A Life Singular - Part One

Chapter 1 - Twenty Years On

‘Ha!’ the forty-three-year-old laughed, pushing his wife gently off onto the mattress and heading towards the bathroom.  ‘Go ahead, angel.  Take me for granted.  I’ve been waiting a long time to be taken for granted.  I’m all for new experiences at my time of life.’

Lynn smiled.  It was great to see her husband so happy and contented.  The family was together for their special occasion, and her gorgeous lover had an extra spring in his step and a glint in his eye.  Nineteen-ninety-six was going to be a great year for their whole family.  In fact, they had all been great years, and each better than the last.

Downstairs, Kierney had gone in search of her girl-cousin, Jazz.  They found each other by the pool, with the younger of Jazz’s two brothers, Bruce.  They had all seen each other over Christmas, so there was little news to catch up on, except for the fact that Jet was home.  The others laughed as Kierney told tales about her brother’s many romantic escapades.

Jet was the eldest grandchild of Bart and Marianna Dyson, closely followed by Sonny, Bruce’s elder brother.  Jazz was the youngest, having only recently turned the corner into her teens, and she lived vicariously through the exploits of Kierney, the willowy, sixteen-year-old gipsy.  Another grandchild was expected next year, the first baby for Lynn’s much younger sister, Anna.  It was exciting to think of a new arrival in the family after so long, and the two girls swapped name suggestions, hoping it would not be another male firstborn.

By the time Lynn and Jeff had changed and reached the pool, almost the whole family was assembled.  The only person missing was Bart, the head of the Dyson dynasty and the man largely responsible for putting Australia at the top of the sporting world.  Even now, at sixty-three years of age, his dedication to the Olympic movement and his determination for the national team to succeed meant his family hardly ever saw him, even during the holiday season.

‘Mum,’ Lynn asked, ‘what would you like us to do?  Can I help with lunch?’

‘Shortly, dear,’ Marianna responded.  ‘You guys relax.  There’s not much to do.’

Bart Dyson Junior, Lynn’s elder brother, sat himself next to Jeff and extended his hand.

‘A day early, I know, but happy anniversary, Jeff,’ the big man said.

‘Cheers, Junior,’ Jeff nodded, before impersonating his father-in-law’s booming voice with surprising accuracy.  ‘Remarkable achievement.’

The kids all looked round together in amusement, before continuing to lark about in the water.  Lynn came over to kiss her brother and to receive her dose of the congratulations.  She sat between Junior and her husband, opening her book and feigning ignorance of both of them.

‘So what does it feel like to be an old married woman?’ her brother teased.

‘Great, thanks,’ the beautiful woman smiled, surveying the scene.  ‘Where’s Jetto?’

‘I expect he’s fallen asleep up there,’ Marianna replied.  ‘We’ll wake him before lunch.’

Jeff and Kierney exchanged furtive glances.  There could be any number of reasons for the young man’s temporary absence, virtually none of which suitable to share with his grandmother.

‘He’ll be checking his e-mail,’ Lynn informed their host, which was code for arranging one or more hot dates for the coming nights.

That evening the Dyson family put on a New Year’s Eve party in the courtyard behind the house, as they usually did.  The Diamonds had declined their invitation for a large combined extravaganza for their anniversary, saying they would be perfectly happy just to celebrate quietly.  Nineteen-ninety-five had been an exceedingly successful year for them, and they had attended enough swanky parties all over the world to have become thoroughly bored with having to dress up and revel in sycophantic attention.