“Of Gold”


Adam Morris sat down in his study and gave out a heavy sigh. He was still in the tuxedo he wore at the charity ball, but he was just happy to finally get a break. Hosting something like that took a lot of energy out of him, now that he was pushing fifty.

He closed his eyes and pressed his head against the back of his chair and gave a slight smile. He enjoyed giving to charity; it made him feel like he was helping in his own way. And if it shaved off another hundred thousand or so off his taxes, it was definitely worth it. At the very least, it would get his over-anxious accountants to shut up for a week or two, and add to his own PR.

Sitting forward, he rubbed the back of his neck, running his fingers through his graying brown hair. He snapped his head back and forth to crack his neck, then began to gaze at the paperwork in front of him. Large tax forms, decisions to make, paychecks to write…it was all such a bother. He had people to do this, yes, but he didn’t trust them very much. One of my money-making secrets, he thought, don’t trust anyone but yourself when it comes to payments.

There was one corner that didn’t involve anything related to his business, however. It was a very small stack of papers held down by a picture, which showed a lovely lady. “Better luck next time, --Elaine,” was written on the bottom corner. He swallowed hard and lifted the picture, moving it off to the side. He then reached into his desk and pulled out a large envelope and began to shuffle the papers into it, closing the brad when they were all inside. He again reached into another drawer and pulled out a small brown box, with a golden ribbon tied around it.

“Now or never,” he told himself, “no…now.”

He pushed himself out of the chair and made for the front door. “Sir!” his butler called.

“Yes?”

“Um…where are you going?”

“I’m going to…see her. That’s all,” Adam smiled weakly.

“Do you need a driver? I’ll take you out there.”

“No, no. You’ve done quite enough for the day, Roger. By all means take some time off and relax. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” Roger tilted his head, “but it’ll be near eleven o’clock at night when you get there. Be careful, sir.”

Adam nodded. “I will, thanks.”

He went through the door and closed it quickly so it wouldn’t creak like it normally did. He didn’t want to wake up his nephews upstairs…they always worried when he went somewhere alone. Successful in his small mission, he stepped out into the light summer rain and used his tuxedo’s jacket to shield the envelope.

Opening the door to his car, he flipped the documents and box down on the passenger seat, and fished out his keys. After starting his car, he flicked on the headlights and took off down the long driveway, looking to the sky in slight prayer.

----

The wipers deflected the heavy rain that assaulted his car, but Adam wasn’t really worried about that right now. The road itself was a dark, curvy road that wasn’t paved completely, so the turbulence left him a bit jumpy. Even after all these years, he remembered how to get to Elaine’s house.

Elaine Goldman lived on an old prospecting claim that her family had owned for the longest time. It was believed to be one of the richest claims in the country, and it showed. Elaine’s family had stayed there even until this very day, living off of the money they made by their gold findings. When the government showed up to their house to take it, they ordered some unbelievable amount of money, which Elaine’s mother managed to make in about a week’s worth or work. Since then, she’d never been bugged by the government, even after her parents passed on.

But, Adam thought, she was often pestered by me.

The words on the portrait flashed Adam back to his mid-twenties, when his family’s businesses and fortunes suddenly fell on his shoulders. He was always a bright man though, so he managed to keep his head above water and always turn a profit. He never really owned one particular type of business, either. Banks, construction companies, even a few mines; his family owned a myriad of commercial and industrious facilities across the country.

His mind flashed again to when he’d met Elaine. Her golden hair was what captivated him first, when he saw her in that grocer in the small town near her claim. He was visiting a nearby mine he actually owned, and he’d heard stories, but now he’d seen her. Elaine Goldman…even her name implied something more about her than just beauty.

Flashing again, he remembered the few dates he went on with her while he stayed in town. He learned all about her family, her claim, but most importantly, he learned all about her. He always believed that he fell into the emeralds that were her eyes, and didn’t leave because of how rich she made him feel.

Then he remembered about the fight they had. She said she heard someone say that Adam was just using her. That he was just swooning her to get a part of that claim, to strip it completely dry of gold and fill his vault with even more wealth. He tried to convince her otherwise, but when she refused to listen, he left, apologetically.

The picture arrived a few days later by mail.

He looked at the clock, which read 11:23. Remembering Roger’s words, he looked up and, not to his surprise, he found the small driveway that led up to Elaine’s quaint little house. He shut off his headlights and parked, scooping up the envelope and box as he exited the car.

Adam bit his lower lip as he walked up the steps to the porch. He raised his hand to knock, hesitated, and then followed through, hoping she was still awake. There was still a light on inside, somewhere, though. Footsteps came, along with a few locks unlatching from the other side. The door creaked open, and the resident gave a surprised look, followed by a smile.

“…Adam? Adam…Morris?” She asked.

The man smiled. “Hello, Elaine.”

“What are you doing here? Oh, never mind, come inside, out of the rain.”

Elaine aged quite well, as she still retained most of the beauty she had in her youth. Her golden hair was just a bit faded, but not enough to really show, and her clothes still remained as humble as they’d always been. She wore a white blouse, with a long blue skirt that flowed all the way down to her ankles.

“You look great,” Adam noted.

She gave him a slightly suspicious look. “You haven’t changed much yourself. That could, however, be a bad thing,” she gestured that they sit down on the couch.

Adam put his belongings on the coffee table in front of them. “So…how’ve you been holding up? I haven’t written in so long.”

“I’ve been alright. No real problems, and this place is still as rich as its always been. I swear it’s making even more gold so I don’t have to leave.”

“That’s good,” Adam nodded.

“What about you? All dressed up like a fancy city boy,” she joked.

“I’m…alright. My life’s going good, stressful, but good.”

Elaine nodded and turned off the T.V.

“So let’s get to the point. How do you want to swindle your way onto the claim this time?”

Adam shot her a hurtful glance. “I guess I should’ve expected the cold shoulder. So…I prepared.”

He reached over and handed Elaine the envelope. “Open it,” he suggested.

She undid the brad and pulled out the paperwork inside.

“What…what is this?”

“Just one question for you,” Adam held up a finger, “how long have you gone without paying for this claim? You do know you’re supposed to pay to live here. State law, I’m afraid. If it has a valuable resource, you have to pay quite a bit to stay on it.”

“What? No, no that can’t be right. Nobody’s even come over or called, or…”

Adam nodded and gave a knowing smile.

“Is this…a deed? But it’s blank. Adam, what’s going on here?”

The man pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket and clicked the button, handing it to Elaine. “Go ahead and sign.”

“What?”

“Elaine, I own the bank that you were supposed to pay for the land…and since you never sent in a payment, it defaulted to my bank. Or rather, to me.”

“It…did?”

“Yeah. I’ve owned this claim for over twenty years now. But…I never acted on it. I didn’t want to prove you right, all those years ago.”

“And this is…for me? No strings attached?”

“No strings. This land belonged to your family long before me. You deserve to keep it.”

She blinked with surprise, and then feverishly scrawled her signature on every applicable line on the document. After she was done, she handed the pen to Adam, who signed the final line, making the deal absolutely final.

“It’s yours again. Now, for this,” Adam said, handing her the box.

“I…look, you gave me enough, Adam. I…”

“Open it.”

She untied the yellow ribbon and slid open the box. “It…it’s beautiful.”

“I doubt you’d recognize it now,” Adam said.

She pulled out a small necklace with a silver chain. It looped through a golden ring that sparkled in the dim lighting of the house.

“That ring was made from the nugget you gave me, all those years ago. I asked someone to make it but I wasn’t sure of your finger size. So I put it on a chain.”

Elaine gave a flustered look and rubbed her eyes briefly. “I…don’t know what to say.”

The man chuckled. “Then don’t say anything. Try it on.”

She pulled the two ends of the chain behind her neck, and fastened the clasp in place. Afterward, she held the ring in her palm, and her eyes watered up slightly.

“Adam…thank you. This is so…sudden, but so beautiful!”

Adam smiled again. “I’m glad you like it.” He stood. “I was wondering…would you like to go out and get some coffee, you know, in the city?”

“Oh my, no. It would be near three when we get there, I…”

He held out a hand. “Is there anything else for two lovesick adults to do at this hour?”

Elaine glanced around at her living room a moment, before grabbing Adam’s hand, and standing. She wrapped her arm around his elbow and shook her head.

“You always were good at calling my bluff,” she admitted.

Adam gazed into Elaine’s emerald eyes.

“That’s the only useful skill I got out of my lifestyle,” he said.

And with that, the two left the quaint little cottage behind, and took a long mountain drive to the city, enjoying every raindrop that blessed Adam’s car.