, Gabby and AJ to the Wake at Krystals; but the kids didn't want to let Marissa go.
Reese and Maggie arrived at that moment. Reese needed to come to the reading of the will but Maggie gave the children an encouraging smile.
"Come on kids." she said, "Why don't you give me a Pine Valley tour I want to see how much this town has changed since my last visit."
She held out her hand.
"After all I did give you a tour of Paris." she added.
Miranda took the proffered hand. AJ gave his mom one more hug before trying to pick up Gabby and spur her along. He couldn't quite manage it but it made the little girl laugh and she let him lead her away.
As Marissa waved the kids goodbye, Krystal walked up with Opal and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"Let me drive you." she said.
"It's alright, you go to the wake and help watch the kids." said Marissa. "Reese was going to take me."
"Honey," said Krystal emphatically. "We need to talk."
It sounded urgent.
"Sure." said Marissa now concerned. She turned to Reese. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine." said Reese dismissing her guilt with a generous wave.
Opal gave Reese a big smile.
"Never mind, you can drive me instead. You can tell me all about Paris." she said. Opal recognise mother and daughter needed their space.
As Marissa and her mother headed to the car Jesse chased after them.
"Krystal..." he cried. "What are you doing?"
"You said it was my choice!" Krystal called back to him. "I made my choice."
Jesse stared at her for a moment and then shook his head and walked away.
"What's going on with you two?" Marissa asked as climbed into the passenger seat.
"I'll tell you as we drive." said Krystal.
…
Despite her mother's words the first few minutes of the journey were taken in silence.
"Did you like the service?" Marissa asked after a moment just to fill the void.
"It was a fitting tribute I think." said Krystal. "That was a beautiful poem you found." She looked across at her daughter for a long moment before remembering she needed to watch the road.
"What if…" Krystal began before realising she couldn't have this conversation while she was driving. She pulled in at a parking lot outside a diner.
"Mom what's going on?" Marissa asked, surprised by the unexpected stop. "Is there something going on with you and Jesse?"
Krystal reached across and squeezed her daughter's hand.
"Sweetheart, I don't know how to tell you this."
"Just tell me mom." said Marissa. It was wearing her down how people had taken to tip-toeing around her feelings.
"What if today was unnecessary?"
"What?"
Krystal sighed.
"What if Bianca isn't dead?"
It was now Marissa's turn to sigh.
"Not you too." she said resignedly. "Jackson and Kendall are bad enough! At least you came to the funeral."
"I'm serious."
"And so am I." said Marisa, a frown wrinkling her forehead. "Can't you see it makes no difference? It doesn't change the worry or the grief. I still have a job to do whether Bianca is going to walk through that door tomorrow or not! My job is to keep the family together. I want this to be a lie more than anything. I dream every night that she comes back to me… But I can't just drop everything and search like Kendall has, even though it's all I want to do. I want to turn the world upside-down until I find her. But I can't do that. It's not just me, you see. I owe it to Bianca to make sure her girls are in safe hands. That is something I can do. Something I am glad to do. If she is dead or if she is missing she will want to know her family is happy and healthy and protected. That is what I am doing."
"Of course." said Krystal, slightly admonished by her daughter's outburst. Marissa was a smart cookie; of course she wasn't clueless about the possibility that this was all a lie.
"Look, I need to get to this Will reading." continued Marissa, "The future of my family could depend on Bianca's last wishes. If they are her last…"
Krystal gave her daughter a sad smile.
"I'd better get you there then." she said as she restarted the car.
…
Caleb's office was quiet but there was a clear tension in the room.
He shuffled all the papers in front of him before looking across to Opal, Marissa, Reese and Muriel who was there to represent the Miranda centre. Jackson and Kendall had already said they wouldn't be coming.
"Now, I think Jackson was the one who dealt with these documents." Caleb said, by way of introduction. "Erica's will is quite straightforward and Bianca updated hers quite recently after her last illness. So we will start with Erica."
He shuffled his papers and cleared his throat again.
"Erica has left the Miranda Centre one million dollars to fund the Global Family Health clinic scheme."
Muriel smiled and nodded her head gratefully.
"Her shares in Pine Valley Hospital are to be given to the Myrtle foundation along with the sum of one million dollars. She also transfers investment valuing eight hundred thousand dollars to her prison education charity."
Caleb then turned to Opal.
"Opal, she has left you five hundred thousand dollars for you to fulfil your dream and reopen the Glamorama. She wants you to do what you love and make the world a more beautiful place."
"Oh my word!" gasped Opal. She had no idea her friend would be so generous.
"The remainder of her money and investments and property is to be divided equally between her two daughters, Kendall and Bianca, and their descendants." Caleb read. He sighed at this news. "As Bianca is no longer with us this money will go into the inheritance of her two children Miranda and Gabby if there is no objection."
Of course there was none.
"As I said." said Caleb, putting down the papers, "Erica's is quite a simple will. Now to Bianca."
He picked up a second file.
"Firstly the Miranda Centre. The investments that Miss Montgomery uses to fund her annual five million dollar donation to the Miranda Centre will be put in trust for perpetuity. The interest of these investments will go toward the continued running and expansion of the Miranda Centre and it's charitable works."
Muriel nodded.
"Thank you Bianca." she said looking heavenwards.
Caleb continued.
"There are few more charitable donations but the bulk of Bianca's money is inheritance for her two daughters, Miranda Mona Montgomery and Gabrielle Amelia Williams Montgomery. They will each receive a gift of ten thousand dollars on their sixteenth birthday. The reminder of the money is to be held in trust until their twenty-first birthday. An income will be put aside for their care and upkeep of one hundred thousand dollars a year for the children's guardian until the girls come of age."
Caleb finally looked up at Marissa and gave her a smile.
"And finally Bianca Montgomery's shares in the building, furnishings and contents of The White House on Crescent and Park are to be given to Marissa Tasker. She also asks if you would consider applying for the adoption of her daughters."
Marissa blinked in surprise. So Bianca planned all along for her to be the girl's mother. She looked guiltily in Reese's direction but Bianca's ex-wife only smiled and nodded.
"I told you it would all work out in the end." Reese said. "The judge can't argue with you now."
"No he can't." said Marissa proudly. "No he can't."
"She also wanted you to have this letter." Caleb said handing over an envelope with her name written on the front of it in Bianca's handwriting. He had three other letters in his hand. "And these are for Miranda, Gabby and AJ."
"AJ?" gasped Marissa, she thought her heart might break with happiness that Bianca was thinking of all of them, of their family.
"Will you take the letters?" Caleb asked.
"Of course I will."
Marissa took all the envelopes and held them against her heart. She didn't think she could love Bianca more than in that moment; that she would think of them all like this, even in death.
…