Wilder came down from the porch as fast as her old legs could move. She even pushed Claire aside just to get a close look at the pearls. "Am I seeing this right?"
Claire nodded, grinning proudly. "Pearls, grandma. I got lucky when I went diving. I found so many oysters, and more than half of them had pearls!"
Donna and Victor were speechless. To them, this was beyond luck.
Donovan spread his arms out, suddenly looking suspicious of everything and everyone. "Hurry, get inside right now. The neighbors cannot see this."
In his panic, he tripped Claire, almost sending her falling. Victor caught her in time, but the pearls fell down on the grass. They rolled everywhere, sending everyone into a frenzy.
"Hurry, stop them," Wilder shouted frantically, as if the pearls had grown legs and were running away.
Still, her words worked. They all spread out, picking up the pearls with great care. Each pearl was examined carefully before being placed in a bucket that previously held seaweed. Donna poured water into the bucket to wash dirt off the pearls.
After, they counted them, one by one.
"One hundred seventy-eight." Victor turned to Claire. "Is that number correct or are we missing some?"
Claire nodded. "The number is correct."
For a full three seconds, nobody spoke.
Maddy made a faint squealing noise.
Victor stared into the bucket so hard that Claire worried he had forgotten how blinking worked.
Wilder picked up the pale golden pearl, holding it up to the light. "Holy hell! If your great grandfather was alive, he would fake a second death just to come back and steal these!"
Half the people there gasped.
Wilder wasn’t done. "That man had a taste for pearls. He would have robbed them if he wasn’t afraid of going to prison. Your great grandfather once swore that he had discovered a pearl under the sea that talked to him.
My mother said it was the rum talking. My daddy got drunk, fell into the sea and nearly lost his life. When he was saved, he was mumbling about a magical pearl. He became a pearl hunter after that."
Claire’s hands tightened into fists for one brief moment. She flattened them, hoping that nobody had noticed her reaction. The pearl around her neck was her biggest secret. Was it the same one her great grandfather had encountered? Was it attracted to their bloodline or something like that?
Wilder whistled. "One hundred seventy eight pearls? If Alden and Heimi saw this, they would cry like little babies. They would fall on the ground, suck their thumbs and wail...ngaah! ngaah! ngaah!"
Donna lost her composure and laughed.
Claire buried her face in her hands. "Grandma, please stop."
"I am not stopping," Wilder declared. "I have been waiting for so long to make them regret how they treated Claire. This is such a perfect revenge moment."
Maddy was wiping tears from her eyes. "I agree."
Meanwhile, the pearls continued glittering under the sun.
Claire was about to pick out which ones to send Mrs. Sanders when Maddy attached herself to Donna. "Mommy," she called coquettishly. "My arrival brought good luck to Claire. Can I stay?"
Donna sighed. "Any friend of Claire’s is welcome here."
Maddy wrapped both arms around Donna and rested her head dramatically on her shoulder. "You smell like fresh bread, seaweed and citrus. Not a combination you can put together, but somehow nice."
"Thank you." Donna replied, tentatively.
"You don’t look like the mother of seven children," Maddy continued. "We could be sisters."
Donna laughed. "That’s sweet of you to lie."
"I am not lying, you are aging backwards, mommy." Maddy claimed, peeking at Donna innocently.
Claire wondered what Maddy wanted from her mother. It wasn’t like her to lay the compliments on so thick. "Maddy, why are you flirting with my mother?"
"I am not flirting?" Maddy protested. She squeezed Donna tighter. "I simply appreciate maternal excellence."
Claire groaned. Strangely, her mother appeared delighted. She patted Maddy’s hair, looking very much motherly. "You are such a sweet child. I am so glad that Claire has you in her life."
Maddy looked at Claire and stuck her tongue out in a very childish way. She looked victorious. "See? Our mom loves me."
Claire rolled her eyes. Maddy’s superpower was wrapping everyone around her finger. Claire had a feeling that Donna and Victor would be no different.
While this was going on, Callie photographed the pearls from every conceivable angle. Individual pearls. Groups of pearls. Close-ups. Measurements. Different lighting. A dramatic overhead shot. A side profile. She even put some back in the grass, laid on the ground and took a picture.
Nobody questioned her.
When she was finished, she stepped away to make a call. "Frances, the count has been taken. One hundred seventy eight pearls."
A pause. "What?" A woman’s voice emerged from the other end of the line. "You’re joking"
"I am looking at them. At least seventy eight are of superior quality," Callie reported truthfully. "The small ones are of a more inferior quality, but they have a great luster. Look at the images I have sent carefully and judge for yourself."
There was another pause and then Mrs. Sanders said calmly. "Buy everything."
Claire was accusing Maddy of collecting parents like rare pokemons when Callie returned. The woman stopped behind Claire and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Frances says, ’oh my God,’"
Wilder chuckled, "That’s exactly what I said."
Callie cleared her throat. "Frances wants the pearls, all of them. She has given me some figures. 1.4 million."
Donna laughed.
"No," Claire rejected.
"1.8 million."
"No."
"1.9 million."
"No."
Donna groaned. "Claire...."
Wilder hissed at Donna in return, "Stay out of this, Claire knows what she is doing. Don’t offer opinions on things you don’t understand."
"2 million for the triple A grade ones. They are 85 in total. I am not bargaining." Claire declared firmly. "644,000 for the rest and the pale golden pearl remains. It is meant for Ares Ashford."
"Are you trying to ruin me?" Callie gasped.
Claire shrugged.
With a sigh, Callie texted the number into her phone. Everyone remained silent, waiting for a whole minute before Callie finally nodded. "Deal."
Victor swept Donovan into the air, shouting jubilantly. Donna and Maddy jumped up and down. Wilder patted her chest. Only Claire remained calm.
The deal was finalized immediately. Mrs. Sanders made a money transfer without delay. The pearls were counted and packed away carefully.
Callie was about to leave when Claire cleared her throat. "Wait a moment, I have something else to sell. I promise that Mrs. Sanders will find it worthy."
Claire crossed her fingers as she walked to her car. This was part of the land fund. If she could make three or four million today, the sandwiches she had fed that gull would be worth it.