Yes, it’s a Skaldthetical with a long storytelling OP and possibly a poll, depending on my mood at the moment I press submit. If you don’t like these, stop now.
Today’s story stars Beverly, a thirtysomething woman who’s just retired from teaching, and the two people she loves most in the world: her huband, George, and her brother, Barry. If it seems odd that Beverly’s retired five years shy of her fifth decade, there’s a reason: she just won the Powerball jackpot. She wouldn’t put it quite that way, though. Though she and she alone bought the winning ticket (George refuses to gamble in any game not named “poker” and for any stakes other than Cheetos), and though the check was made out to her alone, she considers that the money belongs to them both. She took the cash payout and netted $60 million after taxes. Briefly they considered keeping working, then said, “Fuck that shit, we’re on vacation till death.”
Beverly and Barry are much closer than most siblings. Their parents died when she was 7. At that time, Barry–12 years her senior and just about to start his sophomore year in college-- became her guardian. He put his own schooling on hold so he could get a job to support them; he comforted her when she was grieving, defended her from dangers, sacrificed to put her through college on the normal schedule; he didn’t get his own bachelor’s degree until years after she did. Beverly can’t imagine what her life would have been like if he hadn’t stepped up when their parents died, but she’s sure it would have been bad. She’s never kept a secret from him, and as far as she knows he’s never kept one from her. After extended separations, she’s apt to greet him with a joyful scream, a leap into his arms, and a shower of kisses on the cheeks …
… or at least she used to. Beverly & Barry’s closeness bothers her husband, you see. The physical expressions of their affection squick him out, and their emotional closeness seems overly intrusive to him. Bothered by that even when they were dating, George grew resentful of Barry during the early years of their marriage. Naturally Beverly told her brother about this. Barry’s response was to tell her that they had to dial things back for the nonce–maybe forever. “You’re married now,” he told Beverly. "George has to be the most important thing in your life now, or it won’t work."So they put the kibosh on the passionate hugs and so on; dialed down the daily phone calls to once a month or so; stopped having dinner together every Sunday in favor of only on birthdays and holidays; and in general tried to accommodate George’s squeamishness.
Recently Barry’s finances have been as shaky as Beverly’s are solid. He owns a small business which was hit hard by the economic downturn and never got better. He’s had to lay off 15 of his 20 employees and is still having problems making payroll; bankruptcy is looming. Beverly knows all this (she and Barry still exchange emails at least once a day). Recently Barry asked to borrow $40K, enough to cover the next three months’ payroll, but Beverly wants to do a lot more. Her inclination is to give Barry the money outright–and not just the few thousand he asked to borrow, but around $5 million or so, so he can reinvest in his business, or maybe just retire.
Which at least brings us to our problem: George. When Beverly broached the idea above, he got very quiet and was unwilling to give his opinion until he thought about it for a while. When he spoke on the subject a few hours later, it was to say that he was very uncomfortable at the notion. If they give Barry this money, it will surely result in a greater entanglement of him in their lives, George says. The closeness between Beverly and Barry has always troubled him; he thinks it’s healthier not merely for her but for their marriage. If the money is truly theirs and not just Beverly’s, then he has the right to veto such a great expenditure. He’s not happy doing anything more than co-signing a bank loan for Barry. If Beverly insists on giving Barry the $5 million, then it will signal that she considers the winnings hers alone, not theirs–and that Barry is more important to her than he is. He’s not sure their marriage can survive that.
What do you think Beverly should do?
