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1996 (90s Flashback Series)

Page 18

by Kirsty McManus


  My phone beeps. Kelsey groans.

  “It’s too early for noise,” she says, burying her head under her pillow. I smile despite my hangover. She said something similar the last time I woke up here.

  “Sorry,” I whisper as I roll out of bed. I grab my phone and head downstairs.

  I freeze when I see Andy watching TV, but he doesn’t seem to notice me. Good.

  I sit outside on the driveway and wait for a small wave of nausea to subside before looking at the message on my phone. It’s from Ed.

  I suddenly feel guilty. Here I’ve been mad at him, when I spent the evening pining after another guy. I’m as bad as he is.

  I read the message.

  Are you still up the coast? Is it OK if I drop by the house and pick up some of my stuff?

  Really? He’s that eager to avoid me that he times a visit when he knows I won’t be at home?

  That’s fine. I’ll still be here for a few more hours.

  Thanks. Talk again soon.

  Talk again soon? Could he be any more impersonal?

  For the second time in two days, I feel like throwing my phone away.

  I notice I have one more message.

  This is Rachel! Also, call Jackson! His number is 0482 654 103.

  I smile, saving both Rachel and Jackson’s numbers to my contacts. It will be nice to see Jackson again.

  I head back inside.

  “Anna. You didn’t say hello before. That’s very rude, you know.”

  I look at Andy as I continue walking up the stairs. “Sorry. Hello.”

  He looks like he’s contemplating whether to harass me further, but decides I’m not worth the trouble.

  He looks back at the TV.

  I like to think I could fight him off if he tried anything, but the truth is, I still find him quite unnerving. I just hope he’s learned something from his time in jail.

  I obviously didn’t bring a change of clothes with me last night, so I pick up my handbag and lean down to whisper in Kelsey’s ear.

  “I’m going home now. I’ll call you later and we’ll arrange another catch-up.”

  She murmurs something that sounds like “talk soon, babe,” and rolls over.

  I head back out and realise I’m in the same position I was back in 1996 without a car.

  At least I can afford a cab this time.

  ***

  Back at Mum and Dad’s, I tidy up and pack my things. Amy returned to Brisbane last night, but she left a message with Dad saying she’d call me next week. The idea of meeting up with my sister for a girls’ lunch sometime in the near future makes me happy.

  I give Mum a big hug. “If you’re feeling up to it, I’d like you and Dad to come stay with me sometime soon.”

  “We would love that, honey. I’ll let you know.”

  I’m starting to appreciate family and old friends a lot more than I used to.

  I drive home, stopping at Chermside along the way to grab some lunch and do a little shopping. It was obvious Ed didn’t want to see me, and my hangover has made me want to avoid loud noises—which might happen in the form of yelling if I see my almost ex-husband today.

  I get home around 3pm and notice the rest of his clothes are gone. I wonder if he’s living with Maddie now. He’s also taken a selection of our furnishings, including a couple of paintings and some of the kitchen stuff. I don’t really care, though. Ed can have all that crap. Once we sell the house, I’ll probably want to buy new stuff anyway. Get a fresh start.

  I spend the rest of the afternoon working on a new recipe, this time just a couple of smoothies I recommend for people when they’re trying to avoid overdosing on winter comfort food.

  Before I left, I had tucked the youth compound in the back of the bathroom cabinet behind a jewellery box. I think it’s best if it stays there for now. By revisiting 1996, I’m just making it harder to move on in the present. I need to stay with these uncomfortable feelings and face them head on. The past isn’t going anywhere, and I know I’ll be able to access it again if and when I need to.

  But for now, I need to look forward.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Three months later…

  “Thank you so much for coming down and helping me pack,” I say to Kelsey as I let her into the house.

  She steps inside and looks around as I lead her towards the living room.

  “No problem. I must say, your house is lovely, but it’s not the kind of style I would have picked for you.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just so sterile. You used to love colour in everything.”

  “Yeah, but that was the nineties. Everyone loved colour then.”

  “I don’t know. I feel like you’d be more suited to an eclectic style. It would fit better with your creative personality.”

  I never really thought about it, but she might be right. Ed and I spent so much time curating our image that we kind of forgot to put any life into it. Which probably says a lot about why our marriage failed.

  “Hmm, maybe,” I say noncommittally. “Hey, would you like a drink? Just put your bag in the spare room.” I point down the hall.

  She heads towards the spare room and calls back over her shoulder. “Is it too early for wine?”

  “It’s never too early for wine.” Even though it is only 2pm.

  I pour a couple of glasses of Prosecco and hand her one when she reappears. She takes a sip and surveys the room. “You have a lot of stuff.”

  “I know. I never realised. And it’s all useless junk. I’m thinking of offering half of it to Ed or donating it to charity.”

  “Sounds like a plan. How about we make one pile over near the door with anything you want to get rid of, and then we’ll pack the rest?”

  “Okay.”

  “Sorry I haven’t come down earlier to visit. Work has been insane! We seem to have a function for two hundred people every weekend! I swear I’ve done eighty hours a week for the last two months.”

  Since Kelsey and I reconciled, I’ve learnt that she gave up teaching a while back and went into event planning instead. Apparently organising peoples’ wedding receptions is less stressful than looking after a bunch of kids. She currently manages functions at an upmarket golf club on the outskirts of Shell Beach.

  “That’s all right. I’ve been busy sorting out all the legal stuff. At least Ed hasn’t made things difficult.”

  “Why would he? He’s the one who has the new partner.”

  “I know. But I’ve heard so many horror stories from people who divorce, and everyone gets so bitter and evil.”

  “It wasn’t really like that with me and Aaron. But then he was pretty clueless about everything. He was happy for me to take care of all the paperwork.”

  “I guess we’re both sort of lucky in that regard.”

  “Ha. Yeah. Anyway, where do you want me to start? In here? The bedroom? The bathroom?”

  “Actually, the bathroom will probably be easiest. Just put everything in a box and I’ll go through what I want to throw away later.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll do the bedroom so we can still talk through the doorway.”

  “Sweet.” We head to our respective posts.

  I start folding clothes from my drawers into a box, and I hear Kelsey shuffling around in the bathroom.

  “I think we should go out tonight,” she calls out.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Nothing too over the top. Maybe just dinner and a few drinks somewhere?”

  “I guess we could go to Cloudland? They have this amazing mushroom and truffle pizza…”

  “You had me at pizza. And doubly at truffles.”

  I laugh. “Cool.”

  “Hey, speaking of food, I have a proposition for you.”

  “Do you now?”

  “I do. So, you know how I’m a well respected and experienced event planner with glittering references, and you’re a famous food blogger?”

  “Yes�
��”

  “Well, I think we should go into business together.”

  I stop and go stand in the doorway to stare at her. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes, why? You don’t think it’s a good idea?”

  “Actually, I really like the idea. But do you think it will work? And we won’t kill each other?”

  “All I can say is that I’ll try really hard not to kill you, but I do think it would work. We know each other so well that we don’t have to worry about figuring out whether our personalities would clash. And besides, it would be an equal partnership with me out the front and you out the back. During work hours, we wouldn’t actually have much time to talk to each other.”

  A tiny seed of excitement blooms in my belly. I really like this idea. I need something new to focus on, and lately my blog has not been enough of a distraction.

  “What kind of business did you have in mind?”

  “Do you want me to pitch you my concept right now?”

  “Do you have a concept to pitch to me right now?”

  “I do.”

  “Then go ahead.”

  “Okay, well, I didn’t think I’d be doing it from inside your bathroom, but here goes. It would be a dessert restaurant and we’d call it Naughty Or Nice. Half the dishes would be your fancy authentic French stuff, and the other half would be the kind of recipes you put on your blog.”

  I feel a huge grin forming on my face. “And we could furnish half of it in pink and half in black!”

  “See, I knew you were secretly a colour fiend. Yes! It’s perfect. What do you say?”

  “I say, I love it! But we’ll need to do a lot of preparation first. And figure out where we’re going to get the money from.” I stop. “Hang on, where are we going to open this place?”

  “I was thinking probably down here in Brisbane. It would be riskier opening at Shell Beach, and we can’t really afford the rent on Main Street.”

  “So you’d move down here?”

  “I would. But don’t worry, I wouldn’t ask to live with you. I think that would be pushing our luck a little too far. However, I talked to Jackson the other day and he’s looking for a roommate. I could maybe live with him.”

  I clap my hands together. “This is so exciting! I definitely want to explore this further. And actually, I had heard that Jackson was looking for someone, so that would be handy.”

  Right after that weekend at Mum and Dad’s, I’d phoned Jackson and we’d met for coffee. He’s now one of my besties (apart from Kelsey, of course) and I definitely wouldn’t have coped as well during the last few months of my marriage break-up without having him to rely on.

  “We could invite him to Cloudland tonight too and ask him,” Kelsey suggests.

  “That’s a great idea. Kelsey, you’re amazing, you know that?”

  “I do my best,” she says with fake modesty.

  I return to putting clothes in boxes, and Kelsey continues packing my bathroom stuff.

  “You have a lot of crap in your cupboards,” she says. “I’m going to need two boxes.”

  “That’s fine. As I said, I’ll sort out everything later. But maybe put the stuff you know I’ll use right away in one and the rest in the other.”

  “Will do.”

  I smile to myself as I look around my bedroom. I’m glad I’m moving on. Ed and I have met a couple of times in the last few months, but it was mostly to discuss logistics about our future. I was surprised to find I harboured no further resentment towards him during our last get together, and I hope that one day we can maybe be friends again. I think that will be easy, considering our relationship was more platonic than romantic even while we were married.

  I haven’t talked to Maddie since that time we met at Jocelyn’s, and she hasn’t tried to contact me either. I think that’s for the best. Perhaps one day in the future, I’ll be able to talk to her again too.

  But the thing that makes me sadder than the end of my marriage is knowing that Kurt is out there somewhere, with someone else. We never even stood a chance in the real world.

  But like Grandma Millie, I’m definitely a believer in more than one soulmate, so I’m hopeful someone just as perfect as Kurt will come along eventually.

  Kelsey lugs two boxes through the doorway and drops them at my feet.

  “Done.”

  I look down, knowing the youth compound is inside one of them.

  And I guess if I don’t find someone else, I can always go back to 1996.

  In the meantime, I have a life to live.

  Right now.

  Want to know what happens next?

  1997

  Anna Matthews is moving on. After a tumultuous year where her life took an unexpected turn, she is now looking to the future with the help of a few old friends.

  Everything gets off to a great start with Anna and her high school friend Kelsey planning a new business together. And along with the emotional support of her sister Amy and acquaintances Rachel and Jackson, Anna’s life is almost back to normal.

  However, a bizarre night out with Rachel leaves Anna craving the company of a certain charismatic sales assistant she met in 1996. But when she unpacks the box she thought contained the time-travelling compound that can take her back to him, it is nowhere to be found.

  Will Anna be able to track down the missing jar? Or will she finally have to give up and accept a future without someone she was sure she was fated to see again?

  Out November 26, 2018!

  (Sign up to Kirsty’s newsletter at https://www.kirstymcmanus.com.au to get a notification the day it’s available for pre-order!)

  Have you read MultiDate yet?

  AFTER LAUREN HUNTER is let go from a job she didn’t even like, she flies to Sydney to stay with her brother and re-assess her life.

  That’s when she stumbles upon NBS Studios, the filming location of her favourite reality show, MultiDate. As a self-proclaimed superfan, Lauren has watched every episode of the six years (and counting) series, and is an expert on all things related to the show.

  So when the opportunity to scheme her way into a job at the studio’s reception desk arises, she grabs it with both hands. And thanks to a previous chance encounter with the studio head, Lauren begins to climb the corporate ladder on her favourite show.

  But with a bitchy executive producer thwarting her every step of the way, and two men giving mixed signals, the journey to the top isn’t easy. And with the discovery that MultiDate isn’t exactly what it pretends to be to the viewing public, Lauren soon begins to wonder if anyone ever ends up with the life they dreamt of.

  Read on for a sneak peek!

  ONE

  Ugh. I’m in hell. Actually, it’s probably more like what people equate with purgatory—a bland location with no stimuli and no fun people to talk to. It’s like the ‘medium place’ in that show starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. But at least there, they get warm beer and music (even if it’s only live recordings by The Eagles). Here, we’re not allowed to listen to music, and I definitely would not try to bring alcohol into the building. I wouldn’t even be able to sneak out for a drink at lunchtime, because there’s nowhere to go within walking distance.

  Welcome to my world as a sales assistant at Loony Rob’s mobile phone store. (For the record, there is nothing even remotely loony about the place.)

  A customer walks through the door, and my colleague, Cam, stands up.

  “I’ll take this one,” he says, as if he automatically assumes I’ll agree.

  “Why?” I hiss quietly. “You already took the last three. Don’t you have paperwork to sort out?”

  He shrugs. “The paperwork can wait. Clients respond better to me. I’m just doing what’s best for the business.”

  Ha. You mean what’s best for you and your commissions.

  He’s totally deluded about the whole ‘people respond better to him’ thing, by the way. If we operated on an even playing field, things would be a lot different.

  He smooths
down his tie and glides over to the customer. “Hi, sir. How can I help you today?”

  I watch from my desk in the opposite corner. Cam is such a tool.

  Sorry, that sounded a bit harsh. I’m worried I’m turning into a bitter old woman at the age of twenty-three. But it’s true. Cam is stuck in the eighties, with his shoulder-padded power suits and belief that women should be locked away at home, chained to the kitchen sink. He thinks he’s so much better than me. But he’s not. What Cam doesn’t know is that I used to work as a real estate agent, and I regularly closed much higher value deals than here. It was pretty impressive, considering I was barely out of high school. So, yeah. I can sell rings around Cam. I just can’t be bothered fighting him for every customer.

  But since he insists on serving everyone, it can make for very long and boring days. Our office is slightly out of the Brisbane CBD in the industrial part of Albion, so we’re not the easiest place to find. I mostly get the customers Cam thinks are beneath him, either because they don’t have much money to spend, or because they’re women he considers unattractive. Most of the time I’m fine with that, because I find the customers with the least money are the most grateful when you give them some attention. And I get way more satisfaction from helping out an elderly lady than an arrogant businessman.

  Still. It would be nice to have a little variety in my job.

  Today has been particularly draining. In the last four hours, I’ve only sold one pre-paid sim card and one sparkly glitter iPhone cover. Both to people Cam didn’t rate as important because they weren’t carbon copies of him. Or supermodels.

  I open the store’s intranet on my PC and read through the latest memos. I’ve already seen most of them. The only new ones are a couple of price changes, and a promo for some Bluetooth earpiece. Do people even wear those things anymore? But anyway, I pride myself on keeping up to date with every single new bit of information that gets sent to the store. It’s the least I can do, considering all the downtime between customers.

 

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