I stared deep down the barrel of the camera and told the world, "So, heartfelt thanks to everyone who has posted their positive change pics to Twitter – you are all incredible! If you'd like to take part, just snap a photo of yourself making a change for the better and hashtag it with #positivechange. It can be as simple as going for a walk on the beach without shoes..."
The screen behind me changed to show an older viewer with her husband taking a stroll along the sand.
"...Or as huge as Reece, a nurse who is giving up her job here to volunteer with Doctors Without Borders for a year."
A smiling girl with deep eyes appeared holding a plane ticket, her eyes ablaze with excitement.
"Whoever you are, whatever your change, we want to hear about it! Speaking of change, it's time to head into the kitchen and chat about easy ways to change up unhealthy dinner classics."
I pushed myself easily out of my comfy couch. The set of 'Good Day' didn't have a desk; I didn't need the barrier between myself and the audience anymore, and although my stomach would never be wash-board flat, I was content with its gentle curve and could sit comfortably without stressing out over sucking in.
So much of my life had fallen into place in the ten or so months since deciding to launch my own show. With Joe and Patty's support, we'd pitched and been picked up by a network in record time, the same company who Matt worked for. Most of the Jump Start crew had defected to join our production team, and Good Day had quickly risen up through the ratings to become the number one show in its timeslot – and the most watched talk show in Australian TV history. We were currently in talks with American and UK networks for international syndication, meaning our message of living a positive life would soon be seen around the world.
The cameras tracked me as I crossed to the kitchen, feeling my rose-gold skirt swish prettily around my legs. "Hey, Eli! What are we cooking today?"
The dread-locked blond smiled towards the lens, his white teeth shining against his tanned skin. "Good morning, Evianna. Well, sometimes it can feel like being healthy means salad for every meal, but that isn't true. I'm going to make-over three meals today – spaghetti bolognaise, nachos and chicken parmigiana."
"Sounds awesome!" I was so grateful Eli had agreed to sign on with the show, even if it did mean sacrificing his nudie-bum ways. In the time we'd been on the air, his fame has skyrocketed; he'd also released a series of healthy cook books called 'Nude Food,' featuring photos of him standing shirtless in the kitchen. They were instant best-sellers.
Now, as we bantered over the stove-top for the cameras, discussing wholemeal pastas and kidney beans, the whole country could benefit from Eli's simple lessons, the same way I had in the Kaivalya kitchens. As we threw to a commercial, I hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Eli; you're awesome!"
"You are," he replied. "Hey, what do you want me to bring on Saturday night?"
Patty and Joe were down for the weekend and Matt and I were hosting dinner at our place. I shook my head. "Nothing, just yourself. Take a night off from the kitchen! I'm cooking and I promise, I won't let you down."
"Great! See you then."
After the ad break, we aired Taylor's regular segment, 'Active Daily,' where she trialled different forms of exercise. Considering she'd swung from a trapeze and been pelted with powder during a colour run the previous week, today's deep water running seemed tame in comparison. But the production team and I had decided that we needed to show activities everyone could participate in, not just the young and adventurous.
While Taylor's pre-recorded report played, I made a mental note to call her; Mrs Blake had invited Matt and me up to spend the weekend on the Gold Coast in their lavish guesthouse, and I wanted to confirm a few details. Plus, I missed her voice and saccharine attitude. I never thought I would, but my reaction in the past to Tay's sunniness had been a direct reflection of my own perspective on the world.
But my outlook is much better now... Absently, I gazed across to the set wall, where the glowing Good Day logo hung. It had taken numerous edits to get the scarlet colouring just the way I wanted it, and the way the text bent upwards at the edges, it appeared as though the image was emulating a smile – with a cute tooth gap.
"Evi?" My producer waved to bring me back to the moment. "Are you ready for the announcement?"
I inhaled deeply. "I am, thanks, Jake."
"You'll be brilliant." My friend smiled at me, still a cheeky miner boy at heart. He stepped out of shot and gave me two thumbs up. I was so glad he'd moved to the city just before we launched the show. I'd brought him on board as a production assistant, but he'd flourished quickly and was now running the show most days – in between dating almost every single woman in Sydney.
Joel was still working at the mine; he'd started seeing a local in Kalgoorlie, a sweet sassy girl who kept him busy and happy. The two guys Skyped most days and flew out to see each other regularly. They might have been living with a country between them, but they'd be friends forever.
That's the thing about true friends, I heard that familiar voice say. It doesn't matter how much time or distance separates them, their souls will always remain linked.
Matt appeared behind Jake, on his way up to the studio above mine for his shift. I blew him a quick kiss and he mouthed, "Good luck," to me, his striking face alight with anticipation.
As the broadcast went live again, I centred myself and prepared to deliver the most important information of my career. "Hi, everyone, welcome back. If you watch Good Day regularly, you'll know we love to laugh and bring you the best in fun and lifestyle. From Shelley's hilarious video blogs, to Imogen Sak's fashion advice, we're all about life, love and health.
"But we're also about equality. Body size, skin colour, disability, sexual preference – we embrace everyone here, and we're unafraid to dive into serious places if we need to. Today, I'd like to raise an important issue, one I hope you'll help us with."
Leaning forward, I spoke through the lens, as if I was speaking directly into the hearts of every viewer. "We believe in freedom of choice in Australia. We talk a lot on this show about our everyday choices to be happy – imagine if someone else controlled your right to access something that made you truly happy.
"It could be as simple as cheese. Cheese makes me happy, but if someone told me, 'No – you're not allowed to have cheese, Evianna, because I don't like cheese,' I'd get mad pretty fast."
"Let's take it up a level; imagine that you were no longer allowed to go outside during the day, because somebody else thought the sun was evil. Imagine that the government told you all church would be banned, because they didn't believe in religion. No one should be allowed to control your access to happiness that doesn't case harm."
I spoke from my soul, letting the words flow. "But that's exactly what's happening in Australia right now. We consider ourselves to be a freedom-loving, enlightened and intelligent nation, but same-sex marriage is still illegal. We need to ask ourselves why.
"Is it because we're all actually homophobic? I don't believe that; a recent poll found that 72 per cent of Australians want same-sex marriage legalised. The problem isn't our opposition to this topic – it's that we haven't yet raised our voices."
Standing up proudly, I said, "Here at Good Day, we are launching a new movement, 'Right To Wed,' and I'm inviting all of you to join the cause. It's not good enough to 'not' oppose issues – we have to speak up! If you knew a child was being abused, you wouldn't just 'not' approve – you'd act. It's the same case here. There are people in our country being denied a simple right to something the majority of us take for granted. Now is when we cry out for change.
"This will be a multi-faceted campaign. There is a petition you can sign on the Right To Wed website, and form emails to send to your local members of parliament. We will be flooding Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #right2wed, and in exactly one month, we are organising a peaceful rally in every capital city of Australia, to march on Parliament House and make our opinions heard."
I smiled fiercely. "We can change history for the better, together. We can be a part of an incredible social change, so you can look at your life and know with absolute certainty, 'I did something to make the world a better place.'
"But it only works if you act. If you sit there and think, 'Oh, someone else will do that,' nothing will change. Get up, get online, get involved. When we change ourselves, we can change the world."
Behind me, pictures of gay and lesbian couples from around the country began to scroll across the screen. I allowed the images to sink in, then prepared to wrap up. "I'll be leading the Sydney rally in a month; until then, thank you in advance for standing up and raising your voice. I'm away from the couch tomorrow, but back on Monday. I'm Evianna Moore; have a good day, everyone."
"That's a wrap, people," yelled Jake, and the studio burst into applause.
"Guys! You have to check this out!" Our social media manager rushed forward, a laptop in one hand, a tablet in the other. "The Right To Wed website is already over-capacity, and Twitter is blowing up!"
Everybody clapped louder and I blushed at their praise. "It's not me, guys. It's the people – they're the amazing ones, and they'll be the ones to create the change."
Matt moved forward and wrapped his arms around me. He whispered softly in my ear, "She'd be so proud."
"Thank you." My eyes were closed, but a single tear seeped out from under each lid. I would never get to dance at Heather's wedding or tickle her children, but I could attempt to inspire the change that would allow other people like her to get married and raise their families, the way she'd wanted to. It was my gift to the woman who'd given me a life worth living.
"Are you ready to fly?" asked Matt, drawing back and kissing my nose.
I nodded. "I'll head straight to the airport, see her tomorrow, and be back on Saturday morning."
His ever-changing eyes darkened slightly. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?"
"No, my love." I lifted his hand and placed it over my heart. "You'll be with me in here, but I need to face this alone."
***
I took my time walking through Melbourne city. I'd left my hotel in sneakers a good hour before I needed to be at the Royal Botanic gardens and had meandered through the busy streets - because someone wise had once told me that Melbourne was the best city in the world to walk in. The warm Friday afternoon buzzed with weekend anticipation as happy people in summer garb filled the outdoor tables of cafes and bars.
Turning into the wrought iron gate of the garden entrance, the city noise faded away, allowing me to slip into a contemplative state. The last time I'd been in these gardens was to farewell Heather; now, I was back, summoned by the last person in the world I'd expected to hear from. I followed the directions I'd been given, turning along the forked paths until I reached the lake.
A bench stood under the shade of the circled trees, the exact spot where Joe had led us in our open-air goodbyes the day of the funeral. My heart tightened inside my chest, memories of my raw grief flooding back in old channels.
But along with the pain, there were soothing thoughts; the support from my friends, Matt by my side, Joe's words. Swallowing, I set my shoulders back and walked forward.
Andie sat on the bench, facing the water. She didn't look at me as I sank gently to the wooden seat beside her.
"Thank you for coming." Her voice was tight, her voice clenched.
"Thank you for asking."
We sat silently for a few moments, two women, joined by an invisible third between us.
Andie sucked her teeth, making a terse clicking sound. "I never liked you."
I blew an amused breath out my nose. "Yeah, I kinda got that."
"No, I mean, even before I met you." She turned to me and I looked at her properly for the first time. Her hard edges seemed even more pronounced than when I'd seen her last, and her sunken eyes cut into me. "Heather used to put your show on in the mornings while we were getting ready, and I used to yell at her to turn it off."
She pressed her lips together in mild distaste. "Partly, it was the stuff you guys used to report on, the vapid, lowest-common-denominator programming. But there was something about you. Sometimes, a stranger can just rub you the wrong way, and you know you'll dislike them before they even say a word. That was how I felt about you.
"But Heather..." Andie's face softened slightly as she imagined her. "She thought you were full of potential. She petitioned so hard for the chance to work with you, convinced that she could help you. She knew it pissed me off, but she was such an optimist; she always figured I'd come around to liking you in the end."
"She did help me," I said softly. "She had a gift."
"She did."
She looked away across the water again, lost in her thoughts. I knew Heather would want me to ask. "Andie, how have you been doing?"
"Shit." She said it as a simple fact, void of any self-pity. She'd cut her hair short, the low-fuss cut hanging limply around her face. "It's almost a year now, and I'm still shit. Did you know after the funeral, I went after the truck driver?"
I'd never even spared a thought for the man in the other vehicle. "Went after him? What happened?"
"I needed someone else to hate besides you, so I sued him. My plan was to decimate him, ruin his life even a tenth of what he'd taken from me. I wanted so badly for him to be a bad person, for him to have been drinking or speeding or texting, so I could have him jailed as well as bankrupted."
She dug her nails into her jeaned thighs. "But he wasn't evil. He was just an ordinary guy, a florist from Bryon making a delivery, who let his truck drift into the other lane for two seconds. It happens all the time, and we don't even think twice about it.
"That made it worse somehow. I fought harder, threw tens of thousands of dollars towards funding a killer legal team, burying him in paperwork. He was under-insured, and it came to the point where we were sitting in court, and I was about to take his home, his business, his vehicle, his savings."
Tilting her head back, she laughed bitterly. "God, it actually felt right, like there was some sort of justice in the world. And then, like she was there in the goddamn room, I heard her say, 'Look at him, Andie. Look at him.'"
I held my breath; Heather's echo had shadowed my thoughts so many times and she always spoke up at the right second.
Andie's cheeks were wet as she said, "So, I looked. And instead of seeing a monster who'd stolen my life, I saw this broken man in his forties, sick with worry, holding his weeping wife while their teenaged kids tried to comfort them both.
"I got up and walked out. I dropped the suit." She swiped angrily at her face, wiping away the evidence of her humanity. "But there was still this hole inside me, a hate that didn't lift. I've been seeing a counsellor, and he says I need to forgive the driver, and I'm almost there. I apparently have to forgive you as well, that's why you're here."
I figured that was as close to an apology as it was going to get. I nodded, rather than disturb her flow.
"But the hardest thing I need to do is forgive her." A cool breeze kicked up, gusting around our shoulders as a cloud slid over the sun and cast us in shadow. Andie wrapped her thin arms around chest and said, "I've been ignoring it and blaming everyone else, but I've been angry at her too. She knew I didn't want her to go away while we were trying for a baby, and she left anyway, because she was a stubborn ginger who never listened, and giggled whenever I tried to lecture her..."
A smile ghosted over my face as I recalled how beautifully Heather could deflect anything that didn't serve her.
"So, I'm trying to kill two birds here." Andie turned back to me, and I watched her face contort as she tried to quell her rising emotion. "I'm sorry for how I treated you afterwards. If it had to happen, I'm glad you were there, because she loved you."
The tears spilled hot and heavy as her composure broke. "And I forgive her. I forgive her for leaving me here alone."
Andie wept. I didn't attempt to hug her; I was pretty sure one false move could ruin the delicate truce we were under. Instead, I placed my hand close to her leg, and she laid hers on top, drawing comfort from our contact without needing words.
The clouds blew on and the sun flooded the gardens again. Andie and I sat by the lake, feeling the presence of persons unseen while we waited for the grief to recede again.
For an hour, we spoke stiffly. Andie gave me permission to visit Heather's resting place, something I'd desperately wanted to do while I was in Melbourne. She'd been following the progress of Good Day with interest, and she seemed positive about what the show was trying to accomplish. "I saw your announcement yesterday," she said, nodding in approval. "I hope it works."
"I believe in Australia," I replied. "I haven't checked in with our campaign manager today, but I think it's going pretty well so far."
In my pocket, my phone buzzed against my leg. I'd blocked everyone but Matt for a few hours, and we'd agreed he wouldn't interrupt unless it was an emergency. "Excuse me for a moment."
I checked the screen. Your phone will ring in five mins. Unblock - you need to answer it.
Okay. Turning back to Andie, I said, "I have a call in a couple of minutes, I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
We stood, the atmosphere between us awkward again. I searched for something to say, some way to end our odd conversation. "Andie, can I ask – why did you ask to meet at this spot?"
She smiled, and for a few seconds I caught a glimpse of the woman Heather must have fallen for. "We used to come here on my lunch breaks. We'd lie beside the lake and make out. The first time we said, 'I love you,' was right here."
"It's a special place," I murmured. The further my life progressed, the less I believed in coincidence. What were the odds we'd been led to farewell Heather in one of her most favourite places in the world by sheer luck?
"Thanks again for coming," she said, extending her hand and shaking mine.
"Andie, if you ever need anything, or you just want to talk, or you feel like her memory is slipping away, please, call me." It was the least I could offer, but the most I felt she would allow me to do.
"I will." She tilted her head in a sign of respect towards me. "What you're doing for gay-marriage... That's for her, isn't it?"
"Inspired by her."
"Then I can't see her memory ever slipping away."
There was more to say, but my phone began to ring, playing 'Happy' loudly. Andie rolled her eyes in amused recognition at the song choice as I answered. "Hello, this is Evianna Moore."
"Ms Moore, please hold for the Prime Minister of Australia." The curt voice of an executive assistant stung my ear, then hold music sounded over the line.
"What?" My jaw fell slack in shock. "It's the Prime Minister!"
Andie looked intrigued. "She used to be a client of Heather's."
"What do I say? What does she want?" Slightly panicked, I hit speaker phone. "Here, help me sound intelligent."
Her eyes rolled, not entirely in annoyance. "I don't think I can promise that. You'll be fine, I'm sure."
After another minute, a very famous voice echoed down the line. "Hello, Ms Moore!"
"Good afternoon, Prime Minister," I squeaked.
"Do you have any idea what the last 24 hours or so since your television announcement have been like for politicians in this country? There have literally been hundreds of thousands of emails, telephone calls and visits from ordinary Australians, all fired up by your campaign for marriage equality."
"Um..." I looked at Andie, who shrugged. "Sorry?"
"Don't be." The most powerful woman in the country sounded warm. "I've always been in favour of gay-marriage; now, with so many Australians clamouring for it, the people holding the move back are convinced too. I was calling to let you know that at your rally next month, I'll officially be announcing our promise to legalise same-sex marriage within a year."
Andie punched my arm in delight as I felt a massive grin split my cheeks wide. "Thank you, Prime Minister, that's great to hear."
"You're a force of nature, Ms Moore. I do believe you could change the world if you put your mind to it."
Thinking of the happy weddings that could soon take place, my soul danced as I said, "Honestly? I believe I already have."
This book was written years before same-sex marriage became legal in Australia - now, in 2017, our country has voted on the issue and the majority have voted yes. I've left this chapter the way it is as a legacy of the way things used to be :)
I have the most amazing readers on Wattpad, and I genuinely love you all for your support! Thank you so much, and look out for the Epilogue to this book next week.
Much love, Kate.