At Home With The Templetons (46 page)

‘Look, we’re all sorry you didn’t get that job, Gracie,’ Charlotte said, pulling rank again, ‘but there are plenty more jobs in the sea and we better get to the point of this call, fun and all as this telephonic family reunion is. So have you all heard Hope’s message now? No nods, remember. You need to speak.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Anyone have any idea what she’s actually up to?’

‘Couldn’t she be genuine?’ Audrey said. ‘Maybe it’s exactly as she said. She wants to go back to Templeton Hall to lay some ghosts to rest, to make amends for her behaviour back then, and she’s inviting as many of us as possible to join her. Greg thinks it’s very generous of her. The airfares alone would cost a fortune.’ ‘Generous of her?’ Charlotte scoffed. ‘Generous of her wealthy dead boyfriend’s last will and testament, more like it.’

‘I think it’s a waste of time and money,’ Spencer said. ‘Why doesn’t she dig out one of the old brochures and meditate in front of a photo of Templeton Hall for an hour instead? Save all of us the bother.’ ‘All of us? So you’re going to accept, Spencer?’

‘Are you joking? Go back to Templeton Hall for a week?’ He started laughing. ‘Why on earth would I want to do that?’

‘As a thank you to Hope for all the money she’s given you over the years?’ Gracie’s voice was cold.

‘Hope and I have a very good relationship about money, Gracie. She gives it to me, I take it. Simple.’

‘All right, both of you.’ Charlotte took over again. ‘Has she asked Mum to go, does anyone know?’

Gracie answered. ‘Yes, she did. Mum said no.’

‘Because she can’t stand being in the same room as Hope at the moment either, or did she lie and say she’s too busy at work?’ ‘She lied,’ Gracie said. ‘Okay, that’s two down, three to go. I can’t go, of course. I’m surprised Hope even asked me. She loathes me, I loathe her. If I wasn’t so busy at work, I’d go for the sport of it, though. Audrey, what about you? It’s just a hop across the sea for you, isn’t it? The rest of us would have to fly halfway across the world. That’s an idea! You can go and represent all of us, without getting any jetlag in the process. Thanks, Audrey, that’s ‘

‘No!’ Audrey’s shout reverberated down all their phone lines. ‘I’ve decided not to go either. I discussed it with Greg ‘

Charlotte sighed. ‘Well, there’s a surprise.’ Spencer snickered.

‘And quite apart from the fact I’m taping the new series of the program over the next two months, Greg feels it wouldn’t be a good idea psychologically for me to go back there.’ ‘I disagree,’ Spencer said. ‘You spent the last months of your time there locked in your room, didn’t you? It might be helpful psychologically for you to see what the place actually looked like.’

Charlotte laughed. Gracie stayed quiet.

Audrey reacted immediately. ‘Oh, you think you’re so funny, Spencer, don’t you? And you too, Charlotte, but you know what? You’re not. And I don’t even know why I’m wasting my time discussing

this any more. I’ve already told Hope I can’t go with her. I rang her last night.’

‘My, you have been proactive, Audrey,’ Charlotte said, ignoring her outburst. ‘Thank you for gracing us with your audio presence today all the same. Poor Hope. At this rate she’s down to a party of one, her lovely sweet self.’ ‘What about Gracie?’ Spencer said. ‘You’re not working at the moment, Gracie, are you? You always thought Templeton Hall was a piece of heaven. Why don’t you go back and help Hope unload her psychic burden of guilt? It might help you too. Who knows?’ ‘Spencer!’ Charlotte warned.

‘That’s a horrible thing to say, Spencer!’ Audrey added. ‘Gracie, ignore him.’

There was no answer from Gracie.

‘Gracie?’ Charlotte said, concerned now. ‘Are you still there? Spencer, you unfeeling little idiot, apologise to your sister.’

‘Sorry, Gracie.’

‘In an adult voice, Spencer,’ Charlotte said.

‘Jesus, no wonder you’re a nanny high priestess, if that’s how you talk to your charges.’

‘It’s how I talk to everyone.’ Charlotte’s tone softened. ‘Gracie, are you still there?’

There was a pause, then Gracie’s voice. ‘Yes.’

‘Pet, of course we don’t expect you to go back with Hope on your own. I’ll ring her tonight and tell her that we’re all very sorry, that much as we’d love to go on this emotional de-cluttering journey with her, we’re far too busy but we hope she’ll give the dear old Hall a pat from us and would she please turn off the lights on the way -‘ ‘I will do it. I’ll go with her.’

‘What?’ Charlotte laughed. ‘Gracie, you have to be joking.’ ‘I mean it. It’s only for a week and it’s important to her.’ ‘It’s not a holiday to the Bahamas, Gracie.’ Charlotte wasn’t laughing now. ‘It’s a week with Horrible Hope at Templeton Hall. With Hope. Remember her? That mad, slurring, swaying aunt of ours?’

‘She’s different these days, Charlotte.’ Gracie’s voice was calm.

‘Not that you’d know, Charlotte,’ Spencer said. ‘How long since you’ve seen her? Decades?’

‘Sixteen years to be exact, and don’t try to be smart, Spencer. You’re one to talk. From what I hear all you do is treat her like a human ATM. Anyway, of course she and I have spoken. When she had that epiphany or whatever it was she kept ringing me until I had no choice but to talk to her. It was that or put up with another five hours of her breast-beating on my voicemail.

Gracie, we’ll come back to you in a second, I promise. I’m still trying to come to terms with what you just said. I’ve just thought of something. Does anyone know if she’s invited Dad?’

There was silence.

Charlotte again. ‘Has anyone spoken to Dad recently?’ More silence.

‘Anyone know where Dad is?’ Silence.

‘Fine. We’ll assume she hasn’t invited him. He’d surely have picked up a phone and called one of us if she had.’ ‘Called you, perhaps.’ Audrey’s tone was petulant. ‘I kept a note last year and apart from those postcards and, all right, a birthday present, in the entire twelve months he rang me only once. Once. And that was to ask me to keep an eye out for paintings by some long-dead New Zealand-born painter he’d heard was increasing in value. It was nothing to do with me. He didn’t even ask about Greg or Bobbie, or ‘

‘Poor Audrey,’ Charlotte said. ‘You’re right. I hear from Dad all the time. He never stops visiting me or ringing me -‘ ‘And if he’s not ringing you, he’s ringing me,’ Spencer said. ‘I’ve had to put a block on the phone I was hearing from him so often. It was bordering on harassment.’ ‘Are you serious? He rings you both that often?’

‘No, Audrey. That was a joke,’ Charlotte said. ‘Do you have jokes in New Zealand?’

‘Could we please talk about Hope’s invitation?’ It was Gracie. ‘Charlotte, do you have to be the one to ring and tell Hope I’ll go, or am I allowed to do it myself?’ ‘You’re scaring me, Gracie. Are you seriously serious about this? Do you actually realise what you’re getting yourself into?’ ‘She’s right, Gracie,’ Audrey said. ‘I think you should give it some more thought.’

‘So do I,’ Spencer said. ‘Surely you’ve got better things to do with your time than fly across the world to spend a week with Hope.’ ‘Actually, no, I don’t,’ Gracie said. ‘I’ll ring Hope tonight.’ Gracie hung up then. If her brother and sisters had anything more to say to her, she didn’t want to hear it.

The next day, she emailed all three of them.

From: Gracie

To: Charlotte; Audrey; Spencer

Dear Everyone

I spoke to Hope last night and told her I’d go back to Templeton Hall with her. She was very nice and very grateful. She asked why the rest of you weren’t coming too, so I explained you were all too busy at work. She may be ringing each of you, so please back me up. It was hard enough having to lie to her. She’s been in touch with the solicitors in Castlemaine and their services apparently don’t extend to opening up the Hall and getting it ready for habitation again, so Hope has asked if I will go back a day or two before her to get it all organised, beds made, food in
etc.
Before you get outraged on my behalf, Charlotte, Hope has made it clear that she considers this a work trip, not a holiday, and is paying me for my time. I protested but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I leave in three weeks’ time. She’s following two days after that. Talk to you again before I go.

Love Gracie From: [email protected] To: [email protected]

She’s PAYING you to go with her?? Why didn’t she say that in the first place?? I’d definitely have come. DAMN. How much?? And don’t start getting any ideas about Templeton Hall. That belongs to ALL of us.

Gracie didn’t reply.

Audrey rang Gracie the next morning.

‘Gracie, I’ve been thinking about this overnight. Are you sure you can actually cope with this? Not just Hope. The whole going-back-there thing. I know that Templeton Hall meant more to you than any of us, even before all of that happened with Nina and Tom.’

Gracie was glad Audrey had brought it up. Apart from Spencer’s one unkind reference, Nina and Tom had been the elephants in the room during their conference call. It had been the same when Gracie phoned Hope the previous night, too. Hope had made lots of allusions to the Donovans, talking about difficult memories and a miasma of past guilt, but she hadn’t directly mentioned Nina or Tom’s name like Audrey just had. Gracie felt suddenly fond towards her sister. Audrey wasn’t usually so thoughtful.

‘Maybe it’ll be for the best,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I’d have gone back voluntarily.’

‘I can see why,’ Audrey said. ‘You must feel guilty every day about Tom’s injuries, do you? Gracie, you have to stop thinking like that. Number one, it was eight years ago. Number two, it was an accident. A terrible accident. You have nothing to be guilty about, even if you were the driver.’

Audrey didn’t give Gracie a chance to reply.

‘Gracie, I can’t tell you how to feel, though God knows I know what it’s like to pull yourself out of the darkness, but have you thought this through? Quite apart from being with Hope, will you even be okay on your own in the Hall those first few days? I always hated being there alone, all those rooms, no one for miles around if something awful happened. You won’t be too scared? Too nervous? There’ll be a lot of memories waiting there for you, remember.’

Gracie decided to change the subject. ‘It’s the spiders I’m worrying about, not the memories. Remember those big ones, the huntsmen?’

Audrey’s tone softened. ‘You don’t have to pretend with me. You must be so nervous, I know. You were closer to Nina and Tom than any of us, after all. I think it’s important before you go to maybe think about them a bit, just prepare yourself for how you might feel if you were to meet them, how you might feel to see Tom in a wheelchair, for example. There might even still be some anger from them towards you, and the more prepared you are for it, the better. I know Greg would be more than happy to have a chat with you if you think it would help. He’s really great at role plays. Though, of course, Nina and Tom might not even be living near Castlemaine any more. We never did hear from them again afterwards, did we?’

There was a pause. ‘No, Audrey, we didn’t.’

‘I’d have thought Nina might have kept in touch with Mum, at least. I mean, I know it was a difficult time, but it was just an accident. Once everyone came to terms with the fact Tom wouldn’t walk again, wouldn’t it have been better for everyone to move on together?’

‘Audrey, could we please stop talking about ‘

‘Of course, Gracie! I’m sorry.’ There was a male voice in the background. ‘Thanks, darling. I’ll be right there. Gracie, I have to go. I’m doing a big shopping centre event today, but I’ll talk to you again soon. Let me know if you want to have a chat with Greg, won’t you? And don’t even think about Tom and Nina. Just try and put them out of your mind, okay?’

As Gracie put down the phone, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

After playing phone tag for nearly four days with her aunt, Charlotte finally managed to get her on the other end of a line by calling one of the three counselling centres Hope and Victor had funded.

Charlotte never wasted time on pleasantries. ‘I’ll get straight to the point, Hope.’

‘I’ve always liked that about you, Charlotte.’

‘No, you haven’t. You’ve never liked anything about me and I’ve never liked anything about you. You suffered me because I’m Eleanor’s daughter and I suffered you because you’re Mum’s sister. So let’s cut out the garbage ‘

‘Garbage? You are American these days. Or do you mean trash?’

‘What exactly are you up to with this whole back-toTempleton-Hall trip? And don’t give me the new-age nonsense you gave Gracie because I don’t believe it.’

‘Were you always this cynical, Charlotte? Or has dealing day-in day-out with harassed mothers using their husband’s money to assuage their guilt about leaving their allegedly loved and wanted children in the hands of another woman turned you this way?’

‘You’re a professional counsellor and this is how you speak to people?’ Charlotte gave a short laugh. ‘Such a short speech, yet so many insults, not just to me but to all my clients. Modern mothers have a choice these days, Hope. They’re allowed to have children and a career. But it’s so good to see you haven’t lost your touch in all these years of sobriety. Unless that’s a front as well, is it?’

‘I haven’t had a drink in twelve years, Charlotte.’

‘That rules alcohol out. Shall we discuss chemicals? Tablets?’ ‘Mind your own business.’

‘How did you fool that poor, sorry, rich boyfriend of yours?’ ‘There was no fooling going on. We loved each other.’

‘I’m sure he did love you. And I’m sure you found his massive fortune extremely loveable in return.’

‘It was immaterial to me whether he was a wealthy man or as poor as a church mouse. We were soul mates from the first moment we met.’

‘Eyes meeting across a crowded AA meeting. Yes, Spencer told me all about it. Rising out of your evil ways together to create an empire of healing centres. Blab, blah, blah.’

‘Have you ever been in love, Charlotte? In fact, have you ever had a relationship with anyone, man or woman, apart from your own monstrously ill-informed ego? I had hoped you’d changed, that America would have matured you in some way. Knocked some of that arrogant stuffing out of you. It appears I was wrong.