by Anna Jacobs
“Would you mind?”
She did mind. It was as if he doubted her word, but she didn’t want to antagonise him, so when they got home she produced the various papers. He looked through them, then pushed them aside and let out a short, impatient sigh. “Couldn’t have been to protect Caitlin, because he didn’t know her then. I wonder why he did it?”
“Because he was going to leave me anyway. I think he was just waiting for me to finish doing up this house. I reckon once we’d sold it, he’d have made his move.”
Ryan reached out to clasp her nearest hand in both his. “I’ll come round on Saturday to see if you need any more help, eh?”
“Thanks, but I’d prefer you to come round on Friday evening.” She managed a smile. “Whoever she is, you’ll have to cancel your date. The house will be open for inspection for the first time on Saturday afternoon. I have, if I say so myself, been very efficient in dealing with the real estate agents.”
He doffed an imaginary hat to her. “All right, Friday after work it is. And I don’t have a steady girl-friend at the moment.” He struck a pose, one hand on his chest. “I’m resting between shows!”
She forced a smile. “I’ll have a nice tea waiting for you on Friday then. Oh, and I need Deb to come and see what she wants. Soon. Will you tell her? I’ve left a message with her answering service, but she hasn’t got back to me. If she doesn’t, I’m throwing all Craig’s possessions out, even his books. I can’t face keeping anything of his. Not any more.”
“Ah, Mum.” He hugged her again.
She resisted for a moment, then hugged him back, but after a minute pushed him to arm’s length. “Thanks, Ryan. I really appreciate your support.”
She might have gone to pieces without it. Wished she had that luxury.
Instead of going to bed when she got back, she cleared out the linen cupboard. She’d never have slept anyway. Better to go on working. There was, after all, a great deal to do. Thank goodness.
* * * *
Two days later Laura’s lawyer rang up. “Ms Sheedy refuses to go to arbitration, says there’s no need.”
“Oh.”
“However, I don’t believe her demands are unreasonable, given the circumstances.”
Laura made a non-committal murmur as she waited to hear the details.
“The good news is that she feels you deserve your husband’s superannuation shares, all of them. She intends to keep her share of the house and all the insurance money, though, and won’t budge on that. But she doesn’t intend to make a claim for a share of the house for her unborn child. Oh, and she agrees to the estate paying the household and selling expenses.”
“I see.”
“Shall I accept those terms on your behalf?”
Laura closed her eyes for a moment then opened them and faced facts, reminding herself that the main thing you did by going to court was make your lawyer richer. “Yes. Accept them.”
“It’ll take a while to sort the money side out.”
“I know.” She also knew that this wasn’t a good time to sell any shares, given the recent downturn in the markets.
She put the phone down gently and started work again. She wasn’t certain what she was going to do with herself, except that she was never going to trust a man again.
* * * *
No one was surprised when the house sold the first weekend. Well, it looked beautiful, thanks to Laura’s efforts, even if she said so herself - and who else was there to say it to her now?
She was good at interior design, as well as understanding the practicalities of decorating, making curtains and upholstering. Good at cooking and running a house, too. They were the only marketable skills she possessed. She could only pray they’d be enough to get her a decent job.
Two weeks after that she sold the last of the household goods she no longer wanted. The things she was keeping were put in storage and she camped out for a few days until the handover date for the house because it was cheaper than staying in a hotel. She slept on an old studio couch that had lived in the garage, using Ryan’s sleeping bag, ate at a rickety garden table and had only an old plastic garden chair to sit on. The empty house seemed to echo around her, an alien landscape now.
She thought twice about every dollar she spent. The shares weren’t to be touched, even when markets improved. They were to provide for her old age. Her house money had to buy her a new house one day and perhaps set her up in a business.
That settled in her mind, she concentrated on the people in her life. It was her parents who mattered now. They needed her, at least.
And she needed to have something worthwhile to do with her life.
Ryan took her out for a final meal with Deb, but it was an awkward evening and broke up early.
The following morning he drove Laura out to the airport in her car, gave her one of his cracking great hugs, then took the car away to sell.
She got on a plane to England feeling shaky and uncertain of herself. Was she doing the right thing? How could you ever be certain?
Chapter 6
The first few days of living with his brother, Kit decided gloomily as he bumped down the stairs on his backside, had been worse than he’d expected, with Joe trying to fuss over him like a mother hen. The only times he’d been out of the house had been to go for physiotherapy sessions with a local guy, gentle ones until the last operation had done its work and the bones had knitted together properly.
He was desperate to work his body hard and seek the sheer release of letting out some of his pent-up energy but he didn’t dare. Even in this mood, he wasn’t stupid enough to risk the progress he’d made so painfully.
He hauled himself to his feet and went into the kitchen, still worrying at the problem. Not until they’d cleared the air with a quarrel the other night - or at least, Kit had done some shouting and threatening while Joe had become increasingly tight-lipped - had his brother backed off a bit from fussing.
The two of them were definitely not meant to cohabit. They didn’t even talk much because they couldn’t find enough common interests to hold a decent conversation. His brother wouldn’t discuss his marriage, seemed to have no social life any more and had no interests apart from sport - and that was all he wanted to watch on television. Even pulled a face at the news, for heaven’s sake!
Kit was starving, absolutely starving for a good, sharp discussion or two about current affairs. He ached for banter, jokes, incisive views of the world and its leaders from thinking people of all nationalities. Ah hell, forget that! It was gone for ever.
He knew he couldn’t go on living with his brother, but how was he going to get out of the arrangement without hurting the kindest of men? He looked up as Joe came down into the kitchen and dumped two heavy bags of sports gear on the floor.
“I’ll be away all day but I’ll be back in time to cook tea. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
“Very sure. You enjoy your Saturday matches.” As Joe still hesitated, Kit added in a mock-threatening tone. “You’re not going to start fussing again, are you?”
Joe spread out his arms in a gesture of surrender. “I wouldn’t dare.” He hesitated. “But if this weren’t the Five-a-Side finals, I’d not be leaving you on your own, the mood you’re in.”
Thank goodness for junior football! Kit thought, but held back the words when they sprang to his lips.
Listening to Joe’s badly-adjusted car engine throbbing unevenly as the vehicle pulled away from the kerb, he shook his head at the way his brother seemed to think machinery would behave itself without due attention and servicing, yet was obsessive about people looking after their bodies properly.
Blessedly alone, he got out his laptop, set it up in the kitchen and told himself firmly to start work and not play solitaire. But it was no good. He simply couldn’t settle. Sunlight was pouring in through the windows, tempting him to go out. Well, why not? He might not be able to drive, but there were taxis, weren’t there? He had a mobile phone and he wasn’t
short of money.
He edged across to Joe’s phone directory and looked up taxis. When he picked up the phone, one of the crutches slipped and fell on the floor. Cursing he hooked it up with the other crutch, rebalanced himself and dialled. “I’d like a taxi, please . . . Nowhere special, just to drive around. I’ve broken my leg and can’t drive myself and I’m going stir crazy.”
The woman at the other end laughed. “Hang on. A rescue vehicle will be with you in fifteen minutes.”
Feeling like an escaping prisoner of war, he heaved himself to his feet again and made his way slowly upstairs . . .
Fifteen minutes later he slid the crutches down the stairs and bumped slowly after them, dressed for an outing. The taxi arrived promptly and took him across town to the house Uncle Alf had left him. He hadn’t seen it for a while and needed to get the feel of it again. If he thought he could live there, it would solve one of his immediate problems, at least.
Alf’s will stipulated that he had to spend a year there. That would suit him well. And surely by the end of that time, he’d have tested his new limits and grown accustomed to them? Would have started to build a future for himself. Yes, of course he would. He wasn’t stupid, would just set his mind to it and find a way to go.
His spirits lifted as the taxi took him across town and out towards Wardle.
* * * *
Laura walked out of Manchester airport, her stomach churning with nerves. She was dreading seeing her mother. The thought of that had hung over her for the whole journey, preventing her from immersing herself in her novel or doing more than doze for a minute or two.
Her sister Sue and niece Angie were waiting for her at the barrier. Sue’s smile of greeting faded almost immediately, leaving her with a look of - surely it couldn’t be apprehension?
“How was the flight?” Sue clutched a large handbag in front of her like a shield, making no attempt even to air kiss Laura, let alone hug her.
“Long and boring, as usual. I’m glad to be here.” She turned to her niece. “You’ve grown up since I last saw you.”
“I should hope so.” Angie stepped forward and hugged her aunt.
“Don’t pester her, Angie!” Sue snapped. “Not everyone likes your touchy feely ways.”
Laura blinked at her sister in shock, gave her niece another hug for good measure and said firmly, “Well, I do.”
Sue’s expression was that of someone who’d just sucked a lemon. “I’ll drive you over to Dad’s, but I can’t stop. I have to get back to work ASAP. I’ll have you over for a meal soon, then we can really catch up.”
“Surely we can nip in to see Gran and Pop, just for a minute or two, Mum?” Angie protested.
Laura stared from her niece to her sister in surprise as tension suddenly frosted the air.
“There isn’t time. I’ve already told you that. Now, let’s go and retrieve the car.” Sue turned and began walking away, so they could do nothing but follow.
Angie fell in beside her aunt, taking the wheelie suitcase off her. “She won’t go and see Gran any more,” she said in a low voice, scowling at her mother’s back, “and that really upsets Pop.”
Sue stopped walking for a minute to turn and yell, “I heard that! And it’s my choice if I want to remember Mum as she was, not as she is now.”
“Well, I’m going to go in and see them. I’ll catch the bus home.”
“Suit yourself.”
Laura felt too muzzy from lack of sleep to cope with what was obviously an ongoing quarrel and therefore kept silent. But Angie looked so despondent she couldn’t help reaching out and giving her niece’s shoulder a quick squeeze in sympathy, which won her a grateful smile.
The car was red. That, at least, was the same. Her sister had always bought red cars. “I’ll have to buy myself a set of wheels,” she said as she adjusted the seatbelt.
“My boy friend sells used cars. I can ask him to call you if you like,” Angie said from the back. “He’ll give you a good deal and make sure you’re not cheated.”
Sue turned to glare at her. “For goodness’ sake, don’t be so pushy. Anyway, your aunt will probably want to buy a new one.”
Laura jumped in quickly. “I can’t afford new. I’m on a tight budget. Ask your boyfriend to give me a call after the weekend, will you, Angie? Perhaps you can help me choose one? The cars look different here, much smaller. I wouldn’t have a clue.”
Sue glanced sideways, the frown seeming a permanent fixture. “How come the tight budget? I’d have thought Craig would have left you well provided for.”
“I’ll tell you about it another time.” Laura leaned against the headrest with a tired sigh, her whole body aching for sleep. But once they left the urban sprawl of Manchester behind, she opened her eyes again to watch the scenery. “I always feel I’m home again when I see the moors in the distance. Do you know, this is only the second time I’ve returned to Lancashire since I moved to Australia?”
Again it was her niece who replied. “You’ll probably find things very different, then. And you’ll miss the sun. The weather’s been awful lately, nothing but rain.”
“It was early spring when I left Perth. Long sleeve weather still and plenty of rain.” She’d miss the spring which was the wildflower season, with breathtaking fields of colour outside the city. “It’s only hot in the summer and it gets quite cold there in winter, you know, not cold enough for snow or frost, but still chilly.”
“I’m going to see for myself one day,” Angie said. “Australia’s definitely on my list of places to visit.”
“Not till you’ve found yourself a job, you’re not,” Sue snapped. “Trev and I aren’t subsidising you much longer unless you buckle down and do something worthwhile. If you’d stayed at university, you’d nearly have finished your degree by now and have a decent future ahead of you. I never thought a child of mine would drop out.”
“I didn’t drop out, I took time off because of Gran.”
“There’s nothing you can do to help her!” In a low voice, as if she was thinking aloud, she added, “Nothing anyone can do.”
Laura let her breath filter out slowly, telling herself not to intervene, but the words came out anyway. “If I’m back in Australia, you can come and stay with me, Angie.”
“Don’t encourage her!” Sue snapped. “She’s full of dreams but hasn’t the money to pay for them.”
“I will have one day.”
“And pigs will fly. You haven’t even got a job, except for that part-time thing in the pub.”
More silence, heavy and impenetrable as a granite wall. Laura was relieved when they drew up outside their childhood home and she could get out.
Sue drove off immediately they’d unloaded the luggage, not waiting for her father to answer the door.
Laura wheeled her suitcase along the short concrete path, surprised to see weeds choking the usually immaculate flower beds. She rang the door bell and waited.
Angie came to stand beside her, looking sad. “Um - about Mum, Auntie Laura. She can’t cope with what’s happening to Gran and she’s ashamed of that, so she gets angry. And she hasn’t been well herself, so I try to make allowances for her, I really do. But it’s hard when she never stops nagging me.”
She sighed, then added, “Dad goes out to the pub on his own sometimes to get a break. I don’t know how he puts up with her moods lately. She’s better with him than with me, though. I seem to cop all the flak, can’t do a thing right. I should definitely have stayed at university,” she offered a wavery smile, “but if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to come and see Pop and Gran except in the holidays. And there isn’t much time left for Gran. That mattered more to me than the degree.”
“Is Mum . . . bad?”
“Yes. Pop’s having a hard time of it. I help him out sometimes but Mum won’t. And then - well, I met Rick and that clinched it, so I didn’t go back this year. He’s a great guy and I want to give us a chance. He may well be the one.”
Why had Deb
never talked to her like this? Laura wondered. Was she that bad a mother? She smiled at her niece. “I’m sure Dad’s grateful for your company.”
“He is. I sit with Gran sometimes when he needs to visit the doctor or whatever. She’s good with me, but I still have to watch her all the time. If she takes a dislike to people, she can be a real terror.” She put out a hand to stop her aunt ringing the doorbell again. “It takes Pop a minute or two to answer. He has to make sure Gran’s OK first.”
The front door opened a few seconds later and Laura’s dad stood there. He looked smaller than she remembered and tired, deep down tired. He tried to blink tears from his eyes as he stepped forward to hug her, but she could feel the slickness of moisture on the wrinkled cheek that pressed against hers. She burrowed against him for a moment, as she had so many times in her childhood.
When he pulled away, she said softly, “I’m so glad to be here.”
“It’s grand to see you. I’ve been counting the days. Eh, fancy keeping you standing on the doorstep like this! Come in, love, come in.” He looked beyond them for a minute. “Sue too busy to stop again?”
“’Fraid so.” Angie followed them inside. “Where’s Gran?”
“In the kitchen. We were just having a cup of tea.” He held his daughter back. “Look, love, Pat may not recognise you. She’s getting worse quickly. Don’t take it to heart if she doesn’t.”
Laura had tried to prepare herself for this meeting, but her heart was thumping in her chest as they went down the narrow hall, past the door into the front room and on into the kitchen. She remembered this house so well from her childhood. Even the woman sitting at the table was familiar and dear - until she looked up. The face was still her mother’s, but the expression on it belonged to a stranger. Distant and disinterested, as if not quite part of this world.
“Look. Our Laura’s come to see us,” Ron said heartily.
Pat stared at her daughter blankly, then started rocking to and fro, muttering under her breath. When Laura moved towards her, she picked up the nearest thing, a cup half-full of tea, and threw it, yelling, “Hussy! Keep away from my husband.”
