Concluding the visit...
The meeting upstairs was mostly over at that point. Lynnie caught up with Frankie and managed to convince her to at least eat something before heading back to the House, which she did:
It was pretty obvious to everyone that she was more than a little upset. Linestra inquired if she was okay; Frankie responded in a calm, detached voice, saying, "Well, it seems that Madame Foster..." and repeated the entire story. Nobody missed the fact that she referred to her grandmother as "Madame Foster" and not "Grandma". There was a lot of hurt here, a lot of deep hurt, and it wasn't going to heal anytime soon. Eduardo took it all in and stood quietly nearby and spaced out, his mind gone to another place where he didn't have to deal with any of this:
"I..." Words failed him. "I know, Ed, I know," Jekylljiuce said as she joined him. Meanwhile, Coco found a different way to cope with things:
And that's where she stayed as Frankie gathered up the rest of the Imaginary Friends and went home.
Upstairs, Madame Foster continued to explain herself to Sparky:
"I can't say much more than I already have," she said. "It seemed like it was the only thing I could do. The House was in bad shape, the bill collectors were closing in, donations were flat and we couldn't get help from the government. It looked as if my life's work was coming to an end. Now my granddaughter hates me, the show is ending and the royalty checks aren't going to cover our expenses for long. I remember moving here because the taxes were lower, but something went wrong. I don't know what it is; the taxes and the bills weren't as low as I thought, they skyrocketed two days ago, and there's a huge gap in my memory between when we left Washington and when we arrived here. Everyone in the House has it, and so do a lot of other people. I don't understand it."
"Don't you remember anything from that time?" Sparky asked.
"Echoes of fear and something about a crystal. That's all," she replied. "I'm more concerned about money right now. Did you get your tax bill? My goodness, the first one was bad enough but the last one, poor Mr. Herriman nearly had a heart attack when he saw it. What happened that they rose so much overnight?"
Sparky shrugged. "The Bandrowskys warned us. 'Don't talk about the Piano with the newcomers or else'. I guess someone talked, and Kimmy and Darran found out about it. He's on the Valley council and pushed the tax bill in retaliation."
Madame Foster rolled her eyes. "Again with this Piano thing! What is the big deal about a musical instrument? You press the keys, it makes a nice sound. Have I missed something?"
"I don't know if you want to get involved in this," said Sparky. She looked at Madame Foster for a moment. "Then again, maybe you do. There may be a lot of money at stake."
"Newcomers or not, we live in the Valley, too. We're involved whether we want to be or not. So, what is it? Made of rare wood with keys of ivory and onyx, strings of silver, and lost out in the bay until someone finds and claims it?"
Sparky laughed. "No, not like that. It's not lost at all; in fact, I'll bet you've already seen it. A piano is a musical instrument but
the Piano, the Jewel of the Valley, is a house."
"A house?" Confusion tinted Madame Foster's voice. "The Bandrowskys are up in arms because people might talk about a house? Who
are these Bandrowsky people?"
"Wealthy, ambitious, and ruthless," said Sparky. "Kimmy, Darran, and their three daughters:
"Kim, the youngest, she's not too bad but the rest of the family... I don't know. They want what they want and if you cross them or get in their way they will hurt you. They're also very charismatic, charming people, and they know how to use that charm. Be careful around them; if you frack them off enough, Kimmy will arrange a response, and it won't be pleasant."
"That bad? Dang. How does the Piano fit into this?"
"It started decades ago. There once was a man in the Valley named Marcus Langard, just another guy, really, nothing special about him until after he graduated from the University. He went on to become an adventurer like no other, travelling far and wide across the Valley and well beyond. When he finally returned to the Valley to settle down he had a fortune with him and bought a lot of land. People started calling him 'Marcus Landgrab', which he thought was funny, so he changed his name to that... 'cept there was a typo on the legal documents, so it's spelled 'Landgraab'."
"As in 'Malcolm Landgraab the 4th'? The fellow in Bluewater Village who owns Club Dante and the electronics store?"
"That's Marcus's descendent:
Marcus and his wife Irene had two children, Malcolm Landgraab the 1st and a daughter named Teresa. The Piano, built for him by the great architect
Seomi, was their residence. Cost a fortune to build but was worth it. Total luxury. Unfortunately both Marcus and Irene died in an off-lot accident while the kids were in college, leaving the Piano as an unowned lot that nobody could afford, and in the Valley" (
and in the game) "if no one owns a lot, no one can enter it. Malcolm the 1st tried for years to raise enough money to buy it back but never succeeded. Same with Malcolm the 2nd. Malcolm the 3rd lost interest in the house; I don't know what Malcolm the 4th thinks about it. I don't know what happened to Teresa; she left the Valley after graduation and that's the last anyone heard of her."
"Okay, so the Piano is a big expensive house," said Madame Foster. "So is my house. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is what might be inside. The stories and rumors are pretty wild but the fact is that Marcus was incredibly wealthy and collected a lot of stuff during his life. No one knows what's inside the Piano but everyone knows it's far more valuable than it's already high price would suggest. The place is an incomparable treasure trove."
"So the Bandrowskys wanted everyone to keep quiet to reduce the competition, is that it? Wow. This is a lot to take in, Ms. Read, it truly is. But it'll have to wait; right now I'm more concerned about my granddaughter."
"So am I, Madame Foster. So are we all."
The evening was pretty much over at that point. Madame Foster headed home while Sparky chatted briefly with the last two stragglers:
Mr. Herriman, dedicated as always to his creator, promised he'd look fter her and do whatever he could to heal the rift that had now formed between Frankie and Madame Foster. Coco promised the same thing... and demanded to know where she could buy a bubble blower of her own.
Early Sunday morning at Foster's, neither Wilt nor Madam Foster could sleep. They found themselves taking comfort in each other's company on the living room sofa:
"I've done a horrible thing, Wilt, a horrible thing."
"I know, Madame Foster. Your heart was in the right place, trying to save the House and all. It's just bad judgement. Really bad. Especially dragging the Cassimans into it and using Bloo to wear down Frankie like that. Sorry, but that's really not okay."
"I know, Wilt. I always have. And knowing what I did has been tearing me up inside for five years now. I don't know if I can ever forgive myself for doing this to her and to all of you as well."
"This is going to be with you for a long time. Look, I'm not happy about this either, but I forgive you. Does that help?" He smiled that big white smile he was so well known for.
"Thank you, dear. But will Frankie ever forgive me? I don't know if there's any way I can ever make this up to her. I just don't know." With that she sighed and went to bed, leaving Wilt in front of the fireplace to contemplate the future of the House.
Actually, Madame Foster, there
is a way you can make it up to Frankie. You see, there's some unfinished business at Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. And you're going to be the one to finish it.
Stay tuned.