CHAPTER FIVE
Adrian's father was a successful paediatrician and his mother gloried in being the wife of a successful paediatrician. They owned a big Moorish-style mansion in Bellevue Hill, but spent most weekends at their hobby farm near Bega. They were there that weekend, leaving their mansion in the hands of Adrian and a couple of hundred of his closest friends.
When I walked through the front door, the heavy metal music hit me like a one-two punch. The place bulged with thirty-somethings. Due to my lingering hangover, I was in no mood to drink or socialise. However, fortunately, I went to school with many of the party-goers. I chatted with them amiably about our school days and what our classmates were doing now. Emotionally, many of them had never left school.
I had just extracted myself from a conversation about a science teacher who liked exposing himself to students, but was never caught, when someone behind me said: "Hello."
I turned and saw Adrian's girlfriend, Rowena. My performance the night before made me blush.
"How do you feel?"
"Like roadkill. Thanks for taking me home."
Rowena was an architect who specialised in designing air-conditioning systems, or something like that. She wasn't the most beautiful woman Adrian had gone out with - the standard was very high - but definitely the nicest.
She shrugged. "No problem. You were no trouble. A bit wobbly, that's all. You're not usually like that."
"A bad week at the office - but even worse for my client."
"Went to gaol?"
"Yes."
"I guess that's a big hazard for a barrister."
"Yes, it's all fun and games, until someone loses an eye. I understand I offered to marry you last night?"
She smiled. "That's right, and I'm holding you to it."
"What about Adrian? Isn't he going to marry you?"
She frowned. "I doubt it - I doubt it very much."
We chatted for a while about a new movie we had both seen, until she said she had better circulate and wandered off.
My head had started to rebel and I decided to go home. I was strolling down a hallway, looking for Adrian to farewell, when a tall, good-looking woman in her early thirties headed towards me. Christ. Patricia Ransome. There was nobody I wanted to see more, or less.
Patricia, you see, was a solicitor at a boutique firm in the city who I met during my first year at the Bar. She briefed me to defend a business executive charged with high-range drink driving. The executive lost his licence, unfortunately. I was luckier. I discovered Patricia was that rare combination: a good lawyer and a good person. We started going out together and had a relationship that lasted almost two years. If I was smart, it would have continued. But I started to feel trapped. Maybe Patricia wasn't the right woman for me; maybe another woman would make me happier; surely, I was too young to settle down. I started retreating and she got frustrated. Tensions grew. I announced I needed space and we split up.
Of course, a better woman did not turn up. The women I went out with after Patricia did not make me happy. So I sometimes considered phoning her up and asking for forgiveness. However, I didn't because, even if she was still single, she probably wouldn't take me back. Further, before I phoned her, I had to be sure I had slain all my demons and would not mess her about again. I was not.
Sometimes, I wondered if time and distance gave my memories of her a golden glow. Now, as she walked towards me, I decided they hadn't. My heart lurched and I realised that only an immature fool would have abandoned her. Surely, another guy snapped her up long ago. True, she was alone. But he was probably somewhere else in the mansion.
She slowed and smiled warmly, with no hint of malice. "Hello Brad, how are you?"
I halted and tried to stay calm. "Fine, thanks. What're you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm still good friends with Rowena. I've dropped in to see her. Have you seen her around?"
"I chatted with her a few minutes ago. I don't know where she went." My nerve broke. I tossed my dignity out the window and dove after it. "Are you here on your own?"
A frown. "Of course. What about you?"
I hid my pleasure. "Oh, still single. So, umm, how's life? You still working at Deacon & Co?"
"Yes, I'm a partner. There are four of us now."
"Congratulations. Still doing criminal work?"
She shifted on her feet to signal that I shouldn't probe too far. "Not much. Quite a bit of personal injuries, actually. How's the Bar treating you?"
"I'm surviving. But I'm still waiting for a mega-rich drug baron, whose assets haven't been frozen, to shower me with money."
She smiled. "Don't worry, that will happen one day - I'm sure of that."
"Thanks."
She glanced around, impatient to leave. "Anyway, I'd better find Rowena."
It was on the tip of my tongue to apologise for my past behaviour and ask her to have lunch one day, or just coffee. But I would look ridiculous. I'd play it cool and ring her up on Monday, if I had the courage.
I said: "OK. Well, nice to see you."
A hesitation. "Yes, nice to see you."
I stepped past her with leaden feet and strolled around the house, looking for Adrian while trying to recover my equilibrium. I went out onto the pool deck, where a couple of speakers were pumping out sludge metal for the delectation of guests but not neighbours. It was easy to spot Adrian, because everybody was fully dressed, except him and Colin, who were dancing naked beside the pool.