The Affair by Bunty Avieson Page A

by the end of the month.
    James was quite sure his actions wouldn’t have an impact on his father or the business. He didn’t waste any energy worrying that he was going directly against his father’s wishes. He told himself that his father lacked the foresight and vision that James possessed.
    Pride certainly did come before a fall. He had been so puffed up. Now came the fall. It was going to be colossal, commensurate with the appalling degree of pride he had exhibited. Sitting in Felix’s office remembering his feelings that night, the gloating and the arrogance, James was filled with self-loathing.
    *
    Nina bundled the shopping bags into the boot of the car. A heavy pall of despondency had settled over her as she moved about the supermarket aisles. Toilet cleaner. A replacement for the mop head. Bleach for James’s shirts. Nothing glamorous about any of it. She had resented every item, seething against James as she picked them off herlist, one by one. She piled it all into the boot, feeling the heavy thud of depression in her chest.
    She slammed the boot hard. What was she going to do for the day? She had hoped the weekly shopping would take longer.
    She started to manoeuvre the little car into the traffic. Joining the throngs on the road was like being swallowed by a big, moving crocodile. Nina tightened her hands on the wheel, steeled herself and, when she spotted a gap, threw herself in with the rest. Then she could relax, confident she had little else to do. The traffic would take her past Rushcutters Bay to the turn-off for home.
    It was turning into a glorious day with the merest hint of a fresh easterly breeze. Nina wound down her window and inhaled the salty air. On the radio an old Mungo Jerry song was playing. It made Nina smile. She had grown up on the edge of the windswept prairies, surrounded by snow for a large part of the year, listening to this music. For the first time in her life the song made sense.
    In the summertime, when the weather is fine, you can jump right up and touch the sky …
    At the foot of the hill Rushcutters Bay was laid out before her, its boats heading out for a day on the harbour from the busy marina of the Cruising Yacht Club. It was the same pretty bay she looked onto from the apartment windows, but seen from an entirely different angle. Instead of little toy boats, parked in orderly rows along the marina, many of the yachts were massive, she realised. And beautiful. They came in all shapes and sizes. Somewere small and streamlined, obviously built for speed. Others were the size of a four-storey building. Millions of dollars in fibreglass and brass, floating peacefully in the sun. One had a helicopter perched on its deck.
    The park was awash with colour as people frolicked under the massive fig trees. All across the grass they were doing their thing – reading newspapers, playing football, holding hands, watching babies take their first few tentative steps to the picnic rug or dozing mindlessly as flies buzzed around them.
    In spite of herself, Nina felt her mood lift. What a beautiful day. A day you would never see again, as her father would say. He used to say that at least once every weekend, pushing her and Larry out onto the back porch with their coats and telling them to make the most of it, regardless of the weather. So here she was with this beautiful day to enjoy. How could she feel miserable? What a waste. What an insult to God.
    Suddenly Nina knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to get in amongst it. She wanted to lie on her stomach on the grass reading the newspaper. She wanted to toss off her shoes and wriggle her toes. She wanted to laugh with the small boy unsteady on his feet and smile knowingly with his parents. She wanted the football to land near her newspaper so she could throw it back to those strapping young men in the short shorts.
    A car pulled out of its parking spot and Nina swiftly took its place before any other car had abreath of a chance.