Dragonflies
Ten years later
When Ava wakes, the sun is streaming through the window and the man she’s always wanted to marry is beside her in the bed.
‘Happy anniversary, love.’ John drapes an arm around Ava’s neck, props himself on an elbow and presses his lips to hers. ‘Ten years,’ he says, ‘and I remember every second of every one.’
‘Then Ivy-May is no longer the place of lost memories,’ she says. ‘Good, because this property is too beautiful for such a reputation.’
‘Your being here has brought even more beauty to it.’ John’s lips are soft and warm on her neck and Ava wishes he would hold her like that for ever, but there are jobs waiting to be done, and for the first time in weeks, she’s eager to get busy in the kitchen.
*
‘Well, John, so much for me being a help today.’
‘You’re my wife,’ says John, crouching before her where she sits on Ivy-May’s back veranda. ‘That’s all I need you to be today and always – to have and to hold.’
‘In a lot more sickness than health of late, I’m afraid,’ Ava says, while twirling the pearl and diamond ring on her wedding finger.
‘I’m sorry you’re feeling so tired today.’ John shoves a pen and notepad away and perches on the coffee table in front of her. ‘Can I get you anything?’
‘Our family.’ Ava smiles.
‘Too easy,’ he says, his face full of love. ‘As usual, Nina has everything under control. She texted earlier to say she and Blair will wait for Tony’s lot to arrive so they can all come over together with the food.’
‘Oh dear, and I promised to make the panna cotta for today.’
‘You can relax.’ John strokes Ava’s cheek. ‘The panna cotta is all mine and it’s under control. Trust me.’
‘I do.’
John’s lips curl into the familiar boyish grin and he leans closer. ‘I like hearing those two words from your mouth. They sound just as sexy ten years on.’ He kisses her with such gentle exuberance that Ava’s hand goes to her chest to steady her breathing. ‘You also look just as sexy, Ava Tate.’ John winks and stands, checking his watch. ‘Oh, did I mention we’ll have visitors tomorrow, just for a cuppa?’
‘Who?’
‘Miriam and Conrad with their crew of two. Can you believe she’s only now introducing the father of her children to the mother-in-law from Hell? Miriam says she needs a hit of good mother first.’
‘Oh dear!’ Ava laughed and removed her glasses, wiping the lenses with the tissue she always kept up one sleeve. ‘It’ll be nice to see them all.’
‘They’re driving up to Cairns, but she wants to call in with baby Harry. According to Miriam, Ivy is Harry’s first official boyfriend.’
‘Definitely not,’ Ava scoffed. ‘Harry and Ivy have eighteen years, at least, to decide if they’re right for each other. No one in this family will be making decisions for them!’ Ava’s breathy laugh earned her another kiss on the forehead.
‘Couldn’t agree more, my love. Now, you rest here until the troops arrive. In the meantime, this story should make you smile.’ He hands her the local newspaper. ‘The article on page four.’
‘What is it?’
‘Katie,’ he says, flicking the pages. ‘You remember how she swore she was past keeping secrets and telling lies?’
‘What’s she done now?’ Ava settled her glasses on her nose.
‘See for yourself. Have a read, then a rest. I’ll be in the kitchen checking on the panna cotta. You told me once you give extra points for presentation, remember?’
She smiles as John whistles his way into the kitchen, leaving Ava in her favourite wicker armchair reading the page-four headline: Kathryn Tate wins federal seat in Parliament.
*
Although she wakes with a heavy heart, the sounds of her and John’s family lift Ava’s spirit: footfall on the front staircase, excited whispers and hushed squeals.
‘Shoes off,’ Nina is telling everyone, and Ava can picture the eleven pairs lined up at the front door, toes touching the weatherboard wall John finally managed to keep one colour – white. On Ava’s lap is a twelfth pair: pink booties for her latest grandchild, Ivy, a daughter for Blair and Nina, baby sister to six-year-old Jack, and step-sister to Tyson.
Any minute, Ava’s blended family will burst through the door and pass through the room with the starry sky. Arms brimming with food and all talking at once, Nina will corral the noisy mob in the kitchen until the meal is ready, Marchette style, on the giant wooden table that is etched with so many stories from the past.
‘Be gentle with Nan, Jack,’ Nina calls after her son.
‘Nan, you’ll never guess what me and Tyson did yesterday. He’s so cool for a big brother.’
‘He is and you’re right, my gorgeous one, I’m sure I don’t know what you boys got up to. Hello, darling.’ Ava looks up as her daughter bends down to lower the pink bundle into her arms. ‘Hello, my precious princess.’
‘Jack, sweetie,’ Nina says, her arm resting on Ava’s shoulder, ‘how about you go find Poppy and tell him about the new pigs? Let Nan cuddle Ivy.’
‘Okay.’
For a while, three generations of women huddle together without words, and Ava’s thoughts drift to her father. Marco would be so proud. He’d be shouting from the rooftops: ‘See what love can do, my little dragonfly?’
‘Nice sunset,’ Nina says.
‘Perfect.’ From where she sits, Ava can see through a gap in the trees all the way to the small cottage at the bottom of the hill by the Candlebark Creek that continues to pump life into a land of amazing contrast and beauty, no matter the season. ‘My favourite place in the whole world is right here.’ She looks down at little Ivy in her arms. ‘Right now.’
‘Blair and I did okay, eh, Mum?’
‘You definitely did, darling.’
‘Muuuuum!’ Jack is back and tugging at Nina’s skirt. ‘Can we have dinner yet?’
‘As soon as Nan’s ready and I have the table set,’ Nina tells him.
‘You go, darling. I’ll sing out when I’m ready to come inside. Here, take Ivy to Poppy. I have a card to finish writing.’
‘Okay, come on, Jack, leave Nan.’ Her daughter takes charge, and what a wonderful, strong and loving mother she has become.
Ava takes up the pen and reads what she’s already written:
Darling Jack and Ivy,
There isn’t a second in the day – in fact there's 86,400 of them – that I’m not remembering how blessed I am to have lived long enough to know you both and to have known love. To see you being delivered into this world, Ivy, to have witnessed your struggle and your strength makes me believe in miracles. From that moment I knew you were a Marchette.
The memories from a life well lived still buffet Ava with such force that she is momentarily left wondering if she will breathe again. She presses the palm of her hand against her chest, four fingers curling into a fist around the dragonfly brooch so tightly that she can feel her nails pressing little half-moons into the soft, thinning flesh of her palm.
You and your big brother are special for so many reasons and that’s why I am writing this card. One day, darling Jack, you will take possession of my pearl ring and I hope it leads you to find the love of your life. While to my sweet Ivy, I’ll leave my dragonfly brooch – a symbol of courage, strength and happiness. May Fate be good to you both.
As she pauses to consider her next words, her breath catches as an iridescent-blue dragonfly hovers into view, its busyness overshadowed by its brilliance. For a creature whose lifecycle offers flight for a fraction of its life, the dragonfly makes the most of sometimes only months and Ava knows what to write next.
If there is any advice I can leave behind for you it is to choose to live in the moment; to be aware of who you are and, like the busy dragonfly, make the most of your life and live it without regrets. Understand there may be moments when you feel loved by many but still feel lost. I was for years, and it’s those times that truth and family are your best friends.
If I knew the secret to happiness I’d tell you both. Instead, you’ll have to find your own way by travelling far, finding your place, loving deeply and being loved in return. And if I could wish for one thing, it is that you’d known your great-grandfather, Marco, who once said those words to me.
Ava puts down her pen to let the surge of tears recede as she listens. Ivy-May is full of people. They are her family and they’re all waiting for her. She tilts her face to the sky. The moon is already high, the first night star nearby. ‘A wish first.’
Listen, Papa, can you hear the happy sound of family? They are my family. I did get all those things you wanted for me. I have loved and been loved so deeply in return. How I wish you were here to see for yourself.
‘But I am here, my little dragonfly. I’m right here, in front of you. Can’t you see me? I’m right here, sweet girl.’ Marco tucks the blankets snug around Ava’s body and she is a child again. As he leans in for the customary goodnight kiss on her nose she smells Brylcreem, and when a wayward oily spiral of black hair breaks free she smiles.
‘If only I wasn’t so tired, Papa. Some days I want to sleep for ever.’
‘No, Ava, you are strong. So very strong that I must let you go. You have family at that kitchen table and a place waiting for you there.’
‘Wow, Poppy, see that?’ Jack’s excitement opens Ava’s eyes. ‘A dragonfly was right there on Nan’s knee.’
‘So it was,’ John said smiling down. ‘You need me to help you up, sleepyhead?’ He holds out a hand to her.
‘I need you to hold me.’ Today, Ava is feeling every one of her sixty-eight years, but as usual family gives her strength. She stands and leans into John’s waiting embrace, resting her head on his shoulder and breathing the scent of him. ‘I never want to leave this place.’
‘Well, my love, we can’t control our destiny, but we’ve made sure our love story doesn’t end when we die. It will live on in our family but right now that family is hungry.’ John crooked an arm. ‘Your table is ready, madam, and the panna cotta is perfect.’
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Jenn J. McLeod’s next book is coming in spring 2019.
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