Kiss On The Bridge (3 page)

“This discussion is over,” yelled Anneli,
throwing the office door.

Darryl snorted before looking away. “The
subject is indeed closed.”

“Father, this subject is far from
closed.”

Anneli pulled the door shut, marched back
along the corridor to the deck of the ship. Swiveling her head
towards the bar she spied a bottle of expensive bubbly on the
counter. She sprinted over, swiped it and a cork screw then
searched for a quiet corner. She intended to get completely drunk
the moment she popped the cork.

Meredith stood loitering next to the bar. Her
gaze remained fixed on the antics of her sister. For a brief moment
Anneli hesitated. As if signaling a secret code, Meredith followed.
They pushed their way through the party goers on the way to the
stern.

At the rear of the small ship they discovered
a square platform which sat half an inch below the surface of the
water. Anneli grabbed two wooden chairs from the closest table,
placing them on the platform. She took hold of her sister’s hand to
help her over the railing. They sat dangling their feet in the
water, drinking the bottle of bubbly and staring out across the
bay. The low swells died away leaving Port Phillip Bay glass flat.
There were no clouds to hide the stars. In the background, the
lights of Melbourne shone brighter than a million torches.

“Nice night to drown ones sorrows,” whispered
Meredith, eventually.

“It sure is,” growled Anneli, staring at a
fictitious object on the horizon. “There’s no way I’m going to
consent to our father’s stupid plans.”

“Sis, I heard the argument. Hell, the whole
ship heard.”

“Good. I meant every word.” Anneli lifted the
bottle to her mouth, swallowing a third of the contents. Lifting
the cork screw to shoulder height, she threw it into the sea.

“You know you’ve opened a can of worms,”
mentioned Meredith.

“I don’t care. The man who calls himself our
father has to realize these are modern times. It’s my choice whom I
intend to marry, not his.”

“Good for you.” Meredith grabbed the bottle
out of Anneli’s hand, swallowing a mouthful of champagne.

“You should’ve done the same,” blurted
Anneli, looking directly at her sister.

“For a few days I did contemplate the idea.
The bottomless bucket of money I have been given permission to
spend is too tempting an offer. Besides, my fiancé treats me
well.”

“It’s not too late to pull the plug,” barked
Anneli.

Meredith leaned towards her sister,
whispering. “Do yourself a favour. Obey what father says. It’ll
save everyone a lot of bother.”

Anneli stood, hovering over her sister. “I
thought you’d back me up on this.”

“Trust me, it’s easier to surrender.”

“I’ll never agree to an arranged marriage. If
I die of starvation, so be it.”

Meredith pursed her lips. Reaching up she
grabbed Anneli on the arm. “It’s too late for me. Whatever you
decide, I’ll back you one hundred percent.”

Anneli patted her on the shoulder. Flopping
back onto the seat she announced. “I’m happy knowing I have at
least one person on my side. You do realize, out there, your Mr.
Right is waiting.”

“He’ll be waiting a long time,” replied
Meredith on a forced sigh. “I have no plans to leave my fiancé.
Besides, if I did, I think I’d be turned into fish food. Running
out on a contracted marriage or future marriage has never happened
in our ancestry line.”

“Exactly why I’m going to marry who I
please,” snarled Anneli.

“You’re hooked on the bloke you kissed on the
bridge.”

Anneli nodded. “The kiss felt wonderful.”

“Get over it.”

“There’s no way I could ever get over
something so enjoyable. There’s more to it than just a passing
kiss.”

“Your emotions were ignited by the idea you’d
never see him again.”

“Maybe you’re right. What are the odds our
paths will cross again?”

“Take it from me they’re definitely not in
your favour,” Meredith slurred. She raised the bottle of bubbly to
her lips, swallowing the remaining liquid in one long continuous
gulp.

Anneli pulled the small sheet of folded paper
from her cleavage, handing it over.

Meredith unfolded the note and read the words
out loud.

“To my hero, when will you save me from my
stinking horrible life? Please hurry, signed Anneli.”

“Meredith, follow my lead. Place both hands
on the bottle and repeat after me. God, if you think I need to be
saved from my life you’ll see to it this bottle will be found by my
soul mate. If you think Wade is the one for me, you have my
permission to send him my way. The kiss we shared happened to be
out of this world.”

Meredith stared at her sister. In a blunt
monotone voice she replied. “I agree.”

Anneli tipped the few remaining drips of
champagne into the water, placed the note inside the bottle and
replaced the cork. She kissed the bottle and gently placed it into
the sea. Both girls watched the bottle bobbing in the water till
the darkness swallowed it.

“What now?” Meredith asked.

“I’m going ashore.”

“You can’t, father won’t allow it.”

“Have you forgotten already where he actually
found me? Escort me to the bridge. I want to see my hero
coming.”

“He’ll be long gone by now,” stated
Meredith.

Anneli fell silent. She stared out across the
surface of the water, lost in a daydream of her and Wade cuddling
on the bridge, re-living their kiss.

CHAPTER THREE

Four weeks prior to Cyclone Tracy hitting
landfall in Darwin.

WADE MACKENZIE ran his fingers through his
sandy coloured hair before placing the control knob into neutral.
The engine revs fell to idle. The forty foot yacht’s speed dropped
to zero. He walked from the bridge to the side of the hull. Leaning
over the side to look at the water a lazy smile highlighted his
cheek bones. Tapping a button on the side of the boat he felt the
vibration of a motor whirl to life under his feet. The aluminum
dive ladder slid silently into the water up to the second rung.

Wade threw his white button up shirt over the
back of a deck chair, dropping a brown towel over his shirt. The
sweat on his deep chest glistened in the hot sun. The few clouds in
the sky were bleached white. Only a hint of a sea breeze brushed
his face as he prepared to dive into the cool glass flat ocean.

Wade dived away from the sparkling new yacht,
surfacing twenty five feet off to port. He heard the screeching of
his CB radio. To help ignore the noise he dived for the second
time. He loved being underwater in the quiet; away from the noise
of the anti-room of the supreme-court. There seemed to be a ruckus
brewing every few minutes. He swam straight down to a depth of
twenty feet. He took in the view by staring through the crystal
clear water.

A large school of small tuna swimming towards
him split into two, darting around him. A large stingray glided
effortlessly above his head. It didn’t stop or try to avoid the two
metre shape ascending slowly to the surface.

At a depth of four feet Wade spied what he
dived into the water for. It bobbed lazily on the surface. His
lungs were starting to ache when saw a shark swimming directly at
him. He watched the young grey nurse swim closer. Wade avoided
confrontation by changing direction. In a heartbeat he decided it
might be time to retrieve what he found and climb back on board his
yacht before the mother came looking for her young.

In one swift motion Wade’s fingers wrapped
about the object. In seconds he started climbing the aluminum dive
ladder. The moment he stepped onto the white deck of the sail boat
he pressed a button. Almost instantly the ladder started to close.
He snatched up the brown towel he’d slung over the back of the deck
chair, throwing it over his left shoulder. Holding the newly
discovered booty in his hand he walked towards the bridge.

The CB radio screeched for the tenth
time.

Wade dived onto the bridge, swiping the
receiver from its cradle. “Speak,” he said.

“Wade, I’m Grant Mustard’s secretary, the
jury has reached a decision. Do you want to be in court to listen
to the verdict?”

“I’ve already quit. Didn’t you find my
official letter of resignation?”

“I filed it hoping you might change your
mind.”

“No.”

“Mr. Mustard has personally asked me to plead
for you to reconsider.”

“You can inform Grant my answer is still
no.”

“You are the best lawyer in Australia he will
not accept your resignation.”

“Sheryl, please, tell him no.”

“You have to understand he will not take no
for an answer.”

“I’ve other plans,” Wade advised.

“Let me guess, you are planning to chase the
young lady you kissed on the bridge.”

“My plans are private.”

“So the rumours being spread throughout the
building over you and the mystery woman are correct.”

“I refuse to discuss it.”

“Wade, think about it, what if you cannot
find her?”

“What if I do?”

“It is a lot of ifs.”

Using the towel Wade started to rub the water
from his legs. He suddenly stopped to look across the sea at the
Melbourne skyline. “Sheryl, tell me what you’d do?” he asked
confidently into the CB radio.

“It’s none of my concern.”

“Exactly,” snorted Wade.

“Why are you chasing a pipe dream?”

“Explain this. What are the chances of being
by yourself at midnight on a bridge when out of the blue someone
asks to kiss you?”

“I’d have to say the odds are enormous.”

“If what you say is true, clarify this. I’ve
been on that particular bridge at midnight several times over the
years, not once has there ever been anyone else on it. Sheryl, she
kissed me back.”

“You sound obsessed.”

“Call it what you will, I don’t care.”

“Wade, you are making too much of the whole
kiss on the bridge thing.”

“Call it fate. I can’t change the fact it
happened.”

“Wade, see the logic behind the event.”

“Sheryl, I thought being a woman you’d
understand where I’m coming from.”

“I do understand. I just do not see the point
or the effort it takes to accomplish something which is not
possible.”

“Inform Grant what I’ve decided.”

“Explain it to him yourself.”

“Tell me, has he been listening the whole
time?” questioned Wade.

“No.”

“Sheryl, you were never a good liar. Put him
on.”

After a short pause the CB radio crackled
back to life. The gruff voice belonged to a man who didn’t sound
happy.

“Wade, you were correct. I heard the entire
conversation. You have to reconsider.”

“Why? I don’t have to do anything. On top of
my decision, I loathe the well-to-do lingo everyone puts on. I also
hate the way the firm runs the affairs of every one of her
clients.”

“You have a bright future in our company, do
not blow it.”

“I had a future in the law sector. I’ll do
what I want.”

“What will you do? Your mind is too sharp for
anything other than full steam ahead.”

“My personal life is my business,” replied
Wade.

“This whole year I have held my tongue. I
believe the young lady you’ve been chasing has made you drag your
feet. What if I promise to find the woman?”

The tone in Grant Mustard’s voice told Wade
he could easily be swept off the path sometime in the near
future.

“You work for me. You have to choose, me or
nothing.”

“I’ve already chosen to quit.”

“Wade, you celebrated your twenty-fourth
birthday three months ago. Already you have earned more money than
all of us put together. Your reputation has surpassed my wildest
expectations. Name your price; ten, twenty million a year?”

Wade pressed the end button, placed the CB
radio back in its cradle before stepping through the narrow
doorway. Walking down the two steps to the second level, he glanced
at the barometer. Sidestepping into the galley, he placed the empty
bottle of champagne he plucked from the ocean onto the bench.
Looking through the bottle’s glass wall he spied a piece of yellow
paper which seemed to have been tightly folded five times. Wade
pulled the cork, up ending the bottle. The note fell into the palm
of his hand.

Quickly pouring a strong mug of coffee and a
white wine, Wade held the note and the mug in his left hand, the
glass of white wine in his right. He walked to a comfortable black
leather chair at the small table. Sitting, he carefully unraveled
the note. Leaning back in the chair he read the hand written words.
His eyes bulged at the name on the bottom of the note. The author
signed it, ‘Anneli.’

Wade sat staring at the wall, lost in a
fantasy of the night on the bridge when he kissed Anneli.

“Could this note have been written from the
very girl I am looking for?” he mumbled. “Anything is possible,
besides, how many young ladies live in Melbourne who has the same
name?”

Wade climbed the stairs to the bridge.
Feeling like his emotions were rejuvenated he pushed the throttle
to its stop, navigating the yacht back to the Port of Melbourne
more determined to find the young woman he kissed on the bridge.
Through endless hours of questions over the phone he came to one
single possible conclusion. Beyond reasonable doubt, Anneli is
heading for Darwin.

“Come sunrise tomorrow, I’m sailing for
Darwin,” Wade confessed to one of the workers at the marina.

“You’ll be a wantin’ extra diesel in the
tank.”

Wade slapped the old unshaven man on the
shoulder. “Add the cost to my account. I’ll pay you when I
return.”

Inside three hours Wade’s shopping list
appeared complete. His thoughts zeroed in on a woman who seemed to
be shadowing his every move. To confirm his suspicions he spied a
security guard standing on the courthouse steps. He stopped,
striking up a short conversation. In a couple of minutes he said
goodbye, deliberately marching across the road. He stood at the
doorway to a small café, watching reflections in the glass window
waiting to see if his suspicions were confirmed. The figure
belonged to a tall woman. Dark sunglasses and a large latte
coloured hat pulled down over her face helped to mask her facial
features. Her black shiny two inch stilettos were the only things
protruding from the mystery woman’s ankle length coat.