The Choice

by Anne O'Nonymous

 

"Master Robert, Master Robert! Your aunt wants to see you in the drawing room immediately, please!"

Robert Thomas looked up from his video game, saw the maid and replied complainingly, "Okay, okay. I'll see her when I finish this game!"

"She's waiting for you."

"I said, after the game, Jade," he replied, glaring at her, "remember, I'm also your employer!"

Jade Carver shook her lace white-capped head in disgust, then pulled the plug from the TV, "Now, you're finished the game!"

"Hey, what you do that for!" he nearly screamed at the pretty dark-skinned maid.

"Following orders, sir," she said respectfully, "now, she's waiting for you."

Reluctantly, Robert followed the maid, entered the room and plopped down in a chair before greeting his aunt with, "You want to see me, auntie? I'm going to a game in about twenty minutes."

Miss Amelia Parker frowningly looked over at the bare-chested 17-year-old boy, snorted, then replied, "They have been notified that you will not be in attendance at their festivities, young man, And, furthermore, their presence is no longer welcomed."

"What the hell did you do that for!" Robert exploded, "They're my friends – you have no right . . ."

"I have every right in the world, Robert, and you would've been better off if you understood that," Amelia remarked, "but, now, I'm fed up with your shenanigans."

Robert heard the door open and close; he then turned to see Jade and Ruby Carver, her mother, enter the room, curtsey and take seats behind him. Ruby, a dark-skinned African-American, was a maid, cook, and sometimes driver for his aunt. Jade, a 17-year-old, did the housework, laundry, shopping, and helped with the cooking – besides going to school, where she maintained an A-minus average.

"Well, I see all the participants have arrived," Amelia stated, "so let's get started, shall we?"

As Robert watched, she opened a drawer, removed some papers and two large, sealed manila envelopes. She placed the envelopes on the desk in front of her, moving them several times, before moving them in front of him, saying, "Don't touch, yet!"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say – can you hurry this up a bit!"

"All in due time, Robert," Amelia calmly replied as she picked up the papers.

The uncomfortable seat made Robert wriggle, or was it the circumstances?

"Ahem!" Amelia cleared her throat, put on her reading glasses, and began the litany: "In the last month of school, you were absent six times, late eight times, and failed two tests. . ."

"Hey, I tried – they were hard tests!"

"Please, do not interrupt! Now, as I was saying, failed two tests. You returned home from a friends house drunk, not once but twice, and all this in a month's time."

"Well, they offered it, and I couldn't turn down a friend, now could I?"

"In a word: yes! Robert, you are responsible for what you do! Now, you hardly get up before noon on most weekends, and do very little to help around the house."

"Hey, that's what the servants are for. Why should I dirty my hands doing what you pay them to do?"

She ignored the outburst, and went on: "I brought you a very expensive sports car . . ."

"There was something wrong with it . . ."

"You know perfectly well there was not a thing wrong with that car! You wrecked it after only two months – you took the car out without adult supervision, got drunk, and ran it into a telephone pole. It was only luck that the airbags saved you from serious injury, Robert. But, we digress – I am very disappointed in you."

"I'll do better, I promise, auntie," Robert replied, looking as contrite as possible.

"Let's see now – stink bombs at school, stealing from school lockers, selling test answers; shall I go on? You said the same thing again and again."

"I really mean it this time!"

"No, Robert, you don't! I'm ready to make you a deal, if you agree."

"Well, she's wisened up to me," Robert thought, then replied, "Emm, what's that?"

Amelia smiled, "You will have a choice in your future. All you need do is chose."

"And if I don't?"

"Then it's off to a nice military-style school, marine boot camp, and a stationing in Alaska or some other far-off place."

Those were not good options – he hated the idea of military-style discipline.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer."

"Okay."

"Not good enough."

"What do you want me to say?"

" 'I will agree to make a choice regarding my future place' will do," Amelia replied, and Jade and Ruby will be my witnesses to your choice."

"Oh, all right, I will agree to make a choice regarding my future place, okay?"

"Fine!" Amelia replied, "Ruby, did you record that?"

He heard Ruby as she replied, "Yes, ma'am," and wondered what was going to happen.

"Wonderful," a smiling Amelia said, "Now, Robert, in front of you are two envelopes."

"Yeah, I see them, so?"

"In one of them are five blank sheets of paper and a check for fifty thousand dollars. That should see you through a private school I have in mind."

"And . . .?"

"Ahh, the other! In that other envelope are papers too. One is a legal paper for my adopting Jade as my daughter. I will see that she will get enough money for schooling and at least three years of college. In another paper, you will become Ruby's daughter . . ."

"WHAT. . . What the hell . . . You can't do that!"

"SIT DOWN! Shut up! I can and will . . . don't tell me what I can and can't do, young man – you are still under your majority, and don't you forget it!"

Amelia took a few minutes to compose herself before she continued, "As I said, you will become Ruby's daughter and a household maid. There is also a paper designating a petition for name changes . . ."

"Bu . . "

"Before you say a word, wouldn't the school like to know who was selling those test answers, and that white powdery stuff . . . I think it's called, emm, heroin?"

"It wasn't heroin, it was . . . all right, you win."

"Now that that's settled, let's continue. Where was I? Oh, yes – A name change – Angela. That sounds nice, doesn't it? Oh, Jade, please stand, and Robert, you too."

As they stood, Amelia looked them over with a critical, seeing what she had suspected: they were within an inch or two in height.

"Thank you very much, please retake your seats. Jade, when you become my daughter, you will get an entirely new wardrobe and take Robert's room. Leave all your things behind; they'll be you mother's new daughter's uniforms and clothes. You can redecorate in any way you like – within budget, of course – and his old things, well if you see anything you like. And, Robert, you will take Jade's room. I'm sure that after a few days, you'll get used to the pretty uniform. Jade loved feminine stuff, and now – well, since you liked lifting her uniform, I'm sure she'll return the favor. One more thing: Ruby will be your mother, and I think she's got a different attitude about punishment, don't you, Ruby?"

"Yes, ma'am! I'll see that my new daughter obeys me!" Ruby grinningly replied.

"So, Robert, what will fortune bring to you, huh? A pretty maids uniform for years to come and all the work associated with it. Lipstick, perfume and tampons – yes, that's in there, too. Or a nice big check, and a new school to plunder? Choose!"

Robert sat for a minute, then reached out to an envelope, carefully observing his mother.

She smiled at him, revealing nothing.

He tried the other with the same smiling result. Which one, which one! His hand moved from one to the other, trying to make up his mind. Finally, he settled on one, and was going to pick it up, when he saw the grin on Ruby's face.

He tried again and again, finally picked one and opened it.

The End.

  

  

  

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