Part 106

With the girls gone, Floyd looked through the pocket that Marcus sent with his new client. "Yes, everything is in order here. I will give this to the judge on my way home. Congratulations, Miss. Tibault. As of 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, you will be divorced. And don't worry, we have a plan to keep you safe in the interim. I did, unfortunately, receive word that he has escaped. However… I only need you to trust me. And in your guards. We have a plan." He promised. "You're staying here tonight. Crystal Mansion is the safest place in the city. Early tomorrow morning, you and your daughter will be taken to the rendezvous point. Pastor Rick from the First Baptist Church of Redshore dropped some supplies off. Some clothing and other essentials. He would have stayed but it's Easter and their church is doing a special evening service."

Chelsea nodded. "That makes sense. Thank you, Mr. Grisham, and please, you must tell me how I can pay you. For your services."

The zebra shook his head. "I am paid a substantial yearly salary by the Crystal Family. As well as my own chopper, which brought you here. A yacht, a small cabin on the family island. This was just another assignment from Miss. Crystal and her father."

The door opened and the girls were heard talking. "It has to be talking about our villa! It's the only place in the Caribbean connected to our family."

Nooshy nodded. "So, we'll look for it when we're there in June. It'll be something to do when we're not partying with Eddie and Gunter. Oh, let's do something special for them."

Porsha nodded. "Oh! What if…. We had a big luau and… not just them but… Ryan and Johnny didn't get a real honeymoon. Meena and Alphonso have their first wedding anniversary. And… I'd also like to do something to… to honor Mr. Moon." She said. "Among the islanders, there's a tradition. When someone dies, they build a beautiful boat made of reeds and palm leaves and island flowers and a lot of candles. At night, the family takes the boat to the water and they light the candles and send it out to sea. While they watch the boat, they serve an all-night dinner. Seafood boil, jerk chicken, or their favorite foods and drinks."

The lynx nodded. "We owe him a lot and neither of us really got to even thank him. I bet they'd like that. What if… what if we had a big luau celebrating everyone and Mr. Moon on the last day before we leave? And we'll surprise them with the boat that we'll make ourselves."

Porsha nodded. "Yeah. That's a great idea, although it's not Hawaii. Please don't say anything, René. We want it to be a surprise."

The little girl nodded. "I promise, Aunt Porsha." She looked at her mother.

Chelsea felt comforted that these girls were so welcoming to her and her daughter. Between that, the confidence of the lawyer, and the brute strength of the two gorillas, she felt safe. Even with her ex-husband hunting for her.

"Miss. Crystal, the board has been gathered," Olivia announced.

Porsha smiled. "Yea, time to fire them."

Floyd smiled. "I'm going to get this to the judge. It was nice to see you again, Miss. Crystal. It's nice to see you're doing so well. You and your sister. How are you doing? Nooshy, right?"

The lynx nodded. "That's my name. I'm doing great. Thanks for asking."

He smiled. "I'll call you once the paperwork is officially filed."

With Floyd gone, Porsha and Jerry led Chelsea to the board room. Nooshy stayed back with René. "Thank you all for coming out on Easter Sunday. I'm sorry to take you from your families. I promise, I'll make this quick."

Olivia sat in her seat beside three other animals. A gazelle, a rooster and a cow all looked at Porsha expectantly. "Livi says you have good news." The gazelle said.

Porsha nodded. "And I do, Ingrid. Well, great news for the company anyway. We officially have a new CEO. This is Chelsea Tibault. Tada!"

The leopardess shyly smiled. "Hello, everyone."

The four corporate executives looked derisively over the woman. Olivia nodded. "This is unexpected. How did this happen?"

Chelsea sighed. "Serendipitously. I look forward to helping Miss Crystal-Green achieve her vision for Crystal Entertainment."

Porsha nodded. "And I have no problem believing that you will do just that."

Olivia rolled her eyes and pulled the younger wolf aside. "Porsha, dear, I know you mean well but… there are rules. What's her background? Does she have any experience with running a company?"

Porsha shook her head. "But that's okay because I don't like the way this company has been run for the last several years. I think a fresh mind and start is what we need. What we all need. Which brings me to… the last topic and then you can all go home." She began passing around slips of paper and packets.

Olivia read her slip. "100,000? What is this for? Some sort of bonus."

The young woman shook her head. "It's… it's pay to give you time to find new jobs." She bit her lip.

The older wolf's mouth hung open. "Severance pay? You're firing us? You can't…"

"According to Mr. Grisham and Suki, she can," Jerry contradicted her. "Suki saved all of the emails of you trying to push your duties off on her and then Porsha after she turned eighteen. She also found evidence of you pushing your duties off on Mr. Crystal for some time. You haven't adhered to your contracts so you can be fired. She could sue you for breach of contract but she's feeling generous because it's a holiday."

Porsha nodded. "Thank you, Jerry. I'm sorry everyone. I trusted you guys to help my father run the company. Instead you had him doing everything. Try and tell me that didn't have something to do with his behavior. You can't. So… I'm sorry but we need to part ways. This company needs a completely fresh start. But hey, this is plenty of money to tide you over until you find other jobs. I'm sorry. You're dismissed. Go home, enjoy the rest of the holiday." She remembered Suki's advice and left with Chelsea and Jerry at her side.

Jerry laughed. "That was fun…. What's next?"

Nooshy thought about it. "What if we show Chelsea and René a little of the city? At least the hotel and the plaza. Let her meet the employees, start spreading the word that Crystal Entertainment is being overhauled. Let them know that things are changing."

"For the better," Porsha emphasized. She and Nooshy linked arms.

——————————

The troupe gathered at the senior Hunter home for Easter dinner. Lorraine carved up a beautifully-smoked beef brisket to a chorus of ooo's and ahhh's.

Suki was reading her messages. "Nooshy says that everything is taken care of. I was worried about letting Porsha fire them on her own." She admitted.

Marcus smiled. "It's good for her. No matter what she chooses to do, she needs to start learning confidence in herself again." He sat back as a piece of beef brisket appeared before him. "Thank you, Mrs. Hunter, this smells wonderful. I love a good brisket."

Suki smiled. "Oh, maybe… is there anyway I can talk you into giving me the recipe?" She asked.

Lorraine's eyes twinkled conspiratorially. "I'd love to however, I have already promised the recipe to my great-grandson. He did such a good job helping me today." She hugged him. "But after he has mastered it, he is welcome to teach you."

Ryan smiled and laughed, looking at his blushing son. "Not to worry, MeeMaw, I'll help him master it." He promised.

She smiled. "I have no doubt you will. My little Ryan always used to help me in the kitchen too." She told everyone. "Now, what I want to know is how all of you met?"

The group looked at each other. Johnny squeezed Ryan's hand. "Well, I met Ryan while we were in Redshore last year. But if you mean before Ryan… Well… it all started five or so years ago… with a golden flier and a little koala…"

————————

Porsha and Nooshy took Chelsea and René around the headquarters first, introducing her to all of the employees who handled all of the behind the scenes work for shows. Starting with the television studio.

"Now, there's no show right now. But this is where we would host Hot News or other programs as well as auditions. Linda quit as the host for the news and they haven't even tried to find someone else," Porsha explained. "That's another reason they had to go."

Chelsea nodded. "So I'll need to find someone who can host the news show… okay, I can do that."

Porsha smiled. "You're going to do great. Just be careful and patient… Truth and respect are more important than our ratings where the news is concerned. That also includes a new rule. Get permission from people before doing stories on them. They used to do a lot about my family and that was one of the problems that caused…"

The leopardess nodded. "Understandable. I wouldn't want to have my personal business broadcast to the entire world." She continued following Porsha down to the lobby.

The wolf smiled and ran over to the receptionist desk. "Karen!" She hugged the surprised antelope. "I've missed you."

The woman laughed. "Miss. Crystal, it's nice to see you too. I didn't know you were coming."

Porsha nodded. "It was a surprise. I have someone for you to meet." She pulled Chelsea over. "Karen, meet our new CEO, Chelsea Tibault. Karen is our receptionist and first line of defense," she playfully teased the older woman.

The antelope offered her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Miss. Crystal, the other board members left about ten minutes ago."

"Good, I was worried they might not leave. I've fired them all," the teenager said proudly. "Crystal Entertainment is going in a whole new direction. We're going to be a force for good in this world."

Karen smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Miss. Crystal. How do you like being a big sister?" She asked softly. "I heard your family grew over the last year."

"I love it. Nooshy and I are like this," she hugged her little sister.

Nooshy laughed. "Can we go now? I'd love to check out my old dancing spots. Maybe see some old friends." She realized just how long it had been. She'd just forgotten her friends from the alleyway that was her home.

They left the tall building with Stan leading the way and Barry guarding their flank. The sun was starting to set. "Girls, I think we should think about heading to the Crystal Mansion." Barry said. "We can pick up dinner."

Porsha nodded. "I'll send a message to Raoul to come pick us up in the limo."

————————

"And… that's how we came together to form the New Moon Theater… under the management of Buster Moon," Johnny said, smiling wistfully. "Since then… it's been one wild adventure after another, putting on amazing shows."

Lorraine dished up plates of pie. "And where is he now? Did he stay behind?" Everyone got really quiet and Johnny looked down at his pie. "I'm sorry…"

Johnny shook his head. "No, it's okay. He actually…" Ryan hugged him gently. "He passed away a little over a year ago. That's why Eddie is our leader now. Sorry, it's just hard to talk about."

Katie touched his shoulder. "I can imagine but… at least you had five good years, filled with happy memories."

The gorilla nodded. "You're right about that. Buster was great. He believed in us."

Rosita blew her nose. "He really did. I don't know where we'd all be now if we'd never met. If he never sent out those fliers."

Meena nodded. "I would never have gotten over my stage fright or met Alphonso." She held her husband's hand.

Gunter smiled. "I never would have met Rosita and Norman or my Eddie." He nuzzled his sheep.

Ash looked down. "I wouldn't have my kids. I would have still been with Lance until… They might never have been born…" She looked at the twins. They smiled at her. Tyler squeezed her hand and she smiled at him.

Marcus looked at Suki. "I'd still be in jail today. Johnny might have been too. I wouldn't have you or my twins. Or the girls…" Mr. Moon had been the source of so much of their happiness.

Johnny hugged his husband. "And I wouldn't have Ryan or my son. He always says 'when you hit rock bottom, there's only one way left to go, and that's up.'"

The rest of the evening was spent with each of the troupe sharing favorite memories of their lost friend. It was getting easier to do without feeling that overwhelming sadness but the pain was still there.

————————

Meanwhile, in a seedy bar not far from town, the humiliated and angry leopard sat drinking a glass of whiskey, looking over a map and searching the internet on his phone. "Mary Poppins… New Moon Theater Troupe… Ah! Yes, based in Calatonia. I'll find you, Chelsea. You'll be mine again."

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Rhoads?" He looked up into the face of three menacing-looking bears wearing leather coats.

Thomas gulped. "Yes…. That's me… I'm just enjoying a drink…." He remembered the gorilla's promise of someone watching over him.

"And then you're going home, right?" The biggest bear asked leadingly. "Because… if you're thinking about going after your ex-wife and daughter, you're sorely mistaken." He cracked his knuckles. "And we will know if you try and it won't end well for you."

"Yep, just enjoying my drink and going home," the bully trembled with fear.

AN: Can you guess who the bears are? Please review!