by Suzy Shearer
“I hope so, too.”
“Laura, I have all the paperwork for the sale of the penthouse. If I send a car, can you come into the office on Wednesday? I thought at the same time we could talk about your future plans.”
“I’d like that, Peter.”
“Perfect, I’ll have the driver pick you up around nine.”
“Right. I’ll see you Wednesday.”
She’d only just hung up when the phone rang again. This time it was Allan, he’d had an offer on the unit of three hundred and fifteen. He’d put it up for sale at three twenty-five, but thought this was a reasonable offer.
“I agree Allan, I’d rather sell it quickly than have it stay empty for months. So go ahead and accept the price.”
“Thanks, Laura. I’ll contact your solicitor and courier him all the paperwork.”
“That’s good because I’ll be in his office on Wednesday.”
“Perfect I’ll make sure everything’s there and ready for you to sign. Congratulations, bye.”
“Bye, Allan and thanks.”
Laura felt more relaxed now that both properties had sold, she didn’t have to worry about rates, utility costs or quarterly fees on three places now. She’d brought her old laptop with her and got it from the suitcase. Going into the office, she fired it up and looked for online supermarkets that delivered locally. Hopefully she could get something delivered tomorrow.
She found a Woolworth’s supermarket which delivered to her address and there was a delivery vacancy for tomorrow morning. Quickly booking the time in, she spent the next half hour ordering what she felt she’d need for the next week. She checked the laundry to make sure there were cleaning products and laundry detergent, then checked the kitchen for dishwashing stuff. Feeling happier now that she knew she had food for the coming week, Laura closed down the computer and sat back in the chair, staring at the photo before her. She realised she hadn’t looked through that closed door or outside. Her father had mentioned acreage as well as local animals, not to forget a guest house.
Back in the family room she opened the door—another corridor. A door off to the right was another huge room on the corner of the house. This, too, was empty. Another door off the corridor opened onto a gym complete with treadmill, weights, cycle and a bench press. At least she could get kind of fit without leaving the house. Alongside the gym was another bathroom. It was obvious that her father hadn’t got around to fitting out the house completely. Laura guessed he’d been kept busy with selling his share of the business then his illness had taken over.
She opened the back door and rocked back in surprise.
In front of her was a vast undercover area the length of the house and half as wide. Modern, comfortable-looking cane furniture settings were dotted here and there and a stainless steel barbecue to end all barbecues was set against one wall. It had a sink, fridge, storage, outdoor plates and utensils. She spun around and looked out into the yard.
Another surprise. A swimming pool.
The pool was at least twenty metres long and about three metres wide, and jutting out to one side and set in the middle of its length was a large Jacuzzi. Most of the pool was covered from the harsh Australian sun and Laura knew she was going to enjoy using it. She walked out to the pool and then stared beyond. A wide lawn area at least forty metres wide and maybe seventy or more long, but in need of mowing, surrounded the back of the house. Beyond were native trees and several fruit trees, then further back was natural bushland as far as the eye could see. There was a fence just behind the tree line with a double gate, it obviously divided the natural bushland from the cultivated.
Walking round the side of the house she noticed a wide covered path surrounded by large flowering shrubs, and a few steps along she discovered the guest house. She ran back inside and gathered up the keys. Going back to the guest house she saw it was empty of furniture but fully self-contained with two large double bedrooms with their own en suites and walk-in wardrobes. It had a lovely, bright, well-lit kitchen, family room, living room, and laundry. She realised it was actually three times the size of her apartment in Canberra. It made her wish she had relations she could invite to visit.
She turned and looked back at the house, noticing she had a roof covered in solar panels as well as a big hot water tank—looked like her energy would be subsidised by the sun. Walking to the other side of the house, she found the large garage she’d seen at the front.
Wondering if she had to enter from the house or side, she unlocked the door and discovered a dirty old, dark blue Holden Barina hatchback. Looked like once her arm was out of its cast she’d have a car to drive. She’d have to check with Peter about the registration on it. There was room for another two cars, as well as a storage area, a large empty refrigerator, and a workbench now devoid of any tools.
There were also several outdoor settings and Laura thought perhaps they were for along the veranda at the front and side of the house. She’d have to put them back once her arm was healed.
The alarm key to the car was hanging on a knob beside the door she’d just entered. She unlocked the car and got in. Trying to start it was met with—nothing. Looked like it had been sitting here a while and the battery was probably flat. There was still half a tank of petrol.
Another door opened into a narrow hallway. There were two doors—one led back outside and the other into the laundry.
It was half past six and Laura felt hungry. It had been such a long day. There wasn’t much in the way of food to make a meal unless she boiled up some rice or pasta. Not feeling in the mood to cook and eat such a bland meal, she checked her laptop and found a pizza delivery place in Kurrajong. After ordering a Hawaiian chicken pizza, Laura finally dragged her suitcase upstairs. She didn’t bother unpacking, she’d leave that until she’d cleared out her father’s things. Instead she pulled out her pj’s and toiletries.
Tomorrow the removalists would be here. She’d kept her bedroom suite so it could fill one of the bedrooms, she’d put it in the large one at the end of the hall on this second level. The only other furniture she’d kept was a great camphor-wood chest which would look perfect in the master bedroom on the side wall. The remainder of stuff coming was the kitchen, linens, clothes, and all her books and personal items.
By the time the pizza arrived and she’d eaten half of it, Laura was exhausted. After sitting in the lounge room for an hour and falling asleep, Laura took herself upstairs to bed. Tomorrow would be another busy day.
Chapter Nine
Tuesday had been like a madhouse for Laura, but when she fell into bed after a quick shower about nine-thirty that night, she felt she’d accomplished a lot. The groceries had been delivered and packed away, although she was now almost four hundred dollars lighter. The removalists had turned up on time and unloaded everything, even setting up the bed for her as well as stacking boxes in the appropriate rooms.
Thank goodness, I’d never be able to carry them one-handed.
As she emptied box after box she decided to tackle her father’s things. It would be better to do it now before she became too attached to them. She knew the longer she kept them the harder it would be.
All his clothes were packed into three boxes and hers took their place. She left the boxes in a corner in the wardrobe. The items in his filing cabinet would have to be sorted through. She packed them into boxes and she’d ask Peter Bailey tomorrow what she should do with them. During her “clean up,” she discovered a wall safe inside the cabinet in the office. Searching everywhere, she finally found the password taped behind the photo of herself. Another round of tears hit when she discovered it was her birthday. Inside were her father’s papers—his passport, birth certificate, registration papers, insurance documents, lots of papers relating to his search for her and her mother.
There was an old photo album and in it she found photos of him and her mother. They looked so happy, so young and in love. It almost broke her heart to know what had happened to force them apart. She and
her mother shared the same aqua eyes. As well there were a couple of photos of her father obviously taken when he was around fifty and another two when he was in his sixties. She studied them and could see a resemblance around the nose and mouth—he had the same full bottom lip as she did. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled for the camera but there was a sadness to them that brought on a fresh round of tears. He’d been an attractive man. When she was able-bodied again, Laura intended to get frames for them and the photos of her mother to place on the desk.
There was also a fat envelope and inside almost six thousand dollars in mixed bills. Obviously, he liked to keep cash handy just in case.
That night she dreamed of her mother and father. In her dreams they’d married and had more children, she’d grown up in a happy loving home filled with laughter. When she woke the next morning, she wondered about the dream. She’d never been really happy with her adopted mother, she’d missed the laughter, the love and fun other kids seemed to have. Looking back, it was almost as if Judy had only taken her in as a favour to someone. Laura had briefly looked through the papers from the investigator to see if anything stuck out but nothing did. Another day she’d really go through them properly.
Just after nine on Wednesday morning, a car pulled up and she was driven into Sydney for her meeting with Peter Bailey. She signed all the necessary papers for the sale of the two properties and went through details of the Kurmond property to make sure everything was now in her name, including contacting all the utility companies. He’d also arranged for the transfer of the car registration at the same time.
“It’s an old car, Laura. I don’t think your father drove it much. He preferred to have someone else drive him and he really only kept it for emergencies. I know he hadn’t used the Kurmond property much in the past eight months, he’d been living in the city trying to get things in order for his retirement.”
“I noticed most of the house is empty.”
“Yes, he told me he was waiting until you and he met before deciding what to do. So have you settled in?”
“I think so. I’ve packed all dad’s clothing in boxes and have someone coming to collect them for charity on Friday. Which reminds me. What should I do with all the papers from his filing cabinet? I’ve packed them in a couple of boxes. I also have the ones from the apartment, they’re in storage at the moment.”
“If you give them to the driver this afternoon I’ll go through them for you. Anything important I’ll keep for you and destroy the rest. I’ll arrange to get the other boxes from the storage company, too, if you like.”
“Thank you. I didn’t want to destroy everything in case some were important.”
“Quite wise, Laura.”
“His laptop and some things I want to keep are in boxes in the storage company as well.”
“I’ll get those delivered out to you.”
“Thanks. I’ve got such a lot of money now, Peter.” She gave a giggle. “I’m not sure what to do with it all. Anyway, I think it would be sensible to invest most of it. I’m not working so I need to work out some sort of plan.”
“That would make sense. I can put you in touch with a financial planner who is also an accountant. You’ll need one now with the sort of money you have. Her name is Charlise Macarli and she’ll advise you on how best to manage your assets.”
“Thanks, Peter. This has all been rather overwhelming.”
“Of course it has. I’ll get her to give you a call and arrange a time for her to visit you.”
Meredith came in and put the lovely glass vase on Peter’s desk. She smiled at Laura and said, “Your real estate agent dropped this off with the paperwork, said you wanted to keep it.”
“I did, thank you.”
She nodded and left the room.
“Ah. Tobias’s offering?”
“Yes.” Laura knew she blushed as she rushed on. “The flowers were beautiful, but I couldn’t carry them back with me to Canberra. This vase is lovely and probably expensive, I asked Brian to keep it safe. I took a couple of buds but they didn’t last the trip very well.”
“I’ll have to let Tobias know,” he said with a wink.
“I’m sure his wife wouldn’t appreciate it, but do thank him for his thoughtfulness.”
“Oh, he’s quite unattached. Lives with his dogs and his elderly father.”
“Um…does he live locally?” she asked casually, trying to keep the tremor from her voice.
“He was living in an apartment here in the city for a few months while he was negotiating a large business deal, but now he’s gone back to his house near Freshwater. It’s not far from Sydney, but he preferred living in the city rather than face the traffic each day until the deal was completed. I do know he’s looking to buy something closer to his new office in the outer western suburbs.”
“Oh.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Silly, really. I thought I saw him when I was in Richmond.”
“I guess it’s possible, but I do know his new office building is in Marsden Park. That’s about forty minutes’ drive away from where you are in Kurmond.”
“I guess it was probably just someone who looked like him.”
He looked over his glasses at Laura and said innocently, “I do know he wants to contact you, but I refused to give him your details, most unethical.”
“Oh, he did? Um…yes, I guess it would be,” she replied, but wished Peter had been unprofessional in this instance.
“Well, Miss Laura, how about I take you to lunch before we send you home?”
“That would be lovely, Peter.”
Peter picked up the vase and held out his arm for Laura, she tucked her hand under his arm and they went out of the office. Peter gave the vase to Meredith with instructions for her to give it to Laura’s driver.
* * * *
The next month saw Laura settling in to her new home. She went through the things she’d had sent to her from her old house and found places for them. She discovered she and her father shared a similar taste in books, when Laura went to find places on the wall of bookshelves she found many titles the same as hers. She packed the doubles back in one of the boxes. She’d donate them once she was mobile again. Unfortunately, now she had far too many books to fit on the shelves, there were still eight boxes full. She looked critically at the wall of books then wandered through the house.
If she got someone to move the wall unit and put it into the large empty room alongside the office, she could then get a builder to put in more shelves along the other walls, and she’d have her very own library. Thrilled with her plan, she pushed the full boxes against the wall. They’d sit there until she found someone to do the work.
Peter had sent the boxes from the storage company along to her. Now she had her father’s laptop and a few other items of his she wanted to keep. She also had the elephant she’d bought and now it sat on the desk. Each time she looked at it, she couldn’t help but think of those honey-coloured eyes that had seemed to pierce deep into her soul.
On Thursday, twenty-fifth September, Laura went downstairs after she woke and looked around the house. Today was her fifty-fifth birthday. Never in a million years would she have imagined spending it in such luxurious surroundings. An amazing house worth millions of dollars, a bank account that contained over twelve million, no cares in the world. She actually gave herself a pinch to reassure herself it was all true.
All she needed now was to get this damn cast off—so many things were almost impossible to do with a cast. Dressing and washing was an effort and her hair…well, forget that. She’d gotten her friendly taxi driver, Harry, to take her down to Kurmond village so she could get a hairdresser to wash it for her, but it was feeling rather grubby again. She was so tempted to get the hairdresser to just cut the whole lot off but knew she’d probably regret it. She really liked it, it reached to her mid-back. She’d gone gray at a very young age, and now it was a natural silver colour with a lovely wave in it. Laura thought
it actually complemented her light aqua eyes.
She walked through the bottom level of the house. There were all those boxes filled with books to get rid of, too. She’d have to go on the internet to find a local builder who would make the bookcases for her, although she decided to wait until she was rid of the cast so she could pack the books away as soon as the build was completed.
On the first Thursday after her visit to Peter, a youngish man about thirty-five knocked on the door.
“Oh hi. Is Stuart home?”
“Sorry, no.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“Stuart was my father, I’m afraid he died about six weeks ago.”
“Oh no. Oh gee, I’m so sorry.”
“Can I help with anything?”
“I cut the grass, trim back the shrubs in the garden, and take care of the pool. Normally I do it every two weeks in the warmer months and once a month in winter. He pays me by direct debit. The last two payments weren’t made and I was kind of worried about him,” he told Laura.
“Okay. I imagine the payments were stopped when he died. Let me know how much he owes and I’ll fix you up now.”
“It’s five forty, if you’re sure.”
“Just wait a minute.”
Laura went into the office and grabbed some money from the stash in the safe. She went back to the front door.
“Here you go. Look, would you be able to continue with the same arrangement? I’m going to live here and I’ll need someone to mow and look after the pool. I have no idea how it’s done.”
“Of course. I’d like to.”
“If you give me your banking details I’ll set up another direct debit for you.”
“Thanks, Miss McClain.”
“It’s Keell, Laura Keell.”
“Oh, sorry. Miss Keell. My name’s Andy, Andy Nguyễn.”
“Please call me Laura, Andy. So is today your normal day to work here?”
“Yes. Is it okay with you if I start now?”