Kiss On The Bridge (2 page)

“Enough about me, I have an important
announcement to make. Anneli and Meredith, please join me on the
stage.”

A tall attractive young lady wearing a long
red dress, a fascinator buried in her hair made her way forward.
Someone sprayed glitter into her long dark hair which draped over
her shoulders.

A second young woman wearing a cream coloured
evening gown quickly made her way to the front.

“In case some of you don’t recognize my
stepdaughters, this young woman on my left is Meredith. On my right
is my second daughter, Anneli. Dirk, please come forward. I want
you to stand next to Meredith.”

A medium framed young man cat-leapt onto the
stage and stood next to Meredith.

“This young man has a great future in my
company. Not only has he worked tirelessly to prove he’s a suitable
candidate, in his spare time, Dirk is involved in real estate,
shares, and the buying and selling of companies. Only last week he
purchased a million dollar yacht similar to this one, just a lot
smaller. Not bad for a twenty-five-year-old.”

Darryl waited for the whispered laughs to
subside before continuing.

“The exciting news is; Dirk and Meredith will
soon be tying the knot.”

Applause from the onlookers reverberated
throughout the entire ship.

“I want everyone to raise their glasses for
the second time to toast the young engaged couple,” ordered Darryl
through the microphone.

Another cheer filled the air. A constant
clang of wine glasses swamped the area. Darryl faced the band
signaling for the music to be restarted immediately.

When Anneli left the stage a waitress on her
way to the upper deck thrust a glass of champagne into her
hand.

“Meredith, sweetheart, I want you to wait for
me in the study. I don’t want you to be enticed away from me by a
handsome stranger,” taunted Dirk. “I have business to conduct. I’m
sure it won’t take more than twenty minutes.”

Meredith scrunched her nose, glaring at her
fiancé.

“Good girl. After you’ve done what I’ve
ordered, we’ll go mingle.”

Anneli, standing at the side, beckoned her
sister to follow. They walked to the other end of the deck, climbed
the stairs, pushing their way through over forty guests who decided
to move from the lower to the upper deck so they could enjoy the
warm summer evening.

The large ship rolled lazily on the small
swells three hundred metres from the channel in Port Phillip Bay. A
cargo ship slipped through the heads on its way to the port of
Melbourne. A couple of the crewmen waved at several women party
goers standing at the nose of the ship. Unseen by their male
partners they blew back kisses.

At the stern of the ship both girls gazed at
the dark water flowing lazily past the hull. Not more than twenty
feet from the ship a dolphin surfaced. They stared at the exact
place long after it disappeared.

“Are you okay?”

Meredith swiveled her head to focus on her
sister. Staring into her brown eyes she started to sob. “Anneli, I
don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m your younger sister. I’m concerned.”

“I know you are.”

“Talk to me. Tell me what’s on your
mind?”

“The subject I think you’re referring to can
never be brought up.”

“I want you to call off the charade of a
wedding,” blurted Anneli, thrusting her hands onto her hips.

“What a blunt statement. You know it’s not
possible.”

“Do it before it’s too late.”

“Father will definitely disapprove,”
whispered Meredith on a sigh. She quickly glanced about the deck
hoping no one decided to listen in on their conversation.

“He’ll get over it,” hissed Anneli. “Besides,
the sooner you let him know how you feel the more time he’ll have
to understand why we are correct.”

“I don’t want to lose any inheritance coming
my way.”

“Meredith, if you accept what’s been planned,
no offence Sis, you’re out of your mind. Personally, I’d never want
to end up married to a man who orders me around. Dirk is not the
right one for you. Somewhere out there is the man you dream of.
Forget the money. Go find him.”

“You’re drunk,” shrieked Meredith.

“Yep, I know I am. Take my advice; break it
up before it’s too late.”

“I’m looking forward to my wedded life and
all of Dirk’s money.”

“What about love?” Anneli questioned.

“What about it?” Meredith snorted.

“You should love the man you’re going to
spend the rest of your life waking up next to. Not have father
dictate to you who you should marry.”

“I think in time I’ll learn to love Dirk.
Besides, all the money he has will more than compensate for the
diminutive lack in other areas.”

“Don’t short change yourself on what could be
a great future to a man who wants to love you. A pre-birth
agreement should never have been allowed,” yelled Anneli.

“Five million dollars in Dirk’s bank account
will see me having an extremely happy life.”

“I’d rather marry a poor man than have a man
who is so far up himself sleeping next to me every night.”

“Anneli, enjoy your last single year. You
know father has set your wedding date. Before you celebrate the
coming in of, 1975, you’ll be married.

Anneli glared at her sister. “Don’t remind
me.”

“Keep focused on the money coming your way. I
promise you’ll be happier than me,” whispered Meredith.

“If you won’t listen to my warning, help me
finish off this champagne, and please, help me find a pen and
paper.”

“Why?”

“I want to write a letter, place it in the
bottle, kiss the cork to seal it then I’m going to throw it over
board into the sea,” replied Anneli starting to slur her words
after the wine she drank quickly took effect. “I’m going to order
the bottle to find my hero.”

“Fairytales, sis, you have to stop believing
in fantasies, it won’t happen.”

“The only thing you have to do is
believe.”

“I believe in the money. It’s going to keep
me happy,” hinted Meredith, confidently.

“Will the millions of dollars keep you warm
at night when your husband, instead of being home making love to
you, he’ll be somewhere else in the arms of another woman.”

Meredith glared at her sister through water
filled eyes before setting herself to walk off.

Anneli grabbed her sister’s arm. “Please help
me,” she confirmed.

Both girls swayed where they stood. Meredith
reluctantly nodded. Arm in arm, they walked off snaking their way
through the sea of strangers who were bobbing to the rhythm of the
music. They walked down a long narrow corridor and entered the
kitchen. They stood watching the closest cook. The man looked up
from decorating trays of small deserts.

“I don’t suppose you have a pen and paper?”
asked Anneli.

The man wore an expression of a cyclone
etched on his forehead. He viciously shook his head, marched across
the room, rudely shoving the girls out through the open door.
Slamming the door shut he went back to work.

“The cook is a strange man,” chuckled
Meredith.

Anneli choked on her half drunken
snigger.

The girls ventured into the room adjacent to
the kitchen. The room resembled an office. A small portable TV sat
inside a narrow wood grain unit. Books were crammed into what space
remained. A mahogany coloured antique desk filled a third of the
room. The large chair covered in dull red leather sat neatly under
the desk. The only other piece of furniture was a flimsy white
plastic chair in one corner.

Anneli sat on the large leather chair, opened
the top draw, lifting out a gold plated pen and a pad of yellow
paper. Glancing at Meredith pushing her ear against the door she
slapped the pad on the desk top and commenced to write her
letter.

“Sis, hurry up, I hear footsteps.”

Anneli replaced the pen, folded the note five
times before hiding it in the palm of her hand. The girls were
almost at the door when it opened.

The man who took up the entire doorway looked
down his nose. “What are you two up to?” he growled in his baritone
voice.

“Father, we wanted five minutes of peace. We
both have a headache,” whispered Anneli.

“Meredith, when you’ve found your fiancé I
want you to escort him back to the deck. On your way grab something
from the medicine cabinet in the kitchen. Anneli, I want to have a
word.”

Anneli waited for Meredith to leave before
shutting the door. Turning to face her father, she said innocently.
“Yes.”

“Pull up the chair,” he barked.

Anneli dragged the small white plastic chair
across the room and sat opposite.

The man looked over the top of his glasses.
“There’s been a slight delay on your marriage. At next year’s
new-years-eve party your-husband-to-be will be introduced to you.
Three weeks after your introduction there will be an engagement
party. Four weeks further on you’ll be standing at the altar saying
I do.”

Folding her arms, Anneli glared angrily at
her father. “Your idea is way off the mark on what I’m
thinking.”

“I don’t care what you think,” he growled
hammering the desk top using a tight fist. “From the moment I
married your mother the deal regarding the man you will marry was
set in concrete.”

Anneli stood, throwing her hands onto her
hips. “You are not my real father.”

“Sit down.”

“I prefer to stand.”

“Hearing you feel so strongly about your idea
I’ll do the same.” Darryl stood, folding his arms across his chest.
“Let me start by saying a lot of water has flowed under the bridge
since your real father died at sea in a storm. If I remember
correctly a cyclone took his life; Tragic tale. Two years I waited
in the wings for your mother to put the loss behind her. When she
finally married me I could tell she never felt happier.”

“My mother married you for your money,
nothing more.”

“I beg to differ.”

“My mother whispered to me on her death bed
whatever happens never marry someone for his money. Above
everything love must come first. On her last breath she made it
clear to me I should always follow my heart.”

“She didn’t mention it to me,” admitted
Darryl.

“In case you’ve forgotten, my mother’s name
was Eloise. She died of cancer three days after my seventh
birthday.” Anneli walked to the door. Instead of rushing outside
she turned to face her stepfather. “Has this idea of yours ever
been written down on paper?”

“My word is my bond. I expect others to
mirror my example,” Darryl yelled.

“What if they don’t?”

“You mock me. I don’t expect any resistance
to my ideas.”

“Has it ever dawned on you I might want to
find my own husband?” questioned Anneli.

“What do you know about finding the perfect
man? The one who will keep you well fed and warm on cold
nights.”

Anneli shrugged. “Not a thing. Has it ever
occurred to you it is part of the love process?”

“Why say such a preposterous thing?”

“I think everyone on the face of the earth
should have a choice on which person they want for a lifetime
partner.”

Darryl marched across the grey carpet to the
door. “You are too young to know when the right choice is staring
at you in the face. For a carefree future you have to be guided
along the correct path.”

“Whatever happened to free choice?”

“I forbid it.”

“For once, why don’t you trust me to make the
right decision? I won’t make a bad choice.”

“Financially you have to be looked after.
I’ll judge myself worse than a failure if you didn’t marry a rich
man.”

“Is it such a bad thing?”

“Yes. I will not have you go through life in
poverty.”

“Is this marriage contract the only reason
why you entertain the radical idea?”

“Yes.”

“You expect to match me to someone of your
choosing, providing he’s rich,” Anneli folded her arms in a defying
gesture.

“You make it sound worse than it actually
is.”

“If this farce actually germinates it’ll be
the start of my nightmare. I should love the man before I give him
something I can never take back. Once I have given myself the first
time there is no going back or changing my mind. I have always
wanted my first time to be precious. The moment will be of my
choosing, not yours or anybody else’s. It’s my choice. God forbid
the choice I make be taken away,” yelled Anneli.

“You’re grandparents chose my first wife.
After she died they insisted I marry her sister; your mother.”

Tears started to fall down Anneli’s cheeks.
“You make out you were buying a prize head of cattle.”

“Your mother and her sister were both
beautiful women. Granted, it took me time to realize I loved them
both equally. Once I did I could not have been happier.”

“Tell me, when you were twenty, did you or
did you not want to decide for yourself the girl who you considered
could be the perfect wife, someone who might grow to love you and
not be ordered to love you?”

“Stop talking rubbish,” yelled Darryl.

“This is the start of 1974. Can’t you
understand why your youngest stepdaughter wants to be married to
someone of her choosing,” asked Anneli.

“You will marry the man I have entered into a
contract. The agreement is unbreakable. If you insist on going
against my wishes you will not receive a single Australian dollar
from the family. You will be on your own. When you choose to see
things my way, all will be reinstated to you. Be warned,
financially you will be ruined for the rest of your life if you go
it alone. Take hold of what your eldest sister has done. The
relationship between her and Dirk is going great.”

Anneli stared at her father. “Is it? Be
honest. Have you actually sat her down to ask Meredith?”

Anneli and her father stood for a long time
glaring at each other. The tension in the room continued to
thicken.