Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“A ‘let them eat cake’ situation,” El-Mudad supplied.
“If Marie Antoinette had ever said that, certainly.” Neil dried his hands and leaned against the island. “The sentiment applies. When Sophie’s mother lost her trailer in a fire, I was absolutely stunned to learn that she couldn’t simply buy another place to live. After all, she owned an insured home. Her insurance payout wasn’t enough to afford a new one because prices in the area had soared.”
“Vacation rental properties,” El-Mudad interjected.
Neil went on, “Of course, I was aware that there are people who live on the street, but I always assumed that was either addiction, lifelong misfortune, or some kind of anticapitalistic statement. I had no idea that losing your house to an act of God could lead to homelessness, despite doing everything ‘right’.” He made finger quotes around the word.
I did know how precarious the living situation could be for people in situations like the one Neil had described, but I supposed it hadn’t sunk in as a true reality. “I’ve always heard that people in this country are one emergency away from homelessness, but I thought it was an exaggeration.”
“It’s not. And Charlotte is contending with that every single day,” El-Mudad said. “Any time you buy her something expensive or you take her on an elaborate trip... to a sex island that you own?”
“Yeah, that’s a little over the top, now that you mention it,” I said, and looked down in embarrassment. “I thought people wanted the Cinderella story. Suddenly not needing to scrape by, having a whole world of wealth at their fingertips—”
“Oh, they definitely want that,” Neil interrupted me. “I’m in no way arguing that people are better off or happier without money. Especially our kind of money.”
“That’s why Sophie is so insistent on spreading it around,” El-Mudad explained.
I’d noticed the frequent mentions of their names in the news. The word “philanthropist” always accompanied those stories, now.
“Our wife created and entirely funds the largest network of foodbanks in the Midwest,” Neil looked to El-Mudad with a smile. Their pride was unmistakable.
“I heard about that,” I said. “But you entirely fund it? That has to be astronomical.”
“It isn’t. And that’s another part of the problem.” El-Mudad gestured around the kitchen. “This house? Is fully paid for. Our cars? All paid for. We don’t have loans or debts, and we have more money than we can spend in our lifetimes. Pouring a few billion a year into feeding people, housing people, it’s nothing at all.”
“It only takes a few billion?” That shocked me. My properties brought in more than that, annually. Could I do something similar?
“Try to see things from Charlotte’s point of view,” Neil advised. “You think everyone wants the Cinderella story so they can live in luxury. But they really want the fantasy so that they can care for others.”
Fantasy. Now, they were speaking my language. Fantasy, I could deliver.
And if all it took was a few billion a year to fulfill a fantasy of stability for people who needed it... why hadn’t I been doing that all along?
* * * *
After a relaxing swim and a walk along the beach that did not involve getting into the water—Sophie had recently learned from a marine biologist friend that great whites were heading closer to the shore these days—we all went inside and got changed.
“This is some place,” Charlotte said, swinging her feet off the edge of the bed. She surveyed the sheen on the guestroom’s black wallpaper and the hexagonal pattern of gold lines across it. “Do you think they had a famous designer do it?”
“It seems like it would be signed somewhere if they had.” I lifted up one of the pillows and pretended to look for a logo.
“Stop,” Charlotte admonished. After a long moment, she said, “Do you think you’d ever want to live in a place like this?”
Away from the city, full time? Never. The thought of the commute was enough to make me dizzy with panic. “I don’t know. Maybe as a vacation home?”
She snorted. “Yeah. This is a totally normal vacation home.”
“Would it be a totally normal family home?” I asked.
Her expression fell. “I’m not criticizing them. I’m not a snob.”
“I didn’t think you were criticizing them.” I sat beside her. “I had a conversation with Neil and El-Mudad about what it’s been like for Sophie, with the becoming suddenly rich angle.”
“I’ve had plenty of conversations about that with her.” Charlotte gave me a cute, close-lipped smile. “She’s my mentor. She’s teaching me how to fit in with your kind.”
Neil’s words came back to haunt me. I paraphrased them for Charlotte. “Turns out, I made a mistake. You weren’t supposed to adjust to my world. I was supposed to adjust to yours.”
“You don’t exactly live in ‘my world,’” she reminded me. “Just because we make dinner at home sometimes—”