by Brian Cain
CHAPTER FIVE
They all sat around the grandiose oak table in the dining room. Malinda and Jason’s father sipped champagne while Jason had his usual glass of mineral water. Jason and Malinda were pleasantly surprised by Jason’s father’s culinary ability and had enjoyed their meal.
“Would you like a cigar or a glass of port Jason?” enquired Bob.
“No thanks,” replied Jason.
“Funny about that,” laughed his father, “I don’t know if I saved your health or ruined your social life with some of my fathering techniques in the past.”
“I might have ended up being a drunken musician with lung cancer but I’m not, probably due to some of the things you did for me and I prefer it this way. Plenty of guys I know would like to be like me but they’ve got no hope. I just don’t have any time for smoking and drinking; I’m too busy. Other guys are always too pissed or stoned, can’t get busy and end up nowhere,” Jason stated. Bob moved his chair closer to Jason. He pleaded with him.
“Jason I’ve spoken to you about this before, if I should suddenly go there’s nobody to really take care of the company. As it will all go to you, we should spend some time and give you the necessary knowledge to take it all over.”
Jason gave his father a stern gaze. “Dad, we’ve been through this before. You remember when you wanted a hand to break into the overseas market with your pot’s and damn pans? I volunteered, under your instruction of course and ended up sitting in the foyer of a top hotel for four hours while six prostitutes you had given these three retail distribution representatives from Germany, England and France screwed their brains out free of charge. They then signed contracts to the tune of god knows how many millions of dollars and left without even looking at the factory or your lousy pots and pans, and I should know because I’ve used them and I can assure you they’re crap. If that’s big business I’ll stay behind my guitar.” Malinda was giggling into her hands as she covered her face and Jason’s father became agitated.
“Look son, business is about the quality of life and money, not just having the best products. The Japs and Chinese are not far away and they are bastards to compete against. Sometimes it’s necessary to carry on like that, but we don’t do it all the time, besides, the four thousand dollars I spent on those guys was money well spent; I still deal with them.”
Malinda burst into laughter, “If you pair could only see yourselves, I almost think I’m watching a Monty Python sketch.”
Jason looked away from his father, “I’ll have a good think about it but I’m pretty busy.”
Bob turned to Malinda to ease the tension. “Feel free to ring your father anytime, he must be worried about you by now.”
“I’ll ring him tomorrow while Jason is rehearsing if you don’t mind,” she replied.
Bob reached across and touched her fingers, “The place is yours. You don’t know how happy I am to see you again, especially with Jason.” Bob found some old photo albums and Malinda and Jason sat in the spacious lounge listening to some old recordings of Jason’s while his father fussed around in the kitchen. Bob looked at them huddled together on the lounge and was remorseful about how much of life he had missed with his son, and pondered whether Malinda was a further setback in getting close to him or an advantage. After all he wouldn’t be there now if it weren’t for her. He had an idea that he thought would get his son closer to him, but he knew it was dangerous if Jason was to find out and knew he had to plan his moves well. His business experience had made him an expert at deception and he saw no other way. He walked into the lounge and stood beside them, “I’m off to bed now and out early to golf and the club in the afternoon, so when will I see you again, during the week perhaps?”
“I’ll be up quite a bit rehearsing with the new band, so soon I suppose,” replied Jason.
“Soon it is then and be sure to bring Malinda,” and he waved and made his way up the stairs.
Jason and Malinda retired to Jason’s room; he entered cautiously as he had not seen it since the death of his mother. He turned on the light and they sat on the double water bed and looked around, frozen in time.
“It’s exactly as I remember it,” Malinda recalled, “I was a virgin until I came into this room and bang, fifteen years old Jason, you should be ashamed of yourself. We made a hell of a mess and you told your mother that you had a nose bleed; do you think she believed you?”
“I don’t think so; she gave me a packet of condoms the next day.”
Malinda thought for a few seconds, “Well you never used them with me, who did you use them on?”
Jason looked at Malinda with a big grin, “I didn’t use them at all, I hate the smell of burning rubber.”
Malinda stood up with a laugh, “Oh wank on, you’re sickening!” She undid the zip at the back of her dress and dropped it on the floor, turned around and faced him and took a couple of steps back, while undoing her bra and dropping her panties. “Burn some skin on this lot and make it snappy.”
Jason studied her perfect body, “Yep, that’s definitely the most growing up I ever saw anyone do.” He wasted no time in a repeat performance of the previous evening and eventually they both fell asleep with the tang of Malinda’s perfume lingering in the room.
Malinda had woken early and could hear the faint sound of a car. She gently slid off the bed and stood in the open double doors adjoining the balcony of Jason’s upper floor bedroom, just in time to see Jason’s father leave the end of the driveway, his silver Rolls Royce catching the sun as it announced the day’s arrival, splashing its golden beams into the valley from the crest of the tree studded rise. She walked to the edge of the balcony and rested her elbows on the railing, her all-over tan soaking up the rising sun’s energy as it rose above the trees. She wondered how long her past would take to catch up with her future and how it may destroy the love that she and Jason had shared all their lives. She had to ring her parents to let them know where she was or they may call the police. They had been worried about her for some time. Malinda went silently into the bathroom, closed the door, showered and with a towel draped around herself, crept down the stairs. She found a phone next to a bulky leather chair in the spacious lounge and sat down and dialled her parents’ number. Her mother answered.
“Hello, the McDonald residence.”
“Mum it’s Malinda.”
“Malinda! where on earth are you? Your father and I have been worried sick; we were going to call the police.” Malinda’s mother and father had been sitting up in bed talking, when the phone rang and as soon as her father heard who it was he took the phone.
“Malinda, this is your father. Your mother has been out of her mind with all that’s been going on; don’t tell us where you are, as I’m pretty sure the phone is being tapped. Are you alright?”
“Yes dad, I’m fine.”
Her father slowed his speech and dropped his tone, “Don’t get on any more planes, or contact anyone you know. Just lay low for a couple of weeks wherever you are. Is that possible?”
“Dad that would be great, but I’m so worried about Tammy.”
“She’s fine. We went and got her back from him. We have her under twenty-four hour guard. He’s very angry and said he was going to hurt you again, so stay out of the way for a couple of weeks and get a message to us from one of our branch offices and make sure to tell them it’s for me only. Now get off the phone in case he’s having the call traced. We love you Malinda.”
“I love you too and I’ll get that message to you tomorrow, bye.” Malinda hung up just as Jason came down the stairs and into the kitchen. Malinda followed him. “I’ll get breakfast for you this morning, what do you fancy?”
Jason looked at the towel she had on and peeled it from her body. “I’m looking at the first course and may come back for seconds.”
Laughingly pushing him aside Malinda walked into the pantry and rummaged around in amongst the breakfast cereals. “Ah, corn flakes, my favourite. I’m starving. Would you like some too, man cannot l
ive on sex alone you know.”
“Yeah ok, suppose I can wait,” said Jason.
Malinda opened the fridge, “Plenty of eggs, salad and stuff as well, so sit down while I get it ready.”
Jason sat at the kitchen table beside the breakfast bar, next to an open bay window that looked out across the back garden towards the rehearsal room. He watched the parrots and kookaburras drinking and feeding from the bird bath in the gazebo next to the pool. “You were talking to your parents on the phone were you?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“How are they?” Jason asked as he turned and looked at her.
“Fine, everything’s fine.”
“Have they aged much?”
“About the same as your father.”
Jason looked back out the window, finding it hard in more ways than one not to stare at Malinda’s naked form as she darted around the kitchen. He was still puzzled about her sudden arrival, but her cool manner to his questioning had set his mind at ease to some degree.
“We’ll go for a walk around the property after breakfast, how would you like that? There’s a bit of time before the guys get here for rehearsal. I think you better put some clothes on though,” said Jason.
Malinda spun around in a circle “Great, I’ll get rid of that problem you’ve got under the table before we go too.”
Jason smiled.