Succession Planning
‘Happy birthday, son.’ John’s father raised the glass with such vigour that orange juice drenched Ava’s perfectly poached eggs. ‘Your mother and I wanted you to have this before the party, but before you open the card I want to say—’
‘Save the speech for tonight, Colin,’ Marjorie interjected. ‘Let him open it and be surprised.’
His father thrust an envelope at John. ‘Here you go, son.’
‘Ooh, wait, wait!’ All eyes were on Marjorie and her awkward grab at the camera on the kitchen counter. ‘Move, Colin, out of the way quickly. I want to capture John’s expression.’
Marjorie squinted into the viewfinder as John looked, bemused, from the envelope to his father, who had obediently retreated into the background.
‘Open it!’ Impatience crept into Marjorie’s tone as John slowly withdrew the birthday card. Inside he found a cheque made out to him, and his mother’s neat handwriting filled the entire left-hand side. ‘Give it to me, I’ll read it for you, darling.
‘To our wonderful son, on your twenty-first birthday.
Your father and I could not be more proud of all you’ve achieved and all you will achieve. We wanted to let you know we feel you’re ready to take on a more direct role and we want to get you started. We know this year will be the beginning of something very special. Happy birthday, son. We wish you and Katie a wonderful night and, as always, our love and best wishes for your future.
Mum and Dad.’
‘Are… are you kidding me?’ John could barely get the words out.
‘The money is to be banked and used wisely,’ Colin said. ‘It’s to kick-start your future. Your mother and I, in consultation with the O’Briens, agree the timing is right. You know they’re older than we are, and with Pat’s health not the best, they’re keen to retire in town sooner rather than later. Katie is very capable, and after much discussion and reassurance from your mother and me, they’ve decided to arrange for her to have a living inheritance. But the girl will need your help and Mum and I thought an early inheritance from us also makes sense. It means you can work together, learn together, and do what you’ve been dying to do. We wanted to start by giving you this.’
‘It’s the deeds to Great-great-grandpa’s land? Holy cow!’
‘You’re keen to plant those trees on the ridgeline. We can see the merit in investing money in the place, son, and agree new guest cabins by the river will get a return on investment.’
‘Your father’s talking to a man he met at the pub a few weeks back who built some sheds on a property out Lourdesford way. The man wants more work and Dad went out to inspect the quality. The bank will lend us the majority of the money we need, based on the value of Ivy-May.’
‘Maybe we can ask the Lourdesford guy about the old homestead site and—’
‘John, John, John.’ Marjorie smiled. ‘One step at a time, darling. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to consider all the Ivy-May plans you and Katie have been rabbiting on about for as long as I can remember.’ His mother looked genuinely pleased. He’d never seen her smile so much. ‘About Katie, John, I want you to think seriously about consolidating your futures sooner rather than later.’
‘Consolidating?’
‘She’s finished with school and turning eighteen. You’re twenty-one. We want to see you settled.’
‘Sounds like you and Dad are going somewhere.’ John avoided the Katie reference. How many times had he told his parents that he and Katie were mates and that was all? The only thing they had in common was the same ideas about diversifying their family properties. One day John had foolishly joked about Katie and him having competing businesses. It had got her started on the benefits of amalgamation – she’d quoted her economics teacher.
‘Why would I want to compete with you?’ she’d told him. ‘Two heads are better than one, and pooling ideas and funds makes perfect fiscal sense.’
John had let the comments go undisputed. Now he was wishing he’d set things straight, rather than letting the situation fester. He had only himself to blame, which was why he was determined to break the news to his parents and Katie once the birthday event was over and life returned to normal. With Ava’s bombshell in the car about leaving Ivy-May to travel, John felt a growing urgency to make her see what she meant to him. While he didn’t want her to go and wouldn’t try to stop her fulfilling her dad’s wish that she see his hometown, he sure as hell needed to make sure she came back to him. No longer could he imagine his future, his life on Ivy-May, without Ava by his side and in his bed.
*
Ava had been busying herself in the kitchen, keeping the noise to a minimum to avoid disrupting the family round-table. The moment appeared to be significant, with smiles all round and the occasional exclamation from John. Marjorie’s voice, as commanding as ever, allowed Ava to eavesdrop.
‘Succession planning is important,’ the woman was telling her son. ‘Remember, the money is not to be wasted.’
‘That said, John,’ Colin added, ‘you need to get all those other things you want to do out of the way first.’
‘There are no things I need to do. Everything’s right here, Dad. Everything and everyone important to me and my future is right here, right now,’ he said, with added volume for Ava’s benefit.
‘We know we don’t need to ask, but I felt it important that your father and I know for sure that you’re ready to settle down on the land.’
‘Believe me, there’s nothing else I want.’
‘What about travel? We wouldn’t mind if you wanted to use some of the money for that. The Richardson boys both spent a large part of last year overseas. One married a young Balinese girl and hasn’t come home. Your father and I need to know you’re committed to a future in Candlebark Creek so we can confidently make our own plans.’
John laughed. ‘I won’t need to run off to Bali or anywhere else to find a bride, Mum. Ivy-May has been in our family for generations, it’s my future and all I want. I’ll bank the cheque while I work out what I want to do first around the place.’
‘Together, you and Katie will do wonderful things, I’m sure.’
‘We don’t need to combine properties. Ivy-May is big enough to support my ideas. Katie and I might have dreamed up lots of things as kids, but—’
‘Let me remind you, John,’ Marjorie said. ‘The O’Brien land was part of our original Tate family title, granted to your great-great-grandfather in early 1900. We were the biggest and best, until your grandfather stupidly sold bits off.’
Colin grunted a rare disparaging remark. ‘Gave away, more like it.’
‘He needed money,’ John replied. ‘That’s what Grandpa always said. They were in drought for years.’
‘And as the lucky generation you, John, have the opportunity to right that wrong. A union with Katie will make Ivy-May the biggest again. Why are you looking at me like that?’
*
‘A union?’ John’s throat seized up, making him swallow, cough and choke all at once.
‘Imagine the income potential and what you’d be handing down to your own children.’
‘Children?’ John’s eyes popped open. He didn’t dare mention his idea of a baker’s dozen. ‘Just slow down a minute.’ He jumped up, hugged his mother. ‘I love you, guys, but can we slow things down? One step at a time, that’s what you told me, Mum, and my first step is outside for some air. This is serious money to get my head around.’
‘Go on, you cheeky bugger.’ Marjorie clucked. ‘We can talk about all this after your party.’
‘Yeah, after the party,’ John said. ‘We’ll definitely talk then.’