by Lucy Dawson
I nod.
‘One of them caught fire last week and it nearly burnt down some shopping centre in the States. There’s been a massive safety recall, all of the orders dried up overnight, the bank pulled Harry’s finance, a legal action has been launched against him – he’s gone bust, basically – and not only is the land they bought now going to be sold to help pay off hundreds of creditors all over the place, Harry told Charlie he couldn’t withdraw Charlie’s original investment from the company accounts because everything has been frozen.’
‘In other words, Harry hasn’t got it to give back.’
‘Yeah. Basically, Charlie lost everything.’
‘And he killed himself because of that?’
Tim takes his hand back. ‘Yes. I can’t make sense of it. It feels so unreal.’ He puts his elbows on the table, his hands over his mouth and exhales slowly through his fingers, then looks me straight in the eye. ‘Claire, I gave Harry all of our money, too.’
I freeze and jerk back away from him. I hear my chair scrape on the tiled floor. ‘What?’
‘I gave Harry the money we had in the bank. He said this land sale was a life-changing opportunity – and it would have come good.’
I just stare at him. ‘But that money was from selling my parents’ house. It’s so we can buy our own house.’ I am speaking like a child. ‘How much did you give him?’
Tim swallows and looks at me with frightened eyes. ‘All of it.’
I half cry out and jump to my feet. ‘You gave him two hundred and forty-eight thousand pounds?’ I cover my mouth with my hands. ‘Please tell me this is some sort of really bad joke?’
He shakes his head. ‘I gave him two hundred and fifty. I borrowed £2k from Mum to round it up. We doubled our money – I want you to know that; it’s really important to me that you understand I didn’t risk it on something that wasn’t going to work. The plot has already doubled in value.’
‘What are you talking about?’ I exclaim. ‘It didn’t work! You’ve lost it! All of our money is in Harry’s bust company! How could you even do this without talking to me first?’ I feel sick. Like I am actually going to vomit in my hands.
Tim hangs his head. ‘I knew you’d say no! You always shut down everything like this. When I wanted to buy a bitcoin all that time ago, you said it would never—’
‘But we’re not talking about a bitcoin!’ I explode, taking a couple of steps away from him, then returning to the fight. ‘We’re talking about a quarter of a million pounds for our house!’
Tim holds out his hands. ‘Please, try and calm down.’
‘Calm down?’ I put my hands either side of my head. I can’t believe this. ‘You’ve given every penny we have to the friend of yours we both know I hate – have always hated – he’s effectively done a runner with it, and you want me to CALM DOWN?’
‘You don’t need to shout at me.’ Tim tries to reach out and I jump back, yanking my arm out of his grasp. ‘I know I’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake. I understand that you’re angry. Please try and see that I wanted us to have proper financial security. You’ve been amazing about me having this job break for six months, but I’m dreading going back.’
‘I KNOW, Tim! You tell me constantly how desperate you are to make acting work this time and that you’ve hated every single job you’ve had since I met you that isn’t acting and how scared you are that you’re going to run out of time; but adults with children to support sometimes have to do jobs they hate because that’s life.’ I stop for a moment, breathless with sudden anger. ‘Jesus – what have you DONE?’ I stare up at the ceiling. This can’t be happening. We’ve lost everything?
‘But the investment worked. That’s the point. We would have been able to buy a house outright, in cash – it came good! This was not my fault! It wasn’t Harry’s fault either.’
‘How many times? No – it didn’t work, because the money is ALL GONE! The whole thing is your fault. What are we going to do now? We’ve got no house, no money, all of our stuff is in storage and we’re living in a tiny rental flat! What were you thinking?’ I shout the last bit so loudly Tim flinches and closes his eyes. I hear Badger bark somewhere from deep within the house and realise why Susannah has taken Rosie out. They already know. He’s told his parents before me. My mouth falls open in disbelief.
Tim hasn’t noticed. ‘I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry. I deserve everything you’ve said. You’re right – there are no excuses; however it happened, the money is gone. I’ve let you and Rosie down so badly. And when I think about Charlie…’ He shakes his head and the tears return. ‘He was only thirty-six. I’m not saying that to make you feel glad to still have me, by the way. I know what I’ve done is unforgiveable. I’m so ashamed of myself. But I’m going to sort this out. I’m going to make sure we are all right.’
‘We were already all right.’ I feel numb. I am unable to comfort him, despite his obvious distress.
‘What I mean is, I’ll do anything it takes to make this better again! I know I’ve not always been the strong, reliable partner you deserve, and you’ve had to sort everything out in the past when I’ve buckled. But I will be now – I swear. I’m going to make you and Rosie proud of me.’
I close my eyes and clench my jaw. I’ve heard this before. I even know what’s coming next.
‘Dad has said he will help us—’
There we go. I let my head drop. ‘Oh God…’
‘I know!’ he says. ‘I know how that sounds and how it makes you feel, believe me.’
‘You don’t, actually. When did you tell him about the money?’
‘On Wednesday. Why?’ He appears genuinely confused at my question, and I don’t have it in me to explain why that’s wrong, too. All of a sudden I feel exhausted and like I want to cry. How can he have done this?
‘I had to get a plan in place,’ Tim continues. ‘I didn’t want to tell you what’s happened and not have any answers, which would make you feel like you had to sort it all out. Dad’s got some ideas. I know you’re beyond angry with me, and you’re right to be, but would you come and hear him out? He’s waiting in his study.’
The fire is lit and Antony is sitting behind his desk as we walk in, staring thoughtfully at the flames. He looks up at us and smiles sympathetically.
I stay standing as Tim quietly sits down on one of the leather armchairs. ‘Do you think there is any chance of recovering the money?’ I come straight to the point.
Tony leans back in his chair. ‘I’m sorry to say I think it’s virtually non-existent. There’s no paper trail, no contract – just a payment from your account into Harry’s company. It’s a limited company, so he has no personal liability at all, unless he’s been a very silly boy, which I doubt. He might choose to repay you from any personal funds separate to the business, as a matter of honour given you are friends, but legally, he doesn’t have to.’ He glances at Tim. ‘In the meantime – because this will not reach a conclusion anytime soon, if at all – we need a more immediate plan of action.’ He sits forward in his chair again and leans his elbows on the desk. ‘You’ve how long left on the lease of the flat you’re renting?’
‘It goes onto a rolling contract as of 14th January, with one month’s notice. The whole point was to make everything as flexible as possible so that when we found something we wanted to buy, we could just go for it.’
‘Of course,’ Tony says. ‘It was a very sensible idea.’ He takes off his glasses and sighs sadly. ‘And all of your furniture is still in storage?’
‘Yes. We’re sharing the monthly cost with my sister while she’s working in Australia. She needed somewhere to store all of her belongings too, until she’s back in the summer.’
He nods understandingly. ‘Forgive me, Claire, I’m not prying, just clarifying; the quarter of a million pounds Timothy took without your knowledge from your joint savings account and gave to Harry Asquith – that was from the sale of your late parents’ house? Just your share – not your sister’s
too?’
‘That’s correct.’ Shock is making me functional. ‘We split £525k equally. I banked my half, Jen did the same. She still has hers. She intends to buy a flat on her return. You probably know we’d considered buying my sister out of my parents’ house when Jen said she wanted to buy her own place, but we came to the conclusion it would be better for us to have a fresh start too. It was a very tough decision to sell it though and one that I now obviously very much regret.’ My voice shakes as I look at Tim.
‘I am so sorry,’ he repeats.
Tony taps the desk thoughtfully with a pen he’s picked up. ‘I think we’re all agreed that Timothy’s betrayal is unforgivable, but my primary concern at the moment is setting things right. Claire, I feel very strongly that I have a responsibility to provide my granddaughter with somewhere to live.’ He contemplates this for a moment and points the pen at me. ‘I’d like to buy you a house.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘In your name only.’
Tim jerks his head up in shock. ‘What? This isn’t what we discussed!’
‘Now, now old chap!’ Tony rebukes him. ‘The defendant may not address anyone directly unless it’s through a court clerk. You know the rules!’
‘This isn’t a joke, Pa.’ Tim stares at him.
‘No, it most certainly isn’t,’ agrees Tony and the smile fades from his face. ‘Perhaps it would be better if you stayed quiet though, hmm?’
‘But Pa—’ Tim is now sitting up, pale and ramrod straight. ‘You didn’t say a word of this when we spoke on the phone. You just said you’d help us find a house!’
‘And I am!’ Tony gestures widely. ‘There’s nothing sinister about this. I’m sure Claire will let you live in it, too. I just want to demonstrate you won’t be able to dispose of it without her say so. I think it’s only fair under the circumstances to give Claire as much reassurance as possible, although I’m encouraged you fully accept your failings.’
‘Of course Claire’s going to let me live with them.’ I can hear the panic in Tim’s voice. ‘You don’t need to make a point of that. Yes I’ve made a mistake; yes it was a lot of money. She’s right to be very, very angry with me but we love each other. We have a daughter together!’ He gets to his feet uncertainly. ‘I asked you to help me!’
Tony looks astonished. ‘But, darling boy, I am!’
‘No you’re point scoring and you know it. I need to accept my own “failings”… really, Dad?’ Tim stares at his father. ‘When you have children it’s supposed to make you forgive your own parents their flaws. Just so you know, I’ve never felt that way about you. In fact, you come off even worse.’
My eyes widen with shock and embarrassment, but Tony merely gives a deep sigh.
‘You know, of course, that when I was a child, Grandpa used to cane me across the bare buttocks? It made me determined never to lay a finger on a child of mine. I wonder if perhaps it would have been kinder if I had?’ He stares at Tim for a moment then returns to me. ‘The house you viewed this morning, the one you said you would buy. I’m going to purchase it for you. You will all live in the house for a year while it’s renovated – Timothy has agreed to work unpaid as a labourer. You will not have to pay any rent. At the end of the year we will divide the house into two properties. You will own one, I will own the other. You may do with yours as you will: sell it and move back to Surrey, stay and live in it, split it into two again and give one to Rosie… the choice is yours. In the unlikely event of your property being worth less than £250k, I shall refund the shortfall to you. There, you see?’ He gestures widely with his hands and looks up at Tim. ‘Exactly as promised. The moral of the story is, wait for the whole picture before you pass judgement.’
I mentally rerun my tour of Fox Cottage. We can’t live there, with its dark, depressing rooms, damp everywhere, stained carpets and toilet like something out of Trainspotting. Apart from everything else, it’s at the wrong end of the country. I don’t mind visiting now and again, but I don’t want us to live here. We have a life in Surrey. A very nice life. We are happy there. It rains all the bloody time here and the quality of light is different. I mentioned it to Susannah once and she looked at me as if I was mad, but I’m not. It’s genuinely gloomier, even on a dry day. All I do when I’m here is want to huddle by the fire, watch TV and eat stodge. I’ll be the size of a water buffalo by the end of a year.
‘That’s why you asked me to view the houses on my own? You wanted me to choose the one I was going to have to live in?’ I manage to speak eventually.
‘I know moving to Shropshire would require some considerable adjustments to your lifestyle, although perhaps not ones that are insurmountable.’ He shrugs gently. ‘It would mean a new school for Rosie, but equally, grandparents on hand to help. She likes coming here and young children adapt well to big changes—’
‘Children adapt because they don’t have any choice,’ Tim interjects. ‘It’s not—’
‘And because you work largely from home already, Claire, your job will be unaffected.’ Tony speaks over his son, ignoring him completely. It’s as if Tim hasn’t said a word. ‘On the days that you need to travel into London… one or two a week I believe… Susie – when she’s around – and I, will help out with childcare for Rosie. She’s such a super little girl, and of course, Timothy will always be on site. A year is no time at all, really. Think of it as an adventure, perhaps, if that helps? I can’t pretend we wouldn’t very much enjoy having you living here. We’d adore it.’ He stands up, and Badger obediently gets to his feet too, wagging his tail at his master.
‘Timothy, can you please confirm for Claire that you’ve agreed to those terms, should she decide to accept them?’ It’s like he’s giving dictation instructions to a secretary. ‘You’ll work on the house to help repay your debt and give up on this notion of acting for a living, once and for all?’ He looks down at the carpet, listening carefully.
‘Yes,’ Tim says eventually. ‘I give you both my word.’
Tony smiles broadly. ‘Well, there we are. Good chap.’ He walks past Tim and briefly pats his son’s back. ‘In any event, you don’t need to decide tonight, Claire. Sleep on it and let me know if you want to proceed with the purchase of Fox Cottage in the morning.’ He makes for the door.
‘Hang on a minute, Fox Cottage?’ Tim looks at his father in shock. ‘Mrs Parkes and Isobel? You’re joking, right?’
‘I had nothing to do with the selection,’ Tony insists. ‘Claire made the decision, unprompted, just as we agreed.’
‘Bullshit,’ says Tim slowly. ‘It wasn’t “unprompted” at all. You only gave her three places to choose from and you certainly didn’t tell me that one was on the list. I’m not living there! Are you out of your mind? It’s madness!’
‘I don’t understand?’ I look between them. ‘What’s the significance of Fox Cottage?’
Tim is now visibly shaking. ‘Even after all of this time? Well… fuck you.’
I flinch as he spits the last words at Tony – who closes his eyes – as Tim roughly pushes past his father and barges from the room.
We both jump as seconds later a door slams from deeper within the house.
‘Oh dear,’ remarks Tony. ‘I’m so sorry about that, Claire. Obviously we know how dramatic Timothy can be, but I hope, perhaps, when he calms down he’ll see I’m only trying to help…’ He pauses and sits in the armchair Tim occupied moments ago, wincing as he stiffly stretches his legs out. ‘I really cannot apologise enough for what my son has done. Yanking someone’s security from under their feet like that is an appalling act of unkindness and selfishness. I apologise unreservedly on his behalf and I will stand by my obligation to you and Rosie. You don’t have to accept my offer, of course. I won’t be offended if you decide to return to Surrey and rent. We’ll be sad, of course, but we’d understand. The choice is yours.’
Five
Claire
I can see Tim at the bottom of the garden by the remains of the bonfire. It’
s started to drizzle and beneath The Rectory, a low-lying mist is rolling in across the valley floor, engulfing neighbouring farms. As they submerge and slip from view, the mountains in the distance appear to rise eerily from an enormous body of water. I walk past the swimming pool – just as Tim said, safely fenced off. Dead leaves are collecting in the centre of the floating cover and on redundant wooden loungers stripped of their comfy summer cushions. Wrapping my arms around me at the bite of the chill wind, I make my way across the main lawn to Tim, the acrid tang of smoke catching in my throat. Crouched down, he’s angrily prodding at the dying embers with a large stick, trying to force life back into them.
He glances up as I arrive alongside him.
‘I apologise for losing my temper like that. I never learn. He knows exactly how to push my buttons and I fall for it every time, every single time! I keep putting my head above the parapet. I’m thirty-five – you think I’d have learnt by now! I’m a fucking idiot.’
I don’t respond, just look out over the spindly bare branches of the apple trees in the orchard to my right.
‘Sorry – you’re right. I should calm down. You probably guessed he didn’t warn me this was going to be just your house.’
‘I don’t think that’s what he meant,’ I say truthfully. ‘He wanted to reassure me.’
Tim snorts. ‘He was making the point he has no intention of bailing me out. He could perfectly well just give me the money, and he knows it. They’re emotionally blackmailing us, using what I’ve done to force a move that they’d like to see happen, and it stinks.’
I move out of the way of the smoke, only for the wind to gust contrarily again and blow it right in my eyes, making them smart and water. I blink and squint at Tim. ‘But why should he bail us out and give us the money? It’s your mistake, not his.’
