by Polly Carter
“I figured you might as well hit the ground running, so I’ve asked Marcus to take you into the office today and show you around, point out the changes, introduce you to new people, start catching you up on the various divisions and how they’re doing. It will be good to get your input. Some changes need to be made, and those decisions have to be made soon. I’d like to discuss them as a family, so the sooner you familiarise yourself with the current state of play the better. Marcus is at your disposal for the rest of the week. I might even get you to take a short trip to the mine and logistics head office. But I don’t want you to overdo it, Ray, if you’re not up to it. You’ve cost me too much already. I don’t want any backsliding.”
Marcus drifted off. The tension that had sprung up between Ray and Linda was palpable, but not his business. He was thinking about Pearl. It was going to be hard to find time to see her this week, and he didn’t like the thought of that at all. His mother had been right when she said some changes needed to be made, but he was thinking of personal changes not business ones. His thirty-third birthday had been and gone and he was effectively still living with his mother. Maybe it wasn’t quite as bad as that; he had his own luxury flat, own garage, and could come and go as he pleased, but nonetheless… It hadn’t worried him to date. If he’d wanted to spend the night with a lady and she hadn’t had a private place, he could always afford a comfortable hotel. Occasionally, he’d taken a date to his flat without being disturbed, but there was always the chance his mother might intrude at an embarrassing moment, so he’d mostly avoided doing that.
“And what about you, Mother?” Ray was saying. “Do you have a date for Saturday? I was half-expecting to find a man about the place. I can’t think you haven’t had a truckload of suitors. You got yourself a toyboy yet?”
“Don’t be disgusting,” Linda replied calmly.
“I can’t see anyone referring to Alan Price as either a ‘toy’ or a ‘boy’,” Marcus remarked casually.
Ray swung around to face Linda. “Alan Price! Mr Moneybags! That old lech? My god, he was trying to get into your pants when we were kids and dad was still around.” A tic pulsed in his cheek.
“Really, Ray. You’re not in the gutter now,” Linda chided him without changing the tone of her voice. “We don’t need that kind of language here. Yes, I see Alan. He’s been divorced for… it must be getting on for seven or eight years. He came around at the time, but I wasn’t interested. Then,” she waved her hand dismissively to emphasise the matter’s lack of importance, “we got… close a couple of years ago. I’m not getting any younger and you boys are grown up. I don’t deny I would like a man around to take care of me. But don’t worry,” she added standing up and placing her half-empty cup on the table, “the business and you take precedence. I’m going to get dressed. I’ve got a list a mile long of things to do for the party. Marcus, mind your brother. And apart from that quick hello last night, I haven’t had a chance to welcome you home properly yet, Ray, so I’ll see you both at dinner. Both of you. It will be our first meal all together in so long.” The last was directed at Marcus in a tone that told him she did not expect to be disobeyed.
“Okay. Okay! I’ll be there.”
“Good.” And she swept inside.
“What was that about?” Ray asked.
“Mother being Mother.” Marcus dismissed the question. He wasn’t ready to tell Ray about Pearl quite yet. Besides, they’d all be meeting her in a few days. It could wait. He changed the subject. “So, Brother, Mother tells me you have come home with a sizeable war chest. She was rather vague about how you came by it, other than to stress it was legal. No contraband, eh?”
Ray laughed. “Gawd, no. When I was hooked, any contraband that came anywhere near me didn’t leave no matter how much money I was offered. To be honest, I couldn’t be happier that’s in the past. I hope to God I never fall off that wagon.”
“So what then?”
“Good fortune, mostly. There’s a lot to be said for hard work, don’t get me wrong, but anyone who thinks hard work is the road to wealth is mistaken. There’s plenty out there who have broken their backs all their lives with nothing to show for it at the end, and plenty (though fewer) of others who’ve barely done a stick of work all their miserable lives and money just falls into their laps. I’m one of those.” He grinned. “So, I met this girl who’d had an idea for a survival pack and started a small business. We hung together for a while. I have no idea how she put up with me, or how she got any work done while I was passed out on her couch, most likely dribbling. Not an attractive sight. Anyway, the business started to take off. Opening lucky dips is the current zeitgeist, apparently. Who would have ever guessed?” He spread his arms in wonderment. “Anyway, she had a website and was doing pretty well. I think her turnover was edging up towards the magic million mark, but she needed a boost of capital and couldn’t get anyone interested. I was flat broke, needless to say, but I’m nothing if not silver-tongued. I schmoozed around for a while and managed to borrow a couple of hundred grand, interest-free and on a repay whenever arrangement. No doubt the guy thought he’d never see it again but couldn’t bring himself to refuse me anyway.” Ray chuckled, seemingly pleased with himself, before continuing with his story.
“Suzie gave me an IOU for the money and ten percent of the business after going with me to oversee the transaction and make sure the dosh went straight into her bank account.” He snorted self-deprecatingly. “She was smart enough to know you never trust a junkie. Anyway, the extra money was all she needed to get the company to go crazy. When its sales reached thirty million two years later, she looked me up. We weren’t together anymore but, bless her honest heart, she found me, repaid the original loan and told me she’d sold the business to Amazon for an obscenely large stash of cash and gave me the ten percent she’d promised. So, while I was off my face on couches and in bars, I made a fortune without having to lift a finger. Like I said, money drops into my lap. I repaid the original loan with interest, much to the lender’s surprise, and hid the rest in an obscure bank account. I’d been hanging around too many scumbags to risk anyone finding out about my good fortune, so I decided it was best to hightail it out of there as quickly as possible.”
While Ray was telling his story, Marcus sat up and rested his arms on his knees, his eyes on the ground. As Ray’s story came to an end, he looked up without raising his head. “You’re right, bro. More arse than class, eh?” he observed with a grin.
Ray nodded. “Fair cop. To date. I’m going to see if I can manage to switch that around though. And the honest truth is that even getting all that lolly and being a sitting duck if any hard boys heard about it didn’t change anything straight away. Then I got up one morning, or should I say afternoon, and saw a revolting, decrepit man in the mirror who looked like he was at death’s door. I mean, I must have seen him many times before that, although I mostly avoided mirrors for that exact reason, but that day, I saw him. I mean, I really saw him. It seemed to flick some kind of switch in my brain, and I thought what the hell am I doing? I called Mother on the spot, she flew over and saw me into rehab, organised for the job when I got out, and booked my ticket home. I’ve a lot to be grateful to the old girl for. She could have told me to bugger off after all the trouble I’d given her, but she was right there the minute I called.”
“Yep, that’s Mother. Eager to help if you want to return to the fold bringing your pot of gold with you. Not so accommodating if you want to leave.”
“What’s that mean?” Ray asked quickly. “You want out?”
Marcus shook his head and sighed. “Nah, shooting the breeze. That’s all. So, how are you feeling? Want to head into the office?”
“Yep. Give me half an hour or so to spruce up and I’ll be good to go. I’m looking forward to it, although not the curious stares and whispering so much, but I don’t suppose that will go on for too long.” He stood up, clapped Marcus on the shoulder, and went inside.
Marcus had dressed befo
re coming to breakfast so was ready to leave. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was already after midday so Pearl might be at lunch. He called her.
“Hey, precious,” he said when she answered. “I’m not going to make it over today, damn it. Mother is insisting I take Ray to the office this afternoon and then be here this evening for a family dinner.”
“Oh, okay,” Pearl answered. Her voice sounded flat.
“What’s up, baby?”
“Nothing.”
“Pearl.” He’d spanked her for lying before and would do so again. Open and honest communication was one of the few things he demanded without exception. He was well aware that secrets and misinformation can kill a relationship, and he wasn’t about to allow that to happen if he could prevent it. “Tell me.”
“Just something that happened at work,” Pearl said quickly. “I’ll tell you about it when I see you. It’s not important.”
“Marcie’s not giving you trouble, is she? Do you want me to call her and tell her to watch herself?”
“No,” Pearl said firmly. “It’s not Marcie. Like I said, it’s not important. When will I see you?”
“As soon as I can, baby. I promise. I might be going out of town this week with Ray. Mother is kind of insisting but I’ll see you before Saturday so we can get you a dress. I want to go with you.”
“Can I go and have a look first and then you can help me decide?”
Marcus pictured her sweet upturned face as she asked his permission. God, she was lovely. He wished she was with him in person so he could kiss the tip of her nose and her sweet lips.
“Wait and see how I’m going, can you? Would you mind, baby? I want to go with you, but if I’m too tied up, then of course you’ll have to go on your own. I’ll talk to you tonight after dinner when I have a better idea of what the next few days look like. All right, baby?”
“All right, Daddy,” she said. His heart melted.
“Okay, little girl. I have to go, so take care of yourself and be good.”
“I will.”
Marcus hated leaving it like that. This arrangement, him living at his mother’s, was no longer tenable. He would introduce Pearl to the family on Saturday night and tell his mother he was moving out of his flat and in with Pearl. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on Pearl’s face when he told her as well.
Impatient, but satisfied he had a plan in place, he went to find Ray.
Chapter 21
Pearl
At home alone in the evenings that week, Pearl sat on the couch hugging her teddy and missing her Daddy terribly. He was out of town with Ray until Thursday afternoon. He called every day and texted whenever he could, but she longed to see him in person. She couldn’t get that customer, Tina, out of her mind and didn’t want to talk to him about it over the phone. She wanted to snuggle on his lap in her favourite pink teddy bear pyjamas and feel safe, but she had to wait until Thursday. She was trying to be patient, but as she huddled further into the couch, pressed her hand, thumb first, to her mouth and brushed her teddy bear’s paw back and forth under her nose, she felt very small and alone.
Her own problems vanished in an instant, however, on Thursday morning when she got a phone call from the small country hospital servicing the area, which included Darling Flats. She didn’t take personal phone calls at work, but the hospital receptionist had called Mon Addi’s landline when Pearl had failed to answer her own mobile phone. Pearl’s parents had been in an accident but were in no danger, she told Pearl. They could go home but would need someone with them for the first few days.
“What happened?” Pearl asked, her face ashen with shock.
“I haven’t got all the details,” the woman replied, “but I gather they were shifting something heavy and it appears your father injured his back, and let go of his end and the object dropped fracturing one of your mother’s wrists and spraining the other. The doctors have prescribed bed rest for your dad for three or four days, only getting up to wash and go to the toilet, and your mother has one arm in a cast, and the other is in a sling and she’s not allowed to use it for a few days so she’s not able to take care of your dad and needs someone to help her as well. So I was wondering, is there a family member they could call in, or a friend or neighbour?”
“I’ll come,” Pearl said without hesitating. “I can take care of them. I don’t have a car, but I can catch the bus. Should I come to the hospital or go straight home?”
“The bus to Darling Flats stops almost right outside the hospital, so why not jump off here and I’ll organise transport home for you and your parents from here. How does that sound?”
“Perfect. Thank you so much. Can you please tell them I’ll be there mid-afternoon?”
Sitting on the bus a short time later after handing over to Marcie and organising a few days leave, Pearl texted Marcus to tell him what had happened and to say she wouldn’t be able to go to the party on Saturday night after all.
Okay, baby. Do you need anything? I’m in a meeting. I’ll call tonight
No. I’m fine xxx
Once off the bus, all thoughts about her own life evaporated. As relieved as she was to find her mum and dad in relatively good, if somewhat subdued, spirits, and the prognosis for their recovery excellent as long as they rested for the next few days and then took things easy until they were fully healed, it was unnerving seeing them both so weak and virtually helpless.
“We’re so sorry to burden you like this,” her mum said, but Pearl waved away their apologies.
“I want to help you, Mum,” she said, giving Mary a hug. “You’ve done so much for me all my life, it’s the least I can do.”
“I’ve spoken to Nancy,” Mary went on, referring to her sister. “She couldn’t come this weekend, but is going to come on Tuesday and stay for a week. Longer if need be, but I’m sure your dad and I will be right as rain by then.”
“Okay,” Pearl nodded. “I’ll tell Marcie I’ll be at work on Wednesday, but I won’t leave until Auntie arrives.”
She filled Marcus in on the day’s events when he called her at bedtime.
“I wish I was there with you,” he said echoing her own desire, but she didn’t want to worry him and everything was manageable and her parents were both resting comfortably, so she put on a brave face.
“I know. Me too, but I can manage. There’s not that much needs doing around the farm apart from keeping an eye on the watering and feeding the animals. Stuff like that. And answering the phone and cooking for my folks and doing the housework. That’s about it.”
“You’re such a good girl, aren’t you, baby. I’m so proud of you. I’d come but Mother has booked me in to help with preparations for this damn party Saturday night. Even so, if you get into any difficulty you are to call me immediately and I’ll come straight away. Okay? Promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Who are you promising, baby? Can you tell me, or is someone listening?”
“No, I’m in my room at the moment. Mum and Dad are in bed. I promise you, Daddy.” Pearl giggled as she felt the familiar rush of panty-melting heat between her thighs that happened whenever she called him Daddy.
“Ah, that’s my precious Little girl,” he said, and Pearl could hear how his own voice had thickened and knew that he was feeling as amorous as she. She sighed. That would have to wait.
“I’m sorry I’m going to miss the party, though,” she said. “I was so looking forward to meeting your brother and mother.” That was true, but she was also still curious about what Tina had meant when she bought the ring, and she hadn’t been able to find the words or courage to ask him straight out.
“Is there no way you can be here?” he asked. “I could fetch you.”
“No. I can’t leave in case anything happens. I would never forgive myself. It’s a shame but I won’t miss anything too important, will I?” She was fishing.
“Nah, just the usual crowd of sycophants and snobs, showing off to people with less m
oney and sucking up to people with more.”
Pearl laughed. “It won’t be that bad, will it, Daddy? Won’t there be lots of pretty ladies in beautiful dresses wearing all kinds of heavenly jewels. I’ve never been to a party like that in all my life.”
Marcus sighed ruefully. “And I’ve been to too many.”
“Is it just a party for Ray? Marcie said maybe there’s something else as well.” Still fishing.
“There is nothing else, trust me, baby. Nothing at all. What did Marcie say? I feel like something is on your mind. Out with it.”
“It’s nothing,” Pearl said quickly. She trusted Marcus absolutely and if he said nothing was going on, it meant either nothing was going on or, at the very least, nothing he knew about. Tina must have been talking about Ray, and Marcie was just being mean. “Really. I was just curious about what I’ll be missing.” As many times as she said she didn’t mind not going to the party given the circumstances, she couldn’t keep the wistfulness from her voice. “Uh oh, Mum’s calling me. I have to go.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll call you tomorrow night. Take care, precious girl.”
“I will. You too, Daddy.”
But instead of calling on Friday night, he texted to say he was going to be busy until late and she was to be in bed early and get a good night’s sleep.
“What is it, Pearl?” her mother asked on Saturday morning noticing Pearl’s lack of usual bounce. “You seem so flat. Are you all right? We’re not working you too hard, are we? I can do more if you want me to. Honestly. Or are you sad you are going to miss the party. It’s tonight, isn’t it?”
Pearl jumped up from the table where they were sitting having a cup of tea, Mary drinking hers through a straw as her unbroken wrist was still too painful to lift anything, and ran around to her mother and hugged her gently so as not to jar her injuries.