The Patterson Girls

by Rachael Johns

  ‘Fancy a drink?’ Madeleine asked, dumping her suitcase, handbag and overnight travel bag on the lounge room floor. ‘I’m physically exhausted but my mind is wide awake.’

  ‘Sounds good.’ A nightcap with her sister was a better idea than heading to bed where she’d no doubt toss and turn for hours with thoughts of Nigel and her mega stuff-up. ‘I’ll just go dump my things and get changed into something more comfortable.’

  The two of them went off to the bedrooms, returning a few minutes later wearing warm pyjamas and fluffy slippers. They grabbed glasses and a bottle of wine and then trekked into the lounge room.

  Chapter Forty-three

  After bidding their patrons and staff goodnight, Lucinda, Dad and Charlie tiptoed inside so as not to disturb their surprise overseas houseguests.

  ‘I wonder how long they’re staying?’ Dad whispered.

  ‘I guess we’ll find out tomorrow,’ Lucinda said.

  Dad and Charlie planned to collect their toothbrushes and a change of clothes and then head off to Mrs Sampson’s and Mitch’s to spend the night, but they were all surprised to find Madeleine and Abigail still awake.

  After a long day and the prospect of another sleepless night, Lucinda welcomed the sight of the wine bottle. ‘Can I join you?’

  ‘Sure, grab a glass.’ Abigail gestured towards the kitchen.

  Madeleine lifted her glass as if in toast. ‘The more the merrier. Dad? Charlie?’

  ‘Well … I shouldn’t stay up too late, but maybe just one quick drink,’ Dad said. ‘It’s not very often I have all my girls under one roof now, is it?’

  Charlie sighed. ‘I’m shattered, but I’ll have a quick one too. I don’t want to miss out on the gossip. What brings you two home in the middle of the year?’

  As Lucinda went to get the glasses and another bottle of their favourite McLaren Vale chardonnay, she heard Madeleine say, ‘Does there have to be a reason besides wanting to see our beloved family?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lucinda called over her shoulder and everyone laughed. That simple sound made her heart feel lighter than it had in days. She returned and began to pour glasses for herself, Dad and Charlie who’d already taken up residence in the two armchairs. Lucinda handed out the drinks and then perched on the edge of Dad’s chair, looking in anticipation to Madeleine and Abigail who were sitting, legs curled up behind them on the couch. ‘Well?’

  Madeleine took a long sip of her wine and shrugged. ‘I’ve been getting itchy feet for a while. Coming home at Christmas made me a little homesick, believe it or not. I missed you guys and I started to think about maybe looking for a position in Australia. It’s been on my mind a bit, but when Abigail called and told me her news, I made up my mind.’

  Lucinda got the feeling this wasn’t the whole story—Madeleine wasn’t the type to suffer homesickness—but she looked to Abigail. ‘News?’

  Abigail bit her lip, glanced down at her wine glass and then back up again. She looked as if she were close to tears. ‘I got sacked from the orchestra.’

  ‘What?’ Lucinda, Dad and Charlie asked in unison. ‘When?’

  Abigail didn’t give a definite time or very many details but, like Madeleine, she said she thought it a sign that it was time for her to return Down Under. ‘I’m thinking of trying my hand at teaching music,’ she confessed. And then she looked to their father. ‘Are you terribly disappointed in me, Dad?’

  ‘Baby girl. Of course not.’ He crossed the shag rug, then bent down and pulled Abigail up into a hug. ‘I’m proud of all you girls, and your mum was too.’

  At his words, Abigail lost her battle with tears and Lucinda felt her own throat and eyes burning with emotion. So much had changed in the last year; it was as if the moment Mum died, the rest of their lives had started to unravel as well.

  ‘So, do you mean studying teaching at university?’ Charlie asked when Abigail had stopped sniffling.

  ‘Yep. Well, possibly.’ She shrugged. ‘I might just see if there’s anyone interested in lessons in Meadow Brook first and save a little money. I’ll do my bit round here too.’

  ‘Have you had much interest in the motel, Dad?’ Madeleine asked.

  He shook his head. ‘I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight, but I hoped we’d have had a few nibbles by now. Ah well, you can’t rush these things—and having Charlie and Lucinda here to help has eased my load.’ He put his hand over his mouth but failed to hide a yawn. ‘I’m sorry my princesses, I’m going to have to head to bed but I’m so happy to have you all back home for a bit.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad.’ Abigail kissed him on the cheek and then flopped back down onto the couch. ‘Sweet dreams.’

  ‘You too.’ He moved around the room, kissing each of his daughters goodnight before heading to his bedroom to collect the few things he needed for his first night in the caravan.

  When he was gone, Madeleine looked to Charlie and Lucinda. ‘Is this thing with Mrs Sampson serious then?’

  They both shrugged.

  ‘We don’t know,’ Lucinda conceded.

  ‘He hasn’t actually admitted there is anything going on,’ Charlie mused. ‘I think he’s embarrassed.’

  ‘And maybe worried about what we’ll all think,’ Lucinda added. ‘But they sure do spend a lot of time together.’

  ‘What do we think?’ Madeleine asked.

  ‘I admit I was a little upset by the prospect at first,’ Lucinda said, twirling her wine glass between her fingers. ‘But I don’t want Dad to be alone for the rest of his life, and how long do we expect him to mourn? He’ll always love Mum, but that shouldn’t mean he has to be miserable forever.’

  Her other sisters nodded.

  ‘You know, I didn’t know her name was Sal until tonight.’ Abigail laughed and her wine splashed over onto her knuckles.

  ‘Neither did I,’ Madeleine admitted, plucking a tissue from the box on the coffee table and passing it to her sister.

  ‘Do you think they’ll be, like, sharing the caravan?’ Abigail screwed up her nose.

  Madeleine almost choked on her wine. ‘Let’s not even go there. I’m not ready to think about such things. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready.’

  Lucinda laughed, leaned back in the seat she’d stolen when their dad left and took another sip. The conversation and wine flowed easily. Lucinda and Charlie filled the others in on the latest dramas in Meadow Brook and all the improvements they’d been doing at the motel.

  ‘What about you, Luce?’ Abigail asked. ‘How are you doing?’

  Lucinda immediately knew her sister was thinking of Joe. She swallowed. ‘I’m taking it a day at a time.’

  ‘Are you in contact with him?’ This from Madeleine, who always got straight to the point.

  ‘A little. I write to him every night and it’s helping me sort out my feelings.’

  ‘That’s great.’ Abigail smiled and then lifted her glass to her lips. ‘Ahh,’ she sighed. ‘I had some fabulous French wines in London, but nothing beats the homegrown South Aussie plonk. Being able to drink is one very positive aspect of not being pregnant.’

  ‘Pregnant?’ Lucinda’s grip on her glass tightened at Abigail’s strange choice of words. ‘Why would you be pregnant?’

  Abigail’s eyes widened. She’d obviously said something she hadn’t intended.

  Madeleine lifted one shoulder and looked at Lucinda. ‘Apparently, you and Joe weren’t the only ones trying to make a baby these last few months.’

  Abigail went bright red and lifted her wine glass as if hoping to hide behind it. ‘You promised you wouldn’t say anything,’ she hissed.

  ‘Sorry.’ And Madeleine sounded genuinely so. She reached out and took Abigail’s hand in hers. ‘I get loose lips when I have a few too many wines but, like I said, no one’s going to love you any less.’

  Lucinda didn’t care about Madeleine’s loose lips or Abigail’s obvious mortification. Her heart was pounding at the possibility of her little sister getting pregnant before her. ‘What’s going on?
Did you have a pregnancy scare?’

  ‘If you don’t want to tell us, you don’t have to,’ Charlie said at the same time.

  Lucinda glared at Charlie but when Abigail’s face crumbled and a tear snuck down her cheek again, her anxious curiosity made way for concern. When Madeleine put down her wine glass and pulled Abigail into a hug, Lucinda’s heart clenched. Madeleine didn’t hug lightly.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she whispered, her mind running away with a hundred awful possibilities.

  Abigail sniffed. ‘I miss him so much.’

  ‘Who?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘Nigel.’ She sobbed again.

  Lucinda frowned, recalling that Abigail had mentioned a boyfriend at Christmas. She hadn’t spoken about him in emails or phone calls since and Lucinda hadn’t given it much thought, assuming they must have broken up. ‘I thought your boyfriend’s name was Jack.’

  ‘It’s complicated,’ Madeleine said, rubbing her palm up and down Abigail’s back. ‘Do you want me to tell them?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ Abigail managed.

  Madeleine took a quick breath and then launched into the dramas that had unfolded in Abigail’s life since she lost her job just before Christmas.

  ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell any of us when we were all home.’ Lucinda couldn’t keep the recrimination from her voice.

  ‘I didn’t want you to know how pathetic I was. To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking at all. Without music, I was lost.’

  ‘But then she met Nigel,’ Madeleine said.

  Abigail nodded, a soft but sad smile forming on her face. ‘He was amazing, but he said he didn’t want anything more than a fling, so I got it in my head that if I got pregnant I’d have reason to come home. I also wanted to disprove the curse. I didn’t tell him but we started sleeping together and he thought I was on the pill, but … I wasn’t.’

  ‘Geez,’ Charlie said. ‘I wish you’d confided in us earlier.’

  Lucinda bit her tongue on giving Abigail a lecture on her irresponsible behaviour. Who was she to talk? It wasn’t as if she’d made such a great job of her life lately either.

  Abigail looked as if she were losing the battle with her emotions yet again.

  ‘She realised the error of her ways and forgot the whole idea,’ Madeleine said. ‘She fell in love with Nigel and has been giving music lessons in London but Nigel found out what she’d planned and he … he ended it.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Charlie handed Abigail the whole box of tissues. She yanked one out and blew her nose.

  But Lucinda’s brain was ticking. ‘How long were you trying to get pregnant?’

  ‘Three months.’ Abigail admitted, wiping her eyes with another tissue.

  ‘And are you sure you were trying at the right time?’

  Abigail nodded. ‘I read up on ovulation and timing and everything and even bought an ovulation kit from Boots.’

  Lucinda’s heart lurched at this new information. ‘I knew it. Surely this proves there is some truth in the curse.’

  ‘Lucinda,’ Charlie warned, ‘I thought you’d agreed to forget about that.’

  Lucinda ignored her. ‘Three of us have tried to conceive and failed. If that’s not evidence enough, I don’t know what is.’

  ‘I agree,’ Abigail said, her shoulders slumping and her tone defeatist.

  ‘Hang on? What do you mean three of us?’ Charlie asked. ‘I haven’t been trying to get pregnant.’

  ‘I have,’ Madeleine confessed and Lucinda couldn’t help but smile at the look of shock on Charlie’s face as their oldest sister explained what had happened between herself and Hugo. She continued to explain the fiasco that had gone down and had initiated her decision to return to Australia. Lucinda hadn’t known about this latest development.

  ‘I’m sorry things ended that way,’ she said, trying and failing to recall a time when Madeleine had ever sounded so broken. And as she looked at her sisters, all so dejected, her belief in the power of the curse returned with a vengeance.

  Three sisters, all of them actively trying to get pregnant to no avail.

  It couldn’t simply be coincidence.

  Madeleine reached out and snatched a tissue. ‘Turns out the curse grabbed hold of me as well. The logical part of me knows it’s ridiculous, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t like the idea that if I wanted to have a baby, some ridiculous old curse might stand in my way. I’m a doctor for God’s sake. So I decided to prove it wrong.’ Madeleine laughed. ‘I still don’t believe in it, but if there is any truth in it, maybe it isn’t just a fertility curse. Maybe it’s a love curse as well.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘Well, look at you and Joe.’ She paused, then gestured to Abigail. ‘And the two of us made a right royal balls-up of our latest attempts at romance. And if we consider our family history, well, Aunt Mags, Victoria and Sarah were also ill-fated in that department. Maybe we are all destined to be old spinsters, living alone with a bunch of cats.’

  A chill washed over Lucinda at this terrible possibility. But it made more sense than she cared to admit.

  ‘I quite like cats,’ ventured Abigail.

  ‘That’s not the point,’ snapped Lucinda and Madeleine at the same time. Their gazes met and for the first time in her life, Lucinda knew she and Madeleine were on the same page, fear and fury bonding them.

  ‘So what are we going to do about it?’ she asked.

  ‘You’re the one who’s researched curses,’ Madeleine said, pointing her finger. ‘What are our options?’

  ‘There aren’t many, which is why I’ve been so depressed about it. But the only one that makes any sense is confronting the person who cast the curse and asking them to reverse it. Of course, we can’t do that because she’s dead. Some people say psychics might be able to help, but I looked a few up on Google and they all charge a fortune. Besides, it’s hard to tell which ones are legitimate—if any.’

  ‘Do you know anyone?’ Abigail looked to Charlie.

  ‘No.’ Charlie shook her head and if Lucinda wasn’t mistaken she sounded a little annoyed. Her mouth opened as if she were about to say something else, but Abigail suddenly jumped up in excitement.

  ‘We could have a séance,’ she suggested, her whole face brightening at this idea.

  Lucinda immediately imagined a bunch of adolescent girls scaring themselves silly with ouija boards, and was about to pooh-pooh the idea when Madeleine suggested something else.

  ‘Or,’ she said, gesturing for Abigail to calm down, ‘we could go and speak to Wanda. Maybe her mother told her about the curse. It’s a long shot … but if we talk her around, she might know how we can get it lifted. She might even be able to do it herself.’

  ‘So you believe in the curse now?’ Abigail asked.

  Madeleine shrugged, taking another sip of her wine before she replied. ‘I have no freaking idea, but I don’t see any harm in investigating it further.’

  ‘What if she just shuts the door in our faces?’ Lucinda thought it a real possibility.

  ‘Then we knock until she answers it. Us Patterson girls aren’t quitters, are we?’ Madeleine raised her glass as if for a toast. Maybe it was the wine spurring her on but she’d never been one to admit defeat. ‘I for one am not going to let some dead old woman rule my life. Wanda, or … what did Aunt Mags say her real name was? Anyway she’s the closest kin to Doris. She must know something. So, what do you say, sisters?’

  Lucinda didn’t need to think about her answer. She’d thought of little else for the past six months and the idea of doing something about the curse made her giddy. The truth was she’d contemplated visiting the old woman before but common sense had always talked her round. Right now, she felt as if common sense were hugely overrated.

  She lifted her own glass and grinned. ‘Count me in.’

  ‘And me,’ added Abigail. ‘When will we go?’

  ‘I’d say there’s no time like the present,’ Madeleine sa
id, ‘but it’s midnight and we’ve all had too much to drink. What about first thing tomorrow morning?’

  ‘I’ve got to do the breakfast service and then help Mrs Sampson with the rooms, but I can do after that,’ Lucinda replied. ‘That’ll give you girls a chance to have a sleep in if you need it.’

  ‘It’s a deal.’ Madeleine lifted her wine glass. She, Lucinda and Abigail clinked glasses and then each took a sip to seal it.

  Chapter Forty-four

  Despite the late night, Lucinda woke early, adrenalin rushing through her body when she remembered her sisters were home and the plans they’d made for today. After months of feeling helpless, it felt empowering to finally have a strategy. Who knew if confronting the old woman would achieve anything, but it was better than sitting on her hands, sulking about how unfair her life was. Maybe if they could really put the curse behind them, she’d be in a better place to move forward and fix things with Joe.

  And having Madeleine onside made her feel justified in pursuing it because her oldest sister never did anything silly. Madeleine didn’t abide fools and never wasted time on anything she didn’t think worthwhile.

  Lucinda all but jumped out of bed, hurried in the shower and then dressed quickly, eager to get the breakfast service over and done with. Charlie wasn’t there yet when she went into the restaurant, so she turned on all the lights—this time of the year it was still pitch black outside at this hour of the morning—and went into the kitchen to get started. She switched on Rob’s radio, half-heartedly listening to the ABC news while she worked, and by the time Charlie ambled in half an hour later, everything was almost ready to go.

  ‘You don’t look so great,’ she said as her younger sister made a beeline for the tea. Charlie had gone to bed earlier than all of them last night and hadn’t drank as much as the others, but this morning her face was a grey-green colour. By rights, Lucinda should have the killer hangover it looked like Charlie was suffering.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said, but then caught sight of the bacon sizzling over the big hob stove and almost dry-retched. Lucinda raised an eyebrow. She knew Charlie didn’t like cooking meat, but she always did it when necessary.