Spoiled Fruit (The Girls Series Book 4)

by Sheila Horgan

  “Good. I just want to make sure that with all this excitement and travel and the emotional stress you are taking care of yourself. It was not that long ago that you were not well. I don’t want you to revisit those days.”

  Adeline rose and walked across the room to Carolyn. She enveloped her friend in a warm embrace. “Thank you.”

  “I’m glad you don’t think I overstepped.”

  “You never could. I appreciate your concern. More than you know.”

  “Good. Having that out of the way, I’ll let you and Anna figure out the finer points of this evening.”

  Anna was quick to comment. “Carolyn, you know your insights are every bit as important as mine.”

  “If I have one, I’ll let you know. For me, the evening was so overwhelming, I’m just proud I didn’t spill something on this lovely gown. I didn’t recognize half of what was put in front of us, but it was all very good.”

  Anna showed her excitement. “I was surprised at the selection. It never would have dawned on me that such a fancy dinner would be served almost buffet-style. I’m going to figure out how to make some of those things. I particularly liked the breakfast thing. That’s how I think of it anyway. That one with the potato cake with poached egg, prosciutto, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce. It all looked like something I could easily concoct, but the taste was very different than I had expected.”

  Carolyn agreed. “That buffet was more like a feast on a cruise ship. I haven’t seen that much food in decades.”

  “I believe the choice of a more casual affair was due to short notice. I am very indebted to Barnett and his wife for hosting.”

  “That was casual? I’d hate to see formal.”

  Adeline laughed. “The dining portion of the evening was more casual. I have been to dinners of hundreds of people where each attendee has their own waitstaff. That kind of coordination can take a bit of time to plan.”

  “I can’t even imagine.”

  Adeline was reflective. “There was a time when things were grand all the time. I remember back decades ago when we had a lovely party at the house. Everyone flew in. Many stayed with us. We had a company come in and put a dance floor over the lap pool, and a tent that extended most of the length of the back lawn, almost to the courts. It seems that everyone is doing things like that now. I look forward to a reversal of trend. Back to smaller and more intimate parties.”

  Carolyn said. “I like a home-cooked meal on a Sunday afternoon.”

  “Me too.” Anna nodded.

  Adeline smiled. “I openly admit, that is my new favorite.”

  “Back to the dinner party tonight or to what Roland said? Which do you want to start off with?”

  “Roland, I believe.”

  Elsa knocked on the doorjamb again. “Ma’am, I’m sorry for the delay.” She walked in with a pad of paper and pen for each of the girls. “The equipment you requested will be available in approximately an hour.”

  “Thank you, Elsa.”

  Once Elsa was out of the room, curiosity got the better of Anna. “Equipment?”

  “I am having the exact equipment we enjoy in your office at home arranged in the office here. Because you have your backups in Roland’s facility, I am told that the equipment that is set up here will be an exact replica. I think you will be more comfortable that way, and I need your assistance.”

  “Anything I can do.”

  “Very well. Now that I think about it, how tired are you girls?”

  Carolyn’s eyes were wide. “I’m wide-awake.”

  “Me too.”

  Carolyn wiggled in her seat. “An adventure always gets the juices flowing.”

  “I have a proposal. Would it be completely burdensome if we were to take a bit of time, wash off all of this makeup, change into something more comfortable, and meet in the office? I know my people. If they say they can have it for me in sixty minutes, they are hedging their bet that it will be ready in thirty. Even if that is a bit optimistic, we can meet there and talk while they complete their assignment, and Anna will be available to make any changes necessary.”

  Carolyn stood. “That sounds good. Meet you in the office with my pen and paper in thirty minutes.”

  “That sounded like Clue. Remember that game? I loved it. I played it all the time when my nieces and nephews were younger. When the regular game lost some of its shine, we created our own version. Made it much more difficult. At one time we were going to try to sell our version but decided it was a little too close to the original and didn’t want to step into a copyright war.”

  “It is your expertise in detecting and such things that I am counting on, Anna.”

  When the girls met in the office, they were refreshed and ready to work.

  Anna was wearing leggings and a soft tunic. Carolyn was wearing lounge pants and a gauzy top that flowed beautifully as she walked across the room to join Anna on a couch placed before a huge window looking out over the city. Adeline was wearing one of the outfits that her little dancers picked out. Her face was makeup-free and her hair brushed away from her face. To the girls, she looked more herself. More at ease. Moments later when Elsa walked in, the shock on her face — that she erased completely within a second or two — registered with all of the girls.

  “Ma’am, do you require refreshments? Perhaps some tea?”

  “Please, Elsa.”

  Once Elsa left the room, Adeline broke out in good-natured laughter. “Elsa has worked in this house for well over a decade. I think this is the first time she has seen me in such a costume and without makeup. I may have taken a few years off of her life.”

  Anna was quick to respond to her friend. “I think you look lovely.”

  Carolyn agreed. “Adeline, you look younger and healthier without being all done up all the time.”

  “Perhaps, but the city is much more formal than our bay area, and one does not present one’s self in anything less than full regalia.”

  Carolyn rubbed her hands together. “I’m not sure I could live that way.”

  “I’m not sure I would want to. That’s why I’m not rich and famous. Every time you walk out your door, someone is there to take a picture, and then everyone and their brother thinks they have the right and responsibility to say something totally nasty about it. No thank you.” Anna shook her head.

  Adeline defended the city she considered her hometown, although she wasn’t born there. “There are things to see in this city that can be seen nowhere else in the world.”

  Anna shrugged. “That can be said of any city.”

  “Yes, but here it is not a stretch. I propose a tour of the city tomorrow. Perhaps we can — ”

  “I don’t mean to interrupt you, Adeline.” Anna kept her tone light. “But your proposal sounds just a little bit like procrastination. We have covered just about every subject under the sun. I think that you have probably — with our help — brought the art of avoidance to a whole new level, but it is time for us to settle in and get this going. Let’s go over what we already know, what we think we know, and what we think. If we get this figured out tonight, then we can paint the town red for the rest of our trip.”

  Carolyn backed her up. “Let’s not lose focus on why we’re here.”

  “Very well. Although I hesitate to admit that I might be avoiding the very reason we are here, some of the things I now know both put me in a position of power over the children, and to some extent cause me to have never felt more guilty about their circumstances. I have information from Roland and his group. I have information from my grandson. I have even been in contact with people local to the area. What I am finding and can no longer avoid is both heartbreaking and leaves me bursting with anger.”

  Carolyn reached out. “We’ll straighten it out.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears.”

  For an instant when Elsa walked in the door to offer fresh drinks, she thought that perhaps Adeline had fallen. She found her sprawled on the floor. She had never seen such a
thing. Not involving women of Adeline’s age, that was for sure. Almost immediately she recognized the situation for what it was, the girls, as they called themselves, were stretching. Evidently they had been sitting long enough, and Elsa walked in at exactly the wrong time. Why they weren’t using the gym was beyond her, and she would simply never know, as it was not her place to ask or to place judgment.

  “Oh, Elsa, please come in. You need not be so formal when there are no guests.”

  “Is everything alright, ma’am?”

  “Very much so. I have recently come to know a group of young women, girls really, that have taught me the value of keeping one’s joints flexible. Ease of movement is one of the things that we lose as we get older. I do not intend for that to be an issue now or in the coming years.”

  “Would you like me to bring in some specialized equipment? Perhaps a personal trainer or instructor?”

  “That is not necessary. I find myself most comfortable on the floor or dancing around the house like the lunatic some are concerned I have become.”

  Elsa’s smile lit up her face. “Ma’am, if I might say so, I think that dancing around the house is one of the best mood elevators available. Turning on music that brings good memories to mind and allowing yourself to be taken by it is more rejuvenating than a month at a first-class spa.”

  Twenty minutes later, when Cook arrived with the refreshments, the shock of seeing the girls teaching Elsa some rather intricate dance moves was almost as amusing as it was shocking.

  The interruption broke the mood.

  Elsa excused herself; she could not, however, wipe the smile off her face.

  The girls fell to the sofas in great peals of laughter.

  “We needed that. Both the dancing and the interruption. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.”

  “Speaking of time, what time is it?”

  “A little after three.”

  Adeline’s face fell. “And we haven’t accomplished a thing.”

  Anna corrected her. “Now, that isn’t true at all. We now have shared all that we know, all of what we think we know, and half of what we feel. I’d say that is a pretty good night’s work.”

  Adeline agreed. “Shall we head off to bed?”

  “You girls can do that if you like, but I think that if there is a computer available, I’ll just do a little research. My head is just swimming with information.”

  Adeline began to shake her head. “That is hardly fair to you, Anna.”

  “You know I love this stuff.”

  Carolyn seemed to be full of energy. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “Not at all.”

  Carolyn looked like a schoolgirl. “I was kind of hoping that you would say yes. I don’t think I can sleep either.”

  Anna perked up further. “Remember when you did that chart when we were doing the research before? When you wrote everything down on the whiteboard? That might help.”

  “There is a small conference room here in the house, or a larger one downstairs in the business center. We can commandeer it, or I can have the staff bring the large whiteboard up here.”

  “I’m sure whatever we have here is just fine.”

  “Shall we adjourn to the conference room?”

  It was just after four thirty when the girls looked at the clock again. As it turned out, the whiteboard had not been enough. Anna had rummaged around in the kitchen and found butcher paper and a wax pencil. They covered the table with it, had several sheets taped to the whiteboard, and a couple more on the floor.

  The last thing they decided to do before heading off to bed was to summarize. Since it was Adeline’s life and Carolyn’s organization skills that had filled the paper and board, they decided that Anna would take a swipe at it and perhaps give them a new perspective. She had been so busy collecting information from the computer that she had been more a feeder of data than a participant in the finding of threads and theories.

  Anna accepted the challenge with enthusiasm. “What we know for sure. First, Adeline, I don’t know where you came up with those names. They sound like something out of a bad movie.”

  Adeline laughed good-naturedly. “They were given to the children by my late husband. He was a bit of a pompous ass.”

  “A bit?” The girls laughed.

  “He was quite certain that a child grows into their name and station. If you were to name your child something common, then your child would be common.”

  “I’m glad my parents didn’t see it that way. They named me after a favorite aunt.”

  “Me too.”

  “At any rate, let’s review. Talbot is your firstborn. A daughter. How did that go over?”

  “Her father was thrilled. For all the things he did badly, he truly believed in the equality of females.”

  “Good, that might matter. She is followed by Granville. They grow up normally enough — if you are stupidly rich — and they have all that the super rich consider normal. Best schools, which is good because although they are a tad uninterested…” Anna didn’t even realize that the lack of sleep she was experiencing had all but erased every filter.

  Adeline seemed to be suffering from the same condition. “We must be forthright. They were lazy.”

  “Okay, I just don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

  “Do not concern yourself with that, please, Anna. We are far past the point that people recognizing my children for what they are is hurtful. My dearest friends helping me through this time could not say anything that would be taken in a negative light.”

  “Thank you. That makes it easier. So, you have your daughter and your son. They are smart but lazy. They aren’t held accountable. They are raised, mostly, by nannies and special schools. From the start you are not allowed much power over them, and even at the time, when wives were much more likely to do as they were told at home — even those who ran huge companies — your role was to facilitate, not to participate. Is that a fair representation?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Okay, so your kids grow up a little distant, and that seems pretty normal for the circumstance, but when their dad died, they kind of lost it.”

  “At the time, Lord forgive me, I saw it as their inability to accept that their ‘gravy train’ — as Cara refers to it — had just started up a very steep hill. It would be slowed if not stopped, and for the first time in their lives, they would not have an automatic yes to anything and everything they desired.”

  “I think that in context, that isn’t a terrible observation.”

  Carolyn raised her hand as if she were still in a classroom. “And how old were they when that happened? I know I wrote it down, but I don’t recall.”

  “Granville was in eighth grade, Talbot two years older. Granville had been away at school for only about six weeks when it happened. Talbot had not come home that summer, insisting that she tour Europe with friends. I thought it unwise.”

  “A tenth grader let loose in Europe?”

  “Oh, there were the normal attendants, companions, and hangers-on. There were also parents, nannies, and carers.”

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “I never allowed Genevieve to do anything like that. Her summers were spent with me. Some of them more productive than others, but always she was where I could observe and communicate.”

  Carolyn’s voice held a warning tone. “We agreed at the onset that you weren’t going to beat yourself up about all of this.”

  “That is turning out to be more difficult than I had envisioned.”

  Anna jumped in. “Okay, so the kids are away, the husband dies, the kids come home, and you decide that you can’t change their lives immediately, just too traumatic.”

  “I consulted several professionals.”

  Carolyn took Adeline’s hand. “For what it’s worth, I agree with what you did. You can’t turn a kid’s life upside down right after a life-changing event. That’s just mean.”

  “I sometimes wonder
what would have happened had I had the foresight to make a complete break, to change everything, start a new life as it were.”

  “You can’t play that game. You won’t change anything, and you’ll just make yourself crazy.”

  “True enough.”

  Anna took over again. “So, things go pretty much as they were before your husband died. The kids do their thing at school. No big problems. No suspensions. The only negative in the reports you got was that they were lazy.”

  “True.”

  “They start college. Ivy League. Best of the best. Other than the usual — overrunning their allowance, which was very generous — they didn’t have too many problems.”

  “I did have some problems with Granville and his friends. They were overly enthusiastic when it came to the college party scene.”

  Anna shrugged. “That’s a really pretty way to say drunk and disorderly. Anything really serious? Lots of kids drink too much when they go away to college.”

  “That is just the thing. My children had been away at school for a very long time. They knew how to play that game. I did not see it at the time, but having spoken to other parents with children in the same situations, I now find that perhaps the children were in a little more trouble than I was aware. A very large trust fund can buy your way out of many a problem.”

  Anna sounded slightly horrified. “They had access to big money back then?”

  “In retrospect, a sixteen-year-old with an unlimited credit card and no accountability is a true formula for disaster. When the accountant is accustomed to seeing charges for thousands of dollars for a purse or tens of thousands of dollars for a weekend getaway, they are not necessarily in a position to determine which charges are valid. There is also the problem of cash advances.”

  Anna was intrigued. “Yes, we talked about that a bit. Anything to add?”

  “I had thought about doing a forensic study of the expenses they had back then but decided that I would rather not know. That is the very definition of neglectful parenting, is it not?”