77J
oy Green reached over and took
the Cartier bracelet from my
fumbling fingers. “Let me,”
she said, fixing the gorgeous
jewel on my left wrist. My dearest
friend stepped back.
“That colour suits you and the
dress fits perfectly. It could’ve been
made for you.”
She caught my embarrassed look.
“Itwas?It must’ve cost a fortune!”
I looked at our reflection in my
wardrobe mirror. “It was a wedding
present from Marcus. There’s a coat that
goes with it and he said it would come
in useful in New York.”
Joy, looking rather glamorous herself
in a peacock blue pantsuit, laughed.
“I told you he was a keeper.”
The front doorbell rang.
“Your carriage awaits,” Joy said,
picking up our handbags.
As the limo wove through the streets
of Glebe, I reached over and took Joy’s
hand in mine. As if she read my mind,
she said, “Hey! It’s natural.”
“You mean, feeling nervous?”
“Of course. It’s a long, long time
since you and Bob moved in next door
to Hans and me, a young couple with
everything to look forward to.”
“And look how that turned out!”I straightened up and
smiled. “What I do know
s I love Marcus and have
en using him as a yardstick,
if unconsciously, against which
I measured the other men in my life.”
The car turned into the driveway
of the Woollahra mansion where our
wedding ceremony would be held. It
belonged to one of Marcus’s oldest
friends. The driver opened the door and
as I stepped out the car I was greeted
with squeals of excitement from my
grandchildren Adam, Alexis and Sonia.
A flustered Teri Middleton came
down the steps. “I’m sorry, Janet,” my
eldest son’s wife exclaimed, “the little
monsters escaped!”
“Don’t give it another thought.
You go back in and the children can
walk in front of Joy and I – I can’t think
of a nicer start to my new life.”
The children paced slowly down the
aisle – formed in the grand reception
room between the chairs occupied
by our friends and family, who stood
smiling a welcome as I made my way
to where Marcus waited.
After a simple ceremony, my old
friend Reverend Allan Peters gave the
blessing. Marcus took me by the hand
and led me over to the table to sign
the marriage register.
It was a wonderful
moment as we turned
to face our guests and
walked towards the door.
We had a limo but
there were mini-buses
to take the guests to the reception.
We set off but the limo gave a sharp
turn to the east. “Where are we going?
I thought...”
“Bear with me,” Marcus interrupted,
and within minutes the car pulled up
outside the South Head lighthouse.
“Come,” he said, offering me his
hand, “let us savour this moment, just
we two, husband and wife.”
And so we strolled along the path,
the vast ocean on one side, the harbour
on the other, arm in arm, happy,
hopeful and in love.•“Tough, for a while,” Joy agreed, “but
there’s three lovely boys, grandkids, and
an ex who has your back.”
She turned and looked at me. “Bob’s
not coming, is he?”
“No, that’d be weird!”
I gripped Joy’s hand, taking comfort
in baring my soul to my friend. “You
know, of the men I nearly married, the
only one I regret is Jock Barrington.”
“Oh, Janet, you’re not going to spoil
everything by comparing Marcus with
your lost love, are you?
I know it was a terrible
blow when Jock was
killed in a car accident on
the eve of your wedding- but life with him may
not have turned out as perfect
as you hoped.”
I took a tissue from the box the
driver had thoughtfully placed on the
armrest between us, dabbing my eyes,
careful not to smear my make-up.
“That’s true, but Jock won’t be the
ghost at my wedding today. The truth
is, I can compare both men and neither
comes up wanting.
“Look, I don’t know how my life
would’ve been if Jock had lived,
any more than I know what the future
holds for me now.”
‘Let us savour
this moment...
just husband
and wife’Ontheeveofher
weddingtoMarcus
Finlay,Janethad
averyMiddleton
Christmaswith
hersonsandtheir
families,sharing
gifts,storiesand
agourmetfeast,
ofcourse!Last time...
Here comes
the bride
THEMIDDLETONS
s
is
bee
ifAustralia’s
longest
running
serialPICTURE: KRISTINA SOLJO/BAUERSYNDICATION.COM.AU ALL CHARACTERS IN THE MIDDLETONS ARE FICTITIOUSThat was the FINAL INSTALMENT of Janet Middleton and Australia’s longest-running serial. With
thanks to Lois Miles, who gave Janet a voice for so many years in Yo u rs and, before that, Woman's Day➤