Kiss On The Bridge (20 page)

“This room is a magical fairytale.” She knew
her voice sounded worse than a weak whispered croak.

“I told you something trumped the view from
downstairs.”

Anneli stared out of one window, slowly
nodding. “I didn’t think it could be possible. I can see why you
wanted to buy this place.”

“Two hundred and seventy degrees of ocean
viewing at your finger tips,” stated Wade.

“I can only imagine how it will feel to wake
each morning to this amazing view.”

“You won’t have to wonder for too long.
Tonight you’ll be able to view your first sunset in your new home.
In the morning you’ll view your first sunrise; the first one of
decades to come.”

Anneli darted her gaze to Wade. Her smile
couldn’t be any wider. “Thank you for rescuing me from my future
pathetic life.”

Wade side stepped, placing the champagne
bottle with the note Anneli wrote on the shelf next to a photo of
Charlotte. “I think this is the perfect place for the bottle. The
hand written note inside will remain sealed. I want whichever one
of our great-grand-children who opens the bottle and reads the note
to know ‘Anything is possible when you believe.’”

Anneli walked over to kiss her hero. She
cuddled into him. Inside, she couldn’t feel any happier.

“There’s one more button,” mentioned
Wade.

“Another surprise?” asked Anneli.

“I think you’ll find this next surprise might
even trump what you’ve seen so far. I’ll let you decide which one
is greater.”

“What about you, which one did you pick?”

“The jury is still out on trying to decide. I
want you to press the top button.”

Anneli pushed it. For a few seconds nothing
happened. She heard a clang. She looked up to see the metal
shutters covering the roof were retracting upwards.

“This whole room resembles the dome on top of
a lighthouse. The original owner happened to be a lighthouse
keeper. He constructed the room for his wife. After saying she
hated it, he sold it to an amateur astronomer who in turn needed to
sell the mansion to pay for his nursing home and a twenty-four hour
nurse. The man I bought the house from loved this room too. He
converted it into what you see today. This room helped me make up
my mind to pay more than the asking price. I didn’t want to hear
the words ‘no sale.’ Almost every night I lie in bed watching the
sunset. In the morning I watch the sunrise. Come on let’s step
outside onto the balcony. It encompasses the whole dome.”

Wade led Anneli to the glass door. They
stepped onto the balcony together. Slowly they circled the room
from the outside.

“This is a magical place,” Anneli sighed
almost breathless, viewing the sea and the plateau the house was
built on. She looked up into Wade’s eyes. The words he spoke, his
actions towards her since they met relayed the message; ‘she didn’t
have anything to fear.’ She felt positive he’d see her right. Above
all else she wanted to hear the three words he spoke earlier one
more time. Her heart needed to hear them.

Wade took her in his arms, gazing lovingly
into her eyes. Anneli lapped up every second.

“Anneli, I love you more than life. If you
aren’t living in this house it will never be a home.”

Anneli hugged his chest. Tears fell
unhindered down her cheeks. “I love you too.”

As the sun rose steadily in the sky, Wade and
Anneli rekindled the kiss they shared on the bridge twelve months
earlier, only this time it seemed to be more real, more love,
lacing the very essence of the moment.

Anneli felt determined nothing will ever
break the chain.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

DIRECTLY BELOW Wade and Anneli’s feet the
small group coming from the ship made slow agonizing progress up
the stairs. At the halfway point Darryl looked up at the
mansion.

“Boys keep moving. It won’t be long now.”

“Are you sure this is the right place?” asked
one of Darryl’s sons. “If Anneli came this way I’m sure we’d have
seen her. This is a nightmare of a climb.”

“Stop whining. Keep moving. It’s imperative I
talk to Anneli sooner than later.”

“If there is another way of getting to the
top, I didn’t discover it,” moaned Dirk.

“All of you keep moving,” snarled Darryl. “I
want to be knocking on the mansion door in the sunlight.”

Meredith leaned against the metal side rail.
A dull red colour slowly replaced her original green look. “Can’t
we stop for a longer rest? I can never see Anneli ever agreeing to
such a horrid climb.”

Darryl shook his head before marching onwards
to the mansion. “When you have decided to follow I will see you at
the top.”

Dirk placed his arm around Meredith’s waist
to help her climb the remaining steps. By the time the group
emerged from the top stair they crumpled onto the dark green grass.
Each person felt exhausted after completing the long climb.

“We must be at least one hundred feet above
the sand,” complained Dirk trying unsuccessfully to standing.

Darryl hobbled towards the closest door. “All
of you stay where you are. Anneli and I will be having words.” He
pounded on the door using a tight fist. “Anneli, if you are in this
house. I want to talk to you,” he yelled.

“My stepfather has brought the cavalry for
protection,” laughed Anneli.

“There’s no way I’d climb those stairs,”
admitted Wade, chuckling. “I walk down them. I always take the lift
on the return trip.”

Wade heard more pounding on the door. He
leaned over the railing. “Hey down there, we saw you arrive.”

Darryl back stepped away from the door,
looking up. Anneli’s brothers joined their father, each one
pointing at Wade.

“I want to talk to my daughter,” yelled
Darryl.

Anneli looked down over the railing. “I don’t
want to talk to you.”

“Anneli come down,” yelled Meredith,
squinting.

“Hi Sis,” Anneli replied.

“Please come down. Bring the bloke.”

“Anneli doesn’t want to talk to any of you,”
called Wade.

“If she doesn’t agree on a talk in ten
seconds we’ll break in,” called Dirk, raising his fist.

“It won’t be necessary to smash the door,”
called Wade. “We’re on our way.”

Anneli grabbed him by the shoulder. “I don’t
even want to see them.”

“I know. I’m stalling for time. I’ll show you
an exit I built the moment I moved in. I have to confess I’ve never
used it. I got to thinking if there ever happened to be a fire
while I’m up here, there’s no escape. Come on, I’m sure you’ll love
it.”

Wade walked Anneli to the other side of the
dome. He pulled a small two man metal bucket from off the wall.
Reaching into the bucket he pulled out a metal clip, fastening the
whole thing to a steel cable above their heads.

“Your chariot,” said Wade palming his hand at
the vessel.

“You built a flying fox?” questioned Anneli.
Her voice gave away her excitement. Stepping into the oversized
bucket her knees were knocking from the exhilaration of the forth
coming ride. “I’m nervous and excited at the same time.”

“Hold on tight,” insisted Wade. “We’re in for
the ride of our lives.”

“Will it work? You did mention you’ve never
tested it.”

“Do you trust me?”

Anneli slowly nodded.

Wade climbed in, took the black disc out of
is pocket and pushed the button. He gave the ledge a shove. The
oversized bucket moved away from the balcony. Anneli looked back at
the glass dome. She watched the long louvers starting to close.

The wind rushed past them as they plummeted
towards the ground at a forty five degree angle. Anneli’s long hair
trailed behind her. Wade swiped the strands from his face several
times. His grin never waned even when the ground rushed towards
them. The canopy created by the trees grew thick. Just when Anneli
thought they’d crash into the branches, she spied a gap. The bucket
rushed through.

The metal bucket slowed. It came to a
complete stop between two large trees. Wade jumped out, lifting
Anneli up and over the side of the bucket by her waist.

“This way,” he whispered, stooping under a
low branch.

“Where are we going?” asked Anneli.

“You’ll see.”

Weaving their way through the trees Wade led
the way along a narrow track covered in leaves. In a small clearing
no larger than the miner’s hut in Darwin, five dark figures were
waiting. The welcoming committee stood military style in
anticipation of the two arrivals.

Wade came to an abrupt halt, glaring at the
men.

“In case you’re wondering how we got here so
quick, I discovered your little secret the moment I saw the
overhead wire. When I spotted the clearing I easily figured out
you’d come here. We took a short cut,” snarled the stockiest figure
of the group. He stood slightly in front of the others. “Boys help
the man to feel we are one big happy family.”

Raising their fists, the four men at the rear
marched towards Wade who gently swept Anneli behind him. She
screamed at her stepfather to stop the inevitable fight. Wade
looked more than ready to step up to the plate to defend his
fiancé. The third round would be a replay of their first and second
encounter.

“Please, Wade let’s run,” shrieked Anneli
tugging on his arm. “I’m not concerned for your safety. I don’t
want to see my brother’s hurt.”

“There’s no ambulance for at least an hour,”
spat Wade forcefully.

The five men burst out laughing.

Wade’s plan to get them off guard worked
perfectly. He grabbed hold of Anneli’s wrist before plowing onwards
through the group. Using a strong push of his hand, he swept the
men from his path. Wade and Anneli dived through the doorway of the
miner’s hut. Wade slammed the door shut, ramming the metal bar
home, locking the door. He walked to the adjacent wall, opened a
trap door as pounding on the door commenced. Wade flicked a switch
on the wall. A line of globes lit the way down a flight of
stairs.

Anneli pulled the trap door shut, sliding the
large bolt into the wall. She followed Wade down the steep decent.
The smell of sea water quickly grew stronger. The narrow tunnel
leveled out at an iron door. Wade turned the rusty handle, tugging
on the door.

They stepped across the threshold.

Standing on a twelve foot wide concrete
platform, Anneli spied Charlotte.

“I think I should have fought your brothers,”
snarled Wade. “The last time we met I won easily.”

“You did the right thing. Even though my
family and I don’t see eye to eye I don’t want them to make you
their enemy.”

Wade shrugged. “You’re right diplomatic
relations sometimes works more effectively than violence.”

“When my stepfather calms down, we can have a
good talk,” blurted Anneli. She craned her neck to kiss the lips of
her hero. She knew beyond doubt Wade will be the only man in her
life. He was the special someone she could lean on and trust.

Wade led Anneli towards a fifteen foot motor
boat. He helped her onboard. In seconds he’d unclipped the mooring
rope.

“I have a feeling your stepfather might be
slightly furious over you slipping through his fingers yet again,”
hinted Wade.

“He’ll have to suck it up,” yelped Anneli.
“Sometimes he has to listen to what others think even if they
oppose his ideas.”

Wade started the outboard motor and navigated
the boat out of the tunnel towards the open ocean.

Anneli looked over her shoulder at the
shrinking mansion. “Wade, where are we going?’

“Where does a hero take his beloved after a
furious battle?”

EPILOGUE

THE MOTOR boat idled to a stop at the stairs.
Meredith escorted Anneli, dressed in a long white laced wedding
gown up the stairs to the start of the bridge where she met Wade
fifteen months earlier. Her grin couldn’t be any wider.

Meredith gave her sister the once over before
kissing her on the cheek. “Sis, you make a beautiful bride.”

“I don’t know how to start to say thank you,”
whispered Anneli.

“You don’t have to. What I need you to do is
have a long and happy life. Above all don’t keep your knight
waiting any longer.”

Anneli focused on the figure standing in the
middle of the bridge. His tuxedo shone in the late afternoon sun.
Four men stood on his left. Each one in turn stepped forward,
slapping him on the shoulder. Anneli’s stepfather looked to be a
proud man as he raised his elbow for Anneli to hold on to.

“Before we start the bridal walk I need to
say something,” he whispered.

Anneli looked sideways at her stepfather, not
sure what to expect.

“I should never have tried to interfere in
your future. Not only have you met a great man I believe he’s going
to be an exceptional husband.”

Anneli looked him in the eyes. “Thank you for
the kind words. From now on I think you have earned the right to be
called dad.”

Darryl puffed out his chest, escorting his
daughter along the bridge. After they walked to the middle Darryl
held out his hand to Wade.

“I’m happy the three of us got a chance to
have a little chat,” hinted Darryl.

Both men grinned at each other and shook
hands, not in a business type manner, as a family member.”

“Who gives this young lady away?” asked the
minister.

“I do,” announced Darryl. He winked at Wade,
kissed his daughter on the cheek before stepping back to enjoy the
marriage ceremony. Only once did he glance at Meredith. Her eyes
were red rimmed. When a tear from her eyes threatened to fall she’d
use the tissue she hid in the palm of her hand to wipe the tear
away.

For over half an hour the minister preached
outstanding words. He glanced at the people who were invited before
settling his attention on Wade and Anneli. He closed the bible.
Smiling, he looked at Anneli and Wade. “I now pronounce you husband
and wife.”