_To my beloved wife and children:_

_As patriarch to the esteemed Labash Enterprises, a dynasty that I've spent the better half of my 89 years building, your presence is requested for a _**_special_**_ family meeting. _

_As you all know, I've been preparing you since childhood for my untimely though inevitable passing -- the day when one of you will be forced to fill my custom Oxford shoes. _

_I'm apologetic to announce that such a day has finally fallen upon you all._

_Tomorrow, around 10 o'clock PM, I've decided to get my body cryogenically frozen, and thus, making myself unavailable to everyone and their offspring until circa year 3059. Me and my technicians are still ironing out the details._

_Prior to my freezing, I intend to use this family assembly as a means of choosing my successor to the company. For years, you've all heckled me, and one another [in speculation of my will], so I suppose it's time that I decide a plan for the some 70 billion dollars I've allocated to my personal savings. I've been advised that the currency in 3059 will be Space Tokens, so I no longer have a need for USD._

_You all know family is extremely important to me -- so I look forward to spending my final day with you all in Hawaii. Though, I won't necessarily be dying, it'd be a lie to say that knowing my frozen body will outlive my children doesn't make this old man melancholy!_

_So, with that being said, please arrive to the Grand Hyatt Kauai tomorrow by 7 am. I'd like to start my final morning with a family viewing of Adam Sandler in The Water Boy...and perhaps a round or two of big jenga. The rest is up to you._

_See you soon,_

**_Big Daddy_**

**- Letter provided through the office of Mr. Alvin Labash Sr., Executive Director and CEO of Labash Enterprises**

When I arrived to my father's cabana the next morning, my half siblings and stepmother were already in heated discussion.

"If you even paid attention to someone besides yourself for a millisecond, you'd know Big Daddy is a music lover. Haven't you ever noticed that Labash has a shrine to _Bach_? I spent the night preparing him a classical utopia...My surprise is sure to serenade Big Daddy's pocketbook."

"_Ludwig_, you're really so small-minded..." countered Mimi.

"You only know his taste in music because it matches your own. If you _really_ paid attention, you'd know Big Daddy likes nothing more than horses. He used to ride them as a child on the ranch, and has missed them dearly since relocating to the city. His successor will surely be someone who relishes his _inner child_."

Alvin Jr., who looked more and more like dad with every family meeting, laughed curtly.

"_Mimi_, you're really still a child yourself. Big Daddy is a _businessman_. He wants to know his successor has an eye for business. Upon arrival last night, I prepared Big Daddy a business venture he simply can't refuse. I'm sure he'll be begging to include me-"

"You all got here _last night?_" I wondered aloud.

The room went ghostly silent. But after sometime Valentina, my latest stepmom, cleared her throat.

"Welcome, Shreya! You look...healthy. Your brothers and sister came early last night eager to plan Big Daddy some surprises on his final day. Show him how loved he is..."

Her long red nails swiped through voluminous, shiny hair, before eyeing me disappointedly,

"Did you not prepare anything special for Big Daddy? No one would think ill of you, I know your mother wasn't necessarily the best with finances..."

"Ah, well..."

I looked down at the small gift-wrapped box I'd prepared at the airport this morning. While a day-of flight from Bangladesh to Hawaii had been an enormous hassle for me, I knew that, to my siblings, such a thing was merely pennies.

"You-"

Before I could finish my thought, Big Daddy entered the bungalow escorted by a crowd of beautiful island women, all adorned from head to toe in tropical flowers.

"The _Labash Bash_ commences!" He clapped joyously.

"_Big Daddy_, you're here!" Valentina and Mimi squealed, fighting each other for his first welcome hug.

"Glad to see everyone received my letter."

I stepped towards him tentatively,

"About that...Dad, what's this about you freezing-"

"_Shhhh, bunny_..." He waved, dismissing me to my seat.

"I've already made my decision. I don't want to think about anything else. So...what have you kids got planned for me? Who's first? I have a couple free minutes before The Water Boy."

My siblings raced in front of me eagerly.

"Pops, I'm saving my surprise for breakfast. I have a lot prepared and I know it will positively blow you away." Ludwig hummed.

"Daddy, I'll be showcasing my surprise for you at lunch...I've thought a lot about this and need ample time for my gift to nourish your inner child." Sung Mimi.

"Sir, it'd be my honor to present my surprise to you at dinner. Before you make your final decision, I want the opportunity to show you that the family business is in good hands."

My siblings then glanced back at me awkwardly, Valentina gesturing haphazardly my way.

"Shreya, why don't you go first since you've prepared something..._small_."

And so, ignoring the distain in my stepmother's face, I nodded and walked with my father, guided by his small island entourage, to the open beach front.

"Thanks so much for coming, Shreya," He gleamed again when we were alone,

"You bought me a goodbye gift, _bunny_?"

Fighting the urge to tell father he was crazy or that this cryogenic thing was a scam or pouring like a fountain all the words I'd never said throughout the years about being "the bastard", "the poor one", and "the forgotten child", I softly pushed the gift into My dad's hands.

When he unwrapped the teal scrapbook, his eyes glimmered. Flipping from page to page, my father began to laugh nostalgically, wiping tears as he recalled each picture of me and my siblings as children.

He smiled as he showed me a baby picture where my hands gripped ceaselessly at a pink, stuffed bunny doll.

When he got to the second half of the book, his eyebrows raised,

"Which one of you kids is in _this_ picture?"

"That's your grandson..._Vivek_. You've met him several times. You invited us to the resort when he first turned two."

Big Daddy gave another drunken laugh,

"What an ethnic name..."

"You do know _I'm_ "ethnic", right?" I bit back.

"And who's this one?"

I sighed.

"Nara. My eldest daughter. She's eleven now."

"I really didn't know you have kids! Congratulations, bunny."

"You've met them..."

"You know, Shreya, I've always recommended surrogacy. It's easier on the body, after all."

I looked away, trying to hold in my anger as father leaned to a dancer to ask for a pen.

Taking a deep breath, I then closed my eyes, only opening them when I felt the cool fuzz of the scrapbook slip back between my hands.

"Movie time!"

"you dont want to keep the scrapbook?"

"I'd love to but this kind of material will be no good on Mars, _bunny_. In 3059, most plastics will melt at exposure.

So, anyway, who's next?"

...

The rest of the day was a long and conspicuous battle for Big Daddy's attention, who sat back and enjoyed the commotion to the fullest.

My older siblings left no stone unturned in the fight for Labash Enterprises, and a guaranteed spot in Big Daddy's will. And, throughout it all, I wondered why I had come. Why I had dropped everything for a last second plane ride I could

hardly afford. Why I still felt the urge to look after a father who hardly remembered me, let alone his grandchildren. How I came to still pretend I was a member of a family that always treated me as an outcast.

For Breakfast, Ludwig had flown out the New York Philharmonic to perform an orchestration of Big Daddy's favorite song, "Come on Eileen", and a few other requested selections.

For lunch, Mimi had partnered with The National Thoroughbred League to organize an official derby along the Kauai waterfront. While Big Daddy took bets on his champion, her and Ludwig did their best to rig each race in their favor.  

And finally for dinner, when it seemed like Big Daddy's smile couldn't stretch any wider, Alvin Jr. introduced Labash Enterprises to a new international partnership. And, by the time dessert was served, our father was signing documents to officially transfer all ownership of the company to Alvin Jr.

But it wasn't until Big Daddy had entered his cryogenic chamber, and the machine whirred to life, did I finally let go.

Because, as I turned and headed for the door, and my siblings pestered the team about Big Daddy's inheritance, I realized there was nothing to mourn.

He would freeze, but **life would go on.**

"_Inheritance_?"

Big Daddy's attorney guffawed,

"He didn't tell you kids? He'd spent the last of his savings on a Shetland pony during Mimi's god-awful horse race...And Alvin Jr, when should we begin bankruptcy meetings to discuss Labash Enterprises' 10 billion dollar debt?"

...

Lying in the family garden, I bit softly into a melting sandesh sweet. The neighboring children were bustling in celebration, and most of all Vivek who'd already soiled another kurta with dirt.

When I spotted my Nara, whose palms clung to a familiar teal material, my heart skipped a beat.  Somehow she'd found that scrapbook I'd once prepared for her grandfather some years ago.

I sighed,

"Now where'd you find that, huh?"

"_Amma_, can I look?"

"Well..."

"Please, maa?"

"Fine...go ahead, _bunny_."

But as she flipped through baby pictures, giggling along the way, a long envelope slid to the floor.

**_"Addressed to Shreya, Vivek, and Nara Labash"_**

My eyes widened when the signed check became clear.

_Had Big Daddy really hidden something back then? _

Listed through an account with my late mother's name, _Parvati_, the words etched in black left me gasping for air.

_A Donation of:_

**$70,000,000,000**

_"Thanks for the Memories!"_

_- Big Daddy_