Chapter 22: Milestones, Memories and Karma

Although happy to be retired now, former cat burglar and money launderer Luke Hans Diarmid still kept himself in shape. He worked out at the gym every day. For his age he was still exceptionally fit and agile and could out run a man half his age on the treadmill.

He also kept his hand in when it came to the stealth and ninja style reflexes he had honed over the years. A part of him still missed the thrill his old profession had given him. So once a week he would put on his blacks and break into his own house, make his way into someones bedroom and silently rummage through their stuff - unseen, unheard, a black panther stalking his prey for nothing more than the pleasure of knowing he could still do it.

Luke and Marjorie had been married for 40 years. They had survived many ups and downs. They knew each other so very well and they had held on to their marriage through the good and bad times.

Luke's gift to his wife was a limited edition candy pink Ernatto Beratti. Marjorie loved it, now that she was mixing with the elite in the movie industry, it really gave her a buzz. Although she looked a little nervous clutching the wheel and peering through the windscreen and rarely got the thing out of third gear.

And of course they had to celebrate their Ruby Wedding with a family gathering. It was a very nostalgic time for both of them as they reminisced about the old days. Luke laughed about how Marjorie's mother scared the living daylight's out of him the first time he called over at their house to see Marjorie.

Cree loved that story.

Tessa was still alive and well and looking remarkably good for a great grandmother. Cree asked her if it was true that she tried to scare off her Grandpa when he came courting her Grandma.

Tessa pretended she did not remember the incident at all. "I'm sure I did not! I believe in manners and proper behaviour I'll have you know, young woman. Something I always instilled into my girls, and I led by example....." but then her dislike of the Diarmids seemed to come back to her, "but that young upstart....he was little more than an urchin. A fatherless, penniless, raggedy urchin.....with ideas above his station!"

"Did you know my other great grandma?" Cree quickly asked trying to distract Tessa off the subject of Luke. "She died before I was born, so I never knew what she was like...."

But the diversion led to more badmouthing.

"You mean the animal wrangler?" Tessa spat with distaste. "That woman was always bringing live vermin onto the property and running wild in the country....heaven knows what diseases and infestations she brought upon that house. Yes. Yes, she died on your father's wedding day - a curse if ever there was one. Well of course that's been completely apparent...."

Cree understood only too well what Tessa meant.

Cree glanced back into the living room and noted her supposedly now sober mother mixing and pouring fancy cocktails at the bar while her Dad hovered nervously in the background with a distressed look on his face.

Cree never saw her mother with a drink in her hand all day. She tried one of the cocktails herself to test for alcoholic strength and there was definitely a good slurp of liquor in the drinks. Both Cree and Curtis were watching her like hawks.

But Leonie was the picture of decorum. She prepared the food for a family dinner and had baked a large cake for the dessert that had the words "The first forty are for practice. Now the fun really starts" piped in icing on the top.

"Maybe Cree will bake us a cake and ice that on it when we reach 40 years." Leonie commented as she served the cake. Curtis nearly dropped his piece on the floor in shock. It was all he could do to keep his face straight and stifle the guffaw that threatened to escape.

As they ate, Leonie glanced towards Tara as she helped herself and continued "Maybe we should have had more children Curtis. Children are so comforting as you get into old age and having an only child, Cree might just go off and leave us you know."

Curtis could not help side-eyeing her incredulously. Was she even on this planet he wondered?

A few days later Cree and Curtis were eating some lunch together when Cree broached the subject of her mother's recent behaviour.
"Dad, do you think Mum is doing alright?" Cree asked tentatively.
Curtis was alert. "What makes you say that Cree?" he asked
"Well....she just seems a little bit odd. And doing strange things...like mixing all those cocktails the other day. There was dozens of them all lined up. Do you think she should even be hanging around the bar?"
"Yeah I noticed that too sweet-pea. She seems to be staying sober though..." Curtis had no evidence to say otherwise, but he still felt suspicious too. "All we can do is be on the look out and make sure she's okay."

One afternoon Curtis was practising on the drums. The band was in huge demand lately and they had added some more numbers to their set. Marjorie, couldn't help getting her party on whenever Curtis was playing. She was very proud of her son's one and only talent. Curtis was giving it all he'd got enjoying his mother's dancing - the old girl could still strut her stuff.

Suddenly he looked up and there was Leonie - joining in, but she was wearing only a bikini. Curtis did a double take. Why was Leonie wearing a bikini in the middle of winter and dancing with vigour around the living room. Wasn't she supposed to be at work?

Marjorie was just so into the music she didn't seem to notice what Leonie was wearing, or care. That's a trio of party animals right there.

The next day Marjorie was trying to meet her deadline with a script about a dysfunctional family, when she heard Cree confronting Leonie in the next room. It appeared that it was all about to kick off between them and Marjorie wasn't at all surprised.

Cree had seen her mother acting weird and loitering suspiciously next to one of the living room chairs. It looked as though she was stuffing something down the back of it behind the cushion. Quietly she entered the living room and silently walked up behind her. Leonie swung around with a start.
"Cree!" she exclaimed.
"Yes mother? Sorry did I interrupt you?" Cree asked sarcastically.
"No, no....I was just..."
"Forget it mother! Don't waste your breath with the lies. Looks like your clean and sober phase is over then?"

Leonie waved her hands in Cree's direction. "Now wait a minute honey. Just hold on and calm down here, okay? Its not what you think."
"How the hell would you know what I think?" yelled Cree, "You hardly even know who I am!"
"Whoa! Hold ON Cree. You can not speak to me like that - I am your mother, after all is said and done."
Cree felt the anger rising. This woman who dared to call herself her mother had barely spent more than five minutes at a time with her as far as she could remember her whole life. She was either drunk or high or at a party or going to a party, she was either leaving or not interested or just not there, she was too busy, or too out of it much of the time and for years she had been in and out of rehab, hospitals and therapy.
"You are not my mother!" yelled Cree. "You have no right to call yourself that! I HAVE NO MOTHER LEONIE."

Cree watched as a look of horror and disbelief spread across Leonie's increasingly red face. She spluttered and choked trying to get some words out.

Then the anger took hold of Leonie and she launched a venomous verbal attack on Cree.
"You ungrateful little minx. I wished I'd never had you. You ruined my LIFE! And you can get out of my house - I don't want you here. I never want to see you again!"

"Hah! Well no change there!" replied Cree.

"And just for the record, this is not your house! You don't have a house! You bludge off my Grandma and Grandpa, so you can't throw me out. But hey, don't let me stop YOU from leaving. There's the door there....don't trip yourself up over your hidden bottles and empties on your way out, Leonie."
Cree spat her mother's name with so much pent up bitterness, that Leonie was unable to  counter attack.

This was a day of reaping what she'd been sowing for sixteen years.