Sweetwater Redemption

Chapter 6: The Fire Pit

Pressed marble. Towering ceilings with gold trim. Solid wood tables and straight backed chairs with predictably mild patterns. They were all reminders of the home that burned before Cheryl's eyes. As she walked into the bank, nostalgia ripped through her chest. Old man Perkins' house was a far cry from what she once called home, but the lush bank provided at least some relief.

Despite the clear lack of luxury at the farm, it still felt more like a home than the Blossom Manor ever did. She suspected much of that had to do with Toni, but rather than test that theory, she had a mission to make it stay that way for as long as possible.

Her agent, of course, ensured she didn't wait within the confines of the velvet ropes the local commoners were forced to endure. She instead walked in and was immediately beckoned into the corner office on the second floor.

There, in the bank, surrounded by money, jewels and gold, Cheryl wasn't treated like a demonic creature. In the place where money reigned supreme, hers was just as green as any human, but much larger in total. The truth was, without the Blossom's large fortune, the bank wouldn't exist, and it certainly wouldn't operate on such a grand scale. For that reason and more, Cheryl's word was gospel, and her requests were treated with the utmost importance.

There were a few reasons for her visit on that sunny afternoon, the first of which she allowed her agent to address.

"It is lovely to see you as always Miss Blossom." The plump woman said with her thin pink lips pulled into a welcoming smile.

"Lovely to be here, as always. I trust everything has been settled."

"Of course, and we all extend our condolences to you over the loss of your family."

"I'm not sorry, and you shouldn't be either. I have other business to attend to this afternoon. Again, is everything settled?"

"Yes." The woman said as she pulled a large manilla file onto her desk. "The Blossom estate and all of its assets have been moved to your account, minus the trust you've asked us to keep seperate."

"Excellent, and the insurance money from the fire?" Cheryl asked.

"The insurance company has settled the claim, and agreed to the requested amount. That has also been deposited into your account as well."

"You have been most expedient as always, thank you. However, there is one more matter I would like addressed."

The woman before her began frantically flicking through her files and clicking through her emails, looking for a request that was never made.

"I apologize Miss Blossom, I don't have any other requests on file for your estate or I would have ensured its completion as well."

"Not to worry." Cheryl said calmly and with the friendliest smile she could manage. "I did not call ahead on this request. I do hope you will still have time to look into it nevertheless."

The agent let go a trapped breath and slowly looked to Cheryl with a cautious smile.

"Certainly, what it is it that I can help with?"

"The Perkins farm... the bank owns it, does it not?" Cheryl asked, getting right to the point.

"That's correct." She nodded, looking slightly less concerned for her safety.

"I would like to add it to the Blossom estate in an expedited sale."

Cheryl felt a surge of excitement from the woman. She assumed the sale of the Perkins property would haul in major brownie points for the agent, considering how long it sat stagnant on the market.