Catalyst

by Ross Richdale

  "Possibly but I doubt it. "

  ****

  It was after five-thirty and Renee had slipped her coat on when Annette walked in with a mysterious expression.

  "We need to have an extraordinary board meeting," she said.

  "When?" Renee grumbled. This was the last thing she wanted at the moment.

  "Now will do," Annette responded. "We only need to approve a small item. I'd do it but as majority proxy shareholder you have the right to veto my recommendation."

  "Go on." Renee sighed. She took off her coat again and sat down.

  "There is a buyer for William Junior's shares. He wants to buy the total twenty percent and has offered the current share price. William has accepted but needs the board's approval and that is you."

  "Is it another law firm?"

  "Nope," Annette replied. "A retired farmer."

  "What?"

  "Yes, a guy called Jack Bonnett. Ever heard of him?"

  "Dad...but how can he?"

  "It seems he sold the farm to a neighbor."

  "Oh, my God, the old devil. He never said a word."

  "So I guess we become Usborne, Bonnett and Bonnett now," Annette said with a chuckle.

  "So this can be an official board meeting?"

  "It can."

  "I would, therefore, like to abstain from casting a vote."

  Annette frowned. "You can't do that, Renee."

  "Oh, I can. I have a conflict of interest."

  "Okay. I contacted the minority shareholders and have their proxy votes." She reached in her satchel and brought out a wad of papers. "William is entitled to one last vote and his proxy is added to my twenty percent and the minority shareholders. It comes to, now let me see…" She licked a finger, thumbed through the papers, grabbed a pencil and jotted the numbers on a sheet of paper. "You abstained, three voted against and forty-two voted for accepting Mr. Bonnett's offer. I declare the said gentleman the owner of twenty percent of our company."

  "I'm going to have to speak to my father. He loved the farm. It wasn't necessary to do this."

  "Can I bring up one more item before we close the meeting?" Annette asked without even a glint of a smile.

  "What now?" Renee glowered.

  "I want to table the motion that we employ another lawyer to replace William Junior."

  "Okay," Renee replied. "I second the motion and vote in favor but have a funny feeling I've been conned into all this."

  "It's all legal." Annette laughed for the first time. "Jack gave me special orders to say nothing."

  "And you don't mind?"

  "Not at all. Jack stated he'd be a sleeping partner."

  "But to sell the farm," Renee repeated. "The old sod."

  ****

  Three weeks later a fresh-faced but highly qualified young woman joined the firm of Usborne and Bonnett. Like Renee a few years earlier, Suzanne Norwood's enthusiasm was infectious but unlike Renee's arrival, the new girl's youthful vigor was encouraged and accepted.

  In many ways, though physically different, Suzanne reminded Renee of herself. The chubby brunette was quiet but confident. She was popular with the office staff and the firm, now entirely female, moved forward without traditional hierarchy. Even Annette, after a few gentle reminders, realized Suzanne did not need to be treated like an office girl.

  Renee's concern about the farm weren't realized when she found Jack had retained the house and two home fields. The major change was for Diane, who moved out of her home to live with Jack. Phil and his family shifted into her house and he became manager of his mother's property.

  Back in Seattle, Courtney, Linda and Ken took over the top floor of the house but Courtney spent more time downstairs than up and much to Lem's annoyance, the quad speakers ended up in the lounge.

  "Courtney doesn't want you to feel left out, Sweetheart." Renee chuckled after the final wiring was completed and the teenagers disappeared upstairs to get some CDs.

  "Thanks," Lem muttered. "Music seems to be the one thing that doesn't transcend the generations. In my day…"

  "If you loop me in with the Beatles and Elvis, I'll scream," Renee retorted.

  Lem broke into a grin. "I'm not that old." He lunged at her.

  Renee anticipated his move, ducked beneath his arm and ran, laughing, up the stairs with Lem in hot pursuit.

  ****

  CHAPTER 19

  The late season snow hit Seattle with vengeance but Lem and the three teenagers managed to make it to the farm before the valley road was closed. Courtney, Ken and Linda, who had joined them for the weekend, reveled in the winter activities. By midmorning a massive snowman sat on the front lawn and the trio had departed with three toboggans to slide down a hill at the back of Diane's property.

  The trudge up the slope was difficult but the resulting drop looked exhilarating.

  "It's steep," Linda said doubtfully as she gazed at Phil's farmhouse below.

  Even Ken seemed reluctant to try the slope. "Perhaps we should try the other side first." He nodded to a gentle section on the other side.

  "Well, I'm going here," Courtney announced. "Back home in the east we did this every year."

  She lay on the toboggan with her arms and legs overlapping and pushed off. For a second, the sled hardly moved but suddenly pivoted down the steep section and Courtney accelerated at an enormous speed. She screamed in exhilaration as the runners bounced over the icy surface, hit a small mound and tumbled sideways into a snowdrift.

  Courtney scrambled to her feet, brushed snow off and waved at the two tiny figures up the hill. "Come on," she screamed.

  Ken's journey followed the tracks left by Courtney's toboggan and if anything, was faster and more controlled. He tore by Courtney and bounced another twenty yards, before he, too, lost control. He went one way, the toboggan the opposite and both ended in snowdrifts.

  Courtney was about to slide over when she glanced up to see Linda sliding down the icy surface in a perfect maneuver to scream past them all to a ladylike stop well beyond Ken.

  The three met, laughing and headed back up the hill.

  "I'll outdistance you this time." Courtney bragged and launched herself into a power dive. The toboggan shot down the well-marked track in a hum of metal against ice. She hit the same mound as the first time, toppled and crashed ten yards short of Linda's distance.

  For two hours they tobogganed and had the inevitable snowball fights before another black cloud appeared, the heavens opened and a fresh batch of snow came tumbling down. The trio staggered, exhausted but happy, across the road and into Jack's cellar.

  "My God," Courtney gasped as she peeled off a layer of wet clothes and held her frozen hands in front of the furnace door. "I reckon I've bruised every bone in my body."

  "Then have a spa," Renee cut in.

  "All of us?" Linda replied and glanced at a drenched Ken, whose cold cheeks reddened slightly.

  "You two go," he muttered as if he'd realized for the first time he was a different gender from his friends.

  "There's no need," Renee said. "I've got some old bathing suits upstairs the girls can fit into and I'm sure we can find something for you, Ken."

  The tiny room was constructed like a log cabin with exposed beams and wooden decking around a four-leaf clover shaped spa. Renee had anticipated their arrival, for the covers had been removed and steam rose from the hot bubbling water. Heat from the adjacent furnace made the enclosure akin to a sauna and for the weary, cold teenagers, this was frosting on chocolate cake.

  Renee returned a few moments later with towels and suits. "They may be old fashioned but who's to see. Dad even built a changing room for girls and boys at the back. When I was a teenager my friends and I spent hours here." She grinned. "I reckon it was the attraction rather than me."

  ****

  "This is the life." Courtney sighed a few moments later as she leaned back in her corner and allowed the bubbles to flow around her body.

  "It is," Linda replied. "Fancy, it's snowing ou
tside and in here we could be in Hawaii." She flicked water at Ken, who leaned back and shut his eyes. "What are you dreaming about?"

  Ken opened his eyes and smiled at the girls. "How great everyone is."

  "Thanks, Ken," Courtney said with a laugh. "You aren't too bad either." She studied her friend and saw that he wasn't speaking in jest. "Oh Ken," she continued in a hushed voice. "Have you had a bad time?"

  Ken glanced up and nodded. "Pretty tough."

  "Me too," Linda added in a serious voice. "I hated everyone before I enrolled at Northside College but they helped me so much. Now, I'm here with you two."

  "Do you want to talk about it?" Courtney asked. "I ran away, you know." She glanced at the others and began to talk. The words flowed about her life, how Renee and Lem helped her and her gradual recovery. "I think of Renee, Lem and Jack as my real family now."

  "You can't pick your own family, can you?" Ken said softly.

  "No," Linda agreed. Her eyes were wide and her chin trembled slightly. "When it came to the crunch, instead of helping, my parents kicked me out."

  "Why?" Courtney gasped.

  "I got pregnant and my parents wouldn't allow me to have an abortion." The girl's voice quivered but she kept talking. "They're religious and oppose abortions. 'You got yourself in this trouble, girl,' my father said. 'It is God's will that you bring your child into this world.' The bastard."

  "But you had one," Courtney said.

  "Yes." Linda brushed a wet hand over her face and sighed. "I was determined not to have my life ruined and approached a school nurse for help. She referred me to a clinic and in the end, a judge made me a state ward and signed the papers allowing it to go through."

  "No regrets?" Ken asked.

  "No," Linda replied and bit her lip. "It may sound callous, my parents called me a murderer but I made my decision and stuck to it."

  "What'd your parents do then?" Courtney said.

  "They disowned and won't speak with me." Linda's voice broke but she swallowed and looked at her friends. "I dropped out of school and was an emotional wreck for a while. The state agency I was assigned to got me into Northside. I'm really only a junior but as you know they start only with seniors. I will repeat it next year if I don't graduate."

  "But you will," Ken added. "I know your grades. You're one of our top students."

  "Thanks Ken," Linda whispered. "I hope I do."

  "And you, Ken?" Courtney asked.

  Ken looked around the steamy room. "There's so much love here. I have never had as much fun as we're having now. I finally believe there are decent people in this world."

  "I know how you feel," Courtney added. "You should have seen me before I met Renee and Lem." She smiled. "You know, Lem touched me on the arm in the cave and I went ballistic and practically accused him of coming on to me."

  "Were you attacked or raped, Ken?" Linda said in a blunt voice. "It must be terrible for a male."

  "No," Ken said and shook his head. "Only violence. Back as far as I remember my father thrashed me for the slightest thing." He passed a hand across his eyes and looked at the girls.

  "Go on," Courtney said.

  "My father was violent with Mom, too. She withdrew into herself, accepted the punishment he dealt out and never tried to help me. It was as if she regarded physical violence as natural. Last year I decided to break the cycle and promised myself I'd never hurt another person but it was difficult."

  "To realize everything you learned as a child isn't normal is hard," Linda whispered. "It's hard to change."

  "But you did, Ken," Courtney said.

  "Yeah," Ken replied. "That's why I don't relate to the guys. One called me a nerd because I won't play football or basketball. I felt different and lonely." The last word could hardly be heard against the bubbling water sounds. "Then Granny approached and told me the new girl needed a buddy and here we are."

  "The three dropouts," Linda lamented.

  "No," corrected Courtney. "The survivors."

  The three lapsed into thoughtful silence, lay with their heads back and stared at the wooden beams overhead.

  "We've gotten serious, haven't we?" Ken interrupted.

  "Yeah," Linda replied, "but I'm glad we talked."

  "Because we're friends," Courtney added.

  ****

  Upstairs, Renee watched Diane bring a gigantic pie out of the oven. The older woman was strangely quiet as if there was something on her mind.

  "What is it Diane?" Renee asked.

  "Is it so obvious?"

  "That you're nervous. It is. If you have a problem, tell me. We've been friends and neighbors as long as I can remember."

  "But this is different," Diane confessed. "I mean with your dad and me."

  "So you're living with Dad. He hardly limps now and I've never seen him looking so happy."

  "He wants to marry me," Diane blurted out and stood as still as a statue with her eyes on Renee.

  "And you don't?" Renee answered with a puzzled look.

  "I do," Diane whispered. "I want to marry Jack more than I want anything in life but you're so close to him. I don't want to come between you both." She placed the pie on the bench and glanced away. "I think I've loved your father for years, Renee."

  "Then marry him with my blessing."

  "So you don't mind?"

  "Course not. Frankly, I think Dad is lucky." She screwed up her nose. "I have to admit I wasn't impressed with Amy. Courtney reckoned her grandmother was only after his money."

  Diane smiled but made no comment.

  "Oh Diane," Renee continued. "When do you plan the big day?"

  "Soon." Diane smiled. "We feel uncomfortable living together. My parents would have called it living in sin."

  "Yes, the hypocritical fifties. God, I'm glad I'm alive now and not then."

  "I suppose. I really grew up in the sixties when we were all becoming more assertive."

  Renee grinned. "I'm glad you two are getting married, Diane."

  "Thanks," Diane replied. "And for the woman to woman talk, too. It's good to just chat." She glanced up when she heard voices from the stairs. "The troops are coming, I believe."

  Courtney and her friends bounded in, dressed and fresh. "We're having another toboggan run after lunch." She looked into Renee's eyes. "And you can come, too."

  "Why not?" Renee agreed and smiled at Courtney's surprised look. "I used to toboggan down Diane's hill every time it snowed. Tell me, did you manage to avoid that little hump three quarters of the way down?"

  "She didn't." Linda laughed. "Ran slap bang into it."

  "Only the first time."

  "It was a spectacular crash." Ken chuckled.

  "Traitor," Courtney retorted and dug him in the ribs. "You wait. I'll show you next time."

  ****

  "Renee," Diane said later that evening after the teenagers had retreated to watch television. "Will you be my bridesmaid?"

  "If you really want me," Renee replied. "But I was thinking of someone who'd be enraptured to be asked."

  "Courtney."

  Renee nodded. "Just a suggestion. As I said, I'd be thrilled to do it if you really prefer me but..." She stopped when Diane laughed. "Okay, what did I say?"

  "Oh, nothing. You said what Jack predicted you would."

  "And you don't mind?"

  "No. It solves a small problem, actually. I have a feeling that Phil's wife, Leanne, would be envious if you were asked and she wasn't. If I have Courtney, she won't mind. Trying to please everyone can be hard at my age."

  Later in the evening, Renee heard a yell of excitement from the other room and not one but two teenage girls came rushing in. "Do you know what's happened?" Courtney gasped, while Linda stood back with a wide smile.

  "No." Renee replied in an innocent voice. "But I'm sure you're going to tell me."

  "Diane wants us to be bridesmaids," Linda interrupted. "Both of us."

  "I see," Renee replied. "Both of you, what did you say?"

  Courtn
ey stared at Renee and frowned. "You had a say in this, didn't you? I can tell by your condescending tone."

  Renee laughed. "I can honestly say I had no idea Diane was going to ask you both to be her bridesmaids."

  Later Diane confessed she never had the heart to ask Courtney in front of Linda, so had dashed off to confer with Jack about what to do. "He said to ask them both. Lem's agreed to be our best man, so Jack asked Ken to be his second groomsman."

  "And what did Ken say?" Renee asked.

  "Well, you know young men. He reckoned he'd have to think about it but changed his mind when he heard who the bridesmaids were. I think he's as thrilled as the girls but doesn't like to admit it.

  ****

  Jack and Diane were married a month later in a local valley church with their small family wedding a large event. The bridesmaids in long sky blue frocks and the bride in traditional white stole the afternoon but in Courtney's eyes, Ken's crisp grey suit was every bit as attractive.

  "Well, Sweetheart," Jack said to Renee later in the evening at the old-style district dance that followed the reception. "It's your turn now."

  "Yeah, I guess, Dad but at the moment with my career and Lem's business..."

  "I know." Jack chuckled. "As long as you're happy, Sweetheart." He turned as Diane stepped up and slipped an arm through his.

  "Did you see Courtney?"

  "No," Renee replied.

  "She's dragged poor Ken onto the dance floor but I admit he's doing pretty well."

  "I noticed Linda is fighting the boys off," Jack added. "She's a real heartthrob isn't she?"

  Renee glanced across the dance floor to where the younger guests had taken over. Someone changed the CD, so disco music blared. The volume had been turned up, colored lights flashed and hot bodies pulsed the beat. In the middle was Linda, shoes and jersey gone, holding the bridesmaid's gown up, so she wouldn't trip over herself. Further out, Courtney and Ken could be seen chatting as they danced.

  "Aye, Diane, I think it's time we left," Jack said. "I love having these young ones around but can do without their music."

  ****

  CHAPTER 20

  Though it had been at the back of her mind all week, it was after midnight when Courtney decided she wanted Ken. She had stuck to fruit juice all evening and in her wicked scheming, encouraged her friends to sip wine from the flasks that peppered every table. Ken needed to overcome his shyness. She wanted Linda out of the way.