FICTION | FOR THE PROMPT: LEGACY

Ebony And Ivory In Perfect Harmony

When the executor of her aunt’s estate contacted her, she knew her life would change forever

Ebony stared at the ivory-colored envelope in her hand, with her name written on it in swirly black letters. Only her name.

“Questions?” the man on the other side of the huge desk barked.

Mr. Sullivan — not a friendly man — was the executor of her aunt’s estate. Ebony assumed this visit included him reading the will to her aunt’s beneficiaries.

The executor’s secretary calling to make the appointment was the moment Ebony had learned of her Aunt Ivory’s passing. At first, she said she couldn’t attend, but curiosity got the better of her.

Why would her aunt leave her anything?

It had been years since they had last seen each other. Ever since Ebony’s mom passed away, she had poured herself into her work, building her business in accounting, managing the books of several small companies, and avoiding to family gatherings, which would only remind her of her loss.

Her next surprise was when she sat waiting for her appointment, which was for 1pm. When it got to 1.30pm, Ebony asked the secretary how long it would be before Mr. Sullivan had time to read the will. That was when she learned the executor had already read the will.

Before she could voice her astonishment, the door to the office opened and the haggard man brusquely uttered her name.

His demeanor irritated Ebony, who followed him into his office and refused to be commanded by this rueful man.

“No,” Ebony finally answered his question. She slipped the envelope into her purse, stood up, shook his hand and, without another word, left his office.

After an afternoon filled with appointments, Ebony dropped her clothes on the bathroom floor and stepped into the large shower, where she allowed the warm water to rain down on her body.

That was when she remembered the envelope.

Something held her back from opening it. Somehow, she sensed reading her aunt’s letter — she assumed that was what she would find inside — would change her life forever.

On her second glass of wine after dinner, she knew she couldn’t postpone the moment anymore.

My dearest Ebony,

Even though we haven't seen each other for years, I followed you closely.
I am proud of what you have established, proud of how you live your life,
proud of you.
You have always been my favorite, and not only because our names match
so well. I watched you grow up, and many times relished in the fact you
were so much like me. You were the child I could never have myself, and
I thank you for easing that absence in my life.

Mr. Sullivan read my will this morning, all except for one part, which
is only for you. No one knows about this part of my estate, not even the
executor of my will.

You will soon understand.

I have built my legacy, and Ebony, now I want to make it yours.

I love you, my dear child.

Ivory

Ebony wiped the tears from her cheeks.

She still didn’t know what Aunt Ivory meant by her legacy, but suspected the name at the top of the letterhead — The Ivory Tower — would tell her more.

The next morning, Ebony cancelled all her appointments for the rest of the week, booked a flight to the south of the country, and a hotel stay for four nights. She could’ve driven there, but preferred to spoil herself by flying.

After reading Ivory’s letter a second time the night before, she had searched for The Ivory Tower online. The website she found revealed nothing. It was simply a light-colored background — ivory — with two somewhat darker towers, akin to that of the London Bridge on each side. At the bottom of the screen, all on one line, was the same address Ebony had seen on the letterhead, and just above that, room for a username and password. No signup button, no place to click if you had forgotten your password.

Ebony didn’t know what to expect when she arrived at The Ivory Tower. She couldn’t find a telephone number anywhere, otherwise she would’ve called ahead to announce her arrival.

She needn’t have worried.

Ebony stood on the sidewalk for half an hour, looking up at the ivory-colored mansion — yes, including two towers on each of the front corners — and tried to figure out just what she would find behind the black wrought-iron fence. Sighing deeply in an attempt to calm her nerves, Ebony finally climbed the six marble steps up to the gate.

Just as she lifted her hand to push the button on the intercom, the gate buzzed and swung open.

Ebony hesitated only for a moment, then followed the marble path towards the mansion, and once again climbed six steps. The moment she reached the top step, the heavy front door, engraved with a beautiful flower design, swung open, and a man in a dark blue suit appeared in the opening.

“Ms. Ebony,” he said. “Welcome to The Ivory Tower.”

Two hours later, Ebony sat staring at the suited man — he insisted she called him Caleb — who had just said: “So, Ms. Ebony, can we call you boss?”

“Ho-ho, Caleb, not so fast!” Ebony laughed. “I have only just learned about The Ivory Tower, and to be honest, my head is spinning. I don’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. My Aunt Ivory had quite the secret!”

“We need your answer no later than tomorrow, Ms. Ebony. Those was Ms. Ivory’s strict orders: once I have told you about The Ivory Tower, you have twenty-four hours to decide. If no decision or you decline, I will set the wheels in motion to sell her business.”

“I will give you my answer no later than noon tomorrow, two hours before Aunt Ivory’s deadline,” Ebony smiled.

Caleb’s expression was blank when he nodded.

“Now,” Ebony said, trying to lighten the mood, “can you give me a tour of the premises?”

The man stood up and opened the door of the office, where they had sat on two recliners facing each other.

By the time Ebony arrived at her hotel, her temples pounded. By now she understood why Aunt Ivory had kept The Ivory Tower a secret all of her life, but not how. Something else she understood was why her aunt had asked her to continue her legacy.

Ebony remembered her teenage years and how she had always confided in her aunt about her boyfriends. About experimenting with them, but also by herself. Aunt Ivory had always given her the best advice, had taught her about boundaries and being safe, about love and lust.

Aunt Ivory had been the one who had always been in perfect harmony with her — Ebony. She quickly took a sip of her wine and daintily wiped a tear with her pinky finger when it escaped from her eye and threatened to run down her cheek. It was too late now, but Ebony wished she had kept in touch with Aunt Ivory after she had moved away.

That night, Ebony didn’t sleep. She sat cross-legged on the bedcovers, her laptop in front of her and sheets of paper strewn around it. Every one of those sheets contained notes. Ideas. Calculations. Plans.

By the time the sun came up, she leaned back against the headboard with a smile on her face.

Ebony pushed everything aside with a content sigh, set her alarm for four hours on and crawled under the covers, still wearing the clothes from the day before.

Five minutes before noon, the black iron gate swung open just like the day before, and even before she reached the steps, Caleb had opened the front door.

“Welcome back, boss!” he said.

“How did you know?” Ebony asked when she reached the top.

“Your face. Your confident step, straight back. You’re like a younger version of your aunt. Determined. All business, yet a warm-blooded woman.”

Ebony blushed and followed Caleb to the same room they were in the day before.

“Even though you have already guessed it,” she said after they had both sat down, “I want to formally accept my aunt’s legacy as mine. Yes, I will continue The Ivory Tower, and hope to make her proud.”

“No,” Caleb said, “you don’t have to make her proud. She was already proud of you, and she wouldn’t have given you her life’s work had she not trusted it in your hands.”

Ebony was quiet for a while.

Then, for the next hour, she explained her plans to Caleb.

A month later, Ebony stood in a sunlit penthouse apartment, directing the movers to put the furniture where she wanted it. Every time they went back downstairs to get the next item from the truck, she turned and looked at the beautiful ivory mansion, proudly dominating the hill only a couple of streets from her new home.

It was easy to move her accounting business back to her place of birth. Most of her clients were fine with her only visiting them once a month. Ebony was happy that some clients had ended their contracts with her, as that would give her more time to run The Ivory Tower.

Who had ever thought she would one day run one of the most exclusive and secret gentlemen’s clubs in the country? The Ivory Tower offered absolute discretion to all its members, and upper-class company to those who require it. Caleb might seem to be the butler at the mansion, but he was actually the head of a security firm as secret as Aunt Ivory’s legacy.

Ebony did not want to think of herself as a ‘madam’ because, just as the term would never have fitted her aunt, it didn’t her.

Yes, she thought when the movers had finally left, and she still stood at the window, I’ll do right by Aunt Ivory. I will make her legacy mine.

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