Page 3 of Endgame

The chatty hubbub suddenly dies to almost silence as Dom and I walk through a groomed hedge into the pristinely manicured gardens. His walk slows to a stop as all eyes settle on us, so I reach out for his hand and lace my fingers through his to remind him that I am here. We stand still for a couple of beats, and then I see a strong, tanned, beautiful woman with fire-red hair in a loose white dress, running at full speed on bare feet towards us.

‘DOM!!!!’ she screams as she throws herself at him, pulling him down to her petite height and kissing his face, mouth, forehead and eyelids fervently.

‘Hello, Mother.’ He laughs as he lets her do what she needs to. I can’t help how happy I feel for him. Thankfully, slowly, the hubbub of chat returns to normal as people turn their attention away.

‘Selene, don’t scare him away, he just got here.’ The resemblance between Dominic and his father is striking. He is basically just an older version of Dominic and looks nowhere near eighty. ‘Hello, young lady, I’m the original Dominic. You’re an impossibly beautiful creature, aren’t you? Who might you be?’ He shares a charming smile and I can’t help but smile along.

‘There were four Dominics before you, darling, making you not the original at least four times,’ Dominic’s mom interrupts before I can answer.

‘But in this context, I am.’

‘No, your father is over there on the oxygen tank, trying to keep up with the names of all the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids you have running around here.’

‘Hello, Father.’ Dominic steps forward to hug his father.

‘Hello, son.’

‘Mother, Father. This is Ariella Mason. She’s my friend from Singapore. She’s staying for a couple of days.’

‘I hope that’s all right, Mrand MrsMiller?’ I ask.

‘Of course it is! You know, you remind me of a girl I was in love with back when I was a student. Back then we had to keep it a secret, but she had the softest, iridescent skin and beautiful—’ Dom’s father starts.

‘Don’t fall for it. He has enough kids.’ Dominic’s mother tuts at her husband. ‘Hello, Ariella, lovely to meet you, I’m Selene. Welcome to our home.’

‘Thank you. It’s gorgeous here.’

‘It is. Sadly, we don’t spend enough time here.’ Dominic’s mother laces her arm through mine and begins taking me on what looks like an impromptu tour.

‘Mother, do you think I could have Ariella back?’ Dominic calls after us.

‘You can for now, darling, but I’d like to spend some time getting to know her later.’ His mother seems like a formidable woman; I’d definitely like to spend some time with her later too.

I walk beside Dominic as we move through the party. He keeps his hellos to family and friends swift. After a few minutes the party atmosphere returns to normal, with the guests enjoying the copious amounts of food and wine provided by sharply dressed waiters.

‘How are you feeling?’ I check in with Dominic.

‘It’s not as bad as I remember. Things have mellowed. The last time we were all together, everyone was at each other’s throats. But I’m still not taking any chances. Let’s grab a buggy and I’ll show you around.’

‘Is it okay if we walk for a little while? I could use a leg-stretch.’

‘The whole property is just over nine hundred acres,’ Dominic says proudly. ‘We can walk for as long as you want.’

Dominic grabs my hand as we navigate our way past some guests and through another hole in a hedge, to be confronted by a huge equestrian centre. I am dazzled by the immaculate turf racetrack, riding trails, round pens, paddocks and pastures with run-in sheds. The Millers are obviously riders. We make our way through more barns, the orchard, vineyard, outbuildings, several garages, and the property’s own independent water system. Out of nowhere, we come across what looks like a quaint little village cluster of twelve detached homes, and two three-storey apartment buildings with driveways filled with buggies as well as carefully tended gardens. There is a small bakery, butcher and convenience store onsite.

‘This is our staff residence,’ Dominic explains.

‘I want to live here! It’s very pretty.’

‘Yeah, I spent a lot of time here when I was much younger and hadn’t learned to defend myself yet. Besides, we could hardly live in that monster of a house and make the team that looks after us day by day sleep in barns.’ He smiles.

‘Wow.’

‘Not quite. Wait till you see the pools.’

‘You have more than one?’ I tease.

‘Oh yes, but it’s a bit of a trek. Are you sure you’re up for it?’

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