House of Cards

Not so long ago, my baby brother Bassy made his not-so-triumphant return to Sunset Valley.   He returned home a broken man, broken in finances and broken in spirit, with the recent loss of our father.  He also recently married someone even he barely knows, someone he's getting to know as he goes along. 

I have wanted to meet his new bride, Cherise, but she has proven to be elusive.  Every time I arrange a meeting she's either working or otherwise unavailable. I do have several questions about this union - especially in light of the new information that I have learned from Kady.  Has she married the man - or his name?  Does she love him?  I guess the biggest question I have is, who the heck is she and what is her motivation?  I know nothing about her except that she is married to my brother. 

The next day was a Saturday.  Kady and I went over my brother's records with a fine-tooth comb.  Not only had he horribly mismanaged his personal life, but he horribly mismanaged his money, too. Ever since he's been born, I've been responsible for Bassy.  I've been the one who's been charged with taking care of him.  But I've been so wrapped up with dealing with my own family that I hadn't been dealing with him, and he's been adrift.  That's my fault. 

Right now he wants to take Madison back to court to try to get her to pay child support for Kady. He's flat broke now and unemployed and she's still earning money from concerts and her album sales.  When they met she was an aspiring singer and he was on top of the film world.  Who'd have thunk it?

The happy family that he'd made in Starlight Shores with Madison and Kady was, indeed, a façade; a house of cards that tumbled down as quickly as it was built.

Both he and Madison cheated on each other. 

Kady was caught in the middle, an accidental consequence of a web of lust and deceit.  Neither of them actually wanted her.  She was just 'in the way' of the lives they wanted to lead.  Being the type of girl she was - with her photographic memory and total recall of their indiscretions - certainly didn't help.  And to tell the truth, I agree wholeheartedly with the custody judge, neither of them deserve her.   

Even the life that he'd built with poor Kyra Foster in Bridgeport turned out to be a lie and a sham.  He'd never actually broken things off with his childhood sweetheart, Daisy, here in Sunset Valley.  By the way, I'm told he had to sell his Bridgeport penthouse. 

Make no mistake, I love my baby brother to death.  There isn't a thing on this planet or the next one that I would not do for him.  I would stand in front of a moving train if it meant that he'd live and I'd die.  But there are things that he's done and has continued to do that I do not approve of.  He's not a bad guy, but he's extremely impulsive and makes very poor decisions.  If he thinks that I'm going to bail him out of this situation financially, then he's got another thing coming.  He's not going to be crashing on my couch anytime soon.  I've already got his kid here.