The Seven Steps to Closure

by Donna Joy Usher

  ‘But wait there’s more…’

  ‘Tell me, tell me.’

  ‘It’s about the wedding,’ I said.

  ‘Did it happen?’

  I nodded my head gravely. ‘I got there too late to stop it.’

  ‘Why aren’t you devastated?’ she asked sympathetically.

  ‘It wasn’t real,’ I said.

  ‘Not real?’ she asked in confusion.

  ‘Nope. Fake. A radio stunt.’

  ‘Oh my God. That’s great. But, if it was a fake, why didn’t he ring you?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. I felt my good mood evaporating slightly, but then I remembered the two missed calls and the magazine article in my bag.

  ‘But look at this,’ I said pulling the copy of Travel Abroad out and handing it to her.

  ‘Romantic Rajasthan,’ she read. ‘That’s a beautiful photo.’

  ‘Look closer,’ I said.

  ‘Is that you?’

  ‘Uhuh.’

  ‘So this article is about you?’

  ‘Sort of. It’s about finding romance in the middle of India,’ I said.

  She looked for a minute like she was having another contraction, but then I realised she was crying. ‘It’s the hormones,’ she explained. ‘They make me so emotional. I’m really happy for you honey.’

  ‘Is that why you’re crying?’

  ‘Tears of joy.’

  And then she did have another contraction.

  It was the wee hours of the morning by the time I finally got home. Bad Bunny was happy to see me and hopped straight to the fridge, where he sat thumping his back foot impatiently until I got his dinner. We sat on the couch together while I had a cup of tea and scratched his furry belly.

  Lil had been amazing. She said it helped that all her muscles had been stretched by the six previous labours, but it was still awe inspiring watching her give birth. To think that she had created life – that this tiny being had grown from a single cell inside her. It really was miraculous. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the day’s events finally catching up with me, but I had wept as I watched the dark head, followed by the perfect little body, emerge from within her; so tiny, so pretty, so delicate. She had reached out her little fist and clasped my finger while she stretched and yawned. I had been instantly captivated and it had reawakened my own yearnings for a child that I had repressed all those years ago.

  ‘There’s no hurry,’ I said to Bad Bunny as I put him to bed with his teddy bear. He promptly mounted the bear and began to hump him.

  ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ I told them drowsily as I drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  The phone woke me the next day. It was Elaine. ‘Quick, get up and put on Channel 7,’ she barked down the phone.

  ‘Good morning to you too,’ I said, as I crawled out of bed and flicked on the television. I stopped talking when I saw Matt being interviewed. I felt my breath catch in my throat at the sight of him, and could feel a tingle on my cheek where he had brushed his lips yesterday.

  ‘And so you just came back from India?’ the reporter asked him.

  ‘Yes, I only arrived back a couple of days ago.’

  ‘That’s weird,’ I said to Elaine, ‘we got back weeks ago.’

  ‘Well, actually I got back weeks ago,’ he continued, ‘but then got asked to go back and write an article on Mumbai after the terrorist attacks. I’ve been helping with the rebuilding, and I wanted to check on two special little orphans.’

  ‘So he was in India the whole time,’ Elaine said to me.

  ‘That would account for the bad phone reception.’

  Just then my mobile phone rang. It was Nat. ‘Are you watching the tele?’

  ‘Yep. Elaine beat you to it.’

  I sat on the couch with a phone pressed to each ear while the interview continued.

  ‘And your latest article – Romantic Rajasthan, I’m guessing that’s about someone special to you?’

  ‘This guy’s a regular rocket scientist,’ said Elaine.

  ‘Yes, very special,’ replied Matt.

  Nat and Elaine both squealed into my ears.

  ‘Hang on,’ said Nat, ‘my mobile’s ringing.’ Her voice went muffled as she said, ‘Hello,’ then she was back. ‘It’s Dinah.’

  ‘And can you tell us the name of this special woman?’ the interviewer continued.

  ‘Not at the moment, no,’ said Matt.

  ‘Did she know about the radio wedding competition?’

  ‘Unfortunately I had been signed into a secrecy contract before I even met her. So no, she didn’t know.’

  ‘I’m guessing that didn’t go down too well,’ said the interviewer.

  ‘Not really.’ Matt smiled.

  ‘Will you be seeing her again?’

  ‘Hopefully really soon I’ll get the chance to take her out to dinner and explain the whole thing.’

  There was a knock at my door.

  ‘There’s someone at my door,’ I told Elaine and Nat.

  ‘There’s someone at her door,’ I heard Nat tell Dinah.

  ‘Answer it,’ said Elaine.

  I backed to the door not wanting to miss any of the interview. Christ, I hoped they weren’t about to show footage of me with a swollen tongue, or mention my relationship to Jake.

  I stuck one phone under my chin and opened the door. Matt was standing there with a bunch of flowers in one hand and my missing reef sandals in the other.

  ‘My shoes,’ I said, ‘they turned up.’

  ‘Not quite the initial response I was hoping for,’ he said.

  I looked from him to the television with a confused expression on my face.

  ‘It was filmed yesterday,’ he said. ‘I called in a favour.’

  ‘She’s opened the door,’ said Nat to Dinah.

  ‘Who is it?’ I could hear Elaine asking.

  ‘Tara, what’s going on?’ asked Nat.

  ‘Excuse me for one moment,’ I said politely to Matt.

  ‘It’s Matt. At the door now,’ I hissed into the phones. ‘Gotta go.’ I hung up on both of them and stuck the phones in my pockets.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ I said.

  ‘Quite all right,’ he said, and then nodded towards the television. ‘So how about it?’

  ‘How about what?’ I asked stupidly.

  ‘Dinner, to let me explain, and to say I’m sorry for putting you through that.’

  ‘Do I have to wait that long?’ I asked.

  ‘For an explanation or for the apology?’

  ‘No silly, for a kiss.’

  He smiled a sexy, slightly relieved smile. ‘So I don’t even need to grovel?’

  ‘Grovel if you want. But can you do it really quickly so we can get to the kiss and makeup part. That’s my favourite.’

  ‘Mine too,’ he said as he pulled me into his arms. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘S okay’ I mumbled as I buried my head in his chest and sucked back a few sniffles that were attempting to break free. ‘I should have trusted you.’

  ‘I should have told you, but I was signed into a confidentiality contract, and to be honest, when I was with you I totally forgot about it. I never wanted to do it, but I owed my mate – who’s the station producer – a favour. Ratings have been a little low, and he thought this would help.’

  He pulled back a little and studied my face. ‘How’s your mouth?’ he asked me.

  ‘Perfect, why?’

  ‘It’s just that I don’t want to hurt you,’ he said.

  ‘I’m going to hurt you if you don’t get on with it.’

  He laughed his wonderful full-bodied laugh and said, ‘I’ve missed you so much.’

  And then he kissed me – a deep, long kiss that went on and on as we pulled each other closer and closer. Finally he broke away and I smiled up at him with what I am sure was a dazed expression on my face.

  ‘Ahhh, Tara,’ he said.

  ‘Hmmmmmm,’ I said dreamily.

  ‘There
seems to be something attached to my foot.’

  I looked down to see Bad Bunny with his front paws wrapped around Matt’s ankle. He was giving the tip of his shoe a right ‘ol rodgering.

  I reached down and scooped him up. ‘Free shoe shine with every visit,’ I said. ‘Would you like the other one done?’

  ‘Maybe later,’ he laughed, ‘but right now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to shine your shoes.’

  ‘Be my guest,’ I said, opening up my door a little wider. ‘You know how much I love my shoes.’

  9

  18 Months Later

  I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. My hair – now shoulder length – was piled on top of my head in curls. There were little diamantes sprinkled through them. Tristan had out done himself. My makeup was perfect, my gown was beautiful, and I wasn’t even nervous. I turned to Nat.

  ‘You look gorgeous, ‘ she said in a slightly teary voice.

  ‘And you,’ I said, ‘look so ravishing that I doubt Ricardo is going to make it through the vows before he kisses you.’

  She blushed a deep shade of red. ‘I can’t believe I’m getting married.’

  ‘I know. I can’t believe how much has happened in the last year and a half.’

  Nat’s Mum entered the room. ‘They’re ready dear,’ she said, kissing her carefully on the cheek. Nat’s Dad hovered behind her Mum, looking emotional.

  We looked at each other, both trying not to cry, and then the music commenced and I was walking down the aisle, with Nat and her Dad behind me. I could see Ricardo standing at the altar – looking gorgeous of course. He was obviously nervous because he was playing with his bow tie.

  Right next to him was Matt. My Matt. Looking extremely yummy in his suit.

  I was still shocked by the intensity of my desire for him. Seeing him standing there, I just wanted to rip off his suit and have my wicked way with him. I’m sure the minister would not approve at all. Maybe I had been spending too much time with Bad Bunny, who had finally managed to wear out teddy beyond my abilities to repair. I had bought him a stuffed black rabbit, Bonny, whom he was crazy about.

  I could see Elaine snivelling around a tissue she was holding up to her eyes in an attempt to catch the tears before they ruined her makeup. Her left hand, with its simple wedding band, lay across her bulging belly. She and Alistair were expecting twins in only eight weeks. Benny was in for a huge shock.

  Next to them were Dinah and Gloria, still madly in love. They had bought a house together, which my Mum had happily filled with psychologically deranged animals.

  I could see my Mum and Dad in their best outfits. Dad hadn’t even complained once about having to get suited up for the wedding. They were sitting over on the groom’s side. When I had asked why they had decided to sit there, Mum had informed me that they had wanted Ricardo to feel that he had some family here. Nat had cried when I told her.

  Tristan was sitting next to Dinah and Gloria with his new boyfriend, Richard. They had been together for nearly a year now and we had high hopes for the two of them.

  Matt and I were off tomorrow on a month long holiday. We were doing a camel camping trek in Morocco, which Matt assured me I would love. (I wasn’t so sure about the whole camel thing, what with all the spitting and everything. It had disaster written all over it.) From there we were heading to Spain for ten days before finally meeting up with Nat and Ricardo on their honeymoon in the Greek Islands.

  I had packed plenty of spare shoes.

  * * *

  I would like to thank you for purchasing The Seven Steps to Closure. I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I have a few other projects in the works that you may also be interested in:

  THE CHANEL SERIES

  Book One – Cocoa and Chanel

  Faced with the unattractive options of an affair with her boss’s husband or the unknown, Chanel Smith chooses the unknown and unwittingly traps herself into joining the New South Wales’ Police Force. More interested in fashion than felony, Chanel staggers through training and finds herself posted to the forces most notorious crime hot spot – Kings Cross. Against her wishes she becomes entangled in a case of the worst kind, a serial killer targeting young women in The Cross.

  As she is drawn further into the seedy underworld of The Cross in her attempt to unravel the truth, Chanel makes new friends, new enemies and draws the attention of the killer. Can she solve the case in time, or will she become the killer’s next victim?

  Cocoa and Chanel will be available for sale in e-book form from August 2013.

  An Excerpt from Cocoa and Chanel

  I don’t believe in fate or any of that hocus-pocus new-age stuff, but when Cocoa and I finally staggered into the kitchen the next morning (I was doing all the staggering.) and saw the newspaper sitting there with the headline of the front page blazing – PM says not enough female police officers – NSW government releases plans to recruit more, I did have to wonder if God had taken a personal interest in my future.

  ‘Shit,’ I said, picking it up for a better look.

  ‘You could have told me.’ My mother was sitting in the lounge-room. Cocoa immediately ran over to give her a good morning greeting, which consisted of much barking and licking.

  ‘Told you what?’ I said. Of course it could have been my hangover, but I was having a real deja-vu moment.

  ‘That you were joining the police force.’

  ‘Who told you that?’

  ‘I ran into Marjory at the bakery this morning.’

  Marjory was Cindy’s Aunt, so perhaps the damage wasn’t that bad.

  ‘She heard it from Tommy, who heard it from Nelson, who heard it from Lucy, who was at church this morning when they announced it during morning-prayer. They prayed for your safety and thanked God for sending you into the battle against evil.’

  ‘Jesus,’ I said, slumping onto the sofa beside Mum. Cocoa jumped onto my lap and began to groom his front paws.

  ‘Yes, they asked him to protect you as well.’

  I put my head in my hands as my headache increased.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re planning to do with him,’ she said, pointing at Cocoa.

  Considering this was never a real plan I hadn’t put any consideration into what I was going to do with Cocoa. I was just about to confess to Mum when she said, ‘Well, I must say I’m proud of you.’

  I peered sideways through my fingers to see if she was taking the piss. The pleased, maternal smile – which was rarely on her face when she was talking about me – told me she wasn’t. There was no way I could confess now.

  ‘You haven’t always given me cause to be proud,’ she continued, totally ruining the moment. ‘I must say, I’ve had my doubts about how you would turn out in the end – what with the police bringing you home from school that day.’

  ‘It was just a couple of eggs, and they didn’t press charges,’ I reminded her.

  ‘And your addiction to bad boys.’

  ‘My what?’

  ‘Your love of bad boys.’

  ‘What bad boys?’ I asked, wishing there were some bad boys in Hickery for me to be addicted to. The baddest arse we had was Johnny the postman, who was regularly pulled over for busting the speed limit; which was pretty impressive considering his bike was a mutant cross between a lawnmower and an electric bicycle. But he had a limp and a stutter and liked to read comic books, so he wasn’t really rocking my world.

  ‘I blame the fact that your father left when you were so young,’ Mum said.

  That sobered me up. ‘You said he died,’ I said, staring at her.

  She had the good grace to look uncomfortable. ‘Yes, well, I couldn’t very well tell you that he ran off with that slut Hilda now could I?’

  I had no idea who Hilda was and I was more than a little shocked to find out that my Dad was still alive: scenes of a beautiful reunion playing through my mind like a slow motion movie.

  ‘Still,’ she continued, ‘I was sad to hear that they
died in that freak circus accident. I mean no-one deserves to die like that.’

  ‘Freak circus accident?’

  ‘One of the lions got loose.’

  It could have been the hangover, it might have been the stress over everyone being so happy that I had joined the police force when I hadn’t, it may have been the shock of finding out that my father had run off with a slut called Hilda only to be killed by a lion, but it was probably the combination of all three that caused me to burst into tears. Cocoa looked up from his grooming and attempted to lick my face.

  ‘There, there,’ said Mum, wrapping her arms around both of us, ‘it wasn’t the lion that got him. They were trampled to death by the crowd.’

  I howled harder for poor Dad and Hilda, and I’m sorry to say, also for myself. I mean what the hell was I to do? I had an addiction to bad boys, a passion for fashion and I was living in Hickery which had neither. Something had to give.

  I let Mum make me a nice cup of tea (her words) and some bacon and eggs – which did wonders for the hangover, while I contemplated my woes.

  THE WAR FAERY SERIES

  Book One – Away with the Faeries

  Isadora Scrumpleton is a witch with problems. She is rapidly approaching her 18th birthday and still hasn’t been chosen by a familiar – a fate that would leave her powerless within the witching community and which she deems worse than death.

  When she learns that not only is she part faery, but that her faery self has been secretly dating the heir to the faery throne in her dreams, her problems really begin.

  Spurned by the faery Queen, lost within the witching world she struggles to come to terms with her new powers and her budding relationship with Aethan. Unable to remember her night forays with him she thinks they may be better off apart.

  When he is kidnapped by the evil Goblin Queen, Galanta, she is forced to make a decision that will change not only her own destiny but the destiny of the world.

  If you are interested in hearing when The War Faery Series are published please contact me though my website www.donnajoyusher.com