*All ages
The Standard disclaimers apply. Not my characters, no profit involved. All I have to say is if the attorneys at Golden Books have nothing better to do than come after me for entertaining myself and my friends, then they really need to get a life!
Multiple Matthew Wheelers?
By Annette
Ten-year-old Bobby Belden was bored. School was out for the summer. He wouldn't see his friends from school for months. Now he only had Terry and Larry Lynch to play with and they were boring with a capital B. The girl Lynch twins weren't much better. Then there was that stupid rule of moms about no computer or TV before 8 PM.
His favorite brother, Brian was off at college and wouldn't be home for a few more weeks. He was taking a couple of summer classes this year. Yuck, school in the summer. His other brother, Mart, was working at the local nursery learning more about plants. Gees, you would think by now, he would know everything there is worth knowing about plants. His sister Trixie was off on another vacation with the Wheelers---again. That meant everyone at the Wheeler estate was gone, except for Regan. Regan told Bobby earlier that he was going to be too busy play or give a jumping lesson today. That left Bobby with only the two sets of Lynch twins to play with. Yuck!
Bobby, Terry and Larry used to be best friends, yet this year Terry and Larry became jerks. Ever since Diana had been discovered, they had become insufferable. Even Carolyn and Marilyn, the younger Lynch twins were getting snobby. Golly, you would think hanging out with the Olsen twins was something special!
"Moms," Bobby yelled, "I'm going to my treehouse for a while."
"Please make sure Reddy is fed before you leave. Be home before supper. It's your turn to set the table."
"It's always my turn," grumbled Bobby. "There isn't anyone else here to do it." Bobby made sure Reddy had some food and fresh water, then hopped on his bike and left for his treehouse.
As he rode through the Wheeler estate, he noticed a strange car in the yard. He wondered what was going on, but decided not to stop. He didn't have the bump of curiosity his sister had.
At the treehouse, Bobby sorted out his collections. He really liked the treehouse Regan had built for him years ago. He looked around. He really needed a few more shelves to store his stuff on. Then again, he could get rid of the stuff Terry and Larry had stored there. Nah, he'd get Regan to build him some more shelves.
Bobby climbed down from his treehouse and headed for Manor House. The strange car was still there when he got there. He noticed a box piled full of clothes on the verandah. Getting off of his bike and deciding to investigate, Bobby went into Manor House. There he heard Regan talking to a stranger.
"It would be easiest if I could just leave him here."
"I really can't allow that without speaking to Mr. Wheeler."
"I can't believe Matthew would let his own flesh and blood starve."
"Well, now, that's for him to decide."
Bobby walked into the hall. Regan was speaking to a tall willowy woman. Behind her, was a boy about Bobby's own age. He was looking pretty unhappy.
The boy screamed, "I want my daddy now!"
The women turned and said, "He's not here right now."
The boy screamed "YOU SAID MY DADDY WOULD WANT TO MEET ME. I WANT HIM NOW!"
Regan saw Bobby. "You better head for home right now." Bobby recognized that tone and left. Gees, he thought, what a brat, even bigger than the Lynch twins. Wait, Bobby thought, that boy just said Mr. Wheeler was his daddy. Bobby stopped at the window outside the porte-cochere. He could hear Regan talking to the woman.
"I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This is obviously a matter that only Mr. Wheeler can deal with. I will let him know you were here."
"We will be staying at the Glen Road Inn. At his expense of course." The women chuckled. "Just wait until his precious Madeleine finds out about my little lad here!"
They started heading towards the door. Bobby decided he had better scoot and fast. Riding no hands and feet down the bike path, Bobby headed home. Moms told Bobby she had to meet Mrs. Lynch at the Glen Road Inn for lunch. Bobby could go. Oh boy, he thought what a treat. He didn't look forward to listening to moms and Mrs. Lynch talk all afternoon.
Mrs. Lynch was waiting at the table with Terry and Larry when Bobby and Mrs. Belden got there. Bobby grimaced. He really didn't look forward to spending the afternoon with them. He hoped they didn't start talking about California again.
"Hi," Bobby greeted Terry.
"We've sure missed you," said Larry.
"Yeah, right, whatever," said Bobby.
Mrs. Belden looked at Bobby. He knew that look. He sighed, and planted a grin on his face. "Hi guys."
After lunch, the boys went to play on the playground. They raced through the playground playing tag with some kids staying at the hotel. It was lots of fun. Bobby was 'it' for about the fourth time in a row. "Time out, I need a rest!" he called. The boys raced over to a huge old maple that gave them lots of shade. Here they heard another boy.
"Mommy, I want my daddy. You promised me daddy. Where is my daddy? I want my daddy now."
"Hush sweetheart daddy will be with us soon. Shall I tell you a story about him?"
The boys heard another voice. "Excuse me, Mrs. Wheeler, I'm sorry, we have been unable to contact Mr. Wheeler. Until we get actual confirmation from Mr. Wheeler, we are going to need a credit card or a cash deposit."
Mrs. Wheeler? Mr. Wheeler? That didn't make sense. If Mr. Wheeler had company, he would have them stay at Manor House, not Glen Road Inn. Besides, Mrs. Wheeler was on the trip with Mr. Wheeler. The three boys looked at each other.
"Wow. That's the same boy!" Bobby whispered. He told Terry and Larry what he had heard at the Wheelers. The boys decided to ask their mothers about this. As they headed back to the table, they saw Emma Klein talking to their mothers.
"....I tell you she claims to be married to Matthew Wheeler."
The boys walked up the steps. Emma stopped talking as soon as she saw them. "Don't say anything!" he whispered to Terry and Larry. We just came to get a drink.
"Hello, Ms. Klein," they chorused.
"Greetings," she replied. Emma asked Mrs. Lynch how Carrie and Mary were doing.
Mrs. Belden told Bobby they weren't quite ready to leave yet, they could go play some more. The boys grabbed their drinks and headed back to the playground. Bobby saw the boy again. "That's him!" he whispered. "That's the boy I saw at the Wheelers'."
The four boys stared at each other.
"Hi, my name is Matt Wheeler."
"Wheeler?" said Larry. "Are you any relation to the Wheelers up on the hill?"
"Shhh!" Bobby elbowed Larry. Larry could be so dense sometimes. "Let's play tag!" shouted Bobby. "Terry, you're it."
"That's my dad's house. Can I play?" asked Matt.
"Your dad? How could that be your dad?" chorused Terry and Larry.
"That's what my Mom says. I've never met my dad. That's why we are here, so I can meet him and maybe stay with him for a while. My Mom says it's his turn to have me for a while."
Matt's mother came up. "Matt, it's time to come in. We have things to do this afternoon. Time to get you cleaned up."
"Aww, Mom, I'm not ready yet. We're having fun."
Mrs. Belden and Mrs. Lynch came up just then to get the boys.
"Hello, I'm Elizabeth," said Matt's mother. "That is my son Matt. We are new in town and hoping to stay awhile."
Mrs. Belden and Mrs. Lynch exchanged looks. They both greeted Elizabeth politely.
"Let's go, Bobby," Mrs. Belden said. "Dad will be home soon."
* * *
Bobby headed into the house when he got home. All of the sudden someone grabbed him from behind. "Boy, have I missed you!"
"Trixie!" he squealed.
Moms came in. "What a surprise to see you! How come you are home early?"
"It was really strange. Mr. Wheeler got a phone call. He turned white then said we were leaving in the morning. Even Mrs. Wheeler couldn't get him to change his mind. He wouldn't say what was wrong either."
* * *
Terry and Larry came over the next day with their older sister Di. Di and Trixie took off to Trixie's room and shut the door, leaving the boys on their own.
"Let's head out to the treehouse," suggested Terry.
"Isn't it really strange that boy's name was Matt Wheeler?" said Larry. "Gosh, it's just the same as Mr. Wheeler's. They even called his mother Mrs. Wheeler. I wonder why."
"Just wait until I tell you what I heard!" Bobby related the conversation the lady and Regan had. He also told him about Mr. Wheeler cutting the vacation short.
"Wow!" breathed Terry and Larry. "A mystery all our own."
"Hey let's start our own club, just like the Bob-Whites! We can solve our own mysteries!"
"What a cool idea!"
"Yeah, let's!"
"Who else should we have join? How about that new kid Matt?"
"No way, he is our first mystery."
"Anyone from school lives too far away."
"No girls....yuck!!!"
"What should we name our club? What about a clubhouse?"
"We can use the treehouse as a club house. Let's keep the club a secret, a real secret, not like the Bob-Whites."
"Cool!"
"What a neat idea!"
"Let's think of a name later. Right, now let's figure out who Matt really is."
"Let's go to the Wheelers' to see what we can find out."
While they were at the Wheelers', the boys decided to have some cookies and milk on the verandah.
"Madeleine, I tell you I have no idea who she is."
"Shh," Bobby whispered to the twins. "Let's go listen to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler." The boys crept over to the window and peeked in.
"She thinks she knows you...quite well in fact. Well enough to call herself Mrs. Matthew Wheeler and name her son after you."
"I have no idea why she would do that. She is not my wife, you are."
"What do you plan on doing about it?"
"That's what I would like to discuss with you. I'd like to invite them out to find out...."
Just then Larry sneezed.
"Well, look what we have here. How are you today, boys?" asked Mr. Wheeler as he walked over to the window.
Bobby looked at his feet. "Umm, just fine, Mr. Wheeler. How are you?"
Just then Larry blurted out, "Matt looks just like you in that picture on the piano."
Bobby glared at Larry. He really wished Larry would learn to keep his mouth shut. What picture could he be talking about? He didn't think there was a picture of Mr. Wheeler on the piano.
"You boys have met Matt?"
"Yes, we were playing with him yesterday at the Inn."
"How would you boys like to play with him again? I'll invite them over."
"Sure, that would be nice."
The next afternoon
"Matt!"
"Bobby!"
The boys started to take off to play in the garden.
"Boy, it's sure good to see you again," said Matt. "I'm getting really tired of staying at the hotel."
"Don't go far, Matt," called his mother. "Hopefully, your father will be here soon."
"I'm sorry, but I highly doubt his father will be here soon," a masculine voice said.
"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm Matthew Wheeler, this is my wife, Madeleine."
Elizabeth fainted.
"Mom, Mom, are you OK?"
Bobby watched Matt trying to wake his mother up. Mr. Wheeler had carried her into the den after she fainted. Bobby was kind of nervous. He always was when he was in the Wheelers' house. He was afraid he might break one of their valuable antiques.
Bobby saw Matt's mother open her eyes. She started to sit up then laid back down with a groan. She mumbled, "Matt must never find out."
Find out what? Bobby watched as she opened her eyes again. He heard her whisper, "Matty, I'm OK, just give me a minute."
He watched Mrs. Wheeler walk over and ask Matt's mother if she would like a glass of water. After Matt's mom said yes, Mrs. Wheeler poured her a glass and handed it to her.
Matt's mom sat up and drank the water. She looked around at everybody and everything nervously. Mrs. Wheeler sat down and watched as Matt's mother Elizabeth took another drink of water and looked at the four sets of expectant eyes.
Then Elizabeth remembered---Michael, he must be Michael! She glared at Mr. Wheeler. "You must be Michael. Matthew told me how you liked to impersonate him. All of this hunting for Matthew has been fruitless. Where is Matthew and how to I get in touch with him? It's imperative I speak to him immediately!"
"Actually, I'm Matthew. It was Michael who liked to impersonate me. I take it you knew Michael."
Bobby watched Matthew's mother take a deep breathe and close her eyes for a minute. "Now Michael, you know I know the truth. What is the point behind continuing this charade? Other than to keep Madeleine's money. Matthew always did say her money came first with you. You decided to impersonate Matthew after Madeleine refused to marry you as Michael."
Bobby watched Mrs. Wheeler reel as if she were struck. She gasped, "I really don't know who you are, but this facade must halt. I assure you I have met both Matthew and Michael Wheeler. I have even seen both of them at the same time. This is Matthew. You must have met Michael when he was impersonating Matthew."
Mr. Wheeler realized the boys were still here. "Matt, your mother is just fine. I think she needs some quiet time. Why don't you and Bobby go to the stables and see the horses?"
Matt had curled up on the couch next to his mother. He just glared at Mr. Wheeler and didn't move. "Go on, Matty," Elizabeth said. "I'll be just fine. We really need to discuss this further. I'll let you know what happens. Go on, I'll be fine."
Bobby and Matt left for the stables. As they were walking through the kitchen, Bobby told Matt they could listen outside the den window that overlooked the porch. As they headed out, Celia came up behind them. "Now boys, you shouldn't eavesdrop. Head out to the stables like you were told."
As Matt and Bobby walked towards the stables, Bobby looked behind them. "Matt, no one is looking. Let's go sit outside the other window." They raced to the window and sat under it.
"Please hand me my purse," Elizabeth was saying. "I can prove I am married to Matthew Wheeler."
Madeleine handed Elizabeth her purse. Elizabeth pulled out several documents and photos. The name on the marriage license was Matthew Wheeler.
She passed the photos to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler. They showed Elizabeth in a wedding dress, a man who looked very much like Mr. Wheeler in a tuxedo. There were photos of the man with a toddler. "This is my husband. As you can see, he looks very much like you. The name on my marriage license is Matthew Wheeler. I have no reason to doubt that is his identity. His business associates greeted him as Matthew Wheeler. All his identification said Matthew Wheeler. He also told me many stories about his childhood, including how much the two of you looked alike and how you liked to impersonate him.
"Six years ago, he left for a business trip. This one was rather odd as he wouldn't tell me where he was going or how long he would be. I am very active in all his business dealings. When I met him, he was not doing well financially. He had a great head for picking the right businesses, but didn't follow up well with them. By the time he left, I knew more about the day to day operations than he did.
"For a while, he would call several times a week. He would ask about Matty and check on the business. I finally asked him where he was, what he was doing and when he would be home. That was about four years ago. He said no, he wouldn't be back. He was married to someone named Madeleine and had been since before our marriage. She had lots of money. By marrying her, he gained access to her funds and would be able to support us for the rest of our lives. About three years ago, the calls just stopped one day. I have told Matt that his father was away on a long business trip. Six years is a long time. Matt doesn't even remember him. There are some issues now that need to be addressed and they can only be addressed by him."
"I am just very sorry to tell that you it was really Michael," said Mr. Wheeler. "Madeleine, would you please get the photos off of the piano? And our wedding album?" He continued, "My brother Michael was the light of my life. He was my very best friend when we were growing up. He was two years younger than me. When we were teens, we looked more alike than twins. We used to think it was a great joke to switch places. We even managed to fool our parents on one occasion. What I didn't realize until much later was just how seriously Mike was taking everything. Years later, we found out he really thought he was me.
"Madeleine and I were married nineteen years ago. Mike was my best man. Shortly after that, Mike cut off all contact with our family. I suddenly began to get bills for credit cards I never had from places I hadn't been. I even got calls for business deals I knew nothing about. I finally hired a private detective to find out who was impersonating me. I was shocked to find out it was my own brother. By this time, he was so confused, he truly believed he was me and I was him. We had him institutionalized. We thought he made a complete recovery. He was released about eleven years ago. He had everyone fooled. He still believed he was me. Occasionally, I was still getting bills he hadn't paid in my name. They have been few and far between, so I just paid them. They also let me know my brother was still alive and OK.
"About four years ago, he showed up here. Fortunately, my children were on vacation. He looked terrible. He still claimed to be Matthew and kept calling me Michael. I had him committed again. This time, the doctors said there wasn't any hope of him ever remembering who he truly was. Other than the confusion about his identity, he was perfectly rational. He still thought he was making daily business decisions. Then one day, during a therapy session, he stood up, screamed MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE? and left. He actually managed to walk out of the sanitarium without a problem. The police found his body in the river three days later. I never thought he married and had a family, otherwise I would have contacted you before this. Please understand he was my brother and I loved him very much."
Elizabeth stood up, looking very pale. "Who will take care of Matty when I die?" she cried, then she fainted.
Bobby and Matt, hearing the thump, went racing back into the house.
"Don't let my Mom die. Please don't let her die."
Mrs. Wheeler called the ambulance. "Bobby, please take Matty to your house. I will call your mother and let her know what is going on. Matty, Mr. Wheeler and I will take care of your mother. Please go with Bobby."
At the hospital, the doctor told them Elizabeth was dying. She would only have a few more months at best unless she had surgery and even that was no guarantee. She was alert, but in pain.
They went in to see her.
"Now you know why I needed to speak to Matthew. Matty needs his father to take him after I die. My son has no idea I am so very ill. "
Mr. Wheeler said, "He does now. Apparently the two boys were listening outside the window to the entire conversation we had. I should say they know everything except just how ill you actually are. Will you be staying here while you work on recovery?"
"There is no recovery except for surgery. I should have had it several months ago. We can't afford that. I sold all of our business assets to help pay for my medical bills. The doctor said surgery was my only hope. Now that isn't even a hope. It has taken me so long to find Matthew that it's too late for me now. My only concern now is what is going to happen to Matt? I have no family. I don't want him going to foster care either. I just don't know what I am going to do."
"We will take care of the medical bills. "You and Matty can stay with us for as long as you need to. In the event something happens to you, we would be happy to keep Matty permanently with your approval, of course."
* * *
epilogue
Matty's mother died 10 months later. The Wheelers adopted Matty before she died.
The boys still have not decided on the name of their club, but have made Matty a member.
Matty, not liking being referred to as a door mat, and to eliminate confusion, started going by his middle name of William, which was shortened to Will.
The End