Mara's Choice Page 6

  The radio was turned off abruptly and there was the sound of voices down in the kitchen, then her stepfather’s footsteps came up the stairs. She could always recognise them because he moved quickly and lightly, while her mother trudged slowly.

  Thank goodness Phil had come home.

  He tapped on her half-open door and peered inside. ‘You all right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How long has she been acting up like this?’

  ‘A couple of hours, give or take.’

  ‘Oh, dear. Can I come in a minute?’

  She nodded and watched him close the door carefully.

  ‘Your mother says this Aaron has found you a flight.’

  ‘Yes. I leave tonight.’

  ‘Well, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve put a bit of extra money in your bank account today in case you run short while you’re over there or want to come back before your time is up. Good timing, eh?’

  She was surprised. ‘Has Mum persuaded you that everything will go wrong?’

  ‘No. It’s just in case. I’m hoping things will go well for you, actually. I see no problem in you having two fathers.’

  So Mara had to give him a big hug, rocking to and fro. He was such a dear, kind man, he brought out the best in people. Even her mother had acted almost normally with him for the first few years.

  ‘I’ll drive you to the airport.’

  ‘Are you sure, Dad? Is it worth the rows and sulking you’ll have to face afterwards?’

  ‘My choice, not your mother’s. And for the record, I think you’ve made the right choice, too.’

  ‘Thank you. Driving to Heathrow with you will be lovely. We haven’t had much time alone together recently, have we? Mum can be very, well, intrusive.’ It was so typical of him to offer both practical and emotional help.

  Later that afternoon her mother locked herself in her bedroom and refused to answer when Mara knocked on the door in an attempt to say a proper goodbye.

  Phil beckoned from the foot of the stairs. ‘You might as well leave her be. You’ll get no sense from her in this mood.’

  ‘Why does she do it, Dad?’

  ‘I’ve never understood what starts her off. Sometimes she copes just fine and she can be pleasant to live with for a few days, then off she starts again. I’ve always thought there’s something that misfires in her brain from time to time. I’m worried that she’s getting really bad again, has been going downhill for the past couple of years, but I can’t persuade her to see the doctor.’

  Mara didn’t answer. What could you say? They had both lived with her mother’s problem on and off for years, but her behaviour had never been this strange. Mara had escaped to work in London; Phil never had. How did he cope with such stress? Golf was no substitute for human affection and companionship.

  The approach roads to Heathrow were all bustle and looked like a human ant heap. When they got near their terminal, Mara said, ‘If you stop in the drop-off area, I’ll get my own things out of the boot and you won’t need to pay for parking.’

  ‘You sure? All right then. I hope your flight goes well, love.’

  ‘Yes. It’s a long time to be on a plane. Thanks for bringing me.’

  ‘You must try to get some sleep or you’ll feel like an old dishrag when you arrive. Leave your worries behind, Mara. She’ll be easier to manage when you’re not there. She always is.’

  She leant across when he stopped, kissed his cheek and got her things out of the boot quickly.

  Then he’d gone and she was standing alone on the brink of a new stage of life. She felt more than a little nervous, if truth be told.

  I can do it, she told herself, and moved steadily forward, wheeling her suitcase, following the signs, envying people who were travelling with their families or friends.

  Contrary to what she’d expected, Mara found some aspects of the flight pleasant and she actually began to relax. She’d only ever travelled cattle class before, so enjoyed the comfort and excellent service of business class. She took one free glass of wine with her meal, but declined a refill, then ate the two delicious chocolates out of the fancy little box they gave her afterwards. She finished off with a glass of her favourite liqueur, Grand Marnier, which she only normally splurged on at Christmas.

  She sighed happily, feeling nicely pampered.

  When the flight attendant had made up the bed, she lay down on it, just to try it out, but felt so tired she closed her eyes.

  She woke up later to a dim cabin with all the lights turned low and it was a few seconds before she remembered where she was. She squinted at her wristwatch and to her amazement found she’d slept for several hours. How marvellous was that?

  As it was a non-stop flight, she didn’t have to gather her things then get off and on a second plane in the Middle East, so as the plane droned along above the clouds, she watched a movie she’d been wanting to see for ages. After that she ate another meal and read her book till they arrived in Perth.

  Business passengers were first off the plane and she got through customs quickly. She paused in front of the exit to gather her courage, took a deep breath and walked out into the terminal. Her father had said he’d meet her himself.

  Here we go! she thought.

  Aaron recognised his daughter the minute she came through the doorway of the arrivals area. George hadn’t said how tall she was, but that was another physical characteristic of his family. He moved forward quickly, waving one hand and trying to catch her eye. ‘Mara?’

  ‘Yes. And you’re Aaron.’

  ‘You look just like your photo.’

  ‘So do you.’

  They stared at one another, then he gave her a wry smile. ‘It’s difficult to know what to say, isn’t it? It must be even harder when you’re jetlagged. Did you get any sleep?’

  ‘Several hours. Thank you for booking me business class.’

  ‘My pleasure.’

  People hurried past them, various happy and tearful reunions were taking place nearby and all they could do was stand staring at one another. This wasn’t what he’d expected because he could usually cope gracefully with any sort of social situation. But this first meeting with his grown-up daughter was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and there was nothing to prepare you for the rush of emotion that made your voice wobble.

  ‘Let’s go and find the car. Here, let me push the trolley.’

  As she walked beside him, it felt strange that he was taller than her when she was five foot ten old style, slightly taller than her stepfather. Aaron also looked much younger than Phil, though she guessed he must be about the same age. Perhaps he’d had an easier life – or an easier wife.

  When they reached his car, she had a further surprise because it was a large new Mercedes, which must have cost a lot, so he was obviously far more affluent than her parents, more than merely comfortably off.

  ‘Do get in. I’ll see to this.’ He heaved her suitcase and backpack into his boot as if they weighed nothing and took the trolley to the nearest parking point, by which time she’d fastened her seatbelt.

  He got in and pulled smoothly away. ‘Mandurah is an hour or so’s drive south of Perth, depending on the traffic. We’re seven or eight hours ahead of the UK depending on the time of year.’

  ‘Yes, they told us on the plane.’ She looked round as they drove, feeling a little disappointed because mostly there was only busy traffic and the road passed through unattractive industrial areas. It wasn’t at all what you imagined when you thought of Australia.

  She stole the occasional glance at him. His hands on the steering wheel were large and strong-looking.

  ‘Is the traffic always this busy?’

  ‘Well, it’s the main freeway south from the city. The traffic usually thins out by about halfway towards Mandurah, but as you can see, the scenery in this area isn’t all that pretty, especially when the summer heat bleaches the grass beige as it’ll have done by the end of this month. It’s the sea itself that’s beautiful ro
und Mandurah, very blue compared to the sea in the UK, I always think, with white sandy beaches, not pebbles.’

  ‘You go back there sometimes, then?’

  ‘I used to do a lot of travelling when I was setting up my company, not so much now. I leave that to the younger and more energetic folk I employ. I like to spend as much time as I can with my wife. I’ve been married to Emma for almost twenty-five happy years. We were empty nesters till recently but her two grown-up children are living with us again now: Rufus and Peggy, twenty-seven and twenty-five respectively. They keep moving out of home then coming back. I’ve enjoyed being their stepfather, so I hope you’ll get on with them.’

  She didn’t think it tactful to ask what his stepchildren thought of a previously unknown daughter suddenly turning up, so compromised with, ‘I’m not usually the argumentative sort.’

  ‘Neither am I.’

  ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, but did Emma get a divorce or did her husband die? I don’t want to put my foot in it.’

  ‘She’s widowed.’

  After a few moments he said, ‘George tells me you’re living at home.’

  ‘I had to move back recently because I lost my job. It was too expensive to stay in London without one.’

  ‘What happened? Company go bust?’

  ‘No, just a minor downturn and I was the one made redundant. Only it wasn’t my turn, because it’s usually last in, first out in those circumstances. I suspect someone stabbed me in the back.’ She didn’t elaborate, hadn’t meant to tell him that much, actually.

  ‘It happens. Hard luck, eh?’

  They drove mostly in silence except for the faint purring of the motor and the road noises around them, then he signalled and began to slow down. ‘We turn off the freeway here and drive almost into the heart of Mandurah. Our house is on the water, part of a man-made canal development.’

  ‘That sounds gorgeous.’

  ‘It is. We love living there. I’m trying to sell my business and I’ve reduced my involvement with it so that I can enjoy more time with Emma.’

  She liked the way his voice grew warm when he spoke of his wife.

  In Mandurah he deliberately drove by the water, which the locals called the foreshore. As he’d said, the sea looked beautiful, such a vivid blue in the afternoon sun.

  When they turned into what was clearly a new development, she was amazed at how big the houses were. The small terraced house where she’d grown up and been living in again until yesterday was tiny compared to these.

  She began to worry that she’d be out of her depth with Aaron and his friends. Working with toys wasn’t most people’s idea of an exciting job, even when you worked on the IT side of the company. And added to that, she knew losing her job had shaken her confidence more than a little.

  ‘We’re here.’ Aaron slowed down and turned into a street that seemed to consist mainly of garage doors, most of them triple or even quadruple ones.

  Definitely rich people’s houses, she thought.

  He sent her a quick smile. ‘The street itself isn’t very attractive because the fronts of the houses face the water.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose they would.’ And what sort of feeble response was that?

  He clicked on a small gadget and the garage door of one house at the far end of the street began to rise smoothly. As they got closer to it she could see that the street wasn’t a dead end as she’d first thought, but carried on into a fairly sharp U-turn round this house and the next one. After he’d driven into the garage, the door rolled down just as smoothly behind them, but the area was well illuminated. Another new car stood there with the third space fitted out as a workshop.

  He opened his car door. ‘Emma’s at home. The other two are at work. Come and meet her before we do anything else.’ He opened a door at the rear of the garage, got her suitcase out of the car and dumped it in the hall, then carried on past it, calling, ‘We’re back, darling!’

  Mara followed him into the house, dumping her backpack next to the suitcase. She felt suddenly shy, remembering all the dire forecasts her mother had hurled at her about how her father’s wife would behave towards her.

  Only, Aaron didn’t seem like a manipulative person. He had a lovely smile, a bit like her stepfather’s in some ways, with twinkling eyes and a subtle warmth that was hard to fake. Smiles could tell you a lot about a person, she always felt, and this man’s said to her that he really liked people.

  He seemed to be finding it difficult to know what to say to a stranger, even if she was his daughter, which made Mara feel better because she was having the same problem speaking to him.

  A woman was waiting for them in a kitchen area that was bigger than the whole of the ground floor in her home. Emma’s red hair was genuine, not coloured, and slightly frosted with silver. Her smile seemed a little guarded.

  ‘Welcome to Australia.’ Emma held out her hand then jerked it back. ‘Oops. I’ve been baking and I haven’t wiped my hands properly yet. You don’t want covering in flour.’

  ‘It’s good to meet you. Thank you for inviting me to visit.’

  ‘How could I not welcome you when it means so much to Aaron?’

  The look she gave her husband was deeply loving, and if his smile had been warm and friendly before, it was positively glowing now it was focused on his wife.

  It had been a long time since Mara had seen her parents look even moderately affectionate, and she had never seen them look at one another like this. She couldn’t help feeling a twinge of envy towards these two people. They seemed to have everything: money, a beautiful home and most important of all, mutual love.

  She couldn’t help staring at the view out over the water but forced herself to turn away when Emma spoke.

  ‘Would you like some refreshments or would you rather take a shower first? I always feel I have to wash off the smell of an aeroplane once I arrive, so do what you really want. I shan’t take offence.’

  ‘My beloved is a typical Aussie, very relaxed about life,’ Aaron put in. ‘You won’t need to tiptoe around us, just be yourself.’

  ‘I’d love to shower and change my clothes if it’s not too much trouble. I do feel rather grubby after so long on a plane.’

  ‘No trouble at all. We’ve put you in the guest suite and you have your own shower room there, small but perfectly formed. Rufus and Peggy’s bedrooms are both en-suite too so you won’t be disturbing any of us. Show her up to her room, Aaron love, then leave her in peace. Just come down when you’re ready, Mara.’

  Her father picked up her suitcase in the hall and led the way upstairs to a large bedroom with twin beds and a small sofa. It was at the side of the house, but had a tall, narrow window that looked along to the gap towards the water.

  Aaron put her suitcase on the bed and patted her arm tentatively. ‘I’m glad you’ve come, Mara, and I hope you’ll be happy with us. We’ll probably be outside on the patio when you come down. We sit there a lot; it’s so lovely to watch the water. We get dolphins swimming right past the house.’

  ‘Wow! I hope I see some.’

  He chuckled. ‘You’ll see plenty of them. They’re one of Mandurah’s attractions.’

  He moved towards the door, then stopped and snapped his fingers. ‘Nearly forgot. I’m supposed to tell you that the chest of drawers is empty and there’s plenty of hanging space in the wardrobe. As if you’d not have found that out for yourself.’ He gave her another of his lovely smiles and left her alone.

  When the door had closed behind him she let out her breath in a long slow stream, then looked round the bedroom. What a lovely home! The kitchen had been magnificent and this was charming. The bedrooms near the canal must be stunning.

  Emma looked like a person with money, somehow. Her hair was beautifully cut and even her casual clothes were elegant. How much did her easy confidence stem from the normality and love that had been lacking in Mara’s mother and how much came from having money behind her? Probably both had an effect on a person.


  She stared in the mirror, grimacing at how rumpled she looked. Her long hair was simply tied back and her clothes were cheap and dark for practicality. She couldn’t help wondering what Aaron and Emma had thought of her appearance.

  Then she told herself to stop being silly. As if that mattered. She should get on with unpacking some clean clothes and taking a long, hot shower. Bliss.

  Chapter Seven

  Hal was awake for an hour or so during the night, but sheer exhaustion helped him get back to sleep again.

  When he woke, he looked at his watch in surprise. It was morning and he’d slept for over twelve hours in all.

  He made a rapid trip to the bathroom then padded to the window to look out. The sunlight was bright and clear, the sky utterly cloudless. And what a view! He lingered, taking in the sparkling water and a small boat bobbing up and down at a jetty further down towards the main canal.

  Wow!

  Then his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he’d hardly eaten the previous day.

  He had a rapid shower, loving the warmth of the day and putting on shorts and a top. No more suits and ties if he could help it! A thought slid into his mind: never again! Was that possible?

  When he picked up his watch, he found that it was now nearly nine o’clock. No wonder the sun was so bright. Goodness! He rarely slept that long. But he’d been exhausted when he got on the plane, after sorting out the final details of what he’d hoped would be his last job in the company his partner had bought him out of. He’d only dozed intermittently during the long flight.

  He’d been going to take his time and semi-retire, but thanks to his mother’s unexpectedly large legacy, he could fully retire if he wanted. Thank you, Ma!

  In the freezer he found some ready meals and odds and ends like packets of frozen peas and beans. Ah! A packet of waffles. He pulled it out and decided to have them toasted with jam after his cereal and fruit.