Chapter 6
I woke early the next day because of the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen. After I showered and dressed, I made my way to the noisy din. Mom was ridiculously flustered, and the morning was a blur of preparation, cooking, and complaints about Dad not helping prepare for his party.
I was relieved when ten o’clock rolled around. I promised Mom I’d be back in three hours, walked out the front door, and headed toward my favorite relative’s home.
Aunty Ann hadn’t changed one bit. Her welcome hug was homey, her giant boobs were still the majority of her body, and her smile was quick and genuine. She led me out to her back porch, where she’d set up the table like an English garden tea party. A lace tablecloth crossed over a highly patterned floral one, and she’d set out her fine China with the gold trimmings.
While I pulled out a chair and sat, she poured tea and placed the cup in front of me. My mouth salivated just looking at the delicious cake positioned between us. It was decorated with perfectly spaced caramelized pineapple slices on top and looked as good as any award-winning treat.
She picked up a long knife. “Would you like some cake?”
“Of course, with extra cream, please.”
She chuckled. “You always did like your sweets.”
“Still do.”
She cut a huge piece of cake and dolloped two spoons of cream. “Tell me about the Gold Coast,” she said as she held the cake forward.
As we ate the delicious treat, our conversation flowed freely, and for the umpteenth time, I wished Aunty Ann had been my mother.
“So . . .” She winked. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“I already told you; I have a few men chasing me.”
“Excellent.” She rubbed her hands together. “Tell me all about them.”
“You’d love Henry; he’s a bit older than me. He’s suave, gentle, and fun.”
“Oh, he sounds lovely.”
“Then there’s Corben. He was a Mr. Universe finalist. His arms are like this.” I imitated Corben’s bulging biceps.
“Oh, yummy.”
I chuckled as I forked tea cake into my mouth. It was light and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness. “This’s yummy.”
“I’m glad you like it; it’s a new recipe. Now tell me, do these men look after you?”
The concern in her eyes was touching, and I reached over to hold her hand. “They do, Aunty Ann. All of them are really sweet.”
“All? There are more men?” Her eyes lit up.
“Yes, there’s Billy—he’s a cowboy and a true gentleman. And Hunter—he’s a chocolatier, and he’s really handsome. You’d love every one of them.”
“How do you keep up with them all?”
I chuckled. “They have trouble keeping up with me.”
She burst out laughing and followed it up with her usual cough. It sounded even more confronting in person and had me wondering just how healthy Aunty Ann was. When she finished, she wiped tears from her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief.
“Are you okay?”
She fanned her hand at me. “Oh, yes, just this silly cough. Can’t seem to shake it.”
She’d had the cough for as long as I could remember.
Over the next couple of hours on the porch, I told my favorite relative all about my life on the Gold Coast. My job. My best friend and her family. My karate. We spent more time talking about the men in my life, and when I told her all about last night’s encounter with Chelsea-Lea, she laughed until she crumbled into another bout of coughing.
When she regained her breath, we sipped our tea for a bit, and then I asked her a question that I’d wanted to ask her for most of my life.
“Aunty Ann, have you ever been in love?”
Her eyes flittered down to her teacup, and I sensed she was reluctant to answer. She licked her lips and adjusted her bra strap, and as I waited, I knew I’d touched on a difficult subject.
I reached forward and put my hand over hers. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
She sighed. “It’s not that. We’ve always been honest with each other. But I’d hoped you’d never ask me this.”
I frowned, and unsure what I should say, I remained silent and just squeezed her hand.
“I was in love once. Deep, deeply in love.” She placed her hand over her heart. “The kind of love that makes it impossible to breathe when he’s near you, yet it’s equally impossible to breathe when he’s not.”
I was yet to find a relationship like that, but by the wistful look on her face and the love in her eyes, I knew this man had truly touched her heart. “What happened?”
She turned her pale blue eyes to me and sighed. “He fell in love with my sister.”
I blinked as I tried to process her words. The implication hit me like a lightning bolt. “Dad? You loved Dad? But how? What?—”
“He never knew—neither of them did. I never had the courage to tell him how I felt, and when Margaret told me she was sweet on Roger, what could I do?”
“Oh, Aunty Ann.” I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would’ve been like to see the man you loved with another woman, especially your own sister.
She sighed long and deep. “I’ve gone over it a million times. If I’d just told him how I felt, maybe my life would’ve been so different.”
“You never met anyone else?”
She flicked her hand. “In a small town like this, you only get one shot, and I blew it.”
I knew exactly what she meant. “It’s not too late, you know.”
This had her laughing until tears rolled down her cheeks. “I wouldn’t know what to do with a man now, and I’d have a heart attack if he tried to kiss me.”
She started giggling, and I laughed along with her.
Aunty Ann was lovely to talk to, but the hours drifted away too quickly. My heart grew heavy when I realized it was time to leave, but I’d promised Mom and Dad that I’d be back to help decorate.
We kissed and hugged goodbye, and Aunty Ann came out onto her front porch to watch me walk home.
Mom was beside herself with stress over the party. According to her, nothing was going right, although I couldn’t see anything that had gone wrong. When I’d lived at home, my parents had rarely entertained. On the rare occasion people came to visit, Mom would spend weeks planning a simple backyard barbecue.
If something spontaneous happened, Mom would have a quasi-heart attack.
I sighed at her fussing about in the kitchen. “What do you want me to do?”
“Oh, there’s so much.”
“Mom, calm down. Just tell me one thing.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. This stupid party was your father’s idea, and now he and Tyler have decided to play golf before they even come home from the airport.”
“It’s Dad’s birthday. You should be pleased he’s spending time with his son.”
She huffed. “The whole backyard needs to be decorated.”
“Okay, leave that to me.”
Grateful to be away from her, I stepped out onto the back porch, and with giant six and zero balloons dancing in the slight breeze beside me, I unpacked grocery bags full of cheesy party decorations.
Determined to get through this without getting gray hairs, I sat on a chair and set about pumping up all the other balloons with the helium tank that came with them.
Within two hours, I had the backyard transformed into a typical party setting that was fitting for small-town Mildura. Purple and white streamers hung between the trees and the porch posts. Balloons were secured to every possible anchor point, and I’d positioned plastic cups alongside every available cooler Mom and Dad had been able to borrow from the neighbors.
Tyler came bounding into the backyard with the energy of the professional football player that he was and wrapped his arms around me. “How’s my little sis?”
“I’m great.”
He stepped back to examine me. “You look amazing.”
I did a little curtsy. “Thank you.”
“No. I mean, wow. That Gold Coast life is really good for you.”
I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Thank you. I love it there.”
He leaned in to whisper, “Lucky we escaped, huh?”
“You’re not kidding.” I chuckled. “I would’ve ended up like Chelsea-Lea.”
He frowned. “Have you seen her?”
“Made a point of meeting her last night.”
“And?”
I told him all about it, right down to dropping Chelsea-Lea to her knees, and he burst out laughing. “Oh God, I wish I’d been there. You know that’s going to be all over town by now.”
I cocked my head. “Good.”
“Have you told Mom?”
“Nope. She thinks Chelsea-Lea and I should still be friends. Hey, did you know Dad and Alexander are fishing buddies?”
“What? No!”
“Yep.” I shook my head. How was it that everyone understood why this relationship between my parents and my ex-fiancé was so wrong except for them?
“How’s my beautiful daughter?” Dad stepped onto the back porch and removed his faded old cap.
“Happy birthday, Dad.” We wrapped our arms around each other, and he planted a wet kiss on my cheek.
“It’s so good to have both my children home.” He pulled us in for a group hug, as he’d been doing since we were little kids.
“Roger!” Mom’s voice boomed from the kitchen. Dad kissed my forehead and silently slinked off in that direction. It was a move I’d seen him do dozens of times over.
The final pieces of the party setup came together as the sun began to set, and an hour before guests were due to arrive, I excused myself to freshen up and change.
I took particular care with my hair, styling it the way Lolita had suggested, with some tucked up to the back and the rest coaxed into soft waves. My makeup also took a fair bit of my time, but I wanted to get it perfect.
The black lace dress felt every bit as amazing as it had the first time I’d put it on, and as I stood before the mirror, I tried to tame my tumbling emotions. I was equally as apprehensive as I was excited about seeing Alexander again.
At the sound of the first guests arriving, I pulled my shoes on and buckled them at the sides of my ankles, dabbed on my trusty Bobbi Brown Retro Red lippy, planted a huge smile on my face, and stepped out of my old bedroom.
“Wow, look at you.” My dad’s comment had everybody turning and my heart skipping in delighted beats. I stepped forward to greet the neighbors who’d been living next door for more than forty years.
“Hello, Janice, Don, how are you?”
As the elderly couple hugged me to their chests, I was surprised at how much they’d aged in the four years since I’d seen them.
“We’re good, luvvy. You look amazing,” Janice said.
“Thank you.” I turned to Mom, who was staring at me like she couldn’t work out who I was. “Mom, would you like me to take Janice and Donald out the back?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
“Come on then.” As I led the way, I made idle chit-chat, asking them about their children and grandchildren.
People came in a steady flow for the next twenty or so minutes, and with each new arrival, I braced to see the man I’d once loved. As the minutes ticked by, I began to wonder if he’d chickened out.
My dress had the desired effect, and every person who greeted me said a similar version of, “Wow, you look amazing.”
The party had been going for nearly an hour when a weird hush came over the crowd.
A prickle rolled up my spine, and I didn’t need to turn around to know Alexander had arrived.