on his way up to the bedroom.
“Be down in a second,” he called.
If there was one space in Chilli’s home where she was truly at home, it was her kitchen. This was a house used for cooking and entertaining and the kitchen was the soul of it. All high-tech, it had stainless-steel appliances, cabinetry and countertops. In the adjoining living area was a huge plasma screen, which she could see from her kitchen bench. Dominating this area was a ten-seater espresso coloured timber table with a frosted glass top. She turned on the pendant lights, switched on the kettle and plonked herself down on one of the neutral, very wide, comfy sofas.
A strange noise broke into her consciousness. She realised she had been asleep. Beside her on the lounge, Rob was snoring loudly. He had turned the plasma on but with the sound down low. On the kitchen countertop, stood a cup of tea that he had made for her. Luckily it was still warm. Picking it up, she placed both of her hands around it and drank. It was just what she needed. Taking it with her, she went upstairs.
She removed her wrist corsage, marvelling at what a magnificent job Miranda had done with the white and yellow Phalenopsis orchids. Earlier, she had been too stunned to even notice. And then she unzipped her dress. It had felt lovely on, soft and floaty. Placing it on a coat hanger, she stood back and admired it, tracing the trail of flowers with her fingertips. Would this have been the dress she would have worn to her son’s wedding, had she had known? What was the point of wondering, her darling boy was now a married man.
Sleep didn’t come easily that night. Rob seemed peaceful enough where he was, so Chilli left him sleeping on the sofa. Tonight she didn’t feel like his snoring. She lay in bed very still, thinking over the events of the evening. Her four nieces had been so adorable.
When her brother Charlie’s first marriage to Tina had broken down, with the help of his family he had fought for custody of Tiffany, his young daughter. The restless and immature Tina eventually went to live in Florida, so Chilli had helped raise her niece. At times, it was as if she had twins, so close in ages were Sam and Tiffany. At meal times, two highchairs were lined up side by side, and pureed vegetables were spooned alternatively between tiny mouths. Four years later, when Charlie married the beautiful Penelope, Chilli had continued to share a special relationship with her niece. They looked far more like mother and daughter than aunt and niece. Tiffany was in advertising and already well regarded in the industry.
Ever since Tiffany had been quite young she would eagerly come into her aunt’s wardrobe to look at anything new, showing an appreciation of quality rare in someone of that age. Her fingers would brush across the fabrics, and closing her eyes she would smell the leather on the handbags and very gently try on new shoes in front of the full length mirror, before delicately placing them back on the shelf. Once she had even asked, if when she was a big lady, could she have all of her aunt’s shoes? Laughingly, Chilli had promised. Well it was a promise that she never had to keep, as that was one of their differences; Chilli had a size 36 foot, whilst Tiffany was a size 39.
Her much younger sister, the groovy Miss Violet, was a blonde version of auburn haired Tiffany and was the same age as her cousin Imogen, the porcelain skinned, slender ballerina, Jim’s daughter. And lastly there was little Mia, the redhead, who at only 11 was already taller than her older female cousins and not showing any signs of slowing down. She was at the stage where she wanted to be more grownup but still liked being the baby of the family as well.
Although she loved them all, tonight Tiffany had been extra wonderful. Her face had shown it all. She’d been genuinely excited for Sam and Miranda and had told her aunt that she was just as excited as if she had gotten married herself. She said that she couldn’t imagine being anymore excited on her own day. But, she added, she would have Chilli to help her plan hers. With that, she put her arms around her aunt and squeezed her hard. It was exactly what Chilli had needed.
Lying in bed now, she was grateful for her niece’s kind words that evening. Only having one child, she would have loved to have had some input into her son’s wedding, and Tiffany had sensed that.
But not one bit of that mattered now. Sam was married to his beautiful Miranda and if that was the wedding they wanted, so be it. All she needed was time to adjust.
Chapter 2
“Excuse me Madam, would you care for dinner this evening?” The flight attendant’s question jolted Chilli back to reality.
“Just a cup of tea would be lovely, thank you.” She gave a slight yawn and briefly stretched. She reached for her handbag and lifted out a small bronze and gold box embossed with the curly signature L. Inside were two mini eclairs filled with coffee cream, from Laurent’s Patisserie.
It had become a habit, that whenever Chilli visited Melbourne, she popped into Laurent’s to pick up a tasty treat for Miranda and her. She wasn’t particularly fond of airline food and always liked to have a little something small with her that she could delight in.
Next to her the gentleman with the green cufflinks was examining the contents of his tray. There was a sound of disapproval.
He looked over. “You don’t happen to have another one of those do you?” he asked, indicating the little eclair.
“I do actually,” she laughed, “But I’m afraid it’s for my daughter-in-law, and I’ll be in big trouble if I give it away.”
He nodded. “Well, it doesn’t look particularly filling anyway. I think I’ll wait until I get home. I’m really not that hungry. Eating seems to break the flight up though doesn’t it?”
“Yes although unless it’s fabulous, there doesn’t seem to be much point.” The amount of pleasure eating good food bought to her was inestimable yet so simple. She flashed a dazzling smile, blotted her red lipstick on a tissue and took the tiniest sip of the hot tea.
The man pointed to her reading material. “I notice you have brochures from Designex. Did you enjoy it?’
Placing her cup back on the tray she nodded. “Mmmm, lots of exciting new and innovative products. Did you go as well?”
“No, not this year, but we did send some of our staff and I hear they got a lot out of it,” he explained. “What is it you do?”
“I assist my husband in his development company, plus I now have a homewares store. What do you do to recognise Designex?”
“I’m an architect.”
“In Brisbane?” she asked.
“Yes,” he nodded.
“Good for you. That’s certainly an interesting field to be in. Are you working on many projects at the moment?”
“Actually yes, it’s a busy time for us. The Ivory at Southbank has just been completed, there’s a couple more about to start in the city, Le Bank in George Street and one in Felix Street, and then there’s The Domain at West End.”
“Really! I’ve read a fair bit about The Ivory. Rather ahead of its time. It’s an amazing looking building.” She paused. “I take it you are one half of Bryson and Buxton?”
“I am,” he nodded smiling. “I must say it’s good to see our PR is working.”
Her curiosity had peaked now. “So are you Mr Bryson or Mr Buxton?”
