The End of Cuthbert Close

by Cassie Hamer

  ‘I get the feeling that you’re open to holding onto Cuthbert Close and you know that I absolutely want to. For both of us, the reasons are personal but the investment rationale is equally sound. Over the past decade, property prices in Cuthbert Close have increased by—’ She checked the inside of her palm where she’d written a figure in texta, supplied by Max. ‘—thirty-eight per cent in real terms, and the current rental yield is nearly six per cent, which is extremely strong.’

  Will nodded. ‘You’ve done your homework,’ he said. ‘But my family has already said no to keeping it so I’m not sure what you’re suggesting.’

  Cara looked down and twisted her wedding ring. She took a breath. ‘I’m suggesting we buy it together, fifty-fifty each.’

  He digested her words. ‘Buy it from my brother and sister, you mean?’

  Cara nodded. ‘Yes. But I would also ask you for a ten-year lease on the property, meaning Poppy and I can stay there until she’s at least eighteen.’

  Will rubbed his lip, his face troubled. ‘I don’t know Cara … It’s a big ask. I’m not sure …’ He trailed off. Gone was the easy certainty with which he’d greeted her. Now, his face was one of confusion, and doubt, and something else that took Cara more than a second to work out … Fear.

  ‘You’re worried about going against your brother and sister, I understand that,’ she said.

  ‘You make me sound like a complete wuss.’ He laughed bitterly.

  ‘Not at all. I still hold my breath when my mum tastes my kimchi.’

  ‘But you still make it.’

  ‘I can cope with my mother’s disappointment, but I cannot live without kimchi.’

  Will smiled briefly, before the shadow again returned to his face. ‘I don’t know, Cuthbert Close …’ he began. ‘It wasn’t the happiest home for me. Why would I want to hold onto that?’ He fixed his eyes on her, challenging.

  ‘The past is who we are, for better or worse.’ She bit her lip. She could go on. She could tell him about the riotous birthday parties she’d hosted for Poppy in the garden, or how her daughter cried when she was stung by her first bee and her little finger swelled up like a sausage. She could tell him how Pete had carried her over the threshold, fresh from their honeymoon, or how, two years later, she’d spread his ashes around the casuarina tree house. Instead, she said nothing. Businesslike. She needed to get back to being businesslike.

  Cara cleared her throat. ‘I really do think this is a great investment opportunity. I’m happy to send through more information if you’d like?’

  Will waved his hand dismissively. Somehow, her words had caused the shutters to go up again on his face. The abruptness was back. ‘I know the area, and I know it’s on the up. Everyone knows you can’t go wrong buying the worst house in the best street. We’d need to get the property independently valued. My brother and sister would insist on full market value.’

  ‘My neighbour Max Chandler is a real estate agent, and he thinks the property is worth between one point four and one point six million. But, as you say, we’d certainly need an independent valuation.’

  ‘So, potentially we’d be up for eight hundred grand each?’

  ‘More like three-fifty for you, given you already have a one-third share in the property,’ Cara spoke quickly.

  ‘Still, it’s a lot of money. How does a single mother on a freelance income come up with that kind of dough?’

  Alex had prepared her for this question and told her how to close it down.

  ‘You don’t have to worry about that. What I would propose is that we have a contract drawn up that outlines the terms of our agreement, protecting both your interests and mine.’

  Will looked at her. ‘You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?’

  ‘I have to,’ said Cara quietly.

  Will didn’t speak. Cara stole a glance at him. He knitted his fingers together, then released them.

  Again, Alex’s words rang in her ears. Don’t fill the silences. Women always make that mistake, thinking they have to fill the gaps, and that leads to compromises and apologies. Hit the ball into his court, and leave it there. Don’t run around and hit it back for him.

  Will took a breath, about to speak. Cara braced herself, drawing her knees up under her chin and studiously inspecting the grass.

  ‘I can’t give you an answer right now.’ The but hung in the air between them. ‘I need to consult with my partner. She’s the financial brains behind everything.’

  Cara forced a smile. He was divorced and he already had a new partner? Why hadn’t he mentioned her before? And why did Cara care? She had no right to be disappointed. She wasn’t disappointed. Will was a potential investor. Nothing more.

  ‘I completely understand,’ she said, collecting Will’s empty container and returning it to the picnic basket. ‘I never expected a yes on the spot. You should definitely go away and consult your …’ she choked a little on the word, ‘partner … and let me know what you decide. If there’s any more information you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.’

  Will nodded. ‘Can you give me a week? That’ll give us enough time to do the sums and talk with the bank.’

  ‘Of course. Now.’ Cara shifted to her knees. ‘Moving on to more important things.’

  ‘There’s more?’ Will raised his eyebrows.

  ‘There is.’ Cara opened the basket. ‘Espresso donuts with salted caramel dipping sauce.’

  Will looked hungrily at the container. ‘The Primal Guy would be hating us right now.’

  ‘Yes, he would. C’mon.’ She put the still slightly warm donuts under his nose. ‘All the more reason to eat them, right?’

  Will took a bite and ran a finger under his chin to catch the dripping caramel. ‘You know, when we first met, I wouldn’t have picked you for a risk-taker.’

  ‘I’m not. I’m a complete rule follower, except when it comes to food.’ Cara replaced the lid.

  ‘What about recipes? They’re pretty prescriptive.’

  ‘A recipe is just a set of suggestions. Really, there are no rules. Just your imagination.’

  ‘You make it sound fun.’ Will removed the lid. ‘Can I have another one.’

  She nodded. ‘It is fun.’

  ‘Eating’s fun. Cooking, not so much.’

  ‘So your partner does the cooking?’

  Will startled, his face lined with confusion. ‘My what?’

  ‘You said you had a partner, earlier.’

  The confusion lines eased. ‘Tracey? Oh, no. Trace is my business partner.’

  ‘Of course, sorry.’ Relief swept over her. A sense of relief she had no interest in feeling. What did it matter to her if Will Parry had a girlfriend or not? Cara was taking enough risk inviting him to invest in Cuthbert Close – developing a personal attachment would be one risk too many. What if it didn’t work out? A failed relationship might only set off another property dispute – the last thing either of them needed.

  She snapped the lid back into place. The container was empty.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  ‘Tell me again why we’re going to this thing?’ James stood in front of the mirror and adjusted his tie.

  ‘Because this is what partners do. They go to events and schmooze. It’s how they get clients, like I was telling Cara last week. It’s a seduction, where the climax is lots of money.’ Alex stood in front of James and blocked his view of the mirror. ‘Could you zip me up?’ She held her hair away from her neck and felt James’s fingers in the small of her back.

  ‘It’s a little snug.’ His voice was tight. ‘I don’t want to break it.’

  ‘Just give it a yank. Sometimes you just have to force it.’ Alex sucked in her stomach and pressed her hands against her abdomen. Even her tummy-sucking shapewear wasn’t doing the job tonight.

  ‘But you’re not a partner. I mean you haven’t actually said yes. There’s no signed paperwork, is there.’ He moved to the side so his face was now visible in the reflection of the mirro
r.

  ‘Martin thought it would be a good idea for me to get a taste of it all – what it’s like to represent the firm and tout for business.’ Because unlike you, he and the rest of the world assume the only answer is yes.

  ‘These corporate dinner things are all a bit the same, aren’t they. Dry chicken. Expensive raffle tickets. Some kind of jazz band. I mean, if it’s all about raising money for a hospital, why don’t they just ask for a donation. Why the need for all this … palaver.’ James gesticulated in frustration. ‘This zip won’t budge.’

  ‘Yes, it will,’ said Alex. ‘Just keep trying.’ She put her hands on her hips and tried to ignore the beat of annoyance pulsing through her body. ‘It’s called socialising. I know we haven’t been out much in the last six years, but apparently it’s what normal adults do on a Saturday night.’

  ‘But socialising is with friends, not work colleagues.’

  ‘Haven’t you heard of mixing business with pleasure?’ She tried to keep her voice light.

  ‘This is pleasure?’ More tugging. ‘This zip really is stuck.’

  ‘All you have to do is eat the food, drink the wine and dance with me a couple of times. It’s not like we’re being forced to go to war. It’s a fundraiser. You’re not even paying.’

  ‘But Saturday nights are our family time. I’d rather be home with you and the boys, hanging out.’

  ‘You mean fighting about what movie to watch and refereeing over who gets the last slice of pizza?’

  ‘It’s not always like that.’

  Alex sighed. ‘It’s just one Saturday night.’

  ‘But if you take the partnership, you’ll have to go to loads of these things.’

  The next yank was more violent. Alex jumped and dropped her hair. ‘Ow. You pinched my skin.’

  ‘Sorry.’ The apology was terse. ‘Should I keep going?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Alex in exasperation. ‘Look, if I’m partner, I’ll get more say in what I do and don’t attend. They know I have a young family. There’ll be some leeway.’

  ‘Really? Because in the five years since the twins were born I don’t recall Macauley cutting you any slack at all.’

  ‘Yes … no. I don’t know. Maybe. How’s the zip?’

  ‘Getting there. If you could just breathe in a little more.’

  Alex closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and visualised herself sucking up all her frustration and fears until there was no more room for air. Did James have a point? Had Macauley been a one-way street? All take and no give? She opened her eyes and looked about their lovely white bathroom with its chrome tapware and deep, freestanding stone bath. Macauley had paid for that bath. Yes, Alex had worked for it, but plenty of people worked hard and weren’t nearly as handsomely rewarded for their efforts as lawyers were. Like her parents. But if Alex took the partnership, then Cuthbert Close would be completely theirs within a matter of years, debt-free, and she would have Macauley to thank for it. It was a no-brainer.

  ‘There. Got it.’ James sounded relieved. Alex felt suffocated.

  She stepped away from the mirror and tried to breathe out but found she couldn’t. The dress wouldn’t let her. This was going to be a painful night.

  All good things take a little suffering.

  ‘Are you nearly ready? I don’t want to be late.’

  ‘I’m going as fast as I can.’ James fiddled some more with his tie.

  ‘Okay, well, I’m going to check on the kids. Talia’s reading a book to them.’

  Alex trod carefully down the stairs. She couldn’t look down. The dress wouldn’t let her bend. Halfway, she stopped to listen to the voices coming from one of the boys’ bedrooms. It sounded like Talia was pleading with them.

  ‘Noah, please tell me where this ring came from? Is it your mum’s?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’ve never seen it. Can we read another book now?’ Noah sounded unconcerned, almost flippant.

  With her heart sinking, Alex strode into the bedroom. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing, Mummy.’ Noah sat on the bed, his legs swinging like a pendulum underneath. ‘You look beautiful.’

  ‘Thank you, sweetheart.’ She bent her knees and lowered herself to kiss him on the nose. ‘Now what’s this about a ring?’

  Talia bit her lip and looked sideways at Noah. ‘I was getting a book off the shelf to read … And I found this on the floor.’ She held up a small silver jewellery keepsake box, the one they put the boys’ teeth in for the tooth fairy, roundly regarded as a very forgetful flibbertigibbet who tended to take at least two nights to leave a coin.

  Talia continued. ‘I heard something inside, so I opened it and found this.’ In the palm of the girl’s hand was a sparkling diamond ring.

  Alex peered closely. ‘It’s not mine.’ She picked it up. ‘It’s definitely the real thing, though. Where did you get this?’ she said sharply to Noah.

  ‘I don’t know, Mummy.’ He edged closer to Talia.

  With a degree of difficulty, Alex knelt down in front of him. ‘This ring is worth a lot of money and it’s very important you tell me where you found it.’

  ‘Really, Mummy. I don’t know.’

  She took her son by the shoulders. ‘I’m not cross with you, Noah, but I need you to tell me the truth. Remember, you don’t get in trouble if you’re honest. Now, who owns this ring?’

  Noah wriggled free and cowered into Talia. ‘I am telling you the truth. I don’t know.’

  Alex stood up. ‘I’m going to get your father.’

  In the hallway, she passed Jasper, emerging from the downstairs toilet with a dribble of toothpaste running down his chin.

  Alex wiped it away and stood before him. ‘Do you know anything about this ring in Noah’s room?’

  ‘What’s a ring?’ he asked innocently.

  Alex wanted to shake him. What was wrong with her sons? Either they were very good at pretending to be dense, or they actually were that way. Neither was good.

  ‘Go into Noah’s room, and wait for me there,’ she ordered. ‘James. James,’ Alex called up the stairs. ‘Could you please come down here? We have a problem.’

  ‘Just a minute.’

  She waited. A final slam of the cupboard door and James hurried down the stairs. Alex filled him in on the unwelcome discovery of the diamond in Noah’s bedroom.

  ‘Any idea who it belongs to?’ James folded his arms.

  ‘None.’

  ‘I think I might be able to help.’ Talia stood in the doorway. She fiddled with a thread on her cut-off denim shorts. ‘Your neighbour, Mrs Chandler, has a ring like this one.’ She gave an uncertain smile. ‘I have a thing for diamonds. That’s one thing Mum and I have in common. Did you know Beyonce’s engagement ring was 18-carat? Crazy.’ Talia shook her head.

  ‘You think it’s Beth’s?’ Alex asked.

  ‘You could send her a photo and see,’ said Talia.

  ‘I’ll do that.’ Alex went to her handbag. ‘James, you go in and talk to Noah. See if you can get any more information out of him.’ She snapped a photo of the ring. ‘Talia, maybe you could read with Jasper?’

  Alex checked her watch. They were due at the fundraiser in ten minutes and the hotel was at least a half-hour drive away. She tapped her foot. Beth could be notoriously slow in replying to texts. There was no point waiting at home for an answer because the reply probably wouldn’t come until tomorrow.

  Alex collected her pashmina and handbag and went back into Jasper’s room to kiss him goodnight. He and Talia were curled up together on the bed and reading The Famous Five. Jasper was obsessed with the Blyton series and Alex had made the mistake of fanning his enthusiasm by buying the box set of all twenty-one books, the re-written politically correct version of course. For his sixth birthday, he wanted to go camping, without Alex and James, but with plenty of ginger beer and cream cakes and a dog.

  ‘Don’t let him make you read for too long, Talia.’ Bending awkwardly, Alex kissed Jasper on the forehead.

  �
�I love these books. My dad used to read them to me when I was a kid,’ said Talia.

  Interesting. The Primal Guy was a Famous Five reader. Alex wouldn’t have picked that. In fact, she was a little surprised he could read at all.

  ‘Lights out at 8 pm,’ said Alex, switching on the bedside lamp.

  ‘Okay, Mrs O’Rourke,’ said Talia.

  ‘Call me Alex, all right.’ She shut the door and headed into the other bedroom where James was delivering a very solemn speech, with Noah sitting on his lap, about the importance of not taking other people’s things without asking.

  ‘Yes, it’s called stealing,’ said Alex, standing by the bed. ‘People go to jail for that.’

  ‘I don’t want to go to jail,’ Noah wailed and buried his head in James’s shoulder.

  ‘You’re not going to jail, mate.’ James kissed his head and gave Alex a look as if to say What are you thinking?

  ‘But Mummy says I’m going to jail,’ he sobbed.

  ‘I didn’t mean that you were going to jail, I meant other people. Older people. There’s no jail for kids.’

  ‘Really?’ Noah looked at her hopefully, his hair all mussed and his face streaked with tears. Alex felt herself deflating like a pricked balloon – all her frustration and anger hissing gently out of her. He was just a little boy. A confused little boy.

  ‘I promise.’ She kissed him on the forehead. ‘Now, we need to leave, darling, or Daddy and I will be late for our dinner.’

  ‘I don’t want you to go.’ Noah leapt off James’s lap and threw himself around Alex’s legs. ‘Please don’t go.’

  She hugged him close and gently peeled him away. ‘If you stop crying now, I’ll give you an extra fifteen minutes on the iPad tomorrow.’

  Noah’s face brightened. ‘Really? Fifteen minutes?’

  ‘Sure.’ Before Alex could kiss him again, Noah had sped out of the room and into Jasper’s, bellowing, ‘I get more time on the iPad tomorrow, and you don’t!’