by Brian Cain
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tammy raced to Jason as soon as he appeared from the plane. He scooped her up in his arms with a big hug and Tammy delivered a very wet kiss on his cheek. Miller stood against a wall near Malinda talking to Zup. Miller was returning to Sydney and Zup had formed a friendship with Miller while he had been in Adelaide. Vic and Brad said a quick hello to everyone before heading home. Malinda’s father had established that Morgan was laying low in Colombia. If Morgan was to move back into Australia Jason and Malinda would see Miller again. If they believed they were being followed or watched, Miller could return. Jason felt under pressure as Miller was leaving; he wanted to discuss more of Malinda’s past with her to find out why she was in so much danger from Morgan. Jason thanked Miller and handed him a CD of the band’s album before they departed. Miller clutched it tightly with a big smile, feeling part of what had gone on.
“Thank you Jason, I really like your band, you’re gonna do real well I reckon. I’ll come to your shows in Sydney when you’re there,” said Miller.
“Your name’s on the band guest list forever, no matter where,” replied Jason shaking hands.
Miller turned to Malinda, “This is a real nice man Malinda, don’t you worry about your ex-husband. He’s on the run.”
Malinda kissed Miller on the forehead, “Thank you Lance.”
Miller picked up Tammy. “Little Malinda, for the prettiest little girl in the world you pull some horrible faces.” He kissed her and put her back down with everyone laughing. They left the terminal leaving Miller with a short wait for his plane with Zup. Miller had mentioned nothing of why he was really there to Zup, both of them talking of the problems they had encountered since returning from Vietnam. Zup arranged to keep in touch and Miller left.
Jason waited for Tammy to fall asleep that evening, which took a while as she was so excited with Jason’s return home. He wanted to know more about Malinda’s past. They were about to settle down in the lounge when Malinda’s office phone rang. She ignored it, but after it rang out it started ringing again a few seconds later. She cursed herself for not setting the answering machine and she made haste to quell the offending interruption. Jason was preparing the CD player so they could listen to the band’s album when Malinda let out a loud scream. Jason ran to her office to find her crying into her hands and the phone dangling over the edge of her desk. He drew her close to him and held her.
“What’s the matter Malinda?”
Malinda put her arms round him and cried into his shoulder. “It’s Savanna , she’s taken her own life in Paris,” replied Malinda in short sobbing breaths. Jason picked her up in his arms and carried her to the lounge, laying her on the leather couch then sitting beside her. She gradually calmed while she told Jason the story of Savanna’s life; her recent visit and of the last thing she had said before she left. The words echoed in Malinda's head, ‘Promise you will always remember me as I am now, smiling at you’. She realised that Savanna had just come to say goodbye and never intended trying to live with AIDS as her dying companion. Malinda fell silent blaming herself for not doing more and bursting into tears again, being unable to harbour the thought and spilling her guilt to Jason. Jason thought of how he had felt when he lost his mother, hopeless, guilty and with a train of thoughts that started with, if only. Jason held her close asking Malinda to tell him of all the good times she and Savanna had been through. Malinda started in Sydney, then Paris, then New York, with Jason laughing along with her at some of the silly things they had got up to. Jason listened to the early hours of the morning until Malinda cried for the last time before she fell asleep. He carried her to bed falling asleep alongside her.
Malinda was slow and quiet for a couple of days. Jason fussed around her and kept Tammy busy taking her to and from school himself. Malvanna’s Paris director had been in contact with Malinda informing her of the contents of Savanna’s will. She wished to be cremated in Paris and the ashes sent to Malinda. Savanna had left everything to Malinda. A letter addressed to Malinda had been found by Savanna’s body and arrived Tuesday morning by personal courier. Jason sat opposite Malinda beside the pool as she opened, then read the contents.
My dearest Malinda,
Please forgive me, I cannot live with this thing. I have done everything I wanted to do in life and you are my only remaining family. If not wanting to die slowly and watching you grieve for me is being a coward then I am one. You, above everyone, know what I’m like Malinda, I have lived life to the fullest and you know how much we would suffer if I went on. I leave everything to you, Malvanna is yours now and I thank my lucky stars that I met you and lived as I did. I am about to take a massive dose of heroin. I won’t suffer and never will. Marry your man and remember me to Tammy. I love you so much.
Your eternal friend,
Savanna
Tears ran down Malinda’s face as she stared into space. Jason picked up the letter and read it.
“Will you marry me Malinda?” asked Jason as he held her hands and looked into her sorrow-filled eyes.
“Of course, I should have married you years ago. If I had I wouldn’t be in the mess I am now,” Malinda replied. Jason made up his mind to marry Malinda while he was in Sydney and used the decision to help with Malinda’s grief.
“Let’s go to the registry office and do it now then, just you, and me that’s all that really matters,” said Jason.
Malinda smiled, “The worst and best things in my life happening in a few days. You’re right, let’s do it. We are the only ones who really need to know and this afternoon Tammy can call you dad.”
They headed for a jeweller’s shop on the way to the registry office in the city, picking out two plain rings looking exactly the same. Red tape in the registry office, something they had not expected, after all, this was their first registry office marriage. They filled in a lot of forms and would have to wait another ten days before Malinda could become Mrs Brinkly. They made an appointment to return after the required time, walked down the steps outside the registry building and a parking inspector was about to write a parking ticket for their Toyota station wagon.
“Excuse me, we wanted to get married and couldn’t get away to put any money in the meter,” said Jason.
The parking inspector was an elderly gentleman who looked over the top of his glasses at them. “Well if you just got married you’re probably going to be hard up for a while. I know what it’s like trying to buy a home and bring up a family these days. You better drive off while I have a look down the street a bit.”
“If Savanna could see this she would love it,” said Malinda.
“I think she’s here, I can hear her laughing,” replied Jason. They picked Tammy up on the way home, who was over the moon to find that Jason was officially going to become her dad.
“Daddy, daddy, daddy,” she said repeatedly as she jumped up and down on Jason’s lap as they headed home.
Jason spent all his time with Malinda who had now come to grips with Savanna’s death, until Thursday’s rehearsal where he struggled to get used to playing the song arrangements the same every time to the backing tape. They had to wait for Tom to start the tape then a few quiet clicks would indicate that the track was about to start. A few tries and they all got used to it with the band sounding really big for a three piece with the backing tape filling in for the musicians who were not there. The band didn’t like it, but a deal was a deal and they had to stick with it. The tour started the next day in Adelaide. Jason had been out of touch with what was going on around town, being more concerned about Malinda than anything else and was unaware that the album had shot to number one in town only a few days after its release. All the Adelaide shows had sold out and the album was also selling well in all other cities. Steven had got a video distributed to television stations and Hank had done another good job. Jason was worried about the upcoming tour and being away for three weeks, but Malinda said she would be very busy rearranging Malvanna’s management to cope with the loss of Savanna.
Malinda had received Savanna’s ashes and arranged for a plot in a nearby cemetery. Her and Tammy attended a short burial service before placing the box containing Savanna’s last remains below a headstone that Malinda had arranged for. It wore a simple inscription, ‘Savanna my best friend’.
Malinda pined for Jason while he was gone and Tammy felt depression for the first time. They battled on, Malinda being very busy with the entire responsibility of Malvanna international on her hands. She discussed her plight with Jason when he rang during the day. Some of the calls would go for more than an hour as they missed each other so much. Malinda wanted to sell out; she had no enjoyment from it without Savanna. This would give more time for Jason and Tammy. Jason didn’t know what she should do, but said whatever she did it would be okay with him. Malinda rang her head office directors worldwide, telling them of her intentions, but assuring them the organisation would remain intact. Malinda could think of no one she could trust, so Malvanna became a public company as Malinda sold out on the stock market, leaving the company in the hands of those who helped build it. Malvanna was snapped up by a rival cosmetic giant. In the course of two weeks she had completely sold out and was very, very rich. She rang her father telling him of the latest events. He showed great concern over the sale of Malvanna, but was staggered to hear the sum she had made from the sale. She explained she had invested the money with banks and would be unable to spend the interest on the wildest lifestyle. The money would keep compounding, she mentioned nothing of her marriage to her father.
Jason returned from the three week tour tired but triumphant. The band’s album was number one across the country. He explained that Steven had arranged an American tour with Hank who had now returned to the States. The album had been released there and the results were very promising.
Jason didn’t want to do the tour, in fact he yearned to go back to where he started before all the madness, Malinda said she didn’t know what he should do, but whatever he did would be okay with her.
Malinda showed Jason Savanna’s grave; Jason was really relieved she had come to terms with the loss of Savanna and was happy to hear she was free from the responsibility of Malvanna, but she never mentioned her immense wealth.
Jason spoke to Steven regarding the impending American tour. Steven had already locked everything in; the tour would be very short, a month, short for an American tour. Jason objected, but Steven pushed the contract and the fact that he owed it to the rest of the band to see how far they could go. After all that’s why they started in the first place. Jason wanted Malinda to accompany him on the tour but that would upset Tammy’s schooling which worried Jason.
Jason called in to see his father, a promise he had made to him before the tour.
“Jason, everybody’s talking about you son. You’ve made me really proud; your band’s the biggest thing to come out of this city for years,” said Bob.
“It’s been really good dad, but I have to tour the States and every time I go away now I miss Malinda and Tammy too much. I can’t really not do it as the rest of the guys deserve it. It’s turned into a bit of a monster.”
“Look son, by the time you tour the States or where ever it is you have to go, if you do as well there as you have done here you won’t have to go away again and we can all be together. Just think of the security it will buy Malinda and Tammy.”
Jason thought for a few seconds. “Oh yeah, the recording company tells me that my first royalty check due next week will be nearly half a million dollars so I suppose you could be right.”
“When you come back from the States we can invest all your money. You can work with me and be home with your family all the time. You can get out of this impenetrable circle that you have been in all your life.”
“Yep, I think you’re right dad, time to move in different circles. I’ll have to go.”
It was a fortnight to the American tour and Jason spent all of his time with Malinda and Tammy, other than a couple of rehearsals with Brad, Vic and Tom. Jason told Malinda of his plan to stop the band going overseas after this tour and his intention to invest his money for them and work with his father. His first royalty check arrived. He banked it proudly with instructions to Malinda that she could spend as much money as she liked. Malinda found herself at the airport again, seeing Jason off for the American tour. It was a Thursday; Tammy was at school and Malinda dreaded having to explain to Tammy that Jason would be gone for a month when she picked her up from school. Jason had been unable to find out more of Malinda’s past, wanting her to get over the loss of Savanna completely before he asked, and as he kissed her goodbye the subject still worried him. A hand touched his shoulder and he felt at ease. He looked around, but nobody was there.