by Helene Young
‘Don’t you? I can’t but help consider it every time I visit Dad.’
‘Having parents that lived so long, I’ve always assumed that I’d go on forever. At least make ninety, probably a hundred.’
‘But is it quality? That’s what’s important.’
She nodded and slumped back into her chair. ‘Seeing Ivy almost incapable of living independently is heartbreaking. I keep having to remind myself that she’s ninety-three and it’s to be expected. That she has done everything she can to stay fit and healthy, but there comes a time when independence is a hindrance rather than a help.’
‘Yeah.’ Dan looked across at her. ‘Better to make the move early, find a retirement place while you’re young enough to make new friends, adjust to the change, and then just quietly slip up the road as you need more care.’
‘Is that what you’re doing?’ Georgina didn’t bother to hide her shock.
His smile was wry, or maybe sad.
‘Why not? Some beautiful retirement places are springing up.’
‘Like the one up the road that Felicity was keen on for Mum?’
‘Exactly. They have them on the coast as well.’
‘Once a surfer always a surfer. I can picture you jogging out the gates of your retirement village with your surfboard under your arm.’
‘And why not?’ He was smiling now. ‘Is there a rule that says you have to be on a zimmer frame?’
‘I just never thought you’d . . .’
‘I didn’t either until this stuff with Dad. Nothing like losing someone you love to focus you.’ There was that shadow again, before he continued. ‘And what else am I going to spend my money on?’
She didn’t have an answer for that. Dan cleared his throat.
‘And I was wondering about Enduring Power of Attorney.’
Georgina’s head snapped up. ‘What about it?’
‘Would you do that for me?’
‘Me? After all these years?’
His gaze snared hers. ‘I trust you, Gina.’
‘More fool you,’ she retorted sharply. She didn’t deserve the belief she saw in the slate grey of his eyes. Didn’t deserve the second chance it seemed he was offering. She couldn’t do love, had nothing to build upon, nothing to replicate. What they’d had was good, better than good, but she’d torn it down. Partly because of her biological clock, but partly because there had always been a layer of reserve between them as though they’d lived either side of a gossamer curtain never quite seeing the other in the full glare of life.
‘Don’t overanalyse. You’ve been my best friend for going on forty years. Who else am I going to trust to not turn off life support when I’m just having a snooze?’
She laughed. ‘I think the hospital would know the difference.’
‘Yeah, but you never know. Actually . . .’ He cleared his throat.
Georgina’s phone rang and she was grateful for the distraction.
‘Lissie. Did you read the email?’
‘Yeah. What does he mean about intercompany loans?’
‘No idea, but its sounds more complicated than we thought.’ Conscious that she needed to try and listen before giving orders, Georgina waited for her sister to speak. Beside her Dan rose to his feet and wandered down the ramp to the dogs who lay prone in the dust, their breathing shallow in the heat.
‘Ken phoned today to tell me to back off, told me if we didn’t everyone would be hurt.’
‘And did you tell him to fuck off? He can’t threaten you!’
‘No, I heard him out. If it’s going to cost so much to split the company, maybe we have to work with him to get through this and once the properties are back on their feet we can do something.’
‘So we let him keep walking all over us? And Ivy?’ Georgina could feel the impotent rage building. Bloody Ken was not going to win this round.
‘No,’ Felicity sounded weary. ‘I’m not saying that, Georgie. We still need to protect her, but we need to accept that this may be harder to unwind than we hoped.’
Georgie tried another angle. ‘What about Mitch? Dan’s pretty sure that Mitch and Ivy are hatching something. Do we go and knock on his door, cap in hand, and see if he’s interested in buying some of the land surrounding the caves?’ Frustration at the inaction bubbled up inside.
‘Mitch. Right.’ Felicity sighed. ‘Ken had more than a mouthful to say about Mitch. Claims he’s lost his live export deal and has been forced to sell cattle wherever he can in a depressed market. I have no idea if there’s any truth in that or not. You’d think the whole district would know about it, but maybe he’s kept it quiet. And maybe we need to sit him and Ivy down and get a straight answer. I can’t believe he’d be underhanded, but then he wouldn’t tell me what was going on.’
Georgina swatted a fly away. Another took its place. ‘I see. When are you back?’
‘In three days. But I start work as soon as I get there.’
‘You got the job? Congratulations! That’s wonderful news.’
‘Or bad timing,’ Felicity said, sounding gloomy.
‘You’ve got to have income and the property can’t do that yet so don’t worry. We’re going for a drive tomorrow, camping for a couple of days. I’ve stocked the freezer and fridge and Ella reckons she and Ivy will be fine. We’ll make sure we’re back before you get here.’
‘Okay. And Mum’s happy with that?’
‘Oh, yes. Ivy’s had enough of me for now. A bit of space will be a fine thing. She reminded me that family and friends go off after three days, just like fish.’
Dan chuckled as he sat back down beside her and she rolled her eyes as Felicity laughed. ‘Mum’s always had that rule about the length of a visit. Why change now? Although we were usually exempt from the three-day rule.’
Georgina turned to Dan after they’d hung up.
‘Is she really up to it?’ she asked.
‘Who?’
‘Felicity. I don’t reckon she’s tough enough for this. You don’t give Ken oxygen, he’ll just make you feel like an idiot and then convince you he’s right. She’ll end up brainwashed.’
‘You’re being a bit rough on both her and Ivy, don’t you think?’ He looked cross.
‘I’m just calling it the way I see it. There’s only one way to deal with Ken and that’s don’t. It’s always been his way or the highway and he’ll just steamroll her. Maybe we need to cut and run. Sell the place. Then Ivy can live somewhere else, somewhere smaller and safe.’
Dan looked aghast. ‘You can’t be serious. You’ve come home to do that to her?’
Georgina bridled. How was this her fault all of a sudden? ‘To be frank, Dan, she got herself into this mess. Sure, she let Lissie sort out that arrangement with Mitch, but I remember how hard my sister had to work to convince her. She’s obviously been paying Ken’s bills and now she’s got nothing much left herself. She’s not stupid. She’s enabled him, rewarded his bad behaviour. And I’m sick of it. It’s time for tough love.’
‘One minute you’re telling me it’s all Ken’s fault for manipulating her and the next you’re saying it’s her own fault?’ He got to his feet, rocking the table. ‘I’ve got to go. They’ll be back at the airstrip soon.’ He stalked down the ramp, not waiting for an answer. The car engine roared to life.
He’d taken the energy with him, leaving the air feeling heavy, inert. Sure, she was being a bitch, but bluntness was her way. She’d learned from a master. But he had a point. Maybe she was being too hard on Felicity. And Ivy.
Hours later Ivy was having a nap and Ella was on her way over to Mitch to report that they’d seen cattle being trucked off his property. Dan came and stood behind Georgina, who had relocated to the kitchen table. A fresh batch of scones cooled on the old wire rack. He placed his hands on the muscles of her back and worked the tension out of them. She dropped her head forward, surprised that she could feel tears prickling against her lids.
The clock on the wall ticked away the minutes as he massaged. The afternoon se
ttled around them, the wind nothing but a low murmur through the eaves, and she could feel the sadness, the anger, ebbing, replaced with something different. Dan slid into the seat next to her and reached across and took her hand. His skin was warm against hers, his grip strong.
‘I know it’s clichéd and you hate clichés, but life’s too short, Gina.’ He turned her hand over and traced the long straight lifeline that dissected her palm. The thrill of it spread through her limbs. She let him talk. ‘I only came to say hello. No hidden agenda. But life’s so fleeting. There isn’t anything else except the here and now at our age.’
‘Unless you’re Ivy, in which case God is waiting on the other side.’ She pulled away, trying to use humour to deflect what she was feeling, and he let her go, although his hand still lay on the table close to her. The scattering of dark hairs on the back of it accentuated the lean length of his fingers. She knew what those hands felt like, how soft and deliberate their touch could be. Her cheeks were flaming and she didn’t dare meet his eyes.
‘We were good, Gina. We could be again.’ His voice deepened on the last word.
Fear raised her barriers. ‘I don’t know, Dan. How could we go back?’ She waved it away. Too many lies she’d need to face. Ivy had not raised her to hide the truth. Her glance strayed to the hallway opposite that led to Ivy’s bedroom and the office. And neither had Charlie.
‘We can complicate it or we can simply acknowledge that our lives diverged for a while, but what we once had most people never experience.’
‘Really?’ She met his gaze. ‘Did we really know each other? Isn’t marriage really about compromise? About surrendering? Giving up things you might passionately believe in?’ Finding the truth in each other, she added silently.
‘It’s about working things out together. Not taking a hard line, seeing the other person’s perspective.’
She shook her head, emphatically. ‘I’m not sure whether I can do that anymore. The longer I’m single, the more selfish I get.’
‘At our age we should be able to speak our minds, sort out our differences. Plenty of people find love in their middle age.’
‘Love, Dan? After everything that’s happened between us?’
‘Love comes in many different shapes. Trust is a large part of it. There’s no one I trust more than you.’
‘I should be flattered, right?’ she asked, wanting to wound him for his generosity.
His half-smile held more sadness than hope. ‘No, I’m not trying to flatter you. I’m laying my heart on the line.’
She bit her lip. She felt like the lonely schoolgirl wishing that her mother would wrap her up in her arms, just once, with love. Glimpsed again that powerful lure of belonging that had swept her off her feet in the early days of their marriage. ‘Then I guess I should say thank you. It’s very generous of you.’
He chuckled, captured her hand again. ‘Damned with faint praise, but I’ll take it.’ There was relief in his eyes. ‘Who knows what’s around the bend?’
If he reached across and kissed her now, she wouldn’t hold back. She’d take his hand and follow him down the back ramp and out to the van with its surprisingly large bed and cool air-conditioning. She’d find again the dips and hollows, trace the angles and planes, and taste the sweetness of his skin. She was almost disappointed that he stayed seated, just his thumb leaving an unbearably erotic circle on the inside of her wrist. But then he’d always been a master at building anticipation. He was waiting for her answer and she found a smile.
‘Life’s around the bend. Maybe it’s time to have another look.’
He raised her hand, feathered a kiss across the tips of her fingers. ‘That’s my girl.’
As she held his gaze she wondered if he’d still feel like that if he knew the real reason she’d left him.
The air in the lounge room felt dense. With the midday sun there was little light coming through the long windows and the corners of the room were in shadow. Ivy couldn’t ignore the tingles of alarm in the base of her spine. Ken’s eyes, in the soft glow from the reading lamp beside her, were arctic blue, so like his father’s. Until today she’d always thought the grey in his hair made him look distinguished. There were spidery veins woven in a mosaic stretched taut across his once-chiselled cheekbones. But there were no echoes of the happy young boy she’d bounced on her knee. Nor of the supposedly devoted son of recent times.
She should have waited until Felicity was back from Brisbane. Or at least made sure Georgina had no plans to go traipsing off to the escarpment with Dan for an overnight camping trip. She should have at least had the courage to ask her daughter to stay before she’d called Ken. She’d known he’d arrive on her doorstep, hectoring and manipulative. But Ella would have shown those photos to Mitch by now, so it was just a matter of time before the police knocked on Ken’s door.
‘Ken, I know what I saw.’
‘And I’m telling you that you were mistaken. I was in Brisbane, not out the back of Trethowan’s. Why would I bother stealing his cows? I have enough cash to keep the place running now.’ His tone was accusing and imperious.
‘And you changed the bank accounts, son. I don’t have access anymore.’
He smiled. ‘You don’t need access, remember? I put money in your account every month. That’s all you need.’
‘No!’ Ivy surprised herself, but this anger, this sense of injustice, had been simmering since she saw Ken’s face look up from beside that cattle truck. And there was nothing wrong with her eyesight. ‘No. This is my property, not yours. Not yet.’ Not ever, if she had her way.
‘No, Mum, it’s mine. It’s always been my inheritance. You know that. We had that little chat after Charlie died. Don’t you remember? Arran Downs is worthless grazing country compared to Roseglen and we both know who the properties really belong to.’
It was as good as a slap to her face, but she managed not to flinch as he continued. ‘The firstborn Dunmore inherits the lot. You’ve forgotten.’ He was humouring her now, cajoling. ‘It’s a shame, Ivy, but it’s not unexpected that you’re forgetting things.’
She felt faint, but she couldn’t turn back now. ‘How much did you think you’d get for Charlie’s watch?’
The telltale twitch of guilt jumped in the corner of his eye before he turned away as she continued. ‘And your father’s shaving kit? The antique travelling clock? The hunting rifles? What else have I missed?’
He shook his head, sorrowful now. ‘Ivy, you’ve forgotten. You gave them to me. I even showed Joan West the watch. She thought you were so generous.’
She flinched. He may as well have slapped her. He’d stolen from her, from Mitch and probably from others, yet he felt no remorse. He would leave her destitute to fill his own pockets. The pain of betrayal overshadowed everything. Why had she closed her ears to the complaints of her girls? She’d been blinded by love. Or guilt. Fear crept higher and dried her throat, but she pressed on. She had to.
‘Myles is sending me the list of all the things you’ve already stolen and sold. You knew I dismissed my cleaner because things went missing. You told me to sack her.’
His laugh chilled her. ‘Mum, we’ve been over this before. Your cleaner was next to useless and charging a fortune. And it was your decision, not mine.’
She glared at him for a moment but he didn’t budge. Her nerve was faltering.
‘You’re lying and we both know it, son. And this mortgage?’ She tapped the papers beside her. ‘You told me it was only short-term. Now I find it will outlive me by twenty years.’
‘You read the paperwork,’ he said. ‘I sat in your kitchen and watched you read every line. I even told them at the pub how diligent you were, trying to understand it when your mind was failing.’
Her heart raced. ‘That’s not true. It was for five years. Five years! I would never have signed for twenty-five years. How could I? I won’t be here to repay it. Besides, this drought won’t last that long. We’ve already had a smattering of rain.’
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br /> ‘And you’re a long-term weather forecaster too now, are you? That so sweet. That’ll make them smile at the pub. Ivy Dunmore says the drought’s on its way out.’ He swept his hand around the room, taunting her. ‘You’re living in the past, Ivy, but it’s to be expected at your age. I didn’t think you’d survive a year without Charlie. You’ve made it more difficult for me. But I’m a patient man.’
She looked at him, at the face she’d kissed thousands of times. Words failed her. The tide of sadness took what light there was from the room.
‘You think I’m going to stand by and let Trethowan get his claws into Roseglen? After what his father tried to do?’ he asked. He wasn’t rational. She could see it in his face.
She shook her head and it was enough to free her voice. ‘His father did nothing wrong. And neither has Mitch. Why do you hate him so much?’
His laugh was gentle. ‘Trethowans have always wanted this land. Once the old man went, Mitch thought he’d get it by sucking up to you. They laugh about it in the pub. “How’s your girlfriend, Mitch?” they ask him. It makes me sick. And now he’s sniffing around Lissie. She’ll be gullible too, like you.’
Ivy’s lungs wheezed like worn-out blacksmith’s bellows. ‘You’re wrong, son. He’s been nothing but a considerate neighbour and a friend to me.’
‘A friend? A friend wouldn’t suck you into a partnership on some dodgy tourism venture that’s guaranteed to fail. He’s lost his live export contract. That’s probably what you saw when you flew over. Trethowan shipping cattle out to some backyard butcher. He’s stuck with several thousand head, no buyer, and precious little feed. He has to muster or they’ll starve to death.’
The morning sun filtered through the lace drapes, turning tiny dust motes to dancing light as Ken rifled through the paperwork he’d brought. ‘You need to sign these. We’ll have to extend the line of credit if you seriously want to split the properties apart.’
Sinbad leapt onto her lap and her fingers flattened against the soothing silk of his fur. He sat straight, paws kneading her legs, ears pricked. The rumble in his chest was no purr. Her muscles unclenched a millimetre.
