Chapter 48

Even Gordy Hollister doesn't always win.

By the time we got back to the Intercontinental, there was a message from the realtor. Dad called and was told that his bid was "unacceptable."

"Fine," he said. "Make it $850. But that's it. There are other properties. Yes, I know it's Saturday. Surely your commission is large enough to make telephoning on the weekend feasible. I noticed there was an open house in Beecroft tomorrow."

"C'mon, dad," I said. "Stop pulling your punches. What was second?"

"The one in Beecroft, near the station."

Mum looked pensive. "That one was dearer, but it might mean we could cope with one car."

"True. We'll see what the owner's response is. If negative, we'll go out to Beecroft in the morning that open house is in the afternoon."

We agreed to eat in the hotel and went up to their room so that we could all have a wash. We then went to the bar for a drink.

"Anything new with Sarah?" I asked.

"No," said mum. "She's 'off men', she says; she detests ECU; she loves interning at Seven. Sue reports that she's actually quite promising."

"Have you tried to explain that it's 'trial by ordeal'? Like law school. She's got to put in her three years at ECU so that she can go on to a job in television."

"I've not put it that way. I might try it next weekend."

Dad signaled to a waiter and told him we'd like to move to the Opera Cafe. "It's not the best restaurant in town, but the buffet was good, I recall," he said.

Rachel and I pillaged the cold seafood; mum and dad took an assortment of things. Rachel told about Al and Cait, much to mum's amusement. We were just about finished when dad's cell buzzed.

"Hollister ... Yes ... Yes ... That's just fine. Might we come out tomorrow or Monday? My wife will want to take measurements and make notes. Excellent. And I'll have my solicitor call you on Monday ... Do I need to contact the LPI? ... Good. And I assume that you'll have the engineering inspection done? ... That's good. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon, then. Thanks." [LPI = Land & Property Information of the NSW government; titles, etc.]

He looked up. "Well, it looks as though we'll be living in Pennant Hills. Patrick, do you have a long tapemeasure?"

"I've a 30 meter/100 foot. It's a Lufkin, I think."

"And some paper?"

"A quadrille pad?"

"Perfect. I'll extend the rental for a day. We'll drive you home and you can fetch the utensils."

"I've got a better idea," I said.

"Unlikely," Rachel noted.

"We'll come by in the morning and you can take the ute. Bring it back whenever and tell us about your day."

"That is a good idea, Patrick," mum said.

"Of course. But dessert first."

We all laughed.

We went out for lunch after mum and dad 'borrowed' Rachel's car. But hadn't gotten anywhere before Rachel's phone rang. It was Cait. After a brief chat, Rachel informed me that Cait was joining us for lunch. I just shrugged.

"I'm sure it's wrong," Cait said once we were sitting down at The Hive.

"What is?"

"Asking you about your brother."

"No. Ask ahead."

"Well. Well. Uh. Let's order."

I ended up eating rather silently. At first, Rachel was quiet, too. Cait was in a state. She "really, really liked" Al. But she knew he wanted to sleep with her. No, he hadn't "pressured" her ... not at all. But ... but. She really didn't know what to do.

Rachel told her that she, certainly, couldn't advise her. And that brought about another topic.