Deceased Estate

Every week, Ellie found some new aspect of her job that she really liked.  One thing often led to another, but even so, she was just really enjoying her job.

After last week's rather embarrassing episode when she thought GG might have been supplying drugs, and then found out that it was simply some special orders for a man with exotic tastes, Ellie did wonder whether she had blown it a bit, but it seemed like rather the opposite.  If anything, GG seemed even more confident in her, more relaxed about how she was going.  She could really put her finger on it to clearly explain why she felt like that, but there was not doubt in her mind that there was no negative vibes as an outcome of last week, and that somehow she had won some respect - respect that maybe she didn't deserve.

When Ellie took the morning tea into GG's office he said "Ellie, I've got a job for you.  Do you think you're up to it?"

"I won't know till you tell me what it is, will I?"

"Well that's true enough.  What I was wondering was whether you could go through all the books at old Jenkin's house and pick out what you think is worth putting on the shelves.  His daughter Margaret called me earlier and asked if we were interested in her Dad's old books and if we could do something of a valuation, or at least identify any books that were worth selling.  She wants us to start today, and I have got my Lodge to prepare for this evening and so ..."

"Well, you know how much I love books, but I am not sure if I know enough yet to know what we could sell."

"You've been picking things up pretty well, Ellie, and I suppose you need to start somewhere.  How about if we set it up so that you do the basic work today, and tomorrow morning I follow you through the house and see if you have left any treasures behind.  That would be good for both of us.  I could also check through what you have chosen, as well, and see if you chose rubbish.  Its the best way to learn, you know - jump right in."

"If you think it is time for me to have a go, then by all means I will.  Would I be able to drive your little van down there?"

"Of course - so long as you put your little P-plates on properly."  Ellie had passed her final stage of learner driving back in September and she really liked being able to drive, but as yet she didn't have her own car.

"What time do you think I should go?"

GG reached over his desk and got a piece of paper with a phone number on it.  "Ring Margaret and see when would suit her.  I said that we would do it, and I would get back to her to arrange a time."  Ellie did that as soon as she got back into the shop and it was agreed that she would be there as close to 1pm as she could.  She knew where the old house was - just up on the hill overlooking Main Street, Roe Street she thought it was called.

When it was time for lunch, Ellie was glad to catch Candy so they could eat together at the Trattoria.  What did Eula have for the punters today?  Some of the other shops in town had started using those rather thin French rolls, called Parisiennes - Eula thought they were just diet versions of a good panini.  Anyway because they were narrower, it took less ingredients to make them good, so she thought she would have a try.  Chicken and avocado always went down well with the locals, but some were more adventurous, wanting flavours that were part of Eula's Neapolitan signature at La Trattoria.  One that had taken off quite well was prosciutto with grilled egg plant, sun-dried tomatoes and capers.  Ellie stayed in safe territory today asking for a chicken and avocado Parisienne, and a cappuccino, of course.  It was a constant delight to her since leaving school that she didn't have to eat school canteen food.

Candy was full of stories to share, but Ellie soon got onto her good news for the day.  She was pleased to have been trusted with what was an important job.  They made plans together for their weekend.  It was likely to be a good weekend for taking in the beach.  Plenty of the boys will be trying to show off their prowess.  Hopefully the waves will cooperate.

She got back to the shop at a quarter to one, in time to get the keys for the van, find her little red P-plates and get them attached front and back to the van, and then drive to the old Jenkin's place.  Mr Jenkins had been born in this house more than ninety years ago, his parents having bought the house in 1898.  It wasn't new then and it was one of the few Victorian-style mansions left in Quarabup.  It had wide verandahs on two sides and several large buildings around it to ensure it is not forgotten that if was built in the days of carriages, stables and staff quarters.  Built on an acre of land, it had lovely gardens now and was a regular Open-Garden for the community to come and see it in the different seasons of the year, always raising money for good causes in the town.

Margaret greeted Ellie with a wide open door as she stepped onto the verandah.  Ellie remembered the circumstances.  "I'm sorry to hear about your dad."

"He was pretty old really, and it was really hard work for him the last couple of years.  He was ready, and somehow, I am not as sad as I thought I would be."  Margaret spoke gently and with obvious pride or love for her Dad.

"Was he sick?" Ellie asked.

"No, not really.  He was simply very tired.  Everything was an effort for him these days.  He just didn't wake up one morning.  That was back in September."

"I guess it must be hard going through his things and all.  Do you have any brothers and sisters to help?"

"No, Ellie, there's just me. Would you like some tea while we chat?  I have boiled the kettle."

One thing that GG had taught Ellie was the value of a good cup of tea when there was some talking to do.  She had grown to enjoy it, really, and felt like it was rather grown up.  She agreed that it would be nice to have tea.

"My Mum got sick after I was born," continued Margaret without any sense of break in her rhythm, "and she couldn't have any more babies - which meant I was the special one all my life.  My dad was a bit of an adventurer, though.  There were times when I think he wished he could have been an explorer but of course, everything around here had been explored.  They took me out bush a lot and I am really glad about that.  Mum enjoyed it too.  I remember one time they went right out along the coast east of here.  No fancy four wheel drives like now - just a windy old Land Rover.  But my Dad built his own trailer to go behind it and he packed a big tent into the trailer and tons of other stuff.  There are lots of little rivers coming out along the coast there, and we would just find a spot, make a clearing and camp.  Sometimes we would stay a day and move on, other times we would camp in one place for a week or more."

"What did you do?"  Ellie couldn't imagine spending that kind of time alone with your parents right out in the bush - no friends, not TV or even radio.

"Dad would take me for walks through the bush, looking for native orchids.  He was really good at spotting them, even when they didn't have flowers.  He kept a little diary of the plants he spotted and he would even sketch them so that he would know what they looked like at that time of year.  And my mum would teach me how to cook.  Because I was off playing with my friends, she could show me stuff.  I loved it.

"And if we were staying for a while, my dad would rig up as big an aerial as he could between some trees and attach it to a crystal radio so he could listen to his radio serials - they were like reading books for him, except that he read books too.  That's why I think there might be some good ones, worth selling."

Ellie took this as a signal to get up and start the work she had come to do.  "Where abouts are the books now?" she asked.

"This house was always too big for us, even when I was at home, so the front room next to the lounge room has been a study-come-library for Dad since ever I can remember.  He did like his books and he was always buying new ones.  Here it is.  There are lots for you to go through.  I had better let you get on with it."

Margaret left Ellie along and she began by surveying the room to see if there was any kind of plan to the book shelves.  Her first impression was that everything was so much in order that there was probably very little that wouldn't be of value.  She couldn't imagine adding this many books to the stock in the shop, so perhaps they could send some on consignment to the various antiquarian and other bookshops in Perth.  Her real job was to see if there were any treasures hidden among the mainly good books.

Treasures were more likely to be old books - that is what antiquarian means after all - so Ellie began on a rather wade bookshelf just to the left of the fireplace.  There were some very old leather bound books with gold-leaf engraving on the spines.  She thought they might even be older than the house.  As she thumbed through these she found some old English novels - classics like Jane Austin and Charles Dickens - and these seemed genuinely old, not just modern facsimile editions.  Then she saw some that looked like they were about Australian explorers - one was a diary by John Eyre, there was another by a clergymen from the Swan River Colony, a Mr Warburton, and there was a book about the Kelly Gang.

Then she saw some books that looked more recent - cloth covered bindings and these seemed to be a collection of much later adventurers.  There was one by Kingsford Smith about his plane trip across the Pacific.  There was an earlier one by Shackleton about his journey to Antarctica.  There was a whole lot of them, and a few even had been signed by their authors.  Mr Jenkins was a real collector.

Ellie decided that there were so many good books that probably the best thing to do was make up a list of the ones she thought either might sell in their own shop, or could be passed on for sale in Perth.  It wasn't until about four thirty that she felt like she had done justice to the task, and went off to find Margaret, who was in the garden doing a little bit of pruning to get the roses flowering again.