Re-Runners First Life: A Time Travel Suspense Series (5 page)

Chapter 8

1993

Kate leaned across the table and grasped her friend’s hand. ‘I really appreciate you coming tonight Mel.’

‘You said it was important,’ Melanie answered with a small smile, glancing at her wristwatch. ‘So where’s Eric? You said he was joining us.’

Kate absently waved her hand. ‘He’s always late.’

‘That must be frustrating for you. I’ve never known anyone who’s more fastidious than you about being on time.’

Kate ignored the small dig. ‘I know you don’t like Eric, but he’s good to me and I love him.’

Melanie pursed her lips and was silent for a heartbeat, then sighed, ‘I’m sorry Kate, but from my perspective it looks like he’s taken over your life. I know you were never a party girl, but at least you and I did things together. Lunch or a movie? You’ve even given up our weekend walks.’

Kate bowed her head, ‘I know. But since you’ve been transferred to another department, we don’t even see each other at work.’

‘Exactly. So surely Eric can manage without you sometimes. Doesn’t he have any friends of his own?’

‘He’s quiet. He isn’t comfortable with a lot of people.’

‘Tell me about it,’ snorted Mel. ‘Ben has been more than happy to meet him, but every time we try to organize something, Eric finds an excuse to cancel. What’s wrong with going out with friends? He monopolizes you completely.’

Kate withdrew her hand and sat back. ‘He needs me, Mel. He has some issues he has to deal with and he says I’m the only one who can help. He loves me and that’s all that matters.’ She looked beseechingly at her friend, ‘Let’s not argue.
Please
.’

Melanie looked up to see Eric approaching them, followed by a waiter carrying an ice bucket and bottle of champagne. His eyes locked on hers for a moment and a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. Mel felt the same apprehension wash over her that she had on their first meeting.
There’s something not right about this man.

Eric bent to give Kate a quick kiss before moving to the vacant chair. He motioned for the waiter to pour each of them a glass of champagne. ‘Nice to see you Mel,’ he turned to her.

Was that a smirk?
Melanie thought as she stared back at him and nodded.

Kate touched the side of her glass with a spoon to dispel the tension she could feel between Eric and Melanie. ‘Let’s have a toast.’

Eric watched Melanie, still with the half smile that was putting her so on edge. Her skin prickled. He turned to Kate and grabbed her hand. ‘But first darling, I think we should let Mel know why we’re here tonight.’

The prickling on Melanie’s scalp got stronger.
No, please no
, she thought. She knew instinctively what was coming.

‘Kate and I are getting married. Next month, in fact,’ Eric flashed an oily smile, as he watched Melanie’s reaction. She had paled under her tan.

Bingo. That will show the bitch,
Eric thought, as he felt a moment of triumph.

Melanie’s head swiveled to Kate. She was staring adoringly at Eric. ‘Have you told your parents, Kate? Does Cyn know?’ Melanie squeezed Kate’s arm to get her attention.

‘Of course, silly,’ Kate smiled at her friend, ‘and I want you and Cyn to be my bridesmaids. Please say you will?’

Melanie managed a weak smile before taking a mouthful of champagne. ‘Love to.’

ooooo

Two months later, the wedding guests were assembled in the ballroom on Mount Cootha.

‘So he does have friends,’ Cynthia mumbled as she, her mother Marcia and Melanie sat together and watched Eric at the drinks table with two men they had never met before today’s wedding.

The restaurant on top of Mount Cootha had a magnificent view of the city. As the day moved to night, the lights glowed brighter and several guests had walked outside to inspect the scene from the nearby lookout. But the sight was wasted on the three women who loved Kate the most. Kate was on the dance floor in her father’s arms; her wedding dress swirling around her. ‘She looks like she’s having a good time.’ Marcia’s eyes misted over.

‘Oh Mum, stop it,’ Cynthia grimaced. ‘This is wrong. He’s wrong for her and we all know it.’

Marcia sighed, ‘Maybe things will get better. We’ll try harder.’

‘We’ve all tried, Mrs M,’ Melanie spoke softly so their conversation wouldn’t carry to the nearby guests. ‘But he always seems to take without giving anything back. He’s cutting her off from all of us.’

‘Mel is right, Mum,’ Cynthia interjected. ‘We never see Kate anymore ... and when we do, he sticks to her like glue. It’s an unhealthy relationship.’

Marcia sighed again, ‘I know, but what can we do but support her? Kate is a grown woman and he is the man she has chosen. We have to make the best of it.’

Cynthia scowled and Melanie tipped back her head and finished her wine in a gulp. Her eyes again found Eric across the room. The familiar refrain went through her mind.
There’s something not right about this man.

ooooo

Kate gently folded the tissue paper within the folds of the wedding gown she had spread out the double bed. She smiled, remembering her wedding day the week before. She knew her parents had spent more than they could afford to give her and Eric a wonderful wedding. Eric had insisted on the location and beautiful as it was, she still harbored a lot of guilt at how much her parents must have spent.

She was determined to pay them back, some amount, somehow. Although it would be difficult now. Eric had consolidated their bank accounts and taken charge of their money. She tried to accept that what he said made sense. His work situation was spasmodic, picking up laboring jobs when they were available, which didn’t seem to be very often. She, on the other hand earned a good living in the university hospital’s research laboratory. She worked full time and had the house to look after, so she was busy. It made sense for Eric to pay the bills and look after their money.
Didn’t it?

The bedroom door slammed back against the wall as Eric leaned on the door frame, a beer in one hand. ‘What a’ya doing?’ he yawned and scratched his bare chest.

Eric had moved into Kate’s house within six weeks of their first date. It was comfortable, he liked it and Kate was a neat freak, so everything was spotless. His clothes were always washed, ironed and put away. She wasn’t a bad cook either. Her fussiness sometimes annoyed him, but this place was a major improvement on the room he had rented above the tobacconist shop. He didn’t miss living in The Valley, at all.

Kate smiled, ‘I’m putting away my wedding dress. Maybe one day our daughter will wear it.’

‘Ha,’ he snorted, ‘You’re joking, right? You’re too old to have kids.’

She looked at him with hurt eyes, ‘I’m not too old.’

Eric walked slowly towards her and stroked her hair, ‘Honey, you’re all I need or want. Aren’t I enough for you?’

‘Yes, but ...’ stammered Kate. They’d never discussed children in detail, but she had assumed it would be the next step.

‘I don’t want anything to spoil what we have. We’re perfect together,’ he stroked the side of her face, pulled her chin towards him and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. ‘We don’t need anyone else,’ he whispered.

He turned towards the door and paused. Without bothering to face her, he said, ‘So get rid of the dress. Sell it. It’s probably worth a few bucks.’

Kate blinked as he left and looked down at the beautiful lace and pearl gown. ‘Sell it?’ she sniffed, as tears flooded her eyes.

1982

Sydney

Australia

Phillipa Townsend was flanked by three other teenage girls as they strode across the grass compound heading for the food outlets housed in one of the university buildings.

‘We’re late,’ moaned Lynda. ‘We’ll never get a table.’

Phillipa threw her a smug look. ‘I sent Debbie on ahead.’ She looked at her watch. ‘She’s been waiting there for about thirty minutes.’

Sonia smirked. ‘You really are a bitch, aren’t you?’

Phillipa grinned at the girl beside her. Sonia’s short black hair, kohl rimmed eyes and thin, angular body was a sharp contrast to Phillipa’s petite blond beauty, yet she was the one person that Phillipa accepted as an equal. Unlike the other girls who yearned to be in the Townsend inner circle, Sonia didn’t care one way or the other. She was her own person and Phillipa respected that.

‘What’s going on over there?’

Their attention was drawn to a crowd of students. Phillipa’s gaze quickly swept over the tall dark haired man in the centre of the group.

‘Who’s that?’ she breathed. He was beautiful. That was the first word that came to mind. Phillipa had plenty of attention from good looking young men, but this one was something else again. ‘Who
is
that?’ she repeated. She stopped and stared at him.

‘No idea,’ said Sonia. ‘He looks like a jock and you know I’m not into sporty types.’

Lynda spoke up, happy to be the one who could deliver the information Phillipa wanted.

‘That’s Dylan Marchioni. He’s back from Europe.’

Phillipa looked at her with a frown. ‘What do you mean ‘back from Europe’? Has he been on holiday?’

‘No, he was playing soccer there. Some kind of scholarship or invitation I think. He was a bit of a star at high school.’

Sonia shrugged. ‘Like I said; a jock.’

Lynda shook her head. ‘Not at all. He finished high school in the top 1% in the state and was offered a place here at Sydney Uni last year. But he deferred so he could play for some club in the UK. He only got back in time to start this semester.’

Phillipa asked, ‘How do you know so much? And why haven’t I heard about him?’

‘He’s older and he went to one of those private Catholic schools on the North Shore. My brother has a friend who went to school with him.’

Phillipa’s gaze was drawn to Dylan again. ‘Marchioni? Why is that name familiar?’

Lynda spoke with authority again, so happy that Phillipa needed her for something. ‘The family owns that chain of supermarkets. They’ve just sold to an international group who wanted to get into the Australian market. It’s been in all the papers.’

Sonia nodded. ‘Yes, our housekeeper was moaning about it this morning. It’s her favourite place to shop and now she worries the quality will suffer.’

Phillipa smiled. ‘Of course, now I remember. Daddy’s business partner and his wife came over for drinks last night. That’s all they could talk about. They said the Marchionis had brokered the deal of the century.’

Lynda cut in. ‘Did you know that Dylan’s grandparents came from Italy after the war. They were like... I don’t know... I guess you’d call them refugees. They started selling vegetables door to door...’

‘And the rest they say, is history,’ interrupted Phillipa, a thoughtful look on her face.

‘Dylan has a younger brother too,’ added Lynda. ‘But he wants to be a doctor and Dylan is doing a double degree in Law and Commerce, so I suppose they don’t want to go into the family business.’

‘Law and Commerce?’ said Phillipa. ‘He’d make a good stockbroker.’

Sonia snorted. ‘I can see your calculating brain working already, Phillipa. A smart, good looking guy with plenty of money. He ticks all your boxes, doesn’t he?’

‘And I’m sure Daddy could find a place for him in the firm.’

‘He’s got a girlfriend,’ said Sally. ‘They were together at high school. They took a break while he was away, but they’ve hooked up again.’

Phillipa gave the girl a look of disgust. ‘As if that concerns me.’ She looked over at the smiling handsome face of Dylan Marchioni. ‘I always get what I want. And I want him.’