Chapter Twenty-One (Part One)

The doorbell rang at the Tinker place at about lunchtime. Standing in front of Wanda was Malcolm Landgraab IV, a tall, tanned, muscular blond with a furrowed brow and piercing gray-blue eyes. Malcolm, the latest scion of the Landgraab dynasty, owned a mansion not too far from the Tinker residence, and indeed there was a view of it from what was Melody's bedroom window.
"How do you do, Mrs. Tinker?" asked Malcolm as he shook her hand.
"Do, please, come in," Wanda said, ushering him inside. "I was just about to cook some chili con carne. Would you like some?"
Refusing Wanda's kind offer of a meal, Malcolm got right down to business. "My board of trustees and I have been discussing the possibility of acquiring Tinker Toys."
"Really?" Wanda asked. "You mean like making a brand out of it?"
"That's something like what we have in mind. You see, we'd like to make Tinker Toys part of Landgraab Enterprises."
Wanda piped up. "How much?"
"Well, we haven't completed the paperwork yet, but all the day-to-day handling of Tinker Toys, all the franchising fees, all the business operations, would be handled by Landgraab Enterprises."
Wanda nodded her overwhelming approval. "I would say yes immediately but I would have to contact my daughter first. She's at Academie Le Tour, you know."
After Malcolm left, Wanda immediately dialed Melody. "Hey, sweetie. How are you today?"
Melody replied, "I'm doing okay, but I was on my way to class. What's up?"
"I got an offer to buy the toy shop. And I told him I would accept, pending approval from you."
Melody, amidst the hustle and bustle of her dorm, was aghast. "Mom! How could you?"
Wanda couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Melody!"
"How could you just give up like that? Stephen Tinker worked his hiney off for that shop, and you're just going to throw it away? Just like that?"
"Melody!" Wanda shouted in amazement, hearing her daughter's words ring over the receiver. "The guy promised he'd make an international brand out of it."
Melody shook her head. "Well who was the guy?"
"Malcolm something or other, he said his name was."
"Malcolm Landgraab, that snake! Mom, selling to him would be like selling your soul to the devil!"
"Melody!" Wanda shouted, "I don't believe you!"

"Don't make a mistake like this, mom. You just can't do it. Selling the toyshop would be a huge mistake you would never be able to forgive yourself for."
"Melody!" Wanda continued to scream, almost merely to hear herself scream. She could not believe Melody was objecting so vehemently. But then again, thought Wanda, this was Melody, always getting in the way of what needed to be done.
"I knew Malcolm would worm himself in here somehow. You just knew the minute daddy's death certificate got signed he'd show up to try to snatch up the pieces. He's like a vulture waiting to pounce on the ashes of our family. And as long as I'm alive I'm not going to let him. Look, I've got to go to class, we'll talk more about this later."
Wanda put the receiver down and sighed. "Melody." She couldn't believe Melody felt this way, especially about the toy shop which she'd never shown any interest in before. She had never heard her daughter emote such passion in an argument before. What was going on? What was behind Melody's tirade? Wanda knew there was something else going on, something Melody wasn't telling her about.

Even though she had taken a couple lessons from Chaz Whippler, Melody still didn't feel entirely comfortable behind the wheel. So after her seminars at Le Tour, she took classes at the Sim City Driving Academy (SCDA) twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, lugging home books on automobile safety and cars in general. There were times when she wondered if she would ever learn to drive.
Melody walked in the dorm and immediately crashed on the sofa in front of the television. Marla, sitting next to her, thought she was napping peacefully, but then saw her eyelids were still moving behind her thick glasses and her eyes were partially open. Lost in thought, Marla realized. I wonder what she's thinking about. Despite having become more outgoing at college, Melody was still an introvert at her core and prone to brooding, and sometimes liked to recharge her batteries by just thinking, shutting off the world and everyone around her.
Marla knew not to pry and just continued to watch her, with Melody unaware that she was being watched. She looks at peace, Marla thought, unaware of the internal turmoil concealed within.

Dr. Hyden was busy at his desk, typing up notes for his next lecture, when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in, Miss Tinker."
Melody laughed. "How did you know who I was?" "Because you're the only one of my students who would come knocking right after I've done my day's classes.
"Dr. Hyden," Melody began, taking a deep breath before beginning, "for one of my term papers, I've got to profile an influential person in the world of astronomy, and I chose you."
"I'm flattered, Miss Tinker, but -- why did you choose me?"
"Your studies on the origins of the universe and the possibility of life on other planets intrigued me."
"I see." Taking out her tape recorder, Melody proceeded to ask him general questions on where he was born, if he had siblings, where he went to college, how he got interested in astronomy, and Dr. Hyden answered them in his calm but commanding voice. "I was actually born in Strangetown, and I had one younger sister. I attended La Fiesta Tech..."
Then Melody got serious and personal. "Have you ever gotten married?" she asked him.
Dr. Hyden wondered about that question but answered it anyway. "No," he said, "but I came close a couple times."
Melody realized that Dr. Hyden had fallen right into her trap. Hardly daring to breathe, she asked, "Do you remember a student named Wanda Zarubin?"
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Dr. Hyden replied, eyeing her beadily, "Hmm, can't say that I do. Why?" He leaned forward, his hands clasped together. "Exactly where are you going with these leading questions, young lady?"
Melody's heart sank, he'd ratted her out. She realized she had to go in for the kill now. "She's my mother."
"Interesting," Dr. Hyden said, "I've had only a couple sets of mother-daughter students before this."
"Anyway, Dr. Hyden, my mother says that -- while she was a student at Sim State -- you and she had a relationship -- and that I'm -- I'm -- I'm the fruit of that relationship."
Dr. Hyden's mouth fell to the floor. "Are you saying I'm your father?" he asked in astonishment.
"That's what my mother says."
"Impossible!" Dr. Hyden shouted. "I can't have anything like this over my head, not with the annual astronomers' meeting coming up. I have to present the findings of my latest study on black holes."
Melody glared at him. "My mother would have no reason to lie to me."
"Oh, I believe she probably was a student at Sim State. Sim State is a large school, much bigger than this. It's just that, well, it was quite a number of years ago, and I've had so many students since then, I can't possibly remember them all by name."
Melody paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I'd like to take a DNA test."
"A DNA test?"
"It's the only way we'll know the truth once and for all. They can take it with your DNA, my DNA, and Stephen's DNA that's on file at the police station."
Dr. Hyden shook his head. "Stephen?"
"Stephen Tinker, my mother's husband and the man who raised me. He died a couple weeks ago, and that's when my mother told me about you."
"I see." Dr. Hyden thought about it for a moment. "Well, it'll have to be after the holidays and the convention," he told her. Satisfied with his response for the moment, Melody got up from her chair and left, leaving Dr. Hyden deep in thought as to who this Wanda Zarubin character could have been. He thought even more about Melody and her physical similarities to him.