What to give a child whose mother owns a controlling interest in the world? Tutor took a number of vows on his ordination as a Catholic priest, in 1458, but the only one he has kept religiously is the vow of poverty. He has packs of Values Cards provided by vendors to help wealthy families, in an idle moment, decide what their values are. He could give a pack to Audrey. They could use them to build a castle, or could set them up like dominoes, to fall one by one. They could make a corral out of cards for her ponies. He could teach her to gamble, calling whether the card would fall face up or down. Instead, he decides to give her poster paper, crayons and markers. With those she can create whatever she wants.
As for Tess, The Warrior Queen of Wall Street, what do you get a young single mother who literally owns 51% of planetary wealth? Maybe a picture from Audrey, of a Castle, under a big yellow sun, ruled by a smiling Queen of the Squirrels? Maybe, to go with it, a nutcracker from Ebay and a bag of nuts? Since he cannot afford the Wooden Soldier, Tutor decides he might borrow the costume and crack The Queen Mother a nut in his teeth, each time Audrey bops him in the head. She does have that big plastic baseball bat. She will love that game, and Momma might smile. She has not been sleeping well. Often he sees her sleepwalking, in the stone corridors, staring into the blue light of her iPad, trading commodities. The markets never sleep, nor can Tess. "You snooze you lose," she says. 51% is far from all. Double or nothing. One more trade. Then again, why sacrifice his teeth in a good cause. Maybe the values cards are a better idea.
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