Regret By
Jeff Glazier
By the same author: Tales From Three Chameleons (Short Stories) Everything Is Not Quite As It Seems (Novel)
Regret By Jeff Glazier Š Jeff Glazier 2013 First published in 2013 by Jeff Glazier Fiction ink. ISBN: 978-1-9205484-09-2 E-book ISBN: 978-0-620-55371-1 Cover Design & Typesetting: Osborne Porter Literary Services All characters in this work are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the publishers, personnel, printers, distributors and/or other related parties do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any errors or omissions, or any effect arising there from. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.
Regret
Chapter 1
V
ivienne sat quietly in the shade, gazing at the dot of a boat on the bright blue Mozambique sea coming ever closer. It sped over the choppy waves close to the beach before cutting off its power and sliding onto the sand. She watched Michael climb off, then help one of the passengers. He walked up the beach to the wooden steps carrying the air bottles; he was talking earnestly with the enthusiasm she remembered. His dark curly hair dripped onto his chest, his wet suit was stripped to his waist, and his skin shone in the hot midday sun. He walked with purpose towards the dive centre immediately behind her, and he had just passed her when he stopped and turned. Surprise was the first reaction; he’d not seen her for over eight months. He quickly indicated that he must first stow all the equipment. There was delight on his face when he returned with his characteristic broad smile, it was not until she stood up to greet him did he realise why she had returned. ♦♦♦ Vivienne Harper-Davis, you could say, was the envy of most other girls, she seemingly had everything. Her good looks, the long chestnut coloured hair that fell onto her petite shoulders and her classic figure were matched only by her cheerful, confident personality. Some of the kids thought her a little aloof, bit of a prude as well, any 1
Chapter 1 attention given by the boys was met rather coldly. She had been out with a few but no one had ‘got anywhere’ as they put it. Even Max Gibson, the tall, good looking First XV captain admitted failure at the drive-in movie. Vivienne didn’t want anything to get in the way of her education, her high level of academic achievement meant she was bound for any university she chose; eight straight A’s were expected. Admittedly she wanted for nothing – she lived in Sandton, in an elegant house, set in generous, immaculate grounds. The heated pool was set just off the tiled patio; the water feature at its far end provided a constant calming sound as it trickled into the clean blue water. Her father, Charles, was a well respected business man, and considered a brilliant actuary. He ran a large construction business and not without sway in the corporate world, being on the board of directors of several very large companies. He, like the rest of the family, was a regular churchgoer as well. You might say that he was looked upon as a pillar of society. Her mother, Sarah, played her part well, always smart, the perfect hostess to their many lavish parties and of course always politically correct. She treated their maid and gardener fairly but firmly. Her guard was always up; no weakness was ever given away. Naturally they were both members of the Royal Johannesburg Golf and Country Club. Vivienne’s only real problem was her silly little fourteen year old younger brother Jake; he constantly
2
Regret annoyed her and only seemed to get worse as he got older. Really she had the recipe for a perfect life, but what if the recipe wasn’t followed correctly and a few ingredients omitted? Or worse still, some ingredients not required, included. How would the dish turn out then? So far everything was fine and the mix was correct. The build up to exams always caused a bit of stress, it was the big one this time, everyone was getting a little jittery. High expectations made matters even worse. Vivienne had been working hard and was beginning to suffer a bit, she was tetchy and irritable. Her mother was a little worried. Coinciding with this her husband had been negotiating difficult deals and there were serious problems looming that could greatly affect their future. It was 1996, two years after the end of apartheid in South Africa, things were still under control but there was suspicion and unrest for many. Charles was a resourceful man with vision and was beginning to hedge his bets, diversifying for fear of the worst case scenario. Often the kids repeated the comments of their parents; they were sceptical that there would be a friendly coexistence. The schools were becoming increasingly mixed, at first there was an uneasy standoff, but relations were slowly improving. It was during an evening meal Sarah had suggested they all take a break; there was time before the exams, and a last school holiday coming up. Charles admitted he needed to get away from the office. All were in agreement, the question was where. Sarah wanted to turn the clock back.
3
Chapter 1 “Do you remember Charles when we were probably about 15, we went on the Church Youth group trip to Mozambique?” He thought for a moment, “Vaguely, that was a long time ago, I didn’t have anything to do with you then did I?” “I’m not talking about that, we all behaved ourselves in those days.” “I remember it was just before the civil war wasn’t it, theirs, not ours?” “Try and be serious please dear.” He thought again, “I remember it was fun, yes we did have fun, we were children once.” He had noticed Vivienne laughing, she was finding that difficult to imagine. “Well,” continued Sarah, “Jake! Take those things out of your ears will you.” Jake was drowning out the family’s noise with his walkman, he scowled but obliged. “I was reading an article about the country. The long war came to an end four years ago and they’ve got the tourism industry going well again. It really was a beautiful country, my parents often used to holiday there.” Vivienne was not looking forward to being cooped up in a car with Jake for hours so she asked whether Kimmy could come with them, she could sit in the middle. Oddly she quite liked Jake. Kim was Vivienne’s best friend. Her parents liked her, although she was not quite an equal on their social scale, but she was always polite and respectful and
4
Regret enjoyed visiting, gratefully sharing their high living standard and facilities. Kim was actually very good at being polite or adjusting to any situation for that matter. She had a mischievous side, and would, given the chance, take a risk. This was partly why Vivienne liked her, even though she would never go as far as Kim, she secretly admired her rebellious streak. Vivienne had furtively smoked with her, but hadn’t liked it. Drinking was really frowned upon in those days, even more reason for her to do it. Boys were a problem to Vivienne, she didn’t want involvement; always focusing on her education. Kim, who could make herself look really sexy, would often use this to tease the boys. Vivienne thought one day this would get her into trouble. She was surprised when Kimmy revealed that she was on the pill. They saw no reason why Kim should not come with them, if Kim’s parents agreed. There would be little extra cost; they would have had to book three bedrooms in any case as it was impossible for their children to share, so the two girls could be together. The stressed mood seemed to evaporate as their thoughts turned to the holiday. The next evening Sarah displayed on the kitchen table the glossy brochures obtained from the travel agents. They all studied them, immediately discarding a few and were left with a short list. The area wasn’t without its problems and infrastructure was still suspect in many places. South Africa was keen to help their neighbours who they could now trade with. Help was given to improve the roads that would assist trading more than anything. 5
Chapter 1 Charles checked on the roads, they would have to stick to tar, not having a 4x4. That excluded many resorts, but he wasn’t keen on driving for hours on sand in any case. While they went through the resort options he shared what he’d researched. “You know colonialism only ended there in 1978, what happened is an interesting parallel with this country.” Charles started on some lengthy ramble about comparisons between some African countries. “Also we can see what happens when despots take over; I don’t believe anyone wants this country to end up like that.” “Thanks for the history lesson Dad, but we covered that in grade 11.” Vivienne was only half listening, she was studying the brochures. “I like the look of this one, what do you reckon?” Her mum passed one to her. Vivienne looked over it, the rooms looked well appointed and were sea facing, there were plenty of facilities with an impressive looking pool and many activities ranging from horse riding to diving and snorkelling, the pictures of the colourful fish and the coral reef looked particularly impressive. “It looks fine to me.” The brochure was passed around, reactions were good (apart from Daddy’s raised eyebrows when looking at the price) – everybody agreed. Jake was connected to his walkman as usual; it seemed to have become part of his body. He just nodded. Kim was delighted to be invited, and excited when Vivienne told her all about it at school the next day. Sarah booked the following day; they would leave in ten days’ time. 6