A Family Affair - First Born (17 page)

When Jack arrived back in Melbourne after a long flight from Las Vegas, he held Nikki’s hand firmly. He could feel the new diamond ring on her finger, yet he still couldn’t believe she was wearing it. Nonetheless, the smile on his face stretched from ear to ear as they came through the international gate. He noticed the odd stare from people passing by which he attributed to Nikki’s good looks rather than the difference in their ages. She was the most beautiful wife imaginable, and overwhelming pride was the only feeling he could concentrate on, as he wheeled their luggage to the taxi rank.

Of course, not everything on the honeymoon had gone according to plan. He had wanted to make love to her – his brain had been willing, but alas his seventy-year old body resisted all efforts to participate. Jack would schedule a doctor’s visit to address the issue as a matter of priority. He had heard of little blue pills which could perform miracles for men like him; lucky, lucky men who were married to beautiful young women.

In Jack’s mind this little problem was partly Margaret’s fault. His body was so out of practice in the bedroom, given that she had refused to be touched for the past ten years.

They had driven home to Jack’s new apartment where he had been living since the day Margaret threw him out of the family home. Luckily one of his furnished four-bedroom apartments had been available at the time, so Jack had moved in straight away. He had always expected Margaret to calm down and invite him home, but when she didn’t, he accepted his new life. Possibilities started to open up for him. After two weeks away from Margaret, there was no way he was going back. The apartment was starting to feel like home, and he experienced a new freedom and vigour in life that he hadn’t felt for years.

Margaret had filed for divorce the next day in any case, and he had welcomed it by then. Of course the divorce settlement with Margaret meant he would lose half the estate. She hadn’t worked a day since they’d been married, and it seemed a bit unfair, but nothing could ruin his mood these days. Margaret could have all of the properties, for all he cared. He had Nikki on his arm.

The vacant apartment was perfectly suited to his and Nikki’s needs. It was situated close to one of her girlfriends, and also to her record company. They might buy something bigger eventually, but right now, it was perfect. Nikki’s furniture was delivered on the day they returned from Las Vegas, and after that, their new life together really started.

He watched Nikki lovingly as she flitted around the room, adding final touches to the catering and decorations of his apartment. The catering staff were almost finished, and Jack surveyed everything with pride. The apartment was perfect for entertaining as it had a large open plan living area which led to a spacious covered deck overlooking the Yarra River. They were preparing for a party at their home that night, and had invited a hundred friends and family to celebrate the wedding. Nikki thought it important to mark the occasion with everyone, given that their wedding ceremony had been so private. After all, Jack had not even met Nikki’s parents yet, and given that he was ten years older than Nikki’s dad, it was an event about which he was feeling some trepidation. There were so many years he had lost being married to Margaret. He had allowed her to dominate their life choices, but no longer. He felt freer than a bird.

Most of Jack’s friends were coming to the party, even though some of them had expressed certain reservations about the speed in which his new marriage had happened. It was easy to understand, Jack supposed. From an outsider’s perspective, he and his new wife must appear to be from different worlds. She was young and talented with a successful recording history, and he was a retired old man. But the truth of the matter was not as it appeared to outsiders. Nikki was an old soul in a young person’s body – she liked singing but detested being out late, she enjoyed quiet activities at home, she was introverted, and she enjoyed cooking and walking. Jack felt like a prisoner who had just been released; he wanted to experience things he had only ever dreamed of. Although Jack’s body was old, his spirit was perfectly matched to Nikki’s. Something had come alive in him the first moment he saw her. She took the stage to sing for Tom and Ellen’s first dance as a married couple. It was a soft jazz tune, accompanied only by a piano and the occasional saxophone riff. The room was still as everyone watched, mesmerised by their slow dance. Jack however, couldn’t take his eyes off Nikki. Her voice was amazing, but it was more than that - she literally took his breath away.

There was magic in that moment; it was an experience which burnt its way into his memory. In a flash he was given the most perfect clarity. Somehow, someday, he was going to marry this girl. He knew right away that he wanted her.

To Jack’s surprise, later that night he had the opportunity to talk to Nikki in person. He ordered her a drink which she liked, and they started chatting. She laughed generously at his stories, and gradually the spark he had felt from watching her on the stage grew and grew. It blossomed in front of them until there was an undeniable chemistry. Nikki had smiled broadly when she realised, and wrote her number down for Jack.

“Will you call me tomorrow?” she had asked apprehensively.

Jack had grabbed the moment with a youthful confidence. “I can do better than that. How about I take you to brunch? I know a great place.” He had been thinking of the spot where Margaret refused to go, but he loved. They served goats cheese with eggs, and the coffee was strong.

Nikki had liked his confidence, and the date had gone well. It had progressed naturally to dinner because they hadn’t been able to stop talking. He couldn’t exactly remember who had suggested flying to Vegas, but at some point one of them had challenged the other to do something bold and spontaneous. It was a wild, reckless thing to do, but Jack hadn’t been able to think of one good reason not to. He was not going to live forever – why not throw caution to the wind once in his life. Nikki was a breath of fresh air, and it would sure as hell annoy Margaret, if nothing else.

Telling Tom had been the most difficult part of the adventure. Tom was similar to Margaret in many ways – he was not prone to spontaneity and had been raised to be conservative. However, Tom was marrying Ellen rather quickly, so Jack had not given up hope that his son would approve.

To Jack’s dismay, Tom had not understood at all. In fact, he had even started blaming himself for hiring Nikki to perform. The two of them needed to discuss the issue further, but Jack was hopeful that his son would attend the celebration despite his reservations.

Later that night, Jack was relieved to see Tom and Ellen arrive as the first guests. Nikki welcomed them and was kissing Ellen on the cheek when he first noticed them. He hurried over, hoping to see further positive signs that his son was going to support their marriage after all. In any case, he did not want to miss a word said between the two beautiful new brides. Perhaps if Ellen and Nikki became friends, Tom would come around sooner. Nikki was laughing heartily at something Ellen said, so perhaps she had the same idea.

“Tom, Ellen, hello,” Jack said, shaking his son’s hand. “Thank you for coming.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ellen insisted, smiling and looking at him and Nikki with curiosity.

Jack could tell that Tom was still unhappy with things, yet his new wife was obviously delaying her judgment for the moment. He and Ellen had always gotten along, and perhaps she had more sympathy for his situation, given the way that Margaret had behaved towards her.

“Help yourself to food and drink,” Jack said, pointing to everything. “Tom, a word.”

“Certainly, Father.”

“Ladies – please relax. We’ll be right back.” Jack led Tom out to the balcony where they could have a moment alone to talk. “Son, I really appreciate your being here tonight. I can’t tell you how much it means to both Nikki and myself.”

“Ellen insisted on coming.”

“I see.”

Tom paused. “You should know that Mum is not handling this marriage of yours too well.”

“Your mother was the one who divorced me,” Jack reminded him. “Don’t forget that I didn’t instigate a thing. We weren’t happy, but I would never have divorced her.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Tom admitted, looking down.

Jack felt a pang of sympathy for Margaret. He didn’t want her to be distressed. “Does she need anything from me?”

Tom shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’m keeping an eye on her.”

“Good. I appreciate that. You know, as hard as it is to believe, I don’t want anything bad for your mother.”

“I know that, Dad. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”

“Not for me. I can’t tell you how alive I feel right now. It’s as if I’ve been given a new life. I don’t regret anything, and I’m not going to apologise for falling in love, and for marrying Nikki.”

Tom looked at him and then nodded. “Yes, I can’t remember seeing you like this before.” He paused. “I know you want my support.”

“I do, son. Both Nikki and I do.”

“I can’t pretend to understand why you had to get married so quickly, but I will try and support this decision without any more questions.”

Jack beamed. They were the words he had wanted to hear. “Thank you, son.”

“I guess I should get to know Nikki better now.”

“We’d both like that.”

Before long, more and more people started arriving. The string quartet played, the champagne flowed, the cocktail bar became crowded with people ordering fancy drinks, and the finger food arrived on decorated trays. As the noise levels started to increase, Jack realised that people were having a terrific time.

None of Jack’s friends voiced any concerns at the party about his quick marriage, and in fact, of few of his friends threw him sly looks of envy as Nikki sauntered around the place meeting everyone. She was so adorable and likeable – there would be no worries left by the end of the night.

Suddenly Nikki found Jack’s hand and squeezed it. “Sorry to barge in. I’m going to go freshen up. My parents have just arrived.”

Jack looked where Nikki indicated.

“Why don’t you go introduce yourself, and I’ll be right back.”

“Can do.”

“They’ll be thrilled to meet you, Jack. I’ve told them so much about you.”

“Don’t keep me waiting too long, Mrs Bradley.”

She smiled, enjoying her new title.

Jack made his way through the familiar crowd of friends and family until he reached Mr and Mrs Lucas. “Hello there,” he said, getting their attention. “You must be Ken and Janet.”

“Are you Jack’s father?” Janet asked, removing her coat and smiling.

“Um, no.” Jack realised too late that Nikki must not have told her parents about their age difference. He took a deep breath. “I’m Jack.”

They both looked at him in shock. “But you are our age,” Janet murmured.

“No. He’s older than us,” Ken said, with disgust in a knowing sort of way.

“I’m sorry.” Jack wasn’t sure what was going on here, and wished that Nikki would hurry over to calm what was quickly becoming an awkward situation. Luckily, the noise around them was preventing their conversation from being overheard by his other guests; otherwise Jack would have been mortified.

“I know you!” Ken said angrily. “I’ll never forget who you are, and my daughter is not staying married to you. I’ll tell you that right now.”

“Excuse me.” Jack looked around for Nikki again but still couldn’t see her anywhere. Neither Ken nor Janet was at all familiar, and Jack had no idea what they were talking about.

“You are the scumbag that got Sarah pregnant and broke her heart in the process.”

“This is him?” asked Janet.

“Yeah, I’d recognise him anywhere.”

“Oh.”

“Wait,” said Jack, trying to keep up. “What? Are you talking about Sarah Rush?”

“Who else?”

“How did you know her?”

“We were friends. I supported her through the break up. She gave the baby away, you know. She couldn’t keep something that reminded her of you.”

Kane was the baby that she had given away. Jack looked around the room for him, and was about to explain that her son was grown and here at the party when he stopped. Perhaps meeting Kane would only upset Ken further.

“I asked her to marry me when she said she was pregnant,” Ken continued. “To make an honest woman out of her, even though I knew it was your baby she was carrying.”

Jack tried to explain quickly. “I never knew she was pregnant.  She wanted me to end my marriage, but I couldn’t. After that, she just disappeared. She quit her job, and I never heard from her again.”

“You broke Sarah’s heart, that’s why. She couldn’t bear the pain of seeing you every day, after she thought you loved her. You’re an animal! You did that to Sarah and now you want to do the same to our Nikki? You broke her heart, and she never recovered. She couldn’t trust a man again.” Ken’s face had turned bright red as the anger was building up in him.

“Your heart, Ken,” Janet suddenly warned, tugging on his arm. “Try not to get so worked up.”

Jack shook his head. He loved Nikki and would never leave her. “I don’t understand where this is all coming from, Ken. That was so many years ago. Nikki knows all about Sarah – I’ve been completely honest with her.”