Counting Sunsets

by Paul Gait

  ‘And what about weekends?’ Geoffery quizzed.

  ‘Oh, he sometimes has to work at weekends as well, she said, cagily. But I’m sure that he’d be more than happy for me to pass the message to him. I do most everything else in his life,’ she said, a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice.

  ‘I bet you do,’ thought Andy, mentally noting to keep her away from Geoffery. Sue was obviously a control freak.

  ‘Let’s see if I can contact him now,’ she said, reaching for her mobile. ‘And we’ll arrange the meeting straightaway.’

  ‘Perhaps you could do that later,’ said Andy. Mr Foster doesn’t need to be part of your domestic arrangements, said Andy, forcibly. And now if you wouldn’t mind, he needs to have his rest,’ he added, indicating the door.

  ‘Oh, of course,’ she said, resentfully. ‘Well,’ she added. ‘I’m sure they do everything for you here. But it’s not a nice environment is it really, with all these sick people around? You could always come and stay with us in our guest bedroom,’ Sue said, trying to ingratiate herself to Geoffery.

  Sue was no fool. She could see an opportunity for controlling Rupert’s expected legacy. She had done her research well. Geoffery’s track record to his multi-millions was well documented on the internet.

  ‘No, I’m perfectly comfortable here, thank you, and I have all the expertise I need on hand,’ said Geoffery, looking at Andy. ‘Andy will show you out now. Please ask Rupert to call me, to arrange an appointment.’

  Andy led Sue back to reception to ensure she left the hospice.

  ‘I don’t know whether you’re aware, but we spend a lot of time creating an environment where patients can feel relaxed,’ he explained. ‘The hospice is a place of calmness. I would like you to bear that in mind, if you come here again,’ he admonished.

  ‘What are you inferring?’ said Sue defensively.

  ‘Nothing,’ said Andy, not willing to join in any further discussion with the woman. ‘I’m just simply explaining the hospice ethos, that’s all.’

  ‘You tell your people to get rid of those stupid speed bumps then. That will improve the tranquility of the place.’ Angrily slamming the car door, she added, ‘they’re a bloody nuisance.’

  Andy watched as she drove out of the hospice grounds, the damaged exhaust dragging along the road making a clanking sound, until it finally fell off as she joined the road. He could still hear the unsilenced exhaust roar, as she disappeared off towards town.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  Thursday October 2nd – Sunset count 32

  The following day, the meeting between Rupert and Geoffery took place at the hospice. Unsurprisingly, it was not a weekend meeting to which Sue had originally alluded. She had obviously given Rupert a ‘three line whip’ to take time off. Her fear of losing shares in the fortunes of a dying multi-millionaire had made sure that Rupert’s, so called ‘busy’ schedule, was reprioritised.

  Sue marched Rupert to Geoffery’s room for the meeting.

  ‘Please don’t stand,’ Sue directed Geoffery, as he struggled out of his chair.

  Ignoring her, Geoffery stood shakily and extended his hand to the timid looking, shallow faced, individual who followed her into the room.

  ‘Rupert, I’m so pleased to see you after all these years,’ Geoffery said, enthusiastically.

  ‘Uncle Geoffery, um likewise,’ he said, awkwardly.

  Rupert’s gaze slipped away from Geoffery’s grey face, as memories of the final visit to see his mother, Geoffery’s sister, came flooding back. He still recalled the sheer panic and sense of utter loneliness that overwhelmed him when she died. It had just been the two of them. He had always depended on her to do everything for him; he was ill prepared to be alone.

  ‘I bet you’re wondering what this is all about,’ said Geoffery, breaking into Rupert’s thoughts. ‘Please sit down,’ he gestured.

  ‘I did tell Rupert how poorly you looked, and I said we mustn’t over exert you,’ said Sue, feigning subservience.

  ‘Yes quite,’ said Geoffery, annoyed that she was even there, at all.

  ‘Sue read your letter to me over the phone,’ explained Rupert.

  ‘Yes, I’m getting in touch with all my Godsons and…’

  ‘Oh,’ said Sue, taken aback by this revelation. ‘How many are there? If you don’t mind me asking.’

  ‘Geoffery has three Godsons,’ said Andy, coming to Geoffery’s aid.

  ‘It would be quite nice to meet the other two,’ she added, her mind calculating the possible financial implications of, ‘other’ Godsons.’

  ‘I don’t see that it is of any relevance to you,’ said Geoffery, dismissively.

  ‘But he’s the only family member, is that right?’ she asked, probing for more information.

  ‘Yes, ‘but if you’d let me continue,’ Geoffery said, irritated by her continual questioning.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said, her cheeks flushing at the admonishment. But pleased to hear the competition, were not family.

  ‘Now where was I?’ Geoffery said, clearly rattled by her interrogation.

  ‘You were telling Rupert that you were meeting all your Godsons,’ said Andy calmly.

  ‘Oh yes, that’s right, yes…’ said Geoffery, picking up the cue.

  ‘Sorry for interrupting,’ said Sue apologetically, realising her indiscretion.

  ‘Please, if you don’t mind,’ said Geoffery, frustrated at her continued prattling.

  ‘I’m afraid, I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you continue,’ said a concerned Andy. ‘You must appreciate how much this meeting is taking out of Geoffery.’

  ‘Sorry. I won’t say another word,’ said Sue, resenting getting a scolding from a mere Nurse.

  All the while, Rupert had been sitting quietly listening. ‘Clearly he knows his place,’ thought Andy.

  ‘Rupert, I haven’t seen you since your Christening. How are you?’ Geoffery asked finally.

  ‘OK thanks. We struggle by, don’t we Sue?’ he said, looking to his wife to support his statement or to take over the conversation, as she usually did.

  A hard stare from Geoffery dared her not to respond.

  Rupert recalled her urgent phone call that he had received at the Team meeting. Although his phone was on meeting mode, she had called him repeatedly, until he was forced to step out of the meeting to answer it.

  She had been like an excited schoolgirl. ‘You’ve had a letter from your Uncle, Geoffery Foster. He’s a millionaire. We’re going to be rich,’ she had gushed. ‘He wants to see you immediately. I went to see him earlier. He’s in a Hospice and I think he’s probably going to tell you he’s going to write you into his will.’ Sue’s excitement was bordering on hysterical. Unnervingly, he had never heard her so happy.

  ‘He’s obviously dying, so we won’t have to wait long. We could be millionaires by the end of the year. Why, it’s got to be just like winning the lottery. We’re rich,’ she screamed. ‘RICH.’

  As Sue continued to rant on about how she was going to spend the money, Rupert was already thinking that this would be an opportunity for him to start a new life, away from her, and set up a love nest with his mistress.

  ‘Now, we are going to meet him tomorrow, so I don’t want any excuses about having to do urgent work there. You might never have to work again.’

  Rupert shuddered at the thought of spending more time in Sue’s company.

  She had obviously prepared Rupert for the meeting, and devised some plan on how to capitalise early, on to his possible future legacy.

  For, prior to today’s meeting Rupert had been lectured about saying the right things. Emphasizing to Geoffery that they had debts, and they were scraping a living.

  However, unbeknown to the calculating Sue, Geoffery already knew all about their true financial position.

  ‘Andy,’ said Geoffery, looking for help to get rid of the irritating Sue. ‘Did you say that the Hospice Administration wanted Mrs Screen to complete an incident form abo
ut her exhaust pipe damage?’

  ‘Mrs Williams –Screen, if you don’t mind,’ she said, haughtily correcting Geoffery.

  ‘Oh yes,’ said Andy, picking up the hint and addressing Sue. ‘Sorry to hear about having to replace your exhaust system. It’s Hospice policy to record all such incidents. If you’d like to come with me, and fill in the appropriate paperwork, that would be very helpful.’

  ‘Yes, but after we’ve finished our discussions with Mr Foster,’ she said, irritated by Andy’s intrusion.

  ‘No. You go now with Andy. If you don’t mind. It would be nice to reminisce with Rupert about my sister. I’m sure he will update you later,’ Geoffery said, hoping to restore some sense of order.

  Rupert sat impassively as Andy led Sue out of the room, although Geoffery thought he saw a brief moment of panic in his eyes.

  ‘I’m sure they would find it really useful, if you could give some feedback about the speed bumps too,’ continued Andy, ingratiatingly.

  ‘If I must,’ she said, reluctantly following Andy to the door.

  ‘Rupert, don’t forget to tell Geoffery all those things we’d discussed earlier. Remember?’ she said, fixing him with a steely stare.

  Rupert looked at her briefly. As if a secret had passed between them. She nodded back and smiled.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  As Sue left, so did the tension in the room. Geoffery, used to handling tough negotiations with people of strong personalities, recognised that Sue was going to cause him some angst, during his dealings with Rupert.

  Rupert, too, seemed to sit back in his chair and relax. Clearly, he was intimidated by this dreadful woman.

  Geoffery could now appreciate the tenor of the reports that he had been given, Rupert was ‘under the thumb’, the investigators had written. Geoffery wondered if this was the real truth. Was he just a henpecked husband? Or was there something more sinister in their relationship?

  ‘Well, Rupert, it must be over thirty years since I saw you last,’ Geoffery said breaking the silence.

  ‘Yes, I suppose that’s right,’ said Rupert, stiffly.

  ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t get to your Mother’s funeral. I know you were particularly close to her. How did things go?’

  ‘Oh well, you know,’ said Rupert, his eyes starting to fill. ‘The funeral went OK; as far as funerals go. It took me some time to get over her…her death, but she left me the house and a bit of money.’

  ‘At least you had your wife to help you get over your loss,’ Geoffery said, sympathetically.

  ‘No, I hadn’t met Sue then. I was single at the time.’

  Geoffery was surprised, he had obviously missed this bit of information from his reading of the report. ‘So, when did you meet your …um, wife?’

  ‘Oh, Sue introduced herself to me at the badminton club,’ Rupert said, nervously twisting his fingers. ‘She was very sympathetic about Mum. When she learnt I had a house, she told me she was looking for somewhere to live. She moved in, initially as a lodger and then…you know, Rupert added, becoming embarrassed. ‘We had a bit of a fling, and she suggested we got married shortly after.’

  ‘Yes. Sue was obviously a conniving bitch even then,’ thought Geoffery. ‘What sort of wedding did you have?’ he said, feigning interest.

  ‘Nothing grand, just a Registry office do. Our vicar wouldn’t marry us. Sue had a row with him about her being married twice before; but he wouldn’t budge. And you know what’s it’s like with these women, if they don’t get their own way!’

  ‘Yes, indeed. But I never got married. I didn’t feel the need to. There are too many lovely ladies out there, just waiting to be loved,’ Geoffery crowed, unnecessarily.

  ‘Yes, that would have been nice. But Sue came along and…’ Rupert’s voice trailed off.

  ‘And the rest is history,’ Geoffery completed Rupert’s sentence. ‘But never say never. Eh!’ said Geoffery, knowingly.

  ‘Sue had obviously become Rupert’s mother substitute. For his mother, Sarah, had quite a dominant personality too,’ Geoffery recalled. ‘Obviously runs in the family,’ he smiled, thinking about his own personality traits. ‘But, clearly the dominant genes had not migrated to her painfully shy offspring, Rupert.’

  ‘You probably realise, by now, that time is short for me.’

  ‘Yes, I’m terribly sorry to learn about your illness. If there’s anything I can do to help you. Just let me know,’ Rupert said genuinely.

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ Geoffery said, warming to his nephew. ‘But your wife has already offered me a room in your house, so that she could look after me.’

  ‘Has she? Oh I didn’t know,’ said Rupert, surprised.

  ‘Don’t worry. I shan’t be taking her up on it. I know where my bread’s buttered,’ he added.

  ‘No, I imagine, you’re in the best place here,’ Rupert agreed.

  ‘Now the reason I want to see you. Many years ago, when you were a baby, I became your Godfather.’

  ‘Oh yes, I had forgotten.’

  ‘And that’s just the point,’ Geoffery added. ‘I have been remiss in not being around to help and offer advice to you over the years.

  ‘That’s OK, I know that you are, have been, a busy man. Mum used to follow your progress on your companies websites.

  Yes well, being successful in business also requires you to quickly judge peoples characters, and I tell you what. If I had been here, I would have advised you not to have touched that Sue with a barge pole. I’m sorry if that offends you.’ Geoffery said, more outspoken that he’d intended.

  ‘No, on the contrary. I think about the same thing every day,’ Rupert said, looking nervously at the door.

  ‘Well, that piece of advice is no good now; but is there, anything else I can help you with at the moment, Rupert?’

  ‘No, umm, well yes I, we, were thinking of extending the house,’ Rupert said awkwardly. ‘Umm, Sue has umm, been diagnosed with Osteoporosis, and we were shortly planning to put in a downstairs bedroom and toilet, for when she gets worse,’ Rupert recited, recalling the story verbatim, that Sue had dreamt up.

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that. It seems you’re surrounded by people in ill health,’ said Geoffery, trying not to smirk. He had been expecting something like this, when he saw the pound signs flash in her eyes, during their first meeting. Clearly poor Rupert had been put up to this, by that woman. Now he understood why she didn’t want to leave the meeting. For in spite of his illness, Geoffery still had a shrewd business head on him.

  ‘Well, I’m afraid I don’t have any contacts in the building trade anymore,’ Geoffery said, playing the game.

  ‘Oh, I see,’ said Rupert, now perplexed. Sue had been expecting Geoffery to immediately offer to pay for it.

  ‘I expect there are some good ones in yellow pages,’ said Geoffery, playfully.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ said Rupert, trying to think of another tack; fearful of the consequences of failure.

  ‘The, um, finance side of things, um,’ said Rupert, now shifting uncomfortably in his chair; embarrassed to ask for a handout, for Sue’s mythical project.

  ‘I believe the Banks and Building Societies are well funded at the moment,’ Geoffery said, enjoying teasing him. ‘So you should have no problem getting a second mortgage, especially as you can secure it against your present home.’

  ‘Oh, that’s fine, thank you,’ Rupert said, squirming inside.

  Rupert was now lost. He didn’t want to play the stupid game anyway. All the ‘what if’ scenarios that Sue had rehearsed with him weren’t any use now. He feared the consequences of his failure to secure an early handout from Geoffery.

  ‘But your letter said something about financial benefit,’ he recalled, hoping to save the situation.

  They could hear voices approaching outside. Sue and Andy were returning.

  Ignoring the question, Geoffery asked quickly, ‘how can I get hold of you directly, without getting her involved?’

  �
�Oh, um…well, here’s my card,’ said Rupert, fumbling into his jacket pocket. ‘Call me on my mobile or text me,’ he said conspiratorially, looking nervously at the door.

  ‘That’s fine, thanks. I might even get Andy to bring me down to meet you in Bristol.’

  ‘Andy and Sue came back into the room.

  ‘OK Geoffery? Hope we gave you enough time to chat over family matters.’

  ‘Yes, thanks Andy. I think we made a good start at catching up, didn’t we Rupert?’

  Rupert nodded and looked crestfallen at the floor, not wishing to catch Sue’s eyes.

  ‘I think you’ve had enough excitement for the day. I suggest we call the meeting to a conclusion,’ Andy said authoritatively.

  ‘But I haven’t had chance to talk to Geoffery,’ said Sue, trying to sound genuinely sympathetic.

  ‘It’ll wait for another day,’ said Andy, forcibly.

  ‘We’ll have another meeting shortly, OK?’ said Geoffery, making a mental note, not to invite the woman to it.

  ‘Well, I guess that will have to do,’ Sue said, unable to hide her disappointment, and looking towards Rupert to see if there were any signs of a successful negotiation. Rupert avoided her gaze, and instead continued to look at the carpet, glumly.

  She knew then. He had failed. Her cheeks immediately flushed with anger. What else would she have expected from this useless excuse for a man?

  ‘OK, nice to see you both,’ Geoffery said, relieved as Andy led them out.

  As she drove them down the drive, the interrogation started. ‘Well?’ she demanded. ‘How did you get on? As if I don’t already know.’

  ‘He said he had no contacts in the building trade and we could re-mortgage,’ said Rupert, meekly.

  ‘What about the will?’ she demanded.

  ‘We didn’t get around to talking about it. Sorry,’ he said fearfully.

  ‘Typical. I knew I should have done it myself, rather than leaving it to you. You pathetic creature,’ she said shrieking disdainfully at him.