"Geoffrey, this is the best deal we're going to get and it will save both the family and the business!"
"Screw the business, you all want me to go to prison!" said an uptight and increasingly angry Geoffrey.
"It's for all our sakes, including yours! It's just a few years in an open prison; everything will be here for you when you get out."
"Will it? Or will you have all moved on by then?"
"Geoffrey, how could you think such a thing?" exclaimed Nancy.
"Because I know now that I'm the expendable one" he snarled. He got up and went to his study where he retrieved his car keys and then went downstairs to the garage. Getting in his car, he drove off with tyres screeching.
His destination was the Landgraab Building. As he wasn't wearing a business suit the security guards and employees didn't recognise him at first and with all the rumours and news stories going around in the last two days no one wanted to dare speak with him as he headed up to his office.
"Mr Landgraab!" exclaimed his secretary when he entered unannounced.
"Can you leave me alone here, Alice?" he replied. She gathered up some paperwork and hurried out the door. Geoffrey looked around at his desk: Everything had been tidied up. Standard procedure: Shred anything incriminating.
He then opened another door and stepped in to the adjacent boardroom. He did a slow lap of the long table, finishing next to his place at the head. Looking out the window he surveyed a kingdom he once ruled.
He turned back to look at his old spot at the head of the table and thought that he'd never sit there again.
"You were never serious about retiring, Big Mal...well, that spot's all yours now" he mused to himself.
Behind the Chairman's seat hung the portrait of Gregory Landgraab. He was not the founder of the company but seen by many as its saviour.
"If it hadn't been for a strange turn of fate, then it would have been my grandfather...Ludwig Osteer...who would have inherited the company from Gordon Landgraab, not Gregory." he uttered with increasing spitefulness to his voice.
"All this talk about keeping it in the family was just a lie! You lot used me! I was your gopher, Mal, not a partner. I kept my end of the bargain! I agreed to give away my name, agreed to the marriage with Nancy, give up my work with the US government with the promise that this would be mine and now that's happened you're going to take it all from me and leave me to rot in jail!"
Geoffrey was pacing around the boardroom now with the anger gradually building up. "Criminal activities! That's a laugh! Everything we do breaks some law or another...why can't you take the hit for the company, Mal? You've only got a few years left in you and they'll probably keep you under house arrest in your island home...why should I take the fall?"
He paused as a thought crossed his mind. "Nancy..." he uttered, softly. "I do genuinely love her...or I did. Or did I? She was...and is...beautiful; not in Cannes, Milan or New York is there a woman who can match her. But she's running to daddy when things get bad...that tells you where her true loyalties lie..."
He threw his arms up in the air. "Who am I kidding? The spark went some time ago to be replaced by...her" and he had a warm, glowing image of a woman who beguiled him. "Beulah...even the name makes me feel warm. Those soft, brown eyes, that giggle, the lilt in her voice, the Rubenesque figure...I don't know, there's something about her that enchants me, I can't put it into words. A mystique, perhaps..."
"...or those tits! Oh to feel that flesh, to caress..." and then he snapped out of it. "What to do? What to do? I've got to get out of here" Before he left the boardroom, he took another look at the painting of Gregory Landgraab but, for the first time in his life, he looked on at it with sadness instead of pride.
There wasn't much time left before the police came calling, time to sort out some unfinished business, he thought. His destination: Oasis Springs.
The cheap trailer home was no place for a Landgraab to live, thought Geoffrey, but the simple and faded wood panelling reminded him of his childhood home, which was little more than a wooden shack on the outskirts of Sim City. He had never been here before, but he knew of it thanks to his private security agents keeping tabs on the occupant who lived there: His other son, John, the one he, Nancy and Malcolm never spoke of.
Geoffrey walked up the stops to the little rickety porch by the front door and, as there was no doorbell, he knocked on the door.
"Hang on, I'm coming...coming..." came the voice of a stressed out man from inside. Footsteps were heard approaching the door. "Listen Bernie...how should I have known that the fat lady was Mayor's wife? It's comedy! Everything's fair game..." the occupant opened the door and saw Geoffrey standing on the porch.
"Oh..." was all he could say.
"Hello son. I'd like to talk with you" said Geoffrey, calmly but stiffly.
"You'd like to talk with me all of a sudden? Two years of no contact and now, suddenly, out of the blue, plucked from the ether you've decided that you want to talk with me? How about I slam this door into your face?"
"Please...John! I need to talk, need to clear some things on my mind. Just spare me a few minutes of your time!" Geoffrey's voice started to show desperation. Johnny knew why his father was here ...maybe this would truly be the last time he'd see his father? The young man relented and ushered Geoffrey inside.
"Have a seat, Dad" he said, motioning towards the couch. "So is it true you're going to be arrested and put on trial?"
"Yes it is. Probably by the time I get home the police will be waiting for me."
Johnny took a deep breath. "It's sad for you and the family but...hey...it's not like you're innocent, is it? Your past just caught up with you."
"Don't get all high and mighty with me, boy!" Geoffrey exclaimed. "For years you did well off of the profits of what your mother and I earned; the easy or hard way!"
"OK Dad...cool it! Yeah I knew the history of the family and how you and Mom worked but that's one reason I left it all behind me! I'm not like you and Mom, I couldn't bear having to make the decisions you guys made...who should prosper and who should suffer? Who should live and who should die..."
"It's damn tough being at the top...you have to understand, John...Johnny. It...demands...so much of you...so...much...of....me..." he said with his words petering out at the end.
"So why are you here? For forgiveness? To confess? You think I've got a secret escape route to Mexico or something?"
"Quit joking around, Johnny!" snapped Geoffrey. "Don't use this situation as a basis for a stand up routine! The reason I'm here is that I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again and despite all that happened....that...'unpleasantness' that drove us apart...you're my son and I wanted to see you, to talk with you once more."
"It was yours and Mom's choice to throw me out and disown me, Dad. You said that I was no son of yours and you were completely cutting me off"
"I know but things change..."
"Yes, they do, and here you are desperate and friendless by the looks of things. That's a comedown"
"That's rich coming from you! You're living as trailer trash playing gigs in half empty nightclubs in between striptease routines."
"My living arrangements are entirely down to you and Mom"
"You couldn't live under our roof the way you were living your life!"
"Now what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well...your lifestyle..."
"Oh come on, Dad, out with it...say what you mean to say."
"Your mother and I didn't approve..."
"Of what? The comedy or something else?"
"You know what, I don't like to say it..."
"Makes you uncomfortable, does it?"
"You know it does...It's something I'm not used to, I associate it with a kind of degenerate person..."
"You know it does...It's something I'm not used to, I associate it with a kind of degenerate person..."
"I bet you do"
"There you go, being flippant again"
"Flippant? I'm angry, Dad"
"But you and...him..."
"Skip, his name is...was...Skip"
"I can't understand it"
"You know nothing, Dad"
"But with all the lovely, beautiful young women you were meeting when we took you to all the gala events why him? I mean, there was young Gabriela Spang..."
"I had her as well, Dad. I dated them all; all the debutantes, the daughters of your friends...like I said, you know nothing. Anyway, it' all moot now; Skip's dead, I'm here and you're about to go to prison" Johnny said with sadness in his voice.
"Your grandfather is very keen to bring you back into the family fold" said Geoffrey.
"Oh he does love to control everything and everyone, doesn't he? Well, he knows where to find me"
"I'm warning you, Johnny, he's sold me down the river and he'll do the same to you"
"Thanks for the heads up but I think I can handle him"
"Now it's you who knows nothing! Look, you sleep with anyone you damn well please...I don't understand what makes you tick at all...but you're still my son, my firstborn, and I don't want you to end up as something to be cast aside like what they've done to me..."
"Self pity from you, Dad."
"I've wasted my time coming here!" exclaimed Geoffrey, turning red with rage. "In some ways you're as cruel as your brother but at least Malcolm never turned on me"
"He knows which side his bread is buttered, that's why."
"I know all your secrets...you, Malcolm, your Mom and Big Mal. I can ruin all of you!" and with that Geoffrey sprang to his feet and walked to the door. Out of the door window he could see the figure of a woman across the road at the Sneedley residence. He recognised her at once, how could he fail to do so as he had subtly watched her every move over the last few months? It was Beulah...maybe she could save him?
"What are you looking at, Dad?" said Johnny, confused that his father had gone from being incandescent with rage to being transfixed by something he could see out of the window. Johnny got up and moved next to Geoffrey. He could see George Sneedley in drag again, prancing around in his living room in a bright pink dress.
"Beulah...." gasped Geoffrey.
"Beulah, is that what he calls himself when he's like that?" said Johnny but Geoffrey didn't hear him.
"She's the only one who I have a connection with now...I must go and see her..." said Geoffrey, his voice sounding disconnected from the rest of his surroundings.
"Her? Wait, Dad, there's something you should know, I mean really know..." said Johnny but it was too late, Geoffrey was out of the door and running across the road.
"Dad...and George Sneedley in drag?" Johnny's eyes were wide in astonishment and as he closed the door and retreated inside his trailer he started to laugh.
"Ha-ha-ha! 'I do not approve of you and Skip! It's degenerate!' and you're in love with George Sneedley dressed up as a woman! Oh my! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! And George calls himself 'Beulah' as well! Oh this is the best comedy I've ever witnessed! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" And with that, Johnny slumped to the floor, unable to contain his laughter.
Meanwhile Geoffrey ran across the road to Sneedley Burrow; he had to see Beulah, had to lay it all on the line with her.
Inside George was skipping about, enjoying being a woman. It wasn't one of his scheduled work days at Affluista Mansion but he wanted to wear his new pink satin dress, which had now become his favourite. As he frolicked around his living room he suddenly heard a knock at the door. He froze in panic...Edna! But Edna wasn't due home from work for another couple of hours and, besides, she had a house key and knew where the spare was hidden outside. OK, not Edna then so he could bluff it out as Beulah. He slipped his high heels back on and sauntered over to the door in a feminine way, clearing his throat for when he had to speak as Beulah.
On opening the door he was surprised to see Geoffrey Landgraab. "Geoffreh! Oh mah! What ah surprise, a most pleasant one to be sure."
"Beulah, I have to speak with you...are George or Edna in?" he asked with desperation in his voice.
"No, they're not. I'm just here doin' some chores for them today."
"You're dressed very well for doing some chores: Satin dress, high heels..."
"Well, ahm jus' doin' a few light jobs...today isn't mah usual day here, I'm doin' this as a favour for the Sneedleh's before ah....ah..." she had to think up a convincing reason fast. "...ah have to go somewhere this evenin'"
"Oh...you have plans!" said Geoffrey. If she was looking this good and was going out this evening then that could mean a romantic rival! Geoffrey's heart began to sink.
"To...meet someone?" he asked, gulping.
"Well yais...it's nothin' serious, mind. Just...meeting...a friend?" said Beulah, awkwardly.
Geoffrey was nervous so to calm his nerves he sat down and began to speak. "Beulah, I'm going to lay it all on the line now...I am totally smitten with you, I have been since the moment I first set eyes on you."
Beulah gulped. She had suspected some flirtatiousness from him since the beginning but this admission of being smitten! It took her off guard so she sat down as well.
"Time's running out for me, Beulah...I don't know if you've been watching the news lately..."
"Ah have, and ahm sorry you're in such a predicament"
"It's more than a predicament, Beulah, it's my life at stake! I'm a desperate man, I've nothing left to lose..."
"Nancy's abandoning me, my family don't care, my name and reputation in ruins. All I have left is this passion and desire for you, Beulah! I don't know what it is that draws me to you but you have this intoxicating effect on me."
"Pheromones?"
"Or cosmic fate! Whatever it is that draws me inexorably towards you, Beulah, I want to now run away with you! Flee this city, this country and head to Argentina! I have contacts in Buenos Aires and we can begin a life there, just you and me! I've thought this out...we need some fake passports but I keep a stash in my safe."
Beulah gulped and began to panic; what to say? "Ah can't, Geoffreh! I'm flattered n' all that, truly ah am but I can't just leave mah home..."
"What's keeping you here? You left Georgia to come to Sim City so nothing was holding you back there. You're a single woman...is it this other man, the one you're going to see tonight?"
"It's not quite like that, Geoffreh"
"Then what? I am still a wealthy man. Even on the run I have funds stashed in various caches around the world. You don't like the sound of Argentina? Alright, Marrakesh then. Or Thailand. Name the place and I'll find somewhere nearby with no extradition treaty where we can live."
"It's not that, Geoffreh...I'm not quite the woman you think ah am" she said, nervously.
"I'd like to get to know all of you, Beulah. Not as my employee, but as a lover! Where we go you'll wear the finest gowns, you'll never need to don a maid's outfit ever again...unless it's for fun."
"It's a tempting offer but no..."
"Whyever not? Don't you feel the same passion? Oh I've seen that twinkle in your eye, that coquettish smile that covers a darker, sensuous woman. I can tell you like me..."
"Ah think you've misread mah signals, Geoffreh..."
"Let me show you how much I'm besotted with you...come closer..." he said, inching his way towards Beulah, his hand reaching out to touch her knee. Beulah squirmed, not knowing what to do.
"Erm...about this other man, Geoffreh..." she said, her voice croaking.
"Forget about him...don't you like this?" he said, gently fondling Beulah's knee. She found the experience...unusual.
"It's...not...unpleasant...from a tactile point of view it's just that...oh mah, your hand is creeping up my leg just a bit..."
"Let's kiss, Beulah..."
"Geoffreh, mwaahhh hnnngggh ah ah I need some air...mah, you're a firm kisser that's for sure! Oh and that hand's gone quite far enough thank you. Ah think you should STOP before you get a surprise....oh, too late!"
"What...is that?" said a startled Geoffrey.
"Erm...it's my....Johnson"
"WHAT?"
Beulah leapt to her feet and tore off her wig. "I can't do this anymore! Geoffrey, I'm actually George!"
"GEORGE!"
"I know...you see, I like to dress up in women's clothes and it was completely by chance that I bumped in to you dressed like this and we got talking..."
"You're a pervert!"
"Now, now...lots of men wear women's clothing, we're not all perverts...it's just that women get all the nice stuff and we have to..."
"SHUT UP! Oh my God, you're a homosexual! Johnny's probably one as well and that must mean...to have lusted after you...oh no, oh dear God..."
"Geoffrey, transvestites are not the same as homosexuals. I love Edna and if you don't mind me saying so I think your Nancy's a wonderful looking woman...I mean, if I wasn't married I'd be seriously checking her out...OK, this isn't helping..."
"Weirdos...all around me are crooks, drug pushers, sex maniacs and aliens..." Geoffrey started to babble.
"What was that last one?" asked an incredulous George.
"YOU HAVE ALL CROSSED ME FOR THE LAST TIME! Edna will find out about this! And I'll tell the cops about all the corruption, the crime, the sordid secrets of EVERYONE! And then I'll tell the government about...THEM!"
"Look, Geoffrey, let's not act hastily here! Edna and the world don't have to know...I understand I've lead you on but I was enjoying the flattery from you and, well, working closely with your family meant I could spend more time as a woman. It's not easy leading a double life..."
"You used me! Toyed with me! I bet you were laughing all the time behind my back!"
"I wasn't...I just enjoyed the validation"
Geoffrey got up and started to pace around, then he clenched his fist and bit down on it. "I touched George Sneedley's Johnson! Nooooooooooooooooooooo!"
"Geoffrey, we can sort this out. Actually, can we sort it out another time as Edna will be home soon and it takes at least 45 minutes to completely remove all this clothing and make up. I'll call you a cab..."
Geoffrey was still biting his fist and sobbing so George went to pick up the telephone and make the call. Suddenly, Geoffrey barged past him and ran out into the street.
"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he said, wailing as he ran off.
