Page 36 of One Weekend in Sydney

She throws me a surprised look before quickly refocusing on the screen.

“I am that stranger, and here’s the proof.” My recorded self puts on the masks and shows them my cape, black shirt and trousers that I wore that night. “The truth is the only reason Tara ended up attending A Musical Night in Masquerade was to avoid Eric’s spy—or Arman Pinscher, as we now know him. She didn’t even mean to get onboard the Masks On boat. She missed her actual ride to the venue and happened to get a lift with the Masks On crowd. That was all. I know this because I was the security, not a guest, at the Masks On boat.”

My recorded self leans closer to the camera and looks straight at the lens. “As you can see, Tarawasn’tMoonstruck Cove’s mayoral candidate who ditched her responsibilities for Sydney sexcapades. That was just plain character assassination engineered by Eric Hislop to get your vote in the upcoming election. The receipts I’m including at the end of this video will prove that beyond doubt.”

I watch my recorded self remove my masks before I return my gaze to Tara, who’s still intently watching me on the screen.

“Tara Davies came to Sydney this weekend to celebrate with her best friend,” says I on the video. “But she was forced to change her plans when she learned of Eric’s scheme. And, yes, she had fun while she was here. Not with Masks On members because she was never one of them, although who are we to judge those people? The point I’m making is that she came here in a private capacity. She was entitled to use her time the way she wanted.

“But it’s nonsense to say she’s not ready to become mayor just because she’s a person who’s full of life. I can assure you that she wants nothing more than to continue serving you at a higher level. In my view, she’s way more mature and caring than her opponent, and she has the integrity he doesn’t have. By the way, Tara has not coached me on what to say here. In fact, she has no idea that I’m making this video. But I feel compelled to speak out because it would be so unfair if she lost the election because of Eric Hislop’s dirty tactics.”

My heart races as I wait for my next revelation in the recording.

“Before I end this long speech, I just want to say something about that infamous video from ten years ago. For those of you who’d seen it, you might remember that I said some nasty things about Tara through the text on the video.”

My recorded self takes a deep breath. “I’m bringing this up now because Eric has shown how manipulative he is. I want to ensure he doesn’t get to twist the story again using that older video and the more recent one that also included me and Tara. Whatever I said in the older video wasnevertrue. I was just a dumbass kid who didn’t know what he was doing. And you, Mooners, did the right thing a decade ago by overwhelmingly siding with Tara and giving her your full support. I implore you to do the right thing again by voting for her at the election. She deserves to win, and you deserve to have an incredibly wonderful and capable person to be your mayor.”

The video transitions to the dashcam footage, and Tara stands, facing me. “I don’t know what to say,” she whispers, her eyes glistening.

I smile and shake my head. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m just glad I was able to do all that before you return home.”

“But why, Mason? Why go to all that trouble?” Her eyes search mine.

Odette clears her throat. “I’m just gonna…uh…join Kelly and Anne in their bedroom.” She hurries away.

I look into Tara’s eyes. “This weekend brought back feelings I thought were long buried. I can’t bear the thought of people thinking badly of you because of Eric’s video.”

“Why?” she whispers.

I blink. Didn’t she feel what I felt during our night together?

I guess I can’t blame her for still not wanting to trust me.

I take one of her soft hands. “What I felt for you this weekend was unlike anything I’ve felt for anyone. The closest I can think of was you when we first dated.”

She takes a sharp intake of breath.

“I know that ten years of letting it fester, of not even apologising for hurting you, is not conducive to forgiveness,” I say quietly. “But I’m not asking for forgiveness right now, just the chance to spend time with you and make amends, so that if and when you’re ready to forgive me, I’d deserve it.”

A tear trails down Tara’s cheek, and I wipe it away with a knuckle.

“I think I’ve put two and two together,” she says. “That video was part of your punishment dished out by the gang you told me about, right?”

I nod. “I didn’t even create it. They recorded us without my knowledge. Then they edited the video and whacked that disgusting text on it. My boss made me watch it while I was at work. He’s the head of the gang.”

Tara gasps. “No way.”

“I know. I was furious. But there was nothing I could do by then. He swore he would hurt you even more if I tried to tell anyone the truth.”

Anger appears on her features. “Did they make you take drugs?”

“No. I never did drugs. That was just a rumour they started.”

“Did they do all that because you wanted out? Did you discover something about them that made them scared of you leaving, so they decided to show you who’s the boss?”

I hesitate, not wanting to bring up a topic that I know will make her feel bad. But this is the time for revelations. I don’t want to hide anything more from her.

I take a deep breath. “Remember the time when you spotted two guys doing drugs at the back of the childcare centre and reported them to the police?”

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