O, Fortuna

Chapter 22

Grace had paid a good deal of money for her ocean view apartment in Fremantle so it seemed an awful bloody pity that she had no patience to appreciate it just at this moment. This was officially her home now, regardless of what lay ahead with June's estate, no one could take the two bedroom apartment away from her. She had moved in only three days earlier, finished unpacking and now, sitting out on the small balcony watching the summer sun melting slowly on the Indian Ocean at the end of the day, Grace wanted nothing more than to be leaving it all and heading back east.

It had been seven weeks since she had left Faridah but with all that had gone on upon her return home, it felt more like a year. The more her family had insisted she share the wealth, the greater the need to push back and deny what they sought. Three times she had been in the presence of or had visited her grandmother, hoping to get some answers about June, Grace had been told to leave. On the last occasion, at her parents’ house, she had made it clear that no one would be getting anything from her until she got some answers.

She could not remember ever having been so spiteful in her life and though certain her family would regard it as symptomatic of her new status, it frustrated her all the more when she found out that her two eldest cousins had been less than discreet with who they told of her new situation. Cameron and Amanda, undoubtedly feeling deprived of their portion, had felt it necessary to speak openly and widely and it was from the latter that the new bride Amy had become alerted to Grace's considerable fortune and wasted no time in attempting to renew their old school friendship. Amy did, after all, believe herself uniquely placed to be of use to Grace, what with having a husband who dealt with clients with the same sort of serious money on a daily basis.  

Well, that was what Grace quietly assumed for herself when she called Amy back out of courtesy. This assumption she felt was confirmed when the newly-wed greeted her like they were the best of friends and immediately asked her out for coffee that afternoon to catch up and talk about all the fabulous opportunities now open to Grace, as a woman of considerable wealth, that she could finally do something with her life. Grace actually thought she might have cracked a molar, she was gritting her teeth so hard as she ever-so politely responded that she was extremely busy and before Amy could offer an alternative time to meet, suggested that she would be in touch should she need any guidance, managing a curt farewell before terminating the call.

Grace needed a new mobile phone carrier if she was to have coverage whilst at Faridah. As immaturely fun as it had been to ignore certain realities awaiting her in Western Australia, having no coverage had cut her off from her friends entirely, a situation she had not enjoyed, more especially that she had worried them needlessly. The salesman in the phone shop asked if she wanted to keep her old number and with little consideration on the matter, Grace shook her head. The new number would find its way to her friends and those at Faridah immediately, of course, but she also called it through to her cousin Alistair. He had no bone to pick with Grace, had even thanked her for cancelling out the last of his debt to June and had not once been critical on the subject of the estate, only wondered during the same call if, when everything was sorted out, whether she would consider a business proposition of his.

While it may not have been very prudent of her, Grace asked her cousin what it was he had in mind and Alistair carefully explained that the house next door to his was for sale, though the house was close to falling down, it was sitting on a reasonably sizeable block. It had a lot of potential, even if the suburb was not the chicest now, time and urban progress would inevitably change that. Two good-sized units, a block of flats perhaps, there were at least half a dozen options.

Alistair had come a long way from knocking down sandcastles with Matchbox cars, having grown up to go to university to be an architect and Grace knew perfectly well he was rather bored working at a firm that dealt primarily with commercial architecture, shopping centres and the like, so she asked him how much the house next door was going for. When Alistair told her, she then asked him to arrange an appointment with the real estate agent, regardless of how it might be developed in the future, she could afford it now.