by Margaret Way
“If I appear to have favoured you over Robbie, Eden, I haven’t really. With you I have so much to make up for.”
“What about me?” Delma demanded, like she would soon be on the street.
“Good God, Delma!” Owen burst out disgustedly. “I thought you were doing pretty well. If I’ve found out one damn thing, you married me for my money.”
That rocked her. She sat back. “I didn’t. I love you,” she protested, holding one hand to her breast.
“That’s hard to believe!” Owen’s fine dark eyes flashed. “Try telling some of your friends you’ve been badly done by in my will. They’ll be screeching with laughter behind your back. Something else you might remember. I’m still in my forties. I have no intention of dying for a very long while.”
That did it for Robbie, who hadn’t expected his mother’s tirade. When he then heard talk of his father’s “dying” he burst into tears, small shoulders heaving.
“Now see what you’ve done.” Delma leapt up, lioness to her cub. She went to her son who fiercely resisted her.
“Listen, Robbie,” Eden said urgently, getting a hold of Robbie’s flailing arm. “Dad was trying to say he’ll always be here for us. He’s going to live to be one hundred.”
“If it’s not too much of a drag.” Owen smiled ironically. “Come here, Robbie.”
Instantly Robbie quietened. He pulled himself up, going to his father, who pushed back his chair so he could draw his son onto his knee.
“I love you, kiddo. Never forget it.” Owen hugged him hungrily. “You’re my boy. Heck you even look like me.”
This was what Robbie was hungry for, Eden thought, looking on with satisfaction. Kisses and cuddles from his dad, wonderful moments together. The firm conviction he was important to his father.
“I love you, too, Dad,” Robbie groaned with contentment as his father pulled him closer. “Please say I can have a pony.”
“I thought we had that all sewn up.” Owen ruffled his son’s curls, restored to a good mood. “When you wake up on the morning of your seventh birthday a pony will be chewing the grass outside your window. Waiting for you to ride it.”
“Wow!” The little boy was ecstatic.
“Forget about me.” Delma, who was still standing, jammed Robbie’s vacated chair into the table with a crash. “I’m nothing.” Her cheeks were on fire with rage and humiliation. “Only the wife and mother.”
For a split second Owen looked like he was thinking about reviewing that situation. “And a wonderful wife and mother you’ve been.”
Alas it came out like sarcasm when that wasn’t at all what Owen intended.
Delma turned on her heel, sailing from the room like a dispossessed queen, the high heels of her expensive sandals tapping out a fierce rhythm.
“Go to her, Dad,” Eden pleaded. “All this talk of a will has upset her.”
But Owen sat back in his chair, hugging Robbie to him. “Upset her be damned. It’s about time my wife started to show a little heart, let alone sense.”
When Owen didn’t follow her up as he usually did, Delma worked herself into a fine rage using Eden as the scapegoat. Finally she thought to ring Lang. She had long looked to him for support. And he was a businessman! What Owen had done was cruel and unusual. Why he hadn’t even discussed changing his will with her. Delma went to the door of the main bedroom she shared with her husband and locked herself in. Lang would share her legitimate concerns no matter his attraction to Eden. Women like that could steal any man’s heart. Even one tough, self-contained character like Lang.
Mercifully, Lang answered, although he said at the outset he had agreed to a game of golf with his friend Bruno in a half hour’s time.
Delma began hastily, launching into her woes as she saw them. Did Lang know Owen had changed his will? Did he know how unfairly she and Roberto had been treated? Did he realise behind Eden’s lovely, innocent face, there was a clever, conniving mind? It was Eden without a doubt who was manipulating her father. It was Eden who pushed her father into changing his will, which gave her by far the lion’s share. Delma spoke like a woman in dire financial need.
Lang listened mostly in a despairing silence thinking Delma couldn’t see past her nose. Finally he told her he just couldn’t buy any of it. Delma had convinced herself Eden was the enemy since Eden had entered their lives. He knew because Eden had told him she was already financially secure. He had seen plenty of evidence of it. He told Delma she shouldn’t listen to Lara’s gossip if she wanted to keep their friendship intact. For once he didn’t mince words, convinced straight talking was the only answer. Delma as a matter of urgency had to re-think her position.
But Eden had to get out of there, he thought worriedly. They had a crisis situation. And it was Christmas. He would have to send Delma a card to remind her. On top of that, they were all supposed to be attending a pre-Christmas party that night. He would have to talk seriously to Eden. She had changed all their lives in a way no one had planned.
Despite their spectacular fight, Owen and Delma, veteran actors, kept to their plan to attend the big pre-Christmas party given by their friends, the Clark-Ryans. To have missed it would have been unthinkable. Both of them had survived countless arguments, afterwards putting on their masks. Although her heart wasn’t in a party mood, Eden desperately wanted to see Lang. They’d talked most days on the phone but this time of year was as function-packed for Lang as it was for her father. A combination of business and pleasure. She knew from her visit to Marella, Lang always spent Christmas with his family. Which was just as it should be. Tomorrow she would have to tell her father she planned to spend the week from Christmas Eve to the New Year with her grandfather with whom she kept in touch. Despite the fact her grandfather assured her she didn’t have to worry her head about him, he had sounded touchingly grateful she wanted to be with him.
So it was arranged. She knew Owen would be greatly upset and disappointed by her decision. Perhaps Robbie, too, not that she didn’t have lots of presents for him. He was such an affectionate little boy but she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. Her grandfather needed her at that melancholy time; so wonderfully festive for others. At least Delma would be relieved. Her father and Delma never settled for a quiet family Christmas. As far as she could make out they were having lots of friends and their children over to share Christmas Day with them. Delma would be sure to arrange a marvellous feast.
Only this wasn’t the year for feasting, Eden thought, beset by her own sad memories. This time last year she had her mother with her. Maybe next year she would feel a little better. Who knows! Where would she be then? It was a kind of terror to contemplate the thought Lang mightn’t be in her life. Neither of them could deny the awesome power of passion but there were too many shifts and changes in life. Her mother had experienced a grand passion but she hadn’t lived happily ever after. Maybe that only happened in short phases of life.
When Lang arrived at the house he was told by the housekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Carter had already left. Robbie was tucked into bed. Eden he found waiting in the living room, sable mane flowing, skin luminous against a very chic little sequined dress hanging from tiny straps. It was a colour he had never seen her in before. A soft but breath-taking poppy-red. Colour-matched evening sandals were on her feet. Around her neck she wore his sapphires, her father’s gift of sapphire and diamond earrings, both creating quite a dazzle. The deep blue of the stones in no way clashed with her dress but acted as a wonderful foil for her eyes.
She was smiling, hands outstretched, but he knew her too well not to realise there was sadness at her heart. For that matter he wasn’t in the mood for a party, either. He just wanted the two of them together. Quietly. Delma’s phone call had upset him. He could just imagine what effect Delma’s habitual histrionics was having on Eden. Strangely with Owen they were like water off a duck’s back.
“You look beautiful.” He bent to kiss her cheek. “I’ve never seen you in red. It suits you.”
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“It’s Christmas. Delma was in very glamorous green. You’ve just missed them.”
“So Maria told me. We’d better get going. Unless I’m very much mistaken we could have a storm before the night’s over. We’re due for one.”
“That might put a dampener on the party?”
“Don’t worry. In the tropics we have these sorts of eventualities covered.”
They’d pulled out of the driveway before Lang spoke. “You seem a little down?” He glanced at her profile.
The understatement of the year. She gave a little shrug. “I suppose I am.” She glanced out the window, seeing the storm clouds sail across the moon. “Dad stirred everything up by saying he’d changed his will.”
“Oh!” He could visualise the whole scene. “But that’s only to be expected. Owen has to make allowances for you, his only daughter.”
“Perhaps, but I believe it would have been better had he left me out.”
“That’s ridiculous, Eden, and you know it. See the whole situation from the viewpoint of the lawyer. To leave you out would not only be blatantly unfair but grounds for legal action.”
“As though I’d ever bring it.” Delma’s reactions had so upset her, her control was running thin.
“You mean you’re going to allow Delma the whole kit and caboodle?”
“She can have it and Robbie of course. I’ve got all I want.”
He sounded impatient. “You’re twenty-four years of age, Eden, all sorts of things happen in life. Anyway it’s not about money as such, it’s the principle of the thing. Your father is doing the right thing. He’s making amends that were long overdue. Delma should not stand in the way. I’ve told her that.”
Eden spread her hands helplessly. “You mean you’ve discussed it?”
“She rang me,” he answered, a shade grimly.
“She did? When?”
“Somewhere around eleven.” He gave her a searching look. “I was due to meet Bruno for a game of golf.”
“So she spoke to you the very minute after she stalked off from the table?”
“Eden, I wasn’t there,” he said reasonably.
“But you knew all about it. Were you going to tell me?” She couldn’t hide the hurt and conflict in her voice.
“You’ve perked up, haven’t you?” he said, very dryly. “It’s Christmas. Surely you’re not spoiling for a fight?”
She brushed her hair from her brow distractedly. “You make me believe you’re on my side yet you continue as Delma’s adviser?”
“Stop it, Eden,” he advised, catching her hand momentarily. “I know you’re feeling low. Delma wanted a bit of advice and I gave it to her. Plus a few home truths.”
“Not before time,” she said emotionally, “but you still feel sorry for her?” She had to face the painful truth.
“I know Delma’s limitations, Eden. I know your strengths. You’re a very understanding, compassionate person.”
“Who can also feel anger and disappointment…disillusionment? Does being compassionate mean I have to swallow all these insults?” Her head seemed to be spinning, her blood running hot. She broke off abruptly, ashamed of herself. “Oh, why am I going on like this? I’m sorry. I’ll say no more. I have to tell Dad I won’t be with him for Christmas. He’s not going to like it.”
No he won’t, Lang thought, with an intimate knowledge of his partner. “It’s your decision, Eden,” he pointed out. “You must follow your own heart.”
Eden nodded, speaking quietly as if deep in the past. “Grandpa was always there for me. He loved my mother best in the world. He adored her. But he loved me, too. He was kindness itself. When anything needed fixing—all sorts of situations—we fixed it together.”
“So you must go to him.”
She wished she could see his exact expression. Loving him so much she was still so unsure of him. But then hadn’t she lived with insecurity all her life? “You’re not trying to dissuade me?”
“No, I’m not!” His vibrant tones rang. “It so happens I agree with your decision.”
“Well that’s a surprise.” The instant she said it, so dryly, she would have given anything to draw it back. It was a stupid, spontaneous, meaningless remark.
Lang’s face tautened. “I’ll forget you said that,” he said.
There was no time to apologise. She saw all the cars. She saw the big flood-lit house. There was a giant Christmas tree on the broad sweep of the front lawn. Robbie would have loved to have seen all the sparkling lights.
Inside the house the beautifully appointed rooms were filled with people, most of them Eden had already met at the party her father and Delma had given for her. She thought for a sick minute Lara Hansen might be there just to cap the day off, but mercifully there was no sign of her….
It was a strange night. Although Lang stayed with her most of the time the tension between them only seemed to grow. He hadn’t come to terms at all with her silly off-the-cuff remark. She had too little opportunity to explain herself. What she did know was she should never say anything so stupid again.
Her father confounded her by being in fine form. Evidently his little spat with Delma hadn’t put him off having a bit of fun. For all she knew they had those kinds of spats all the time. Delma was a volatile woman at the best of times. Owen had a fund of really funny big-game fishing stories that kept people laughing. Whenever she came near him he threw his arm around her waist, telling everyone as if they didn’t already know from his attitude towards her, he was the proud father of this beautiful young woman. All his friends drank to that. Eden had made an excellent impression. It was when her father started telling people they would see her again Christmas Day, Eden realised she would have to say something that very night. She couldn’t allow her father to launch into yet another story about how wonderful it would be to have his newfound daughter with him.
The chance to speak to her father came when a late arrival waved madly at Lang. It was a woman around thirty, looking quite wonderful.
“Excuse me,” Lang murmured to her. “I must say hello to Pat. She’s been in the States for the past year. You’ll have to meet her.”
Pat. From the sound of his voice he really liked her. Pat looked a vibrant, full of confidence person.
Eden at her father’s shoulder reached out with a gentle touch. “Dad, do you mind if I have a word with you?”
“Mind?” Owen turned to give a wide smile. “What is it, sweetheart? Why so serious? Where’s Lang?” He looked away across the room. Lang had never been far from his daughter’s side. And that pleased him mightily.
“He’s gone to speak to someone called Pat.”
“Ah, Patricia Heeler!” Owen, too, looked delighted. “She and Marty have been overseas. It’s great they’re back. You’ll like them. Anyway, what is it you want to say, darling?” Owen put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and drew her towards the relative privacy of the terrace.
Her father seemed so happy for a moment Eden couldn’t speak. She felt terribly defensive now she had to tell him she wouldn’t be with him Christmas Day.
“Hey, what’s this about?” A concerned expression crossed Owen’s ruggedly handsome face.
Eden cleared her throat. “Dad, I have to tell you I’ve made arrangements to spend Christmas with Grandpa.”
Owen winced as though she’d driven her high heel into his foot. “You’ve arranged this?”
Eden nodded quickly. “I’ve been wanting to tell you, but you were enjoying yourself so much.”
Owen looked threatened, then angry. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me, sweetheart. Our first Christmas together. Why do you think I’m so happy?” He gestured aggressively as though against some invisible opponent. “I’ve told everybody…”
Eden lowered her head. “I’m so sorry. I should have spoken earlier.”
“You can change your mind,” Owen said sharply. “In fact I expect you to change your mind. For me. For Robbie. Delma will be disappointed.”
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She desperately wanted his approval but she had made her decision. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. Grandpa has taken my mother’s death terribly hard.” She looked away from his set expression.
“And I haven’t?” Owen challenged, somehow managing to keep his voice down.
“A father’s love is something else again. Grandpa hasn’t been able to focus on anything. The blow was too sudden, too destructive. But when I spoke to him he sounded so pleased I wanted to be with him.”
Owen laughed. A harsh discordant sound. “You don’t owe that old man a damned thing.”
“Yes I do!” Eden made her loyalty plain. “Grandpa was there for me, Dad. My mother was a ghost you couldn’t get rid of. Don’t you think I want to be with you and Robbie? I love you.” Tears pulsed up but she held them back determinedly. “It’s just that I think it would be too cruel to let Grandpa spend Christmas alone. You’ll have Delma and Robbie, all your friends around you. He’ll have no one. Or at least no one he wants.”
She touched her father’s chest, at a spot over his heart. “Please try to understand.”
But Owen couldn’t absorb his tremendous disappointment. “I’m sorry, Eden, I don’t think I can. Why should I feel sorry for your grandfather? He wrecked lives.”
“Your life isn’t wrecked, Dad,” she pointed out, very quietly. “You’ve had bad times but you’ve come through them.”
Owen looked over her head. “I’m not sure I can take this. I know you’re a good girl. Very tender-hearted but I think you owe Christmas day to me.”
He left her where she stood.
It was Lang who found her leaning against the balustrade, staring out into the beautiful tropical garden, illuminated further by a brilliant flash of lightning.
“I saw Owen go in.” He took up a position beside her. “By the look on his face you told him you’re going to your grandfather?”
“I knew I’d upset him,” Eden answered, low-voiced. “It’s a very emotional time.”
“You could change your mind, I suppose.” He looked down at her unhappy expression.