Mum rolled her eyes at the camera before she handed the phone over. I watched as she fumbled with the device in her hand, covering the camera first with her thumb and then pointing directly at her chin before figuring out the right angle.
“There’s my boy. When are you coming home to see your Nan?” She gave me a pointed look. Funny she couldn’t figure out the phone to start the conversation, but she was fine when it came to giving me the eye.
“At the end of next season, I’m thinking of retiring.” I’d said the words without thinking, and I think they surprised me more than Nan. “I might go to uni or something, work in the community.”
“Kids can always use a good role model,” Nan replied. “So who’s the girl?”
“What girl?” I played dumb. I honestly couldn’t wait to tell my family about Wynter, but it was early, and I was happy to go at her pace. Plus, it might’ve been 4:00 p.m. in Gunnedah, but it was only 7:00am here, and I was sure Wynter was still sleeping off the previous night.
“When a man makes a decision that completely changes the direction of his life, there’s always a girl involved,” she nodded, sagely. “Besides, I know these things.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Wynter was dressed in a soft pink shirt, her hair neatly pulled back from herface. I indicated with my finger for her to come forward and sit with me if she wanted to. Holding my phone in my left hand at an angle that only showed me and the mini kitchen in the background, Wynter slid in on my right.
“Nan, I’d like you to meet Wynter Heron,” I slipped my arm around her shoulders. “Wynter, this is my grandmother, Yvonne Wright.”
Wynter gave a wide smile at the introduction.
“So, you’re the fullback’s sister?” Nan asked, knowing that it was Kayla’s sister I was travelling with.
“Yes, my sister Kayla plays fullback for the Rebels,” she answered, politely.
“We’re big Rebels fans in my house, broke my heart that Jye never played for them.” I cringed internally at that. I was a Rebels junior but Dad had negotiated a more lucrative deal for me at one of the other clubs he’d played for in the early 2000s. “I like Kayla; she’s fast and has good hands. Are you a Sydney girl?”
“No, I live in Tamworth,” said with another wide smile.
“I suppose that means Jye’s gonna move up near there when he retires,” Nan mused out loud.
“Oh, Mum, give the girl a break and let me say hello,” Mum called out from offscreen.
“I’ll give you the phone when I’m good and ready,” Nan told her daughter. “Now Wynter, most people call me ‘Aunty Von’, you can call me ‘Nan’.”
“I would be honoured,” Wynter beamed back at the screen.
I hoped Nan hadn’t scared her off, but the contented look on her face and the way she leaned into me eased my nerves a little.
“Melinda, I’m ready now.” Nan handed the phone back to my mum.
“I’m sorry about that,” Mum said, looking a little frazzled.
“Don’t be sorry at all; I’m from a big family, so I understand,” Wynter reassured her.
I handed Wynter the phone so that she could talk to my mum and sat back, watching her face as they got to know each other. I heard my drunk uncles in the background, still debating the NRL grand final result, months after the final whistle was blown. It might be morning here in Switzerland, but back home it was late afternoon, and I bet they’d been drinking since lunch. I missed it.
Sitting here with Wynter, I was excited about the idea that she might be joining me with my family next Christmas. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but like I’d said to Wynter only days before, maybe fate or the universe or the ancestors, had a plan for us that both of us had been fighting. I was ready to let them direct us where we were meant to go because my gut told me that we were meant to be together.
Epilogue
One year later
Jye held my hand as he drove down the Oxley Highway. I knew I shouldn’t be nervous going to Jye’s family Christmas lunch, but I couldn’t believe we were actually doing it. Jye and I had spent Christmas morning with my parents, Kayla and Cam in Somerton, then packed up to drive over to his family. Who would’ve thought that Jye had been spending his Christmases only half an hour down the road from my childhood home.
Kayla and Cam were in Kayla’s car behind us. They’d arranged to come camping with Jye’s cousins, like they’d talked about when they were all in London. They were leaving early to move into their new home on the Gold Coast. Both of them had signedcontracts to play for the Titans and were looking forward to living in the same city for the first time in a couple of years.
Jye had moved into my place in Tamworth, straight after his last season in the Super League. He’d started studying online during that time in London, and by the time he moved back to Australia, he had a youth support job lined up.
I thought back to the previous Christmas, and the series of what I thought was bad luck and where it had led me. The reality was that it helped me shed things I was clinging on to, things that I didn’t need in my life. Things like planning every second of my life. It included a boyfriend who was good on paper, but not good for me.
Sometimes the best things in life happen by accident or, as Jye’s nan would have me believe, sometimes you just need to let greater forces lead you to the life you’re meant to live. As much as I thought I knew how my life was meant to work out, fate had other ideas.
Jye pulled up outside his family's house in Gunnedah. His nan’s sister lived in an older-style clad house with cars parked on the lawn, in the driveway and on the street outside. I’d spent time with his nan in Sydney when he first flew home, but this was the first time I’d been to a get-together with his large extended family.
We exited the car, and Jye put his arms around me. His touch was grounding. Spending the first ten months of our relationship in different countries was hard, especially when being within his proximity felt like home in a way that nothing else did.
“Don’t be nervous, gorgeous,” he pressed a light kiss on my lips. “I love you, Wynter and they will love you too.”
“I love you too, Jye,” I replied. We’d exchanged the words months ago, but each time we said them, it felt powerful, like it sealed our connection, confirming with each syllable that thiswas real. Jye and I were meant to be together; all it took was a snowstorm on the other side of the world to throw us together.
The End
