All Alone - 4. Alo Chapter 4

Thursday February 1st

“Oh, I see, well thank you for informing me, as you may know, I didn’t get on with my folks very well, after they learnt of my sexual orientation, soon after completing high school, and they have not bothered to stay in touch with me over the past nine years. The last I heard from them, was when I was 21, and they were leaving to travel to Scotland, and they had put the farm up for long term lease” I responded.

“Yes, your parents informed me of that situation, but even with that situation they still loved you, and you are the sole heir to their property and belongings, that includes the 2,238 acre home farm, known as, Chilimony Estate, 16 kms north of Northampton, which recently had the lease renewed, for a further 4 years.

There is a larger property, with 11,612 acres in the lower half and 2,964 acres in the top half in area, located on Brooks Road, 56 kms north of Northampton, called Galea Estate, which has been leased out since they bought it 20 years ago, also the bank account, that has a sum of just under $143,000 being the proceeds of the rental agreement with your neighbour, for the past 9 years, and $317,700 being the proceeds of the rental agreement with the larger property, which is due for renew of its lease in 3-months’ time. You have also inherited some property and money from your grandmother” the lawyer informed me.

“Well I didn’t expect all of that, especially from Gran”, I replied, “Well she was quite well off in her own right, she owns her home, a 4-bedroom stone cottage, near Strathgordon, in Scotland, which sits on 2acres of land, she also owns four other cottages in the nearby village, which she leases out, and there is a bank account with £865,000, from the rental fees of the cottages for the past 16 years, plus her personal bank account that has an additional £652,000” the Lawyer informed me.

“Holy Smokes, that seems a lot, what is that in Australian Dollars?” I asked, “I calculate it to be around $2,755,000 dollars Australian, in total, at today’s rate” the lawyer announced, and I was so shocked at the amount, I didn’t know what to say. “Are you still there Lloyd? Are you ok?” the lawyer asked concerned at the long silence. “Err, yes I am here, just a little speechless that’s all” I answered.

“That’s not counting the properties here and in Scotland. The farm here is valued at $2.4 million, and the five cottages and land in Scotland are valued together at £1.3 million or $2.18 million, congratulations, you are a very wealthy young man” the lawyer said to me, “Err, thankyou I guess, I never really cared about having lots of money, I am not sure what to do with it all” I replied.

“Well for now just leave it as it is, and the investments will continue to grow, I have already dealt with the Scottish Inheritance Tax, which was £49,000 in total, so the figures I gave you, are after all the taxes have been paid, so now I have your mobile number, we need to keep in touch, I will talk to you again soon, bye for now Lloyd” the lawyer said and he ended the call.

Looking up the contacts directory on my phone, I located the number for the farm, and I wondered if the number was still connected as I pressed call, and moments later the ring tone sounded. “Galena Farm, David Henderson speaking” a voice said when the call connected. “Err, hello, my name is Lloyd, I’ve just been informed of my parent’s death, and me inheriting the farm” I said, still not sure why I made the call in the first place.

“Hello Lloyd, yes I remember you as a young lad, I am sorry to hear of your parents passing, my condolences to you. Your very lucky to catch me here, as I was just doing my weekly check up on the homestead” David replied.

“I don’t know why I really called, I guess just to let you know of the change of owners, and that I am aware of the updated lease of the farm, which I am happy for it to continue” I said.

“That is good to know thank you, do I still pay the monthly rental into the same bank account?” David asked, “Yes that is fine thank you, that account is still operating, so that is fine. I am about to move from the city to a cattle station just south of Coral Bay, so just call Coral Coast Station, if you need to contact me, as there is no mobile coverage there” I said.

“Ok that is fine, thanks for letting me know, good luck with your new job, I hope it goes well there, oh and by the way, about three years ago, we had professional removers pack up and store all of your family’s belongings, so they won’t get damaged, in case of any natural disaster, or burglars, they are in a storage unit in Northampton.

I usually have a farm worker stay in the cottage, as caretaker for your farm during the seeding and harvest, so there is someone there for four months of the year” David said to me, ‘Thanks for that. I did wonder what happened with all of our family possessions, bye for now” I replied, and I ended the call.

Relieved that the business to do with the farm was easily sorted, Angus and I headed back to the apartment, where I decided to get a head start on travelling, so once I had given Angus some fresh water, I got started with packing the last of my belongings, that I had been using for the past three days, including the mattress on the floor and all of Angus’s bedding, food and bowls.

By 2.30pm, I had everything packed in the car and trailer, and taking one last look at the apartment, which has been my home for the past 9 years, I closed and locked the door, and slide the key through the mail slot, for the real estate agent. Once Angus was comfortable in the back seat, we set off north for our new home in the outback.

With an earlier departure than planned, I stopped at a roadhouse an hour north of Perth, for a quick toilet break for Angus, and while waiting for him, I realised that I needed to change my accommodation, and after three quick phone calls, I had made the necessary changes, with my first stop to be Geraldton, just over 3 ½ hours away now, with me arriving just before dark, and my second overnight stop would now be Carnarvon, five hours from Geraldton.

This would leave me with just 2 ½ hours of driving to the station on Saturday morning. Once we had settled into the motel, in Geraldton, I took Angus for a long walk, before searching out a place to get some dinner, and retiring to our motel room for the night. I decided to have a sleep in, after getting up at 3 am, to let Angus go out for a toilet break, and he woke me shortly after 8am, licking my face to indicate he needed to go out.

Friday February 2nd

So much for a long sleep in, but I was usually up at 6am on every week day, to go to work, so an extra two hours was good. Once we had packed and checked out of the motel, just over an hour later, I tookAngus for a walk along the beach, before I went to do some food shopping, then we set off once more, and after passing the town of Northampton, I thought of the farm, which was once my childhood farm.

I decided to call in to have a quick look, since the homestead is located just a short distance off the main highway, and 15 minutes later I turned off the North West Coastal Highway, onto Chilimony Road, where the front gate is located, with the slightly faded sign announcing that I had arrived at the farm. The 400-metre-long drive way brought back memories of me riding my push bike from the house to the highwayeach morning, and back again in the afternoon, on school days.

When I pulled up to the main homestead, the gardens were just as I remember them, and I had tears coming down my cheeks, and I remembered my happy childhood here, and the bitter last day that I was on the farm, so long ago, just over twelve years to precise. I let Angus out so he could wander around the homestead, and explore the gardens, as I took a closer look at my former home, walking around the homestead.

“Hey you, this is private property, get out of here before I call the cops” a voice said as I came back around to the front veranda, which had caught me by surprise as I hadn’t heard a vehicle approach, then I remembered what David Henderson, had said about staff living in the cottage part of the time. “Yes, it is private property, and I am the owner, Templeton is the name” I replied with a smile.

“No ya not, Dave Henderson is the owner of this place, now rack off mate, this is your last warning” the farm worker said aggressively, and Angus came up beside me and started growling at the man, and I told him to calm down, which he did, and lay down on the cool veranda beside my legs, as I retrieved my phone and dialled the number for the house. As it began to ring, the farm worker frowned.

“That is me calling the house number, so how do you think I knew the number if I wasn’t the owner” I said to the farm worker, as I ended the call. “We will see about that” the worker said as he pulled out his mobile and rang a number, “Dave, it is Pete here, I have a trespasser here at the Galena Homestead, and he claims he is the owner, said his name is Templeton” I heard the farm worker say into his phone.

After a few moments of listening he hung up the phone, and pocketed it, before facing me, “Err, my apologies Mr Templeton, I had no idea the farm was leased, please accept my apologies, and let me show you around the homestead paddock” the farm worker said to me. I smiled and nodded, “That would be good thanks, it has been twelve years since I last here, oh and this is my dog Angus” I replied.

After a full tour of the homestead, sheds, yards and the orchards, I thanked Pete for his time, and grabbing Angus, we climbed into my ute and headed off the property, where we continued our journey north, stopping every two hours to let Angus go to the toilet, and we arrived in Carnarvon, shortly after 3pm. Once checked into the motel, Angus and I went for a long walk along the coastline.

I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, watching a movie on the television, interrupted only by Angus wanting to go out for a toilet break, and wanting to go for another walk, which I was happy to do, but it was cut short when a thunderstorm arrived suddenly, and we headed back to the motel, as Angus was not very keen on thunderstorms.

Saturday February 3rd

We checked out of the motel at 7am, the next morning, as I was keen to get to the station, to see how the Satellite instalment was going, and with one final toilet break stop at the Roadhouse, we drove the last half an hour till we arrived at the Homestead compound, and I drove around to the staff undercover parking area, at the back. With Angus at my heels, we walked around to the front of the building and walked in.

It was empty inside, but I heard talking in the background, as Angus collapsed onto the cool tiles to rest. “Service please” I shouted out, and moments later a lady appeared. “Yes sir, how can I help you?” she said to me with a big smile, “I hope so Angela” I replied, and it took a few moments for her to make the connection.

“Lloyd, you have arrived early, that is wonderful” she said as she walked around to the front of the counter and gave me a big hug, and as she spotted the dog she frowned, and I chuckled.

“Angus, this is the boss lady, Angela, so you be good to her, ok?” I said to my dog, as he sat up and gave a short yap in response and wagged his tail happily. “Well hello young man, it’s nice to meet you” Angela said in response as she approached him, and Angus held out his paw for a hand shake, which made Angela chuckle, “Well aren’t you a well-behaved boy” Angela said as Angus laid down again.

“I heard you talking to someone, in the office?” I enquired to Angela, “Yes, we have a small crisis happening at the moment, which I am not too happy about, two of the satellite installers are making homophobic comments towards young Greg Price, and he is quite upset about it” Angela explained. Right away I grew angry on hearing this, “Angela, I am Gay, and since they are installing a dish for the law firm, please let me handle the workers” I said to the boss, and she smiled.

“They are having morning smoke at the living quarters” Angela said to me and I turned to Angus, “Stay boy, I won’t be long” and I stormed out of the building, and jumped onto the buggy parked out the front, and headed to the living quarters.

As I approached the building, I stopped and took a few breaths to calm down, before entering the main living area, where 5 men were gathered, I was a little surprised that there was so many of them to install the dish.

Silence had come to the room as I had entered, and I looked at the men, “Who is the supervisor for this job?” I asked, “What is it to you mate?” one man replied right away, “Barry, shut it, I am, and my name is Hugh Carter, how can I help you” another man spoke up.

“Yes, a moment of your time at the visitor centre please” I replied as I exited the building and stepped into the buggy and waited for Hugh Carter to follow. I remained silent for the short trip to the visitor centre and walked in where I saw Angela serving a customer.

Turning back to the supervisor, “Follow me please” I said to him, and I went through the door, and walked down to the conference room, entered and sat down, before reaching for the telephone and dialling a number I knew by heart, “Lloyd Templeton for Mr Nicholson please” I said when the call was answered, just as the supervisor entered and I indicated him to take a seat.