Chapter 1 - Twenty Years On

53 1 0
  • Dedicated to Jackie, Taryn, Ashleigh
                                    

Twenty Years On

The black Land Rover Discovery turned into the lane towards the back gates of the vast Benloch property.  Jeff remarked how little had changed in the twenty-three years since he had first driven his old, rusty Ford Fairlane along this narrow road, too quickly over the gravel and kicking up dust behind them.  In the back of the car, his son woke with a start, for a moment not recognising where he was.

His sister dug him in the ribs.  ‘Wake up.  We’re here.’

Jet had flown in from the UK that very morning, having started his journey home from Cambridge University some thirty hours before.  It had been his first Christmas away from the family, permission for which he had negotiated carefully when he found out an exquisite Russian archaeology student was staying in college over the holidays.  However, he had later confessed to his father secretly that his plan had been an almost total waste of time and that he regretted not coming home to Melbourne as planned.  The girl had not turned out to be quite as exquisite as he hoped, and the young buck had beaten a hasty retreat from her room first thing on Boxing Day morning.

The eighteen-year-old sportsman had received a very sympathetic hearing from his dad, who had then undoubtedly passed on the juicy snippets of information to his mother, judging by the knowing smile she had given him later in the day.  Jet didn’t mind.  He was very pleased to be back en famille, even if it did mean his kid sister was on hand to give him a hard time.

‘Grab this, please,’ Lynn asked her son, pointing to a large black suitcase.

Jet lifted the case out of the car easily, his six-foot-four-inch frame beginning to fill out as he headed towards the end of his teens.  He carried his own bag in the other hand and a folder of paperwork under one arm, stopping to kiss his grandmother in the doorway as he passed through into the house.

‘Are you tired?’ Marianna asked.  ‘You mustn’t know what time it is, dear.’

‘What time is it, Grandma?  Sorry?  What did you say?’ the larrikin replied, teasing her gently.  ‘Nice to see you.  Happy Old Year.’

Jeff clipped the top of his son’s head affectionately with the fingers of his right hand, and bent over to kiss his slowly shrinking mother-in-law.

‘Ignore him, Marianna,’ he told the elegant lady of the house.  ‘He thinks he’s funny.  We haven’t got the heart to tell him the truth.’

‘Good morning, Jeff,’ the gracious woman replied.  ‘Twenty years.  Can you believe it?’

‘Definitely not,’ her daughter’s husband shook his head.  ‘Feels like forty.’

‘Papá!’ Kierney shrieked from behind him.  ‘That’s so mean!  You think you’re funny…’

The father turned round and gave his daughter a playful grin.  ‘I mean I wish it were forty,’ he quipped.

Once inside and with everyone suitably greeted and kissed, the Diamond family went straight upstairs to unpack for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.  The air conditioning system made sure the temperature in the big house was comfortable, and the outdoor pool down below glistened enticingly as the couple looked over from the balcony.  Jeff looked at his watch.

‘Are we all having lunch, d’you think?’ he asked his wife.  ‘Or can we just relax for a while?’

To his delight, Lynn walked towards her husband and lovingly wrapped her arms around him.  She was wearing a new perfume, and it turned him on.  Just a hint of mystery about the woman he knew so well.  He had missed out on their usual morning liaison earlier that day, since mother and daughter had disappeared before dawn to collect Jet from the airport and to squeeze in some valuable driving practice for the sixteen-year-old.

A Life Singular - Part OneWhere stories live. Discover now