Family Secrets: Home Truths, #2

By Ruth Hay

So much in Elizabeth's life is unsettled. Will the old Goodwin Farmhouse remain standing long enough to give up all its secrets?

How much can she hope to rely on Opal?

How will Aaron adjust to his new reality?

Will Barbara be able to reconcile with her family in a meaningful way?

What happens to a family when unexpected wealth changes their circumstances?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruth Hay
• Release date: Oct 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393248880

Book preview

One

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Goodwin Mowat sat by her mother’s bedside and contemplated two lives.

The old house was quiet, other than the occasional creaking of wooden floors and beams that signalled its age, and the uneven breathing of the patient.

Evelyn had just left after preparing a meal and cleaning the kitchen.

Later, Elizabeth would collect the mail and do some of the paperwork that seemed to be never-ending, but for now, she could think in peace.

Sadie Goodwin was sleeping with the aid of pain medication and her daughter knew to watch her face for the changes that signalled she was emerging into another day of pain deferred. Her liver cancer was developing inexorably and stealing away what was left of her life.

Is this my life now? Elizabeth thought.

She had put aside the desire to escape all her responsibilities and flee to Florida to live with her friend Eileen. An ironic chuckle escaped her as she realized how much had conspired to keep her here in Canada, by her mother’s bedside. Not only the family situation with Aaron’s troubles and Barbara’s economic problems, but in the wider world, all travel was suspended during the COVID-19 crisis that put Sadie’s health at far more risk than any other category of worry.

There were also a myriad of undecided matters ranging from legal issues and bank decisions and, over all that, the looming threat of the old house being demolished to give way to a new commercial estate.

One choice was now not an option.

Elizabeth could not return to her husband Noah under these circumstances.

The longer she stayed with her mother, the more necessary her presence here became. Noah and all his problems had faded into the background. There was only so much one woman could hope to cope with.

Her own future was on hold for the time being and she did not plan to resume married life with Noah Mowat. That would never again be a part of her future, as far as she could see.

---

Sadie stirred and a moan escaped her mouth.

Elizabeth moved to place a wet cloth against the dry lips so some moisture could give comfort for a moment.

How long now?

Was it time to move Sadie to a hospice facility?

Was it easier to have Sadie here, rather than be required to travel daily to whichever facility could provide a bed for her?

Were the risks to her mother in a hospice more than they were here at home?

Did that matter when she reached the end of life stage?

Elizabeth had talked to her mother’s doctors about accessing a morphine pump and that request was now in process.

All of these questions were more pressing now that the Goodwin property had been officially sold.

Where would Elizabeth go when that process began?

Aaron had managed to convince the developer to hold off on the demolition until Sadie Goodwin’s situation was resolved, one way or another.

A tear escaped Elizabeth’s eye. This business of contemplating her mother’s end was so much more painful than she ever imagined.

On the one hand, she fervently wished for her mother’s pain to be over, but on the other hand, she longed for her continued presence as a link to a past that was rapidly disappearing.

This was the home where Elizabeth had lived as a child with her father Martin and her mother Sadie.

The big old house was her playground even although parts of it were boarded off to save a child from danger, and to preserve heat inside a building that was nearing the end of its natural span.

Her father had made some minor home improvements, but now the old house was falling into ruin under Sadie’s lax stewardship.

Sadie Goodwin lost all interest after her Martin died. Each year saw the exterior paint grow dim and another section of balcony cordoned off because the flooring was not safe to walk on.

Elizabeth blamed herself for not taking more care of her mother’s property after her father’s death in his early sixties.

The truth was, that Elizabeth Mowat was too much immersed in her own misery at home with Noah, to notice how much deterioration was occurring in her mother’s health, as well as in her beloved childhood home.

When things were impossible between them, and she did run away from Noah, Sadie always welcomed her with open arms, and listened for hours to her daughter’s complaints. At these times, Elizabeth was far too sunk in her own misery to notice what was happening around her.

Now it was too late to make amends for that neglect.

Now she was here to see the last of the Goodwin family legacy torn apart and trampled into the very soil from which it sprang into life.

---

Of course, there would be benefits to the Mowat children when the Goodwin estate was eventually settled.

Elizabeth had that to console her.

There would be legacies for each of Sadie’s grandchildren, as well as for Opal and Barbara and Aaron.

The amounts could not be fully known, until the purchase of the land was finalized.

The remaining inheritance was Elizabeth Mowat’s to do with as she wished.

All this was in the hands of Fergus Ramsey, solicitor and financial advisor.

As her thoughts turned toward that future time, Elizabeth saw how the wealth of her parents would assist the next generations.

Opal and Andre Rodriguez had her business to run, and his job to maintain, along with a busy home life and a lovely daughter, Lila, to raise. It was already decided that Andre had the responsibility of selling the two antique automobiles in the garage of the Goodwin house. Elizabeth made it clear that any profit from that sale must go to Opal and Andre.

Barbara was not thrilled about this idea, but she was not in a position to argue since her sister and brother-in-law had been far more active in helping out their mother than Barb and Ed Benson had been.

Ed’s work meant he was travelling with coach tours for several days at a time. Even with current prohibitions on all kinds of travel, Ed did not seem interested in assisting Elizabeth. In fact, he was not keen to meet up with the rest of the family even when important meetings were required.

Aaron was another problem.

He had not yet revealed to his siblings the true facts about his parentage.

He confessed to Elizabeth that he did not feel he should benefit from the Goodwin inheritance since he was not related by blood to either Elizabeth or any other Goodwin.

Elizabeth was determined that Aaron would not be left out of the bounty. She put pressure on Fergus Ramsey to ensure Aaron would be able to continue with his Alcoholics’ Recovery program and make a change in his work situation, if he wanted to do so. Removing Aaron Mowat from City Hall and all its memories could well serve his health decisions and provide a new start in life.

---

She rose up from the bedside and walked quietly to the window from where she could look down the long driveway, past the trees and see the road that led to freedom.

When all was done, would she leave behind her children and grandchildren and take that road to solitary freedom?

Or, would Elizabeth Goodwin Mowat be forever held by ties of custom and love, to this country, and to the family she and Noah Mowat had created?

Two

Barbara

Barbara Benson used to think it would be lovely to be at home every day instead of going out to work.

When Ed was off with his tours, she could plan simple meals or take-out food, and never leave the house other than to drop-off and collect the kids from school.

This dream of endless hours of leisure was one she clung to when her office was full of demanding customers who needed help with even simple things like filling out forms, or using the debit machine.

The reality, however, did not match up to her imagination.

With this virus thing affecting everything and everyone, she found herself at home with two kids every day and a bored and grumpy husband who wanted three meals a day, complete with snacks, of all things.

This is not a hotel, Ed! she complained, bitterly. "I know you are used to room service and laundered shirts on your coach tours, but this is not that. You need to step up and help me with the kids and clean up after yourself for a change. We don’t know how long this pandemic situation will last and we all have to make sacrifices."

She considered that she had been sensible and mature, in her appeal to her husband’s better nature, but the response was not at all what she hoped for.

Ed jumped up from the table scattering newspaper all around and left the house. She noticed the only things he took with him were his phone and his wallet. Although his behaviour had been increasingly odd lately, this sudden departure was a shock.

She turned to Travis who had come in from the living room in time to hear his mother’s complaints, and when she saw her son’s stricken expression, she modulated her voice and asked him to fetch Chelsea for a walk to the park. Chelsea loved the swings and lately most people with children were not even going there for fear of contamination.

Barbara would sit on a bench and ponder her options while Travis entertained his little sister for a while.

She was glad her son had such a kind nature. Most boys would resist looking after a sister four years younger, but Travis had always been willing to walk to school with Chelsea and watch out for her at recess. He must realize his mother had enough to do with her job downtown and his dad’s coach tours taking him away so often. There were days when Barbara felt unappreciated and overburdened and Travis was the only one she could call on for help.

---

The streets were almost empty. They passed an older man walking his dog but he rushed by without exchanging a word. Most of the houses on their route to the park had two cars parked in the driveway indicating both parents were now at home.

She wondered when life would return to normal, but normal was a long way behind the Bensons. Normal left when Elizabeth Mowat decided to abandon her husband and live with her mother in that awful ruin of a house so far out of town.

Of course, Opal the Wonderful had jumped right into that situation to support her mother and grandmother, and gain ‘good girl’ points. As far as Barbara knew, Opal’s efforts there still continued despite all the official warnings to isolate from everyone to prevent further spread of the virus.

She did not know this for sure, as she had not communicated with Opal for weeks now.

The one message Opal left on her machine, she ignored.

Barbara felt acid settle in her stomach as she thought about her sister. It was all right for Opal. With only the one child and a husband who came to her aid whenever she wanted, she was free to run off to the countryside and help to clear out the Goodwin attic, or whatever else she did there.

Did Opal Rodriguez ever think to offer help to her sister?

Oh, no! That never happened. Even when they were three small children at home, Opal had been much closer to their brother Aaron. If not for her father Noah, Barbara Mowat would have been a very lonely child. Thinking back, she wondered why Elizabeth had been such a distant mother to her.

She skipped quickly past the thought of her father at home alone these days. She had not contacted him at all. Noah Mowat was really on his own now.

Darn it! This stupid virus has meant I have too much time to think about the past. I need to concentrate on the future.

What, Mom? Do you want to go home now?

"Not yet, Travis! I was just thinking out loud.

Keep an eye on Chelsea, dear, so she does not swing too high."

Barbara Benson raised her coat collar up around her ears. It was going to be a long, grim winter and who knew what spring would bring to the world? Canada was taking stringent measures to hold back an epidemic, but every television news program detailed how widespread this virus had gone in Europe.

She could not think about Europe. Her thoughts needed to stay anchored to her own home.

How long would their savings last with no money coming into the house?

She had asked Ed to do a sweep of the grocery stores to buy food supplies. He had returned with hand sanitizer and toilet paper and a bag of potatoes, saying that was what most people were loading into their shopping carts.

She could not believe it. A bag of potatoes? Who was expected to peel them? For how long would that feed his children? She did not even know how to make French fries!

Where were the cans of food that would last for weeks?

Ed had shrugged and said she should have given him a list.

Honestly, was the man she married that stupid?

It was a sign of how removed he really was from normal life with a family.

This health crisis was making it very clear how badly this family of Bensons was coping.

Even if they all escaped the virus, what would be left of them?

Barbara stood up and tried to shake off her dire thoughts. This was not like her. She could usually pass off miserable feelings and move onto something more pleasing.

She called to her children and promised to pick up pizza on the way home. Take-out places were still operating. They all needed a treat. Travis and Chelsea could stand outside the pizza place and then all three would run home as fast as they could.

She hoped there would be no pizza slices left for their father whenever he decided to return.

Ed

He drove along city streets that were almost empty compared to this time on a normal day.

His normal day of driving a luxury coach was so much better than huddling at home with a discontented wife and two children who looked to him for daily amusement.

God! He missed his evenings in the hotels when, after a sumptuous meal in the dining room with pleasant and appreciative female company, he could relax with a drink or two at the bar and when all the old biddies had gone off to bed early, he could take the woman of the moment up to his room with him. These women never complained. The old adage about older women ran true in his estimation.

‘They don’t tell, and they don’t swell.’

Crude but factual!

He thought about Cornelia. She was a darling. She was a charming widow with money, accompanying her elderly aunt on the coach tour of the Niagara region.

Cornelia was very well preserved, with all the tweaks modern plastic surgery could offer, and she was expert in bed. He more or less lay back and let her set the pace.

He loved the way she resumed her cool, cultured attitude the next morning with never a hint of the exciting times they shared the night before. He felt more enthused than ever for their next night together, but took his cue from her. Cool and collected. No one must suspect anything untoward was going on. His job depended on that.

Cornelia. He could almost see her thick, dark hair and smell the expensive scent she wore.

She had exquisite taste in clothes. Nothing but the best for her!

She could well afford private escorted tours with her aunt. He chose to think she preferred to travel with him, as they had met on more than one of his tours by now.

Reminiscing brought his temperature up.

He pulled over at a deserted shopping plaza and stopped near the phone booth. He knew her home number from the tour registrations. He had never dared call her at home before. It was an unwritten rule of