The "party" was upon them. When they arrived, Goodwin quickly sought out Jenni and they got
involved in a whispered conversation in the driveway away, from prying ears and
eyes. Jenni was livid that he was even
there and with her! Goodwin tried to explain the mixup. Humberto and Ana were also there. Humberto asked his mother to
come meet Jenni, Tiffani's mom. She was over there talking to Goodwin. They looked like they were having a heated conversation and Delia began to get a bit suspicious that this was
maybe why he wasn’t home more often.
When Jenni saw them coming over she said, "Here comes little Miss Ghost Baby. Go to her and make her happy Goode, but don't forget about me. Take care of the witch and I will take care of you later." Then she winked at him.
When Delia asked suspiciously who he was talking to and wanted to know if this was the reason he was never home, he told her that they were old friends from high school and there was nothing going on. It
was ridiculous to even think such a thing.
It had started to rain, so he asked her to join him inside
where it was warmer. They could sit and
talk it through.
Once inside Delia had a seat on the couch while she waited
for Goodwin to finish his conversation with Jenni. When they were done and Jenni walked away, Goodwin sat down with
her and moved in close.
Delia seemed satisfied nothing was going on and put her arm around Goodwin. He wouldn't snuggle up to her in front of his mistress, she thought. He scooted closer and cuddled with her. They party continued without further incident and the
three of them went home.
When they got home Delia went straight to bed both mentally and
physically exhausted. Goodwin said he
was going to go downstairs and play chess for a while to wind down. Of course, she thought. Any excuse not to come to bed with me.
Everyone was asleep so instead of playing chess, Goodwin slipped into
the basement. This is what he had
worked for ever since he saw the sad looking girl with the ghost baby. She was going to make him and Jenni rich.
Before he started exploring and searching for the ambrosia ingredients, he couldn't resist using the Philosophers Stone. Legend was it turned ordinary objects to gold. He would get a few gold bars and use them to buy something extravagant for Jenni to make up to her for the lost time between them.
He laughed when he easily converted an old newspaper to gold. He continued finding objects to change. But then something happened when he found some fish in one of the cabinets. The gold
backfired and he started to see a yellow glow overcome him. Goodwin lost his life that night. He would be forever frozen in a position of horror.
Delia woke the next morning and Goodwin was gone; nothing unusual about that. He came and went as he pleased. She went down to the basement to take care of the babies, when she noticed the bookcase was slightly ajar. Her heart began to pound. Either she left it open or someone was inside.
When she walked in
she screamed and nearly fainted. Right there in front of
her stood a golden statue immortalizing the likeness of her husband; now
dead.
She had no idea how it even happened. Then she saw the gold bars lying next to the Philosophers’ Stone. And she knew. He had been trying to use it to transmute items into gold. She had heard it could be deadly. It was another legend that was true.
How could he have found this? She had only been in the basement a couple of times in the last couple of years. Yes, it was her fault and she was devastated. She would never forgive herself. Their marriage was not perfect, far from it, but she never wished this on him. She only wished he loved her like she loved him.
She would just tell Alex and Humberto he left her, but
didn’t say where he was going. They knew the marriage was not stable and would believe this. She has to keep it together. Her son, whom he helped cure, was getting married thanks to him. She cried and cried. I am so sorry Goodwin.
That night, in her despair, who should show up to comfort her but Francisco. When she was at her worst, he seemed to be there. If she didn't have living proof that he appeared to her, she would think she was hallucinating.
He simply held her in his cool arms while she cried herself out. He said nothing and made no judgements. She wished so much that Francisco was not a ghost and they could live their life together. After a while, he kissed her on the cheek and vanished.
As it always seemed to happen, she had two very young children to care for and no husband. She was convinced she was jinxed. After Alex's wedding she would leave Twinbrook. She no longer needed to hide, but she needed to get herself and her children far away from this town so they could make a fresh start and no one would ever know or ask her about Goodwin Goode.
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