Eva Mazza - Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch

Clive had told him about Frankie’s upbringing and how she had had to fend for herself, how she had learnt from an early age that the world was a tough place and how this is what had shaped her and what had attracted his father to her in the first place.

Pete had liked Frankie up until now. He had always thought that behind the tough façade was a very vulnerable woman. The elite would often gossip about how Lee had refined her so that she fitted in with them. Knowing Clive, Pete knew he would want to be around to help her through this rough time. God knows he would want to do the same for his mom.

There was no way that the gravity of Clive’s father’s death had quite hit him yet. But already he was showing resilience. Typical of Clive and, Pete had to admit, his adulterous mother.

Pete closed the study door gently behind him and looked around. Frankie was as he had found her on his arrival◦– seated in Lee’s armchair. The morning sun shone on her which gave her an ethereal look. She seemed to derive comfort from her deceased husband’s chair, and he’d yet to see her leave its worn leather embrace.

He could hear his mother’s friends in the kitchen discussing the funeral tea in low voices and knew that the men would be ensconced in the study with Clive for some time. His sister was on the veranda with her group of friends, and there seemed to be no one else around. Now was his chance. He headed towards the liquor cabinet on the other end of the sun lounge (as they liked to call it) near the big sash windows. “I know it’s still morning, but I could do with a drink. Can I get you one, Frankie?”

She lifted her head blearily and nodded.

When he handed her the glass, she looked at him searchingly. “Where is your mom really ?”

“Truthfully, I don’t know.”

Frankie’s look told him that she didn’t believe him. He downed his scotch. “Really, I don’t. But I did speak to her last night and she asked me to give you this.” He reached into his jacket pocket for the perfume bottle. He studied it as he spoke.

“Mom said to say you left it in her bathroom on Sunday night, and that’s why she’s sorry she can’t be here. She’s sure Lee would’ve understood.”

Frankie simply stared at it. Pete tried giving it to her, but she wouldn’t take it.

“Your mom is mistaken. That’s not mine.”

“Frankie,” Pete stayed calm. “Mom thinks I haven’t the faintest idea what’s going on. Except I do. I know you sleeping with my father, and now I guess Ma knows too. Sunday night she was at the spa, so you must’ve been at our house with Dad.”

Frankie’s features contorted into a snarl. “Don’t you dare speak such nonsense! And at such a time. You should be ashamed of yourself!”

“Shit, Frankie, don’t you think you should be ashamed? We like to hide our secrets in this little town. So, I’m prepared to pretend that I don’t know that you fucking my dad, but only out of respect for Lee and for Clive’s sake and definitely for Ma. I guess, until she’s prepared to admit that Dad is a complete fuck up, I’m prepared to go along with this bullshit, so the least you can do is pretend to believe that Ma is at a spa. If you make one more snide remark about her not being here, I swear I will tell everyone exactly what’s going on.”

They both turned as Faith entered the room. She placed her hands on Frankie’s shoulders. “Is Madam okay?”

Frankie clutched her one hand reassuringly. “Yes, Faith, I am doing fine.” Faith gave Pete a look, and he knew it was his cue. He leaned in to Frankie to give her a hug and shoved the perfume into her lap.

As he left, he heard Frankie cry out, “I loved Lee! I did. I loved him. And he was no angel!”

He turned to look at her one last time. She was clutching the bottle against her chest. Pete walked away satisfied.

Jen watched Patty as she was ushered into the boardroom by Ron Opilet, but she didn’t get a chance to catch her eye before Leonard introduced her to his associate, a stocky, mousey-haired man with a lingering smell of aftershave.

“Mrs Pearce, Jen, I’m very pleased to meet you. I represent Lee on matters personal and confidential. I am going to be completely straight with you, as I don’t know how else to proceed. Patty, you now know is here because she has been employed by Lee for the last five years. She’s been his personal assistant and taken care of all his business matters that don’t involve the farm.”

Jen turned to look at Patty who avoided eye contact with her.

“A while back, Lee asked me to be the custodian of some money and gold coins, Kruger Rands, which your mother had left in his care for you. She didn’t want you to have them while you were married to your husband because you would be obliged to share this inheritance with him. The arrangement was that these be handed to you should you divorce your husband, should Lee or your spouse pass away, or on your sixtieth birthday, whichever came first. Your mom, bless her soul, felt that if you were still married at sixty, the likelihood of divorce would be miniscule. If you died while Lee was alive, the inheritance would go to her grandchildren.”

Patty found a tissue in her bag and dabbed her eyes with it.

“Patty now heads this trust due to the untimely death of your dear friend,” said Opilet. “It has been decided to disclose the existence of this little nest egg to you. We need instruction as to how you want us to proceed.”

Jen felt bewildered. She looked at Patty, and this time Patty looked her straight in the eye. What the hell is he going on about? But Jen couldn’t bring herself to ask her.

“I’ve been told that you’re filing for divorce, and our company likes to keep our clients’ interests at the forefront of everything. Non-disclosure is a suggestion.” Jen looked at him blankly.

“In other words, Mrs Pearce, our company is willing to keep this ‘inheritance’ in our trust until such time as your divorce goes through◦– with your permission, that is.”

Jen felt the colour draining from her face. She needed time for all of this to sink in: the money, Lee’s collusion with her mother, Patty’s role in Jen’s future. Everything!

“I, I’m not sure what to say.” She was shaking.

The four of them sat in silence for what seemed a long time.

Then Jen began to cry. This then was the cathartic moment she had been waiting for. Everything had been building up to this: her mother’s shrewdness; Lee’s desire to keep Jen’s wellbeing at heart; Patty’s role, which was confusing and beyond surprising. How had the universe conspired for them to land up at the same firm of attorneys? How had all of this brought her to the place where she could finally move forward, with the financial freedom she would need to do so, at exactly the right time?

Jen looked up, and saw Patty crying too. She leaned over the table and placed her hand gently on Patty’s. She barely noticed the two attorneys glancing at each other, nodding, then leaving the boardroom.

Not long after Pete had left, Grant van Rooyen Esq. entered the lounge. Frankie was still fuming as he gave her a long hug and his condolences. He and Lee had been childhood friends, and Lee had been a client of his since early adulthood. Grant had drawn up their marriage contract, had taken care of legal matters pertaining to the farm, drawn up their will and now, she knew, he was seeing to Lee’s estate.

After a few polite exchanges and after Faith had brought him a cup of strong black coffee, he broached the delicate matter of the estate. “I know that you are aware, more or less, what Lee decided regarding his property and his money. He set up a trust for Clive, the farm is yours until your death and all his liquid assets go to you and your son. There is one thing that has changed, though, just recently.”