The January Wish Read online

  When it came time for Grace’s scheduled performance at the end of the concert that night, Sylvia walked out from behind the curtain onto the stage, her heels on the wooden stage floor piercing the silence. She went up to the microphone at the front corner of the stage, and adjusted its height. ‘Good evening everyone. There’s been a slight change to this evening’s program. Unfortunately our pianist had to cancel at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances, so… I’ll be performing instead.’ Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the auditorium, knowing her secret was about to be revealed. One of them anyway. ‘I hope you’ll enjoy my composition, which I’ve called The January Wish.’

  Despite her nerves quivering when she sat at the piano, Sylvia soon found her groove as she began playing. The slow rhythm of the song was calming, and although she was too focused to see the audience, she could feel their eyes on her. It felt good. Real good.

  Finally, her music was out of her mind and spreading throughout the auditorium. It was a huge release. The emotion from everything that had happened; the day she gave Grace up, the day she wished to meet her again and be given a second chance, their reunion and relationship over the past few months, and now her hope that they’d be able to reconnect, found its way into her composition.

  When the last note faded to silence, Sylvia left her hands hovering over the keys momentarily, energy still pulsating through them. Then she placed them on her lap and looked sideways at the audience to see everyone on their feet, clapping. Her heart rose with them, and a wide smile grew on her lips.

  She stood and gave a subtle bow of her head. Just as she was about to walk off the stage, a figure came into view in the middle aisle of the auditorium, light bouncing off her red curls as she neared the stage.

  Her breath caught in her throat, Sylvia stared as Grace walked up the steps to the stage, wearing the dress they’d bought that day they went shopping together, and smiling her infectious smile.

  ‘I’m so sorry I ran off. Am I too late?’ Grace gestured towards the piano, the audience silent as they watched with intrigue on their faces.

  ‘It’s never too late to do what you need to do.’ Sylvia placed a hand on Grace’s cheek, warmth spreading through her fingertips, before walking up to the microphone.

  ‘Thank you all, for your kind applause, I’m so glad you enjoyed the performance. And now, it looks like our star pianist will be playing after all.’ Sylvia turned towards Grace and smiled, watching as her eyes sparkled and her soul glowed, overwhelmed by a sense of maternal love. Then Sylvia revealed her other secret to the audience. ‘I’d like to introduce the amazingly talented Grace Forrester, my daughter.’

  Sylvia stood behind the curtain as her daughter commanded the stage, bringing the room to life with an upbeat composition resembling a garden full of bright, colourful butterflies. Grace had transformed from a regular teenage girl into an accomplished and mature woman and performer, and Sylvia’s heart overflowed with pride.

  The energy in the room soared as the audience rose to their feet again. Grace humbly accepted their applause, her hand over her heart as she mouthed ‘thank you’ in all directions.

  William gave Sylvia a happy little squeeze of her shoulders from behind, before giving a ‘thumbs-up’ signal with his hands as he walked past, up to the microphone to conclude the concert.

  Grace scurried over to Sylvia backstage. ‘I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have left like that, it was selfish of me, and—‘

  ‘It doesn’t matter, you were upset,’ Sylvia interjected, placing her hands on Grace’s arms. ‘I’m sorry you overheard some of my conversation with Nancy Dillinger, I just wish you’d heard all of what I’d said. I was talking about how people always call teenage pregnancies a mistake, and I said, “But it wasn’t a mistake to have her…it would have been a mistake not to have her”.’

  Grace’s head dropped. ‘It looks like I made a fuss over nothing, didn’t I? I should have let you explain, instead of rushing off in that taxi, only to ask the driver to turn around when we were almost at the airport! He wasn’t happy, and I lost a bit of money, but I don’t care. When I’d had time to think, I realised I must have misunderstood something, you seemed so genuinely shocked that I was angry. And apart from that, I knew I couldn’t let Mr Randleman and the children’s oncology department down, I mean—I used to be one of those kids. How could I not support them now that I’m okay?’

  ‘It’s all water under the bridge now. You’re here, I’m here, that’s all that matters.’ Nancy’s words of wisdom hung in Sylvia’s mind. Nancy wouldn’t get a second chance with her daughter Rose, but Sylvia would, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

  ‘What else did you say to Nancy, something about “turning back time”?’ Grace asked.

  ‘Oh yes. I said, “Sometimes I think if I could turn back time, just maybe, I’d take my baby home with me.”‘

  Grace sniffed, and wiped at the corner of her eyes.

  ‘And before all of that, I told her how glad I was that you’d come back into my life, how I’d wished more than anything to meet you again, to be a part of your life. And most importantly how proud I am of what you’ve accomplished, and how you’ve handled the difficulties in your life with such, well…grace!’ Sylvia wiped a tear from Grace’s face with her thumb, and kissed her forehead.

  ‘Now I can see where I got my talent from. You were amazing!’ Grace’s chin quivered. ‘I love you,’ she said as she fell into Sylvia’s body and held on tightly, as Sylvia wrapped her arms around her.

  Their first embrace all those years ago was brief, and surreal. Over before it had really happened. Now here Sylvia stood, eighteen years later, holding her baby properly for the first time. But this time she wasn’t going to let her go.

  * * *

  She’d done it. She’d finally performed in public. Grace was buzzing, on a high, made higher by the fact that the misunderstanding between her and Sylvia had been sorted out. So the perfect boyfriend had not turned out to be so perfect after all, but there were more important things in life than guys. Now that she’d had a taste for performing, she wanted to keep doing it. And to think that Sylvia had been hiding her own talent all this time! It felt special to Grace to know that she could attribute something to a parent. While other kids she’d known at school had their father’s eyes, or mother’s smile, she didn’t know who she took after. It’d been like she was an alien, and landed here on Earth by herself, with no family background. Now, she felt like she belonged. She knew where she got her red curls from, she knew where she got her chin dimple from, and she was extremely grateful to have been given the gift of musical ability.

  As she and Sylvia walked through the backstage door into the foyer, they were bombarded by people coming at them from all angles, saying how much they enjoyed their performances. Then a woman with short grey hair came up to Sylvia. ‘Sylvia, it was so good to hear you play again!’ The woman hugged Sylvia, then turned to Grace. ‘And you were absolutely brilliant.’ She stared at Grace in a look of amazement, and held out her hand. ‘I’m Lillian Greene, Sylvia’s mother.’

  Her grandmother. Her real grandmother. Grace took her soft hand and shook it gently. ‘It’s so nice to meet you.’

  ‘And I’m Robert Greene,’ said a tall man with a grey beard and moustache, holding out his hand too.

  Her grandfather. She shook his hand, and smiled. The moment was surreal, and Grace felt she was in a dream. But this was real.

  ‘Rob, great to see you back in town! You have a very talented daughter and granddaughter there,’ a man said as he came up and shook her grandfather’s hand.

  ‘Indeed I do,’ Robert replied, looking proud.

  ‘Well, I’ll leave you all to it and catch up with you later. Nice seeing you, you too Lillian,’ the man said.

  Lillian nodded happily at the man, then turned to Sylvia. ‘If the weather’s anything like today, why don’t we all meet in Miracle Park for a picnic lunch tomorrow?’

  Sylvia glan
ced at Grace and raised her eyebrows. Grace nodded. ‘Sounds nice!’

  ‘Lovely, say about twelve?’ Lillian asked.

  Everyone agreed, and Sylvia excused herself as a couple of people approached her. Grace recognised one of them as the lady from the clinic. Then she saw Lauren in the crowd trying to get Grace’s attention, and Grace waved.

  ‘There are probably a lot of people wanting to congratulate you. You go and talk to them, Grace, and we’ll get a chance to talk tomorrow,’ Lillian said.

  ‘Thanks so much for coming tonight, it’s really great to meet you,’ Grace said, shaking Lillian and Robert’s hands once more, and walking over to Lauren.

  ‘Good stuff girlfriend, that was awesome!’ Lauren high fived her. ‘I am so jealous of your talent, I can’t even play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano!’

  ‘Thanks, but I’m jealous of you, your reverse turning kicks are the best in the class!’

  Lauren shushed her. ‘Stop it, tonight’s about you.’

  Grace sidled up closer to Lauren. ‘You knew, didn’t you, about Jonah going overseas?’

  Lauren nodded and bowed her head. ‘I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you, tried to get him to tell you, but he made me promise to keep it secret. Said he planned on telling you after the concert, and didn’t want to upset you after you’d been sick and all.’

  So that’s what that exchange between Lauren and Jonah had been about. She was trying to get him to tell her the truth. ‘He still should have told me, it really hurt, knowing he’d kept it from me,’ Grace said.

  ‘Maybe you should tell him that,’ Lauren said, pointing to the doorway that led outside.

  Jonah stood leaning against the doorframe, his hair covering one side of his face, and he signalled for her to come over. Grace didn’t want to argue, she just wanted to enjoy this night, but somehow she found herself walking towards him.

  ‘You didn’t tell me there was a song named after you,’ he said.

  ‘What do you mean?’ she asked, confused.

  ‘Amazing Grace.’ Jonah smiled.

  There he goes again, Grace thought. Putting on the charm. She turned her head away from him. ‘You really hurt me, you know. I don’t know why you didn’t just tell me.’

  ‘I was going to, not long after we met, but then things started getting serious, and it got harder and harder to tell you. I didn’t want to risk losing you. I thought you’d break up with me if you knew I wasn’t going to be around much longer.’

  ‘But you should have left that up to me to decide. Who’s to say I wouldn’t have stayed with you—to make the most of the time we had?’ Grace said, finally looking him in the eyes.

  ‘Yes, I should have. I’m so sorry Grace. We were having so much fun together, and I didn’t want anything to muck it up. Then you went to hospital and I found out about the cancer, and there was no way I wanted to tell you then, so I thought after the concert would be best. Guess things didn’t quite work out as planned,’ he said, bowing his head. ‘If I’d known you were going to come into my life I don’t know if I would have even booked the trip. I even thought of cancelling, but I’d already paid a deposit, and I’ve spent years saving money.’

  ‘I wouldn’t want you to cancel your trip, it’ll be an amazing experience.’ Grace smiled, the hurt from before dissolving away as she realised he’d only kept it secret from her because he really liked her. Maybe even loved her.

  ‘I know. It’s going to be the trip of a lifetime.’ Jonah held onto her shoulders. ‘And I want to share it with you.’ His eyes looked straight into hers. ‘Will you come with me, Grace?’

  Chapter 35

  The next day, Robert Greene and Grace were tossing bread crumbs towards a growing army of birds, all lined up in readiness to charge forward at the flying crumbs, when Sylvia noticed a tear falling gently down her mother’s cheek.

  ‘Mum?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Lillian replied, wiping the tear away quickly as though she’d walked into a spider’s web. ‘I don’t know what’s come over me. It’s just…she’s beautiful, Sylvia.’

  ‘She sure is,’ Sylvia replied, glancing towards Grace, now competing for the birds’ attention with a child nearby, who was enthusiastically throwing large chunks of bread. The sun had carried over its warm reign from yesterday into today, and as tomorrow’s forecast was for cold winds and rain, many people were in Miracle Park enjoying the favourable weather.

  ‘I’m so glad you finally took up piano again, Sylvia. It’s been far too long.’

  Sylvia nodded, her fingers still tingling from the euphoria of performing last night. ‘I know. If it wasn’t for Grace, I wouldn’t have.’

  ‘I hope you’ll keep it up,’ Lillian said.

  ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to stop now. I have eighteen years of unsung music waiting to be born.’ Sylvia smiled. ‘When I got home last night I thought about how powerful music can be, and I want to do something with it to help people who are sick. Maybe visit the nursing home and play for the residents, and I could go to the children’s oncology ward at the hospital too.’

  Lillian’s face lit up. ‘And you could even teach the children some basic tunes on a keyboard,’ she said.

  ‘Good idea. And you know, I might talk to Joyce and my colleagues about having relaxing music playing at the clinic, instead of that daytime TV rubbish,’ Sylvia said.

  Lillian sat there with Sylvia at the picnic table, looking into her eyes. ‘It’s good to see your spark back.’

  ‘My spark?’

  ‘The spark you had when you were younger, before you had Grace. The spark you had when you’d show us the new compositions you’d created. You were meant to be a doctor Sylvia, but you were also meant to play the piano. It’s part of you, just like it was for me.’

  Sylvia looked at her mother’s arthritic hands. ‘Are you sure you can’t fit the piano at your place, Mum? I’m sure we could squeeze it in somewhere.’

  ‘No, it should stay at your place, you’ll get more use out of it now than me. I’d rather only play if I can play well. But I’m afraid my time has been and gone,’ Lillian said, rubbing her knobbly fingers.

  Sylvia pursed her lips to one side. ‘Actually, I know something that might be able to help with your arthritis.’

  ‘But I’m already doing everything you’ve suggested.’

  ‘Yes, but I haven’t suggested acupuncture or herbal medicine yet,’ Sylvia replied.

  Lillian eyed Sylvia curiously. ‘Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?’

  Sylvia laughed. ‘Let’s just say, I’ve had a few eye-opening experiences this year.’

  ‘Well, it’s getting worse, so I’ll do anything.’

  Sylvia opened up her purse and took out a business card, handing it to her mother. ‘He’s away at the moment, but give him a call in a couple of weeks and see what he says. I don’t know if you’ll be able to come back to Tarrin’s Bay often enough, but if anything, he might be able to point you in the direction of someone closer who could help.’

  ‘I’ll do that, thank you.’ Lillian winked at Sylvia. ‘I just won’t tell your father.’

  Sylvia smiled, and looked at her father, tossing a crumb to the birds, talking and laughing with Grace. He looked different somehow, less rigid. More…at ease.

  ‘Your father would never tell you this, Sylvia, but last night he asked me if I thought he’d been right in encouraging you to give up Grace for adoption.’

  ‘He did?’

  Lillian nodded, then looked down. ‘And I have to wonder the same thing myself.’

  ‘Mum, what’s done is done. And she’s here now.’

  ‘Yes, but if we hadn’t been so…insistent about it, would you have made the same decision?’

  Sylvia thought back to the shock of her positive pregnancy test; those two pink lines that silently told her she was expecting a baby. Two potential realities awaited her: life as a single teenage mother, frowned upon by others, her dreams of being a doctor shatt
ered. Or, life as she had always planned it—top of the class in medical school and a rewarding, important career, her daughter being raised by two parents who wanted her desperately. ‘Yes, I would have made the same decision,’ Sylvia said. Although whether Grace would have chosen it, she wasn’t sure. It can’t have been easy, being different to the other kids, not knowing where she came from.

  Lillian placed her hand gently on Sylvia’s and nodded, relief on her face. ‘I’m sorry we’ve become so distant. We’ll make the effort to visit more often.’

  ‘It’s okay, I’ve been distant too. And I’ll make the effort to visit you more often.’ Sylvia removed her hand from under her mother’s and curved it around her mother’s back, Lillian leaning in and resting her head on Sylvia’s shoulder.

  * * *

  After saying goodbye to her grandparents, and eagerly accepting their offer of free accommodation whenever she visited Sydney, Grace began walking up the hill to Lookout Point where she was to meet up with Jonah. A cool breeze resisting her forward movement, she wrapped her scarf in an extra circle around her neck.

  At a park bench under a naked skeletal tree, she saw him. Elbows resting on his knees, and hands clasped together, looking out at the wide expanse of ocean. So still, which was unlike Jonah. Grace veered off the footpath and onto the grass, and when her footsteps neared him, he turned around and stood, his smile warming her deep inside. She smiled too, and in that moment wanting nothing more than to wrap herself around him and stay close to him forever.

  ‘So, you’ve forgiven me?’ he asked.

  Grace nodded. ‘I understand why you kept it from me, and I’m flattered actually.’

  ‘And have you had time to make a decision, about coming overseas with me?’ Jonah held onto her hands and swung them gently from side to side.

  Grace tightened her grip on his hands, stilling the movement. ‘Jonah, I’d love to…’

  The downward tone in her voice communicated her conflicting emotions, and though defeated, he smiled. ‘But?’