Alison's Wish

By Kris M Revson

An unusual request that has to be fulfilled before Alison's Will is read brings together estranged family members forcing them to overcome the legacy of the past (pain, secrets and betrayal) and to learn to work together.

Slowly their relationships change and past family secrets are revealed. They realise that nobody is all good or bad and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kristina Maria Revson
• Release date: Mar 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9780645423112

Kris M Revson

Kris M Revson was born and educated in Poland but has lived in Australia for most of her adult life. After many years in Sydney, she moved to Ballina, a lovely seaside town on the East Coast. Kris worked as a clinical psychologist for more than forty years. After retiring, she was looking for a hobby to fill the void left by no longer working with people. She started writing, and in no time, imaginary characters became her friends and constant companions. You can find out more about Kris from her regular posts on Instagram (@krismrevson), Facebook (Kris M Revson and Alison's Wish), and Twitter@k_revson

Book preview

Part I

PART

Mid-September 2017.

The day of the meeting.

CHAP-1

Jacquie.

As she stepped into the room, Jacquie shivered, despite it being a warm day for September. Unsure of what it was, a sense of dread engulfed her. Uncertain what to make of this feeling she looked around for possible clues. The furniture was seemingly unchanged since earlier this morning, yet something was different. Her gorgeous long hair, just washed by a hairdresser, suddenly felt like it was infested with hundreds of tiny insects crawling all over, ready to bite. She wanted to scratch and tear her hair out. She squinted her cat-like eyes into green slits with the light reflected deep inside. People always noticed her eyes first.

Fists clenched, long pearly pink nails dug into her palms, her knees wobbly. She kicked off her high heels to keep balance and stood straight and rigid, making her long legs appear even longer. Her top tightened around her shapely bosom. Paralysed by the fear, not able to move, yet, to the casual observer, she was just a beautiful woman, young and fresh despite her middle age.

In the antique mirror, on the wall opposite, the reflection of a woman with fiery red hair looked back at her. The image seemed familiar but incongruously altered. What made her look so different? Where did these strange emotions come from? Fear? Anger?

Since early childhood, Jacquie’s mood changed rapidly for no obvious reason. She was used to this, but today it all seemed unfamiliar. The faint aroma hung in the air, nothing like the usual fragrance she wore. Her favourite scent reminded her of a garden full of flowers on the warm summer evening; Jacquie loved summer. This morning, the air in the room smelt musky and cheap. Jacquie choked, overpowered by it. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

The smell men imagined the women like, she concluded.

Jacquie looked at the clock and realised Leo, her husband, would be home soon. She took a deep breath of air infused with a lingering remnant of his aftershave mixed with the fashionable scent, developed by a celebrity of the day, worn by young women. She didn’t like this aftershave and imagined that he had put it on to impress someone else.

Where did it come from? An affair with one of his students? Not for the first time, thought Jacquie.

For a while, she stood motionless near the entrance. Her translucent and timeless beauty gave the impression of tranquillity and peace, both at odds with the raging currents of her emotions. Love, hate, fear, and pain all bubbled close beneath the surface. Her heart ready to jump out of her chest, the loud roar of the pulse in her temples. She learned not to show her feelings many years ago.

She forced herself to move. Her brain jolted back into reality by the sight of a letter from the family solicitor lying on the top of the mantelpiece. It all came back to her. Five days ago, Jacquie received this from her mother’s solicitor, Mr Appleby; it contained an invitation for herself, her sister Madeline, and brother Zac to attend the reading of their mother's Will. The meeting was scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, and everybody’s presence, including Jacquie and Zac’s spouses, was required.

A lot had to be rearranged to free the space to attend the meeting. Jacquie disliked disruptions to her routine and on Tuesdays, she always had lunch with her friends. She knew Leo would not be happy coming home earlier than usual.

The legal process required to settle their mother’s estate was over after a long wait. The slowness of the procedure and lack of progress frustrated Jacquie and Zac. They did not understand why it took so long to get a Coroner’s hearing and blamed Madeline for not finding an easier way.

Now, when the wait was over, Jacquie dreaded having to meet her sister and brother after all these years.

After she married Leo, Jacquie’s life was defined by being a wife and mother. She had never worked but had kept herself busy attending to the day-to-day needs of her family. When her twin daughters were young, she did most of the things young mothers do. She belonged to a mother’s group for a while, then worked at the school canteen and finally became the secretary of the Parents and Citizens Committee at her daughters’ high school.

Jacquie felt lost for a while after the girls started university, but by the time they finished and moved overseas, her life was again organised into a comfortable routine. She had a few friends. They were not close, but they played golf together, had regular lunches, and attended a book club. Jacquie loved to read and imagined herself writing a book one day.

Her mind started replaying childhood memories. It seemed like watching a movie about someone else’s life. After Madeline was born, Alison had less time for her. When Zac, their younger brother arrived, Jacquie had to learn how to look after herself, her mother always busy with the babies. Jacquie remembered how she resented her for abandoning her. She felt alone since then. This was the life she knew until she met Leo.

Throughout their marriage, Jacquie needed to have time alone, but Leo’s requirement to have space was much stronger than hers now. Jacquie understood, and it did not bother her. Having someone wanting to spend time with her was nice, but she was also happy to be on her own.

‘I need space,’ she said to Leo when he asked her how she coped with being alone all day.

His concern is nice and proves he cares, but unnecessary, she thought.

Jacquie loved walking and often took her two dogs for long walks in the bush. Sometimes one or two of the neighbours would join her. She was lucky to live close to the bush.

It was easy to fill the days; with minimal effort required to keep the house clean, do shopping, and cook simple dinners. Now, with only two of them at home, the weekly cleaning service seemed unnecessary, but Leo insisted he did not want his wife doing such menial tasks.

‘You should enjoy life. We can afford to have a cleaner,’ he would say whenever she tried to talk with him about it.

The evening was Jacquie’s favourite part of the day. They sat on the back veranda or in front of the fire in the winter with a glass of red and talked. There was always lots to talk about. Jacquie loved sharing with him. Leo was a good listener and had many amusing stories to tell about his students and university politics. No time to talk today.

Some of her friends wondered why, despite his affairs, she stayed with Leo. Perhaps she did not want to be abandoned like she was when Zac was born.

Was this why they were still together? Not a good enough reason! The voice inside her head screamed.

I am O.K. alone, but not ready to give up on us yet.

Slowly, Jacquie calmed dawn. The movie in her head changed. So many lovely memories of all the happy times they had shared.

It was a good relationship with small patches of difficult times, she thought.

From the moment they met, Leo noticed Jacquie could discuss almost any topic. He saw her as a person and was the first man she met who did not presume beautiful women had no brains.

Jacquie took a deep breath and decided all they needed to make their relationship good again was to talk and work things out together. She believed it was possible for them to stay married, and hoped, no, she knew, Leo felt the same.

Yes, it seems simple now. I love him, and we still have lots to talk about. In his way, he loves me too.

The lengthy legal process began when two months after her mother went away on holiday and disappeared Jacquie lodged a Missing Persons Report with the police. They told her that unless Alison came back the case would go to the Coroner’s Court after the police finished their investigations.

‘Be patient, this will take a few years,’ said the young constable.

The lack of communication between Jacquie, her sister Madeline, and brother Zac made everything more difficult. Madeline argued and wanted to dictate how and what they had to do; finally, she took over and did it in a way that made Jacquie look incompetent.

I did all the work to get it started and now she takes over as though she was the only person capable of doing it.

Jacquie was furious. For a moment, she wanted to push her sister away and continue herself. After she calmed down, she remembered how difficult it was to navigate the legal jungle. As much as she hated to admit it, as a lawyer, Madeline was the best person for the job. It did not change Jacquie’s conviction that the way Madeline behaved contributed to the delays they encountered.

A few days ago, the Coroner’s Court verdict was in. It surmised that Alison was ‘Missing, Presumed Deceased’.

At last, the reading of the Will could be arranged. Not that there would be much in Alison’s estate, and it was likely to go to charity. As uncomfortable as it was to see her sister and brother again, they all had to attend today’s meeting.

Jacquie made a cup of herbal tea to steady her nerves. She sipped the warm liquid with a pleasant whiff of mint.

The movie in her head changed again. This time it was a memory of the last conversation with her mother. It was vivid in her mind. She had replayed it many times before, looking for clues. It was not a pleasant memory.

How long ago was it? It seems like yesterday, yet it was over seven years ago.

Alison was quite a force to be reckoned with. Regardless of the issue, she always had the last word. The last time they spoke, she rang to lecture Jacquie about the inevitable demise of her marriage to Leo.

‘You must work hard to keep him interested otherwise like most men he will look elsewhere.’

Jacquie had clenched her fists but remained silent.

Alison continued, ‘Always remember, he is admired by students, especially bright young women willing to do anything for him.’

They argued. Their voices getting louder, not listening to each other’s point of view. Jacquie had felt hot and cold, shaking, her face red. The waves of anger had risen like bile from the pit of her stomach, threatening to overflow. There were no longer butterflies flapping their wings and tickling her throat. It had been a swarm of angry wasps stinging her and making her gag with each word her mother shouted.

Jacquie’s relationship with Leo was nothing like her parents’ marriage. Usually, she understood why her mother’s own experiences made her unable to trust men. On that particular day, she’d had enough.

At the end of the heated exchange, Alison said, ‘You are killing me and not even slowly. Perhaps it’s time for me to join your father.’

Her voice sounded cold and distant. She slammed the phone down. Jacquie sat on the sofa, not able to breathe or speak for a while. In hindsight, she wondered if this was ‘goodbye’.

Leo.

In another part of town, Leo Berthold, the youngest professor in the Faculty of Engineering, entered the lecture hall. His subject ‘Mechanics —Design and Manufacturing’, although it seemed dry and uninteresting, was always his passion. He was academically gifted. His thesis and subsequent PhD citation were read all over the world. His renaissance-like approach to science made his descriptions of mechanical structures take on a graceful twist.

He towered over the lectern and despite his slight stoop conveyed a commanding presence. His dark hair with a hint of a wave in it fell loosely over his forehead, giving him a boyish and cheeky appearance. His eyes darted around the room and stopped when he noticed her sitting in the last row. He adjusted his jacket’s collar and turned his attention away from her. His deep voice, soothing as honey, yet peculiarly gritty, added to the attraction people felt for him. He began his lecture and everyone was transfixed by what he was saying. His ability to make mechanics seem like poetry in motion was unbelievable. He could bring out the funny side of even the most serious issues. He was on a roll, and his jacket made him hot. His face lit up, showing how much he loved his subject. His knowledge was extensive, but it was the love of mechanics that made the lectures interesting to his students.

He took his jacket off, exposing his impressive torso. It was hard to believe he was a professor and not an athlete. His blue shirt clinging to his washboard abs looked like the