Over the past three weeks I had devoted almost all of my attention to finding Eric. I had been checking the mailbox every day for any information from the Social Security Administration. Nothing. I had been on the Internet, night and day, searching for any clues. I had even been actively searching obituaries.
It seemed like a hopeless cause.
Last night I told my sister what I had been doing. She was appalled.
“You don’t even know this man. What if he’s crazy, or worse? What if he’s poor?” my sister said, pacing back and forth in front of me. “You’re part of Winslow Products. What do you think it would look like for you to have a homeless brother, living on the streets?”
“Who said he was homeless? He could’ve accomplished what I have. He could be a physician, the head doctor at some hospital somewhere. Maybe a teacher or something.”
“Cobi, just drop it. Please. We have other much more important things to take care of, like finding you a wife.”
“How’s that going?” I said, still not certain if what Sissy was suggesting was the right way to go.
“I found someone in serious financial need. I hear she’s not quite as cultured as many of the society women I know, but she might have to do. You know Priya Parks, formally Priya Parks-Frazier. Married to—”
“Winston Wallace Frazier, the investor that swindled all that money?”
“Yes. The one they call the black Bernie Madoff. She’s the one.”
“But I thought they were very well off.”
“They were, till the feds came and took all of their money and threw Frazier in prison. The poor woman is lucky she didn’t go, too. Now she’s broke and looking for someone to save her. The meeting is tomorrow. Let’s hope that someone is you, Cobi.”
The next day, I was trying to appear as though I was not staring at Priya Parks as she sat in my living room across from Sissy.
Priya was much more attractive than the pictures I had seen of her in the newspapers and tabloids. Her hair was long and parted down the middle. She had a small mouth, big eyes, and wore a diamond stud in her nose. She wore a dark dress, as if just coming from a funeral. She sat with her hands clasped in her lap, listening to my sister.
“No one can know that this marriage has been arranged. You will be free to divorce only after two years, and you must live here at the Winslow Chicago residence for the duration of your marriage,” Sissy said. “Any questions?”
Priya Parks glanced over at me. I quickly looked down at my hands. This was the most ridiculous idea I had ever heard.
“You said there would be financial compensation?” Priya asked.
“Yes,” Sissy said. “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually. Plus room and board. All your expenses will be taken care of, to include a car if you need one, so the full five hundred thousand will be yours to do with as you please.”
Priya chuckled a little as she sat up in her chair. “I thought I heard something about his inheritance being twenty million dollars. I’m sorry, miss, but you’re going to have to do a little better than that.”
I wanted to laugh at how shocked my sister looked.
“Really, Ms. Frazier, all you’ll be doing is lying around here collecting a check.”
“No, sweetheart. There won’t be much lying around, considering your brother over there is gay. And didn’t you say something about me not being able to see other men?”
“No, you can’t see other men,” Sissy said. “How would that look if you got caught?”
“How would it look if you caught me jackin’ off on a vibrator every night. A woman has her needs, and the dick is one of mine,” Priya said with a snap of her fingers. She stood, grabbed her purse, and straightened her dress. She walked over to me and held out her hand. “I’m sorry that I can’t be the one, Mr. Winslow.”
I was smiling, almost laughing. “Me, too. But I appreciate you coming out. Is there anything you need for your time and trouble?”
“No. I’m fine. But thank you.”
Still holding on to Priya’s hand, I added, “I trust this will remain between those in this room.”
“After what I went through with my husband, having my business put out in the streets for all to hear, I would never think of doing that to another human being. Your secret is safe with me, honey.”
I walked Priya Parks to her car. When I stepped back in the house, Sissy was standing in the middle of the room, her arms folded, looking betrayed.
“I guess that gets me off the hook.”
“Don’t even think about it. We have approximately three weeks left till your birthday. You’re getting married by then,” Sissy said, grabbing her keys off the end table. She headed toward the door, but stopped and turned around. “There’s another person I’ve been considering. I promise I’ll thoroughly vet her.”