Claire pulled Maddy back before her friend could go flying through the car to create trouble. She pointed through the windshield. "This is my new family...my real family. Don’t scare them by offering them large sums of money or supercars. They are ordinary people who appreciate honesty and kindness more than big, unnecessary gestures."
Maddy turned her head, looking out of the window.
In the front yard, Victor stood beside a large metal wok balanced over a burner. Donna was stirring strips of seaweed crackling in hot oil, while Wilder sat on the porch with a basket, sorting fresh seaweed and issuing commands.
The smell of fried seaweed drifted through the air.
Maddy gasped.
Claire’s heart skipped a beat. "What?"
Maddy said in a dreamy voice, "they are exactly how I imagined them."
Before Claire could ask what that meant, Maddy had already unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Maddy."
The door flew open.
"Maddy!" Claire warned again.
Too late.
Maddy sprinted across the yard like an escaped racehorse. Victor happened to turn at that exact moment.
"DADDY!" Maddy screamed.
The scream echoed in the air. Claire could have sworn that there was a speaker somewhere that enhanced Maddy’s voice at that moment. To her surprise, Maddy launched herself at Victor!
Victor nearly dropped an entire basket of seaweed as a strange grown woman hugged him around the middle.
"Daddy! I am here! I have been waiting to meet you all my life!"
Victor froze. The basket fell. Seaweed scattered.
His eyes became enormous. "I beg your pardon?!"
Maddy squeezed harder. "Daddy, we have missed you!"
"We!!" Donna bellowed.
Victor held his hands up, looking at her in panic. "I have never seen this woman in my life. I swear Donna, I don’t know who she is."
Unfortunately, Donna only believed in what she was seeing. Donna slowly lowered her stirring spoon. "Never seen her before?"
"Oh no," whispered Claire.
She reached for the door, but Donovan stopped her. He had a mischievous air about him. "Give it a minute," the old man said.
Claire was surprised. She expected Wilder to pull a stunt like this, but not Donovan. Her grandfather just seemed so well behaved all the time. Now, Claire was realizing that no man who married Wilder could be well behaved.
Donna narrowed her eyes. "A young woman appears out of nowhere screaming ’Daddy, we have missed you,’ and your first defense is you’ve never seen her before?"
Victor pointed frantically. "Because I have never seen her before!" He tried to dislodge Maddy, but she was like an octopus. And she was crying! "For heaven’s sake, young lady, you have the wrong man."
Donna snorted. "It better be true."
"It is true." Victor shouted in frustration.
Maddy finally released him. She blinked, keeping her sunny, eager smile. "Daddy, you have kind eyes."
Claire groaned. "Maddy...."
Meanwhile Wilder had gotten to her feet. The old woman was looking around for her knife. "Has anyone seen my big knife?" She asked. "If we are cutting people up, I need the good knife."
"Nobody is cutting anybody up because this is a misunderstanding," Victor said frantically. He looked at Claire’s car and called for her loudly. "Claire, why don’t you come out and explain this to us?"
Claire could have let it go on for a while, but she was not enjoying watching her father squirm. She stepped out of the car and walked over to the group.
"Dad is right, he has nothing to do with Maddy," she explained. "Everyone, this is Madeleine Sanders."
Maddy gave Claire a side hug, "Her best friend since the age of eight."
Claire rubbed her temples and said flatly, "sadly, that’s.....sort of true. I apologize for her, Maddy gets easily excited. She is allergic to strawberries and she cries at the snap of a finger."
"Why did she call your father daddy?" Donna asked.
Maddy raised her hand. "Because he is Claire’s dad and her dad is my dad. You are all my family. And we are all having a baby. Isn’t it wonderful?"
Victor sighed in relief. Donna still glared at him, even though he had been cleared of all charges.
Wilder stared at Maddy for a few more seconds and then said to Claire, "Child, should we be worried about her. I mean it seems like the good Lord assembled her creatively. She has such a pretty face though. All the young men in this town will be breaking down our door to get a look at her."
Claire patted Maddy’s back. "She will grow on you." Her grandmother wasn’t the first person in the world to ask if Maddy was missing a few brain cells. Wilder wasn’t being mean; she just wanted to know how to handle Maddy going forward.
Three cars pulled up, crowding the parking area. A woman in a blue suit, accompanied by four men stepped out of the cars. From the trunks, they retrieved eight yellow suitcases in total. All these belonged to Maddy.
Claire’s eyes went round. This many suitcases meant Maddy was planning a long vacation here. Her friend could never stand Heimi and James, so she never stayed over at Claire’s old house for long. Heimi was always trying to force Maddy to make Mrs. Sanders her friend. James was always hitting on Maddy.
Claire guessed Maddy had done her research and decided this new family was worth hanging around.
The woman in the blue suit came over and smiled briefly at Claire. "It’s been a while, Miss Dane."
Claire nodded once at Callie, Mrs. Sanders third personal assistant in charge of miscellaneous work.
"Frances sends her greetings, a cheque of one million dollars, and twelve pieces from the Summer-Summer collection, released three days ago. She included some clothes for your parents and brothers. She has also sent Wagyu beef, six cheeses, chocolates, truffle oil and dried termite mushrooms." Callie announced this like the representative of an ancient kingdom on a mission to offer tribute.
Claire’s family couldn’t hide their surprise. Why send all this? What was the goal?
Maddy stomped her right foot. "Only one million! That’s not enough. Does Frances want to embarrass me in front of my new parents? Look at my dad..." she pointed at Victor, "he has kind eyes and strong dad energy. He probably grills burgers, gives life advice, and pays for emergency roadside assistance. If he is going to raise Claire and me, he needs at least ten million."
Victor’s jaw dropped open. I am raising this strange girl! Since when? he thought.
Claire clamped a hand over Maddy’s mouth and smiled at Callie. "Thank you, but rather than a cheque, just transfer the money to my account directly. Not ten million, five hundred thousand is enough for us to take care of Maddy. She is family, we can cover everything else. Besides, Maddy makes her own money, and she is a grown up now. Maddy can raise herself. As for the clothes, we will accept them. Tell Mrs. Sanders that I am grateful." She turned and looked at her car. "Wait a moment and take something back to her for me."
Claire dropped her hand from Maddy’s mouth. She rushed to the car and returned with her bag. When she opened it, exposing the many pearls inside everyone gasped.