hurt, but the business has folded. We tried so hard, Katie, we’ve been keeping the bank and all the suppliers at arm’s length for a while and it’s finally collapsed. I’m so disappointed for Luke, for us all. Gerry and I thought we were building for his future, but we have lost everything.’
Francesca paused to gulp back a sob.
‘We sank every penny into the new building company. We thought Luke would step into his dad’s shoes when the time was right, we thought it was going to set him up for life, but the developer was a charlatan, Kate, a total con artist. I still can’t believe it! We might even lose the house…’
‘Oh, Fran! That’s terrible; I know how excited you all were…’
Kathryn knew that her sister’s share of their parents’ legacy had been the primary funding for Gerry’s business. Their dad had worked so hard all his life. Infrequent trips to the seaside at Abersoch were his treat, but beyond that he had saved and saved to finally own a three-bedroomed semi-detached slice of Croydon, now all gone…
What to say next, Kathryn? What she wanted to say was, ‘My poor darling, my poor little sister, that is the most terrible news. Come here for a few days, all of you and let me look after you and spoil you. We can drink tea and make a plan. Nothing is as bad as it seems right now and whilst I can’t make it all go away, it will be good if you can get away from it all. Luke can spend time with Dom and Lyds and we can stay up late like we used to and drink wine and chat. It will all be okay, darling, because I am your big sister and I can make it feel better…’ Instead, she heard a faint sigh from Mark, losing patience at the end of his receiver in the study, and she heard herself speak, staccato and automatic.
‘Well if there is anything you need, do shout. Mark and I will of course do anything we can to help.’
Kathryn used Mark’s name to ingratiate herself, hoping he recognised her loyalty. She listened to her sister’s silence. She could picture Francesca replaying her words in her head with incredulity: ‘Do shout?’
She tried to fill the void with the first thing that popped into her head.
‘What’s the weather like in York?’
Her words were banal and regretful. A small tear trickled down her cheek. She willed her baby sister to hear her unspoken apology.
Francesca could not contain her surprise or disappointment.
‘What’s the weather like in York? Did you not hear what I said, Kathryn? We have lost everything! Everything! And you want to talk about the bloody weather?’
‘I… I…’
Kathryn’s tears fell thick and fast as she tried to find the words, the words that would please everyone, the words that would appease and comfort her darling sister in her moment of need and would not incur the wrath of her husband. Sadly, there were no such words.
‘You know what, Kate, forget it, forget I called and forget my news. We will manage just fine. You sit tight in your four-bedroomed Georgian splendour and enjoy your bloody coffee mornings and your view of the cricket pitch and we will figure this out for ourselves!’
‘Francesca, I—’ She tried to interrupt her sister.
‘No, don’t bother saying another word. I am finished with you, not that either of us will notice much difference. You haven’t been there for me for years; I guess I’m not in your league. Do you know what, Katie? I never thought that I would say this, but you think you are so high and mighty. You may have an idyllic little life, but I really don’t like who or what you have become…’
Francesca let the phrase hang in the air as she ended the call. One small push of a button and she was gone, just like that.
Kathryn held the receiver between her palms and hung her head forward. She whispered through her tears, though no one was listening.
‘Neither do I, my darling. Neither do I.’
Mark came through into the kitchen and placed his hand on her shoulder, alerting her to his presence and causing her to stand up straight and swallow her tears.
‘Is everything all right, Kathryn? That sister of yours not been upsetting you, has she?’
She stared at his face, which did not betray the slightest indication that he had heard the whole exchange, and shook her head.