The Last Great American Dynasty - A Folklore Novella

The Last Great American Dynasty

Chapter Four

The Last Great American Dynasty

Rebekah welcomed Marjorie to the house with a great dinner that first night. They laughed together and chatted the night away. Marjorie still couldn't believe her luck about landing a summer there. It was too good to be true. They sang together at Rebekah's grand piano. She gave her a tour of the entire mansion and they took a walk to the beach. Marjorie found herself in awe of Rebekah, her talent, and her Holiday House.

Later that night, Marjorie woke up to the wind of the ocean pummeling into her room through a large open window. For a moment she had forgotten she was at the Holiday House. She looked at the clock, it was late. The moon was shining bright tonight, it must have been full or very nearly full.

She got out of her smooth guest best sheets and looked outside. Off in the distance, she saw Rebekah walking along the shoreline. She stared out towards the horizon and the gleaming row of light on the water, growing as it came closer to the beach. It was hard to make out so far away, but Rebekah's body language looked hurt and angry, yet strong, like she was out there to forge her pain into optimism. Marjorie admired her even more, even though they had just met and Marjorie was definitely intimidated by her, yet she respected her fully.

"I lost my husband two years ago," Rebekah had gotten that off her chest to Marjorie earlier that evening. Even though she hated saying those words out loud to people, William's death always came out in conversation one way or another.

Marjorie had learned Rebekah had three children. Two with her previous husband, whom she had never really loved truly, and the last with William. Being a mother did not come naturally to Rebekah. She was raised by a strict nanny herself so love and affection were not skill sets that had been taught to her. She rarely would hug or kiss her children. They had grown up quickly and had created their own lives in New York. The middle child had become troubled in the last few years, and his poor behavior and terrible life choices brought out a motherly rage within Rebekah she didn't know was even there. It was best if they all saw each other in short doses.

With the war going on and with the death of William, there had been no more parties at the Holiday House. The days of endless champagne, laughter, cigarettes and late-night skinny dipping in the ocean were over.

The death of William had come at the end of an already outrageous evening. It had been during the last party at the Holiday House when things took a turn for the worst on the balcony. The doctors told Rebekah later that William had suffered a massive heart attack. The party guests had been an unwilling audience with a front-row seat to his death. It was not the way Rebekah ever thought she would say goodbye to her husband. She lay over his lifeless body, screaming for help as the guests watched, helpless and in a drunken haze of denial. Her screams echoed throughout the Holiday House and across the shores of the beach below.

That fateful night was the talk of the town for months. People were cruel and gossip floated around the town that it must have been because of her behavior that his heart gave out. Even those who had enjoyed and relished the extravagance of Rebekah's excellent hosting skills after all those years were now the ones bad-mouthing her in the end. She was such a partier that William had never settled down because of it. All of it was horrible and painful. Rebekah loved William. They were an honest couple with each other. She had spent her whole life searching for a love like him, and he left it all in an instant.

Rebekah gave up on all the members of the town who used to come to the Holiday House parties. Instead, she brought the New York City Ballet in to use the Holiday House as a summer rehearsal space and dancer retreat. She loved the energy the dancers had brought, and it reminded her of her days in the ballet. It helped numb the depression she felt. She would play piano for the dancers in the house's studio, and it always inspired her to work on composing her music. Rebekah enjoyed their youthful energy and artistry. She would also invite her "Bitch Pack" out from the city. That's what they all called their group of true friends. She would spend money like nobody's business and loved to gamble it away in late-night card games. Rebekah became very good at wasting William's fortune away, to the point where she was almost giving it away. Money was not something to be kept collecting dust, in her eyes.

Marjorie continued to watch Rebekah walk along the shoreline in the distance until Rebekah turned back and looked up towards the house. Marjorie quickly hid from the window, embarrassed for spying on her fun and kind new friend and hostess, so she went back to bed. Marjorie laid there feeling uneasy, but she couldn't help but wonder what Rebekah was hiding. She had a mystery and pain behind her eyes. Marjorie had an uneasy feeling there was something her new friend wasn't telling her...