29 April 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3088: spirit in there

Mr. Thomas Stepforth looked at the completed sale documents for the Ludlow Bubbly from all its stakeholders, and there was only one thing that surprised him.

Where was the money going? He was not surprised by what his son-in-law had decided, or what the Duboises from Black French Louisiana had decided, or what Sgt. Juan Gonzalez had decided, or what Capt. Musashi Miyamoto had decided.

What surprised him just because it was historically unexpected was what Capt. Robert Edward Ludlow Sr. had decided, in following through with what he said he wanted. The vast majority of his proceeds were going into trust accounts for his eight (grand)children, a trust account for his wife, and the full cost of the home they were living in, in Tinyville.

The youngest son of Edwin Ludlow, once the most prominent man in Lofton County in the 20th century, had a fine Army pension. He wanted nothing else. He had been raised to believe he was superior to everyone else in the process – family, race, centuries of background in the Anglo-Saxon world – and was receiving the largest single share of the sale proceeds. He felt no need to behave that way. He had built the company for a legacy for his grandchildren, bought the Ludlow Winery and converted it to the Ludlow Historical Soda division for the same reason, and was disposing of both for the same reason.

Mrs. Velma Stepforth walked by her husband's desk, and he looked up to see her observing his surprise.

“Capt. Ludlow followed through just as he said he would. His family is set for life, but for himself, he is taking just enough to keep up the house through the winter.”

Mrs. Stepforth smiled.

“Thomas, we must remember that we are not to be bigoted. Just because you are a Black billionaire doesn't mean that a Virginian blue-blood couldn't figure out what is important just like you did. He too is our Christian brother, meaning that there's a new spirit in there – and now that he is yielding to the Holy Spirit, of course he is figuring it out.”

Mr. Stepforth smiled.

“He's also sharp as a tack – kept everyone out of tax bracket trouble.”

“Well, we knew that,” Mrs. Stepforth said. “The Ludlow grandchildren are keeping up with ours on sheer genius, and that is not easy to do, particularly with what they went through becoming orphans and going in and out of foster care. Capt. and Mrs. Ludlow are doing a magnificent job out of a tough situation.”

“Well,” Mr. Stepforth said, “like our grandchildren, if the Ludlows grow up wise, they will not have many financial problems from here on through their lives. We pray for them like we pray for our own.”

“Yep,” Mrs. Stepforth said. “There's enough blessed future to go around.”