"Mai? She hasn't been here very long. I couldn't live here without her. I can't keep this old house going by myself."
"I could move in and take over, then you wouldn't need Mai."
"Not on your life. You'd like to move in here and take over. You'd like that a lot. But you aren't going to do it. I like Mai. I don't care if you think she is incompetent. She stays. You go. And you can pass that on to the rest of the family. I expected a weekind. I got a week. That's about all I can stand. When can we expect your departure?"
"We can leave tomorrow."
"Fine. That puts my call to the Sheriff off until Tuesday morning, but not later than that."
Relative leaves the room without any further conversation. She meets Mai in the hall, on her way into the library, snoots at her without speaking.
Monday, November 3, 2025 Monday. Journal { In the library Clydes. Had a good writing session. If I keep the changes I have an entirely new story theme. It's all about Mai now, and Deke just helps her become what she can become, and then dies, of old age.
I still need to define the relatives. How many are there? How are they related to Deke and each other? Are any of them good guys?
I also need to write chapters or a single chapter on the servants, how they are hired, controled, and the conflicts they have with Mai.
Story: What if Deke actually had an affair with an Asian woman, had a child by her, and abandoned the child and her mother when he left Asia? Could he atone for his sins somehow by adopting, illegally of course, Mai? You can't adopt a 23 year old, but you can maybe make her your daughter. Most of the back story is true, she really was born in Asia, and he realloty did have an affair with progeny at about the right time. All that changes is that he brought either the mother and the daughter or just the daughter with him to America. That would give the right date for the forged documents, which are real, of course, since the database has been edited to show that. Her name could change from Mia to Mai, or maybe already has by the pimps and madams she has had over the years.
She would not have a birth certificate, or at least not one from the US. She might have one from Asia, though, if someone went ang got one from there. In fact, someone might actually go to Asia and look for her actual birth certificate. It would make a chapter or so. Or an official in Asia could be bribed to create one with the proper information on it.
That would introducd the lawyer into the story, which might help a lot. Meanwhile, she has to stay close to the house and Deke. She won't be rounded up as an illegal if she stays in the countryside. So she can keep right on learning to read and manage a household. She is very intelligent and learns everything fast.
She doesn't have a romantic or physical relationship with Deke because 1) She is his daughter and 2) He is over 80 years old.
Deke can just about make it up the stairs to his bedroom and Mia/Mai sleeps in the bedroom adjacent in case he needs her in the night.