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‘Our next prize is a two night accommodation and dinner package, also here at Harbourside. The winner of this prize is ... Mrs Trisha Hasbrook!’
Miranda’s mouth opened, and she clapped with enthusiasm in Trisha’s direction. Trisha stood with a wide smile, and was about to walk up to the stage when her stomach appeared to seize in and out. Trisha covered her mouth and ran in the opposite direction, towards the bathroom. Shane tapped his watch and looked at Miranda, mouthing, ‘See, always on the hour.’ He got up and took the prize on her behalf, explaining to the MC his wife was pregnant, whichresulted in a roomful of applause after the MC announced it to everyone, just as Trisha emerged from the bathroom. Her pale cheeks were replaced by a red flush.
‘And now for our last prize; a week away for two at a five-star resort in Noosa, Queensland, with flights included. The winner of this fantastic getaway is sitting on a lucky chair. If you’ll all check under your seat, the winner’s chair has a red envelope attached to it.’
People shuffled and twisted, bended and grabbed, some lifting up their chairs, some crawling underneath to see if they were the lucky recipients. Finally, a victorious hand pushed upwards, holding a red envelope. The hand belonged to none other than David Oaks.
You’ve got to be kidding!Miranda looked at David, all smug and smiling, waving his prize in the air like it was Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. Looking in her direction, he sniggered, and Miranda felt bad for Mr and Mrs Bannister, who would have won the prize had she not switched their seats. If David had any conscience, he’d donate the prize to them later, but it was unlikely.
‘Isn’t that wonderful!’ Barbara Bannister leaned in to Miranda. ‘Lovely to see a prize like that going to such a nice young chap and his wife.’
Miranda choked back a rebuttal. ‘Have you and your husband ever been to Queensland?’
‘Us? No, my Gordon doesn’t fly; it upsets his indigestion and sinuses.’
‘Oh. That’s a shame.’ Relief relaxed Miranda’s muscles. They wouldn’t have been able to accept the prize had they won, so she might as well accept David’s victory and let him toddle off to India with Noosa ... or was that to Noosa with India? Now she wasconfused.
A mouth-watering dinner of roast quail with gingered vegetables was served, followed by a lively charity auction which saw Mrs Bannister secure a six-month ballroom dancing course for two, much to the chagrin of Mr Bannister. Liz had also donated a membership to The Life Makeover Club, which was won by a woman about the same age as Liz, who hobbled up to the stage with a walking stick and a big grin to collect her prize.
The DJ took over from the placebo singer and got people up and dancing. Miranda could see why Barbara was so keen to keep bidding for the dancing lessons; Gordon kept stepping on her feet while doing a strange kind of dance resembling the Heimlich Manoeuvre.
As if the music was his cue, Pedro appeared, ready for a turbo dance while he took a fifteen-minute break from his reception duties. He found Linda, bringing her over to Miranda, so they could perform their robot dance together. Pedro had taught it to them in the staff room two years prior, and it had now become an annual tradition. Cara, Pete, Shane, Trisha, and Matt formed a circle around the robot-humans as they did their thing. Miranda was embarrassed at first, considering she’d only known Matt for a short time, but figured if he’d seen her in her most unflattering underwear, messed up after a fall, and drugged out on morphine, he might as well see her do the robot dance. Surprisingly, he joined in. He sidled up against Miranda, moving in a stiff robotic way, and they danced and laughed together for what seemed like hours.
When the countdown to midnight neared, the DJ played a slow tune, and a warm shiver rippled through Miranda’s body as Matt slipped his hands around her waist. She leaned in close to him, butterflies in her belly as thoughshe was back at a high school dance, except this time, her hands weren’t draped around the neck of Malcolm Brooks; her pimple-faced boyfriend of two weeks who reeked of cheap aftershave (and probably hadn’t reached the stage where he needed to shave), they were around the neck of Matt Cordella: a handsome, caring, successful man, whose skin oozed the soft aroma of tangerine, vanilla, and cinnamon. His breath was warm on her neck, and with each exhalation, her body seemed to melt into fluidity, swaying with him in perfect harmony to the music.
‘Feel like getting some fresh air?’ Matt whispered into Miranda’s ear. ‘Let’s get a good spot for the fireworks.’ They stepped out to the deck where other people had started gathering, and found a cosy spot near a tall fern, an oriental lantern hanging from above and its red glow creating a warm ambience. Despite being late at night, summer warmth and humidity filled the air, softened by a light breeze wafting from the gentle ripples of water in the harbour. Music blared from the stage set up near the harbour where crowds were packed in to watch the fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. ‘Are you ready for the new year?’ asked Matt.
‘Am I ever! This year’s been aninterestingone, that’s for sure.’
‘Any regrets?’
‘Hmm...’ Miranda looked cheekily into his inviting eyes. ‘Only that I wish I’d slipped and broken my ribs earlier.’
Matt chuckled, flinging an arm around her shoulders. ‘Yeah, I agree. Although, I like to think that life has a divine timing, leading us to what we need, when we need it.’
‘And, has it led you to what you need?’
Matt turned to face her. ‘It’s led me to what I need,andwhat I want.’
All nearby noise seemed drowned out by her heart beating, as Matt leaned in close, resting his cheek on hers, while delicately caressing her neck. The countdown was up to ‘eight’ by the time they realised, snapping out of their bliss to join in.
‘Seven!’
‘Six!’
Matt and Miranda counted down; their eyes locked together.
‘Five!’
‘Four!’
Matt whispered the rest of the numbers into her ear.
‘Three!’
‘Two!’
‘One!’
