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“Yes.” Colette was thoughtful. “I hope I can give him some stability when we get back to Buffalo.”
“Not to worry, dear.” Clive gave her a warm smile. “Once we get this notebook thing sorted out, and I can settle Randolph’s estate, we’ll discuss your future.”
Colette looked surprised. “Myfuture?”
“Yes. And Max’s.” Clive had some important information to share with Colette and was weighing when it would be appropriate to say something to her about it. It could wait. At least a few days.
“I don’t understand.” Colette looked worried.
“Don’t be concerned. I’d like to know what your plans are. Your career ambitions. Your wish list for life.”
“You have been truly kind to me.”
“Randolph was very fond of you. He once told me that you were more respectful and caring than his son and that shrew, Rowena. Sorry. I shouldn’t call people names.”
Colette had a devilish look in her eye. “I can tellyousomething. The staff used to sing the song fromOne Hundred and One Dalmatians.” Colette sang the first line. “Rowena-de-Vil, Rowena-de-Vil . . .”
Clive burst out laughing. “Now, that is funny. Wait until I tell Logan. Better yet, you can tell him.”
“Where is he?”
“Trying to figure out how to get an Internet connection. He’s a little less comfortable than I am without it. At least for a day or so. People need to unplug once in a while.”
“Yes, I remember Mr. Randolph said before his heart condition got worse that he wouldn’t allow any business to be conducted in the home. I don’t know how he was able to build such an incredible business without working around the clock.”
“Well, that’s just it,” Clive went on to explain. “When Randolph was younger, his father badgered him about taking over the family business. Which, by the way, was nowhere near as huge as it is today. Don’t misunderstand. Millstone Enterprises was worth several million dollars when Randolph was in his early twenties, but he went on to prove himself to his father and expanded the company into what it is today.”
“I still don’t understand.” Colette looked perplexed.
“The first forty years of his marriage he was a workaholic. Back then, there was no Internet. No digital communications. He had to spend most of his time at the office, traveling, or on the telephone. In 1969, when Arthur was twelve, his mother developed a serious drinking and drug issue, unbeknownst to most. The drinking was obvious, but her addiction to valium and amphetamines resulted in a horrendous death.”
“Valiumandamphetamines?” Colette looked shocked and surprised.
“Yes. Amphetamines to get her out of bed after a night of drinking and barbiturates. She was a disaster waiting to happen.”
“Oh my goodness. I had no idea. No one ever spoke of it.”
“Probably because everyone felt responsible. It wasn’t a secret, but no one had the courage to speak up. People looked the other way, even when she would pass out in a chair during a dinner party. But it all came together in a horrendous climax when Gloria died of an overdose. It was a long time ago. As I said, Arthur was only twelve.”
Colette was still in a state of disbelief.
“Everyone felt guilty. Except for Arthur. He was more peeved that his mother wasn’t around to dote on him. I don’t think he ever really mourned her, and he would have temper tantrums. People thought he was just ‘acting out,’ but he had always been a brat if you ask me. So, after Gloria died, Randolph decided that family was more important, and he would make it his mission to be home for dinner every night. No phone calls. No business. He wanted to focus on Arthur.”
Colette murmured a hum.
“Yes. It boggles the mind. Randolph put the brakes on his business to concentrate on his son, who was always getting into one kind of trouble or another. Small things in his teens. He wrecked a few expensive sports cars and dropped out of college three years in a row. Randolph gave him a job at the company hoping he’d be able to teach Arthur something about responsibility. But then Arthur would go to Randolph and ask for an advance, a loan. Nothing major in their world of money. A few thousand here, a few thousand there. Randolph hoped against hope that Arthur would get his act together.”
Clive paused, then gave a wry smile. “One evening after Randolph had bailed Arthur out of his gambling debt, he told me he thought maybe they had switched babies in the hospital, and he was given some hooligan’s son instead of his own.”
“Mr. Randolph must have been devastated.” Colette shook her head in shock. “When did Arthur marry Sylvia?” Colette asked.
“Arthur met Sylvia when he was thirty. Nice woman. Randolph hoped that Arthur would settle down. Have a family. Be accountable. They tried to have children, but it wasn’t in the cards, as they say. Things were relatively calm. Almost normal until a few years ago.”
“Is that when he met Rowena?” Colette was putting the timeline together.
“Rowena and his gambling debt were like the perfect storm. They both hit Arthur within a year of each other. Arthur had joined a club the year before and got into serious debt. He had a penchant for poker. Unfortunately, he and the cards were not in a mutually admiring relationship. He was on a serious losing streak, to the tune of $100,000. Randolph had to bail him out for fear Arthur would end up in a wheelchair, or possibly a grave. The people to whom he owed the money do not mess around.
“It seemed that as soon as that crisis was averted, in blows the Rowena tornado. Randolph thought Arthur was going through a second midlife crisis. In retrospect, it’s been a whole-life crisis with Arthur.”
