Page 74 of Under Southern Stars
Jack: That's VEGEMITE in Australia, you heathens. We have the superior Marmite. And yes, I'll introduce you both to proper breakfast. Fair warning though, Madison will hate it. You might too.
Sophia: Challenge accepted. See you at 2. xo
“XO.” Those two little letters shouldn’t make my heart lurch, but they do. Beneath all the anxiety about the wealth reveal, there is this—the simple, unexpected joy of SophiaMitchell and her daughter entering my life. The growing certainty that I’d do anything to keep them there.
My phone rings. Charlotte, my oldest sister. Perfect timing, as always.
“Kia ora,” I answer.
“Jack! Tell me you’re actually on schedule for once in your life. Mum’s driving everyone mental with preparations.”
I could picture Charlotte in her Christchurch office, designer glasses perched on her nose, managing the McKenzie businesses with terrifying efficiency.
“Flight’s still on time, Char. We are landing in Auckland tomorrow, overnight there, then down to Queenstown the next day.”
“And you’re sure they don’t know? About…everything?”
I sigh. “Sophia thinks we’re flying economy, if that answers your question.”
“Jesus, Jack.” I can practically hear her pinching the bridge of her nose. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“You know what I mean. You should have told her weeks ago. Not sprung it on her when she’s standing in front of the bloody estate.”
“I know,” I admit. “I’ve tried. Every time, it just…the moment never seems right.”
“When is the ‘right moment’ to tell someone you’re heir to a wine empire and a couple hundred mil in assets?”
I wince. “That’s not helping, Char.”
She sighs. “Look, just…prepare her somehow, yeah? Don’t let Mum’s welcome committee be her first clue. You know how she gets.”
Our mother’s idea of a “casual welcome” involves staff lined up at the gates, vintage champagne, and usually some poor local official she’d strong-armed into making an appearance.
“I’m working on it,” I promise. “The flight upgrades will be step one.”
“Upgrades, plural? I thought you said economy?”
“That’s what Sophia thinks. Madison’s in Business Premier, we’re in Premium Economy.”
“Why not all in Business?”
“Because I’m trying not to terrify them, Char. Baby steps.”
She makes a noise that somehow conveys generations of McKenzie skepticism. “You’ve got a night planned in Queenstown before heading to the estate, right? You’re telling her then?”
