Chapter 1 Susan
ONE
Susan
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“ARE YOU GOING TO TELL Mother?” Holly said as I drove us back to Selma Sanctuary.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe not yet. Maybe not until everything is sure and settled.”
“You’re such a worry wart, Susan. Keely asked us to pass by tomorrow to sign our contracts,” Holly argued. “It doesn’t get surer than that.”
I nodded. I knew she was right. The sooner we told Mother the good news, the sooner we could start packing and get our things out of what had once been our home.
“This chance meeting is just so perfect,” Holly said, her eyes glistening as I’m sure she envisioned her name up in lights. “I mean, I knew Ayra wanted me for this movie, but to actually meet the producer and her assistant. Susan, do you know what this means?”
I nodded. “It means your career is about to take off.”
“That’s right.” Her smile overflowed with pride. “I saw Keely’s movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. The critics loved it. And then Northanger Abbey. And the cinematographer for Persuasion is up for an Oscar.”
“You forgot Emma,” I said, remembering the movie that was my favorite.
Holly nodded. “I believe that’s the one Ayra arranged the music for. Or was it Pride and Prejudice? Oh, I don’t remember, but either way, she has a way with music and I’m so lucky to have a chance to work with her.”
I pulled into the long circular driveway in front of Selma Sanctuary and parked the car behind my father’s vintage Mercedes. It hadn’t moved since his death and Mother refused to sell it or let us drive it.
“She’s going to have to let us drive it now,” Holly said as if reading my thoughts.
“There’s plenty she’ll have to do now,” I countered.
We got out of the car and went inside the house.
“Mother!” Holly singsonged. “Oh, Mother!”
“In here,” she called from the drawing room.
We found her seated in her recliner, a thick blanket over her lap. Beside her on a small round table was a cup of steaming tea. In the far corner, her wheelchair was parked.
“Oh, Mother,” Holly chanted as she went to her, bent down and kissed her forehead. “We have such wonderful news.”
“We’re keeping Selma Sanctuary?” Mother said, her face lighting up.
“Well, no. Not quite.”
“Then, there’s nothing good you can tell me,” she said, her tone bitter and her eyes reverting to the pained expression she constantly had since Father’s passing.
“Mother,” I said gently as I sat on the sofa next to her recliner.
I reached for her hand. “I know it’s not quite the news you would like, but we do have good news.
Holly and I have both secured jobs in an upcoming movie production.
I’ll be handling the finances while Holly will be singing in the movie. ”
Mother nodded, but wasn’t as impressed as I would have hoped. “That still doesn’t put a roof over our heads. That thieving Baker, whoever he is, is going to take our home right out from under us.”
“I’m saddened by the loss of this house as well, Mother,” I said. “But home is wherever we decide to make it.”
“Oh,” Holly let out, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling.
“Please spare us the love and family make a home drivel. This is our home. Up those stairs is my bedroom and in that bedroom is my bed and that bed is covered with my sheets, and I love that room... my room. My closet is filled with my favorite clothes and my dresser drawers overflow with my delicate under things.”
“Fine,” I said with pragmatic decisiveness.
I stood up and looked at them. “You can love this house and all its belongings as much as you want, but the truth of the matter is that we must leave... and this within the next fourteen days. We must leave whether we like it or not, and that is that. Now... I’ve already begun to pack some of my personal belongings, and I suggest you do the same.
” I looked at my mother. “I would be more than happy to go up to your quarters and help you pack everything.”
“But where are we going to go?” she said, tears lining her eyes. “We have no money. Even if both of you start working, we’ll never be able to pay for anything larger than a two-bedroom flat. We’ll never find anything suitable here in Bath. We’ll never, ever be comfortable again.”
“Tomorrow I’ll make arrangements with the movers to have all the furniture put into storage. Then, we’re going to go live, only temporarily in Derbyshire.”
“Derbyshire? Susan, why on earth would we go to Derbyshire. I like it here in Bath.”
“You’ll like Derbyshire as well, Mother. I’m sure you will.”
“We’ll be staying at Moon Manor,” Holly threw in.
Mother’s eyes lit up. “Moon Manor? Oh.” She looked at me. “Why didn’t you say we’d be staying at Moon Manor? That changes everything. I’ve been hearing so much about it. Everyone wants to go.”
“Well then, you’ll be happy to know that we should be spending a month or so there.”
*****
GOING THROUGH A LIFETIME of accumulated stuff proved to be emotionally draining. While I’d adopted the method of going through my wardrobe to clear out what I no longer liked, what no longer fit or what I never, ever wore, I still had a few nostalgic items at the very back of my closet.
I found the dress I’d worn when I’d graduated; a simple high-necked, long-sleeved dress in baby blue. Then there was the Chanel inspired skirt and jacket I’d worn on my first day at college. And I really didn’t want to send away the soft pink dress I’d recently worn to a cousin’s wedding.
“How are you coming along?” Holly said as she burst into my room.
“I’ve packed what I’ll bring to Moon Manor,” I said pointing to the luggage set by the door, then pointed to the far corner. “In those boxes are all the things I won’t bring but want to keep. They will go in storage. And that pile over there is what I’ll bring to the charity shop.”
“We’ll be at Moon Manor for over a month, you said.” She shot a doubtful glance at my luggage. “Do you really think you’ll have enough of just the content of those few suitcases?”
I sighed. I could just imagine the massive pile of luggage she planned to bring to Derbyshire.
“I was just about finished here,” I said, unwilling to get into a tousle over the amount of clothes she intended to bring. “Do you want to come help me clear out Mother’s room?”
“No,” she said. “I’m getting together with a few friends. We still have some time to pack up. Besides, everyone wants to spend time with me before I leave town.”
Of course they do.
“Russel, Timothy and Brandon all want to have lunch with me. Then when Sally found out I was leaving, she told Beatrice, Tammy and Eunice. Of course, they all want us to get together. Oh, and Donna wants to see me and Carol and Caroline and Vivian and Maureen.”
I smiled with a touch of envy for her wide circle of friends. She’d always been the loud, vivacious one while I was more than happy to step back and leave her the limelight. I’d never enjoyed crowds and felt uncomfortable whenever too many turned their eyes to me. Attention seeker, I was not.
But there were times when I wished I could be a bit more like Holly.
“Well,” she said with a giggle. “I’m off. Don’t wait up for me. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day and a longer evening.”
“Have a good time,” I said, pressing a tight smile.
Then again, I thought as she left me, her need to socialize often left me with the responsibilities that could sometimes be overwhelming.
Did she realize how much I did so that she could concentrate on perfecting her piano playing?
Besides Father’s income, I was the one who spent all my time finishing college and then working at an accounting firm, long days and nights to help out with the family finances.
Did she know that I’ve worked to help pay the bills and put food on the table while she was free to follow her dreams?
No. I doubt she did. And even if she did, she was so accustomed to things going her way, that she probably took it for granted.
Of course, I should help her fulfill her dreams. Of course, I should ensure she had everything she wanted.
Of course, I should do all I could to make sure she was happy.
She was the baby sister while I was the practical older one.
I grunted and shook off my frustration. There was no time for that.
I finished packing my room and went in search of my mother, finding her in the breakfast room crying as she stared out the window.
“Mother?” I quietly said.
She pulled her gaze away from the window and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. “I’m fine,” she said, her voice strong and resigned. She glanced out the window again. “Will I ever find a place as lovely as this to enjoy my morning coffee, my toasts and jam?”
It was, indeed, an idyllic setting. Just outside the window were several colorful bird houses, bird feeders and three bird baths and every morning brought a flurry of feathered activity.
Beyond all that were the rows of yellow rose bushes that led to a large water fountain and the garden beyond that and the woodland beyond that.
“I hear that Moon Manor has a splendid garden,” I said, aware that it was pointless to say.
“Have you come to help me pack my things?” she said, turning her wheelchair away from the window entirely.
“I don’t want to rush you, but... yes.”
I wheeled her to the small elevator Father had put in and we met on the second floor where I wheeled her to her room.
I pushed open the door and was surprised to find that she’d already begun to take out items from the lower drawers of her dresser.
“So many memories,” she said on the verge of tears as she looked about her room. “My whole life. Your whole life. I don’t understand how you can be so calm and peaceful in this moment of turmoil.”
“Sometimes change is good, Mother,” I said, quietly realizing in that very moment that I was a little excited at the prospect of a new... a new life? A new beginning? I wasn’t sure what it was, but I felt none of the nostalgia and attachment to the big, old house that my mother and sister felt.
We spent the better part of the morning going through her things, Mother stopping to recount the story behind a particular dress or shirt and even a rather silly story behind a pair of underwear.
“I don’t know why I kept these,” she said with a bit of a silly grin on her face. “It was so embarrassing.”
“What was embarrassing?”
“Oh, it was all so long ago, when I was still able to walk without assistance.”
“What happened?”
“Henrietta, Yolanda and I had gone into town to have tea. I’d worn my cream-colored skirt with the matching jacket, and a white silk shirt... of course my two-inch cream pumps. I was so chic, so elegant. Henrietta and Yolanda even said as much.”
I remembered the outfit she described. It was, indeed, quite elegant.
“After tea, we went for a stroll. We passed by Bath Abbey, the baths, the Circus and Royal Crescent, and then... well the tea had worked its way through me, you understand. And, as luck would have it, it hit me at the very worst time... far from any public facilities.”
I smiled, imagining my elegant mother in such a bind.
“The situation grew dire. We’d reached a park where we all knew I could find relief.
We’d hurried to the small building that housed the loo, but it was locked, closed for repairs.
I could hold it no longer. Henrietta and Yolanda came with me behind the small building, just on the edge of the forest.” She looked at me and smiled, clearly amused by the memory.
“Anyway, they helped me, you know, holding me steady while I... We were all laughing so much that Henrietta then had to do the same, and while we were at it, Yolanda decided to relieve herself as well. It was all so silly, but, oh boy, did we laugh. Three elegant, mature women doing their business right there in the open. It’s amazing no one saw us. ”
She held the underwear, smiling. The item clearly held more amusement than embarrassment.
It was good to see her laugh, and it helped to make the process of packing her things a little easier.
While it took considerably longer than I’d anticipated, it was worth the time.
With every item that she decided to dispose of, she seemed to say goodbye to a pleasurable time that she would keep in her heart.
After the day, I felt better cleaning up and packing away some boxes.
It was a start to what looked almost impossible.
Mother was not as heartbroken as before, although she was still upset about losing our family home.
I also think it was because she had so many memories of Father with the house as well as Holly and me growing up in the house.
I’ve had fond memories of Father at the house, but I was so tired from all that had happened with his sudden death and then the shock of finding out someone else held the title to our house.
But I needed to get away, to do something different.
As sad as I was about moving, I couldn’t help feeling a bit excited about a new beginning starting with Keely Lee’s production of Sense and Sensibility at Moon Manor.
Perhaps it was divine intervention. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The opportunity for me to start a new job in a more exciting industry and for Holly to get her chance to be an actual professional singer couldn’t have happened when we most needed it.