Adela’s Ascent

Adela's Ascent Pt. 2

by EgmontOriginals©

Janis and Adela waited outside the terminal at Auckland Airport alongside a 5-minute pick up zone as Janis's brother Johnny had instructed.

"Oh the sun is so bright and it's almost hot, yet it's only just gone 8:00 in the morning."

"Yes, yes. And I'm tired and grumpy after nursing a hangover and my wayward brother is keeping me bloody waiting."

Adela smiled, "Janis darling, watch your language. Don't scare old ladies and the horses."

"What horses, where are they?"

"Out there somewhere darling. Is this your brother flashing the car lights and grinning as if you'd just reconnected as family?"

"Oh yes, god yes, that's him, that's John Allan White."

John climbed out of the Range Rover, grinned and said, "Hi Sis, long-time-no-see, and stared at Adela and said, "Holy shit?"

"I find such language offensive," Adela said haughtily.

He lost his smile. "Right I'm off."

"I withdraw that – please save us from ourselves. We drank too much on the aircraft."

"Do you promise me a hot date?"

"Yes, yes, plus my body."

"That's what I meant."

"Here have me on the pavement now."

The guy turned haughtily.

"Sis, you made no mention she was a common whore?"

"Shut up Johnny and drive us to coffee and then our beds."

As Adela's head dropped on to the pillow she sighed, "I want a mountainous sleep" but there was no reply from beside here; Janis was already asleep on her back, mouth open.

Wearily thinking about getting up and turning off the light Adela fell asleep and Johnny, coming in and turning off the light smiled at the sight of them on his double bed. He went off to sleep on the couch of his cramped small flat wondering what on earth his sister, approaching thirty, could see in her friend who ten years younger appeared vacuous and rude.

Perhaps the stranger was his sister's toy girl?

Adela awoke seven hours later and checked her watch, set to Kiwi time. It was 4:00 in the afternoon and presumably the rude brother had returned to work. As she dropped her arm with the watch she half-turned to meet the dark and smiling eyes of her travel companion.

"Oh hi, thanks for bringing me to New Zealand; it feels so good, so peaceful."

"Thanks Adela. I'm sorry you and Johnny didn't hit it off."

"Johnny?"

"My brother."

Adela frowned and yawned and the memory of her arrival and the feeling of fatigued and abandonment weighing down on a hang-over slowly returned. She yawned, "Oh him; was I terribly rude?"

"I don't think so. I think he quickly lost interest because we were clutching one another and yawning. He probably formed the opinion we are lovers."

"Well I have no problem with that."

"What?"

"I have no problem being considered your lover. You are very sweet. Far better than a goofy guy who thinks only about himself and getting sex."

"Is that what guys are like."

They laughed.

Adela said gently, "Is that a breast I see?"

"Yes should I cover up."

"No."

"You may kiss it if the thought pleases you. No offence if you don't."

"I've never touched a woman like that."

"What about your sister?"

"About the only times we touched was to kiss quickly at greetings or farewells or when she walloped me. She was jealous of me because dad focused on me."

"Well kiss my tit for the experience. Your body and mind will decide whether or not it pleases."

"Are you a lesbian?"

Janis confessed: "I'm called bi. It depends on what's on offer. The fact is I have low sex drive which is why you've only seen me with acquaintances rather than boyfriends."

Adela appeared most interested.

Janis sighed and said her relationship with Adela was rather unusual in that it had always been asexual."

"Really?"

"Yes I've had no desire to fondle a person of the same sex um until now."

"I don't... oh nothing."

"I know. Just kiss my breast."

Adela kissed the small mound of white flesh.

"Have you experienced sensations?"

"No it's only like kissing my own arm when desiring comfort."

"Try the nipple."

"Ah I feel a little something."

She licked the nipple this time and blew on it. "Oooh I'm making your nipple rise just like a guy does to mine when he's fiddling."

"Kiss me."

Adela leaned over Janis and kissed her softly. Janis ran a hand through Adela's dark brown curly hair and ran the other hand down the curvature of Adela's spine and as the hand reached the lower back Adela broke the kiss and almost panting purred, "This has been lovely but I must stop because I wish to keep my focus male-oriented."

"No sweat darling. It's best to know your mind on things like this.}

The house phone went.

Janis said she'd get it and padded out.

Adela heard Janis talk briefly and then silence until came the sound of a toilet flushing. Janis returned to the bedroom and stood, hand on hip and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Janis was only 5ft 5in, six inches shorter than Adela,

"You are beautiful proportioned, slender thighs to die for, just the one frontal tattoo over your left hip and you shave and your pussy looks beautiful and your tits are small enough to virtually avoid droop. You're a shining example of great womanhood."

Janis smiled. "You are so lovely to me. Um Johnny will be here in half an hour to take us out drinking with his workmates from the television studio where he works."

"Oh great and that will delay our full recovery from travel and over-indulgence but who cares? Let's meet the natives. You take the shower and I'll do the toilet thing. Half an hour is not nearly enough time to get ready."

"It's only drinks darling, not an occasional to snare a lover or a husband."

They laughed with the ease of close friends on vacation who were becoming even closer.

Johnny arrived, driving something called an Amarok Double Cab.

Janis opened the rear side door and told Adela to take the front seat.

Adela climbed and said, "A kiss please Johnny."

He kissed her and grinned.

She said cheerfully, "Sorry I was crappy to you this morning at the airport."

"A travel casualty, I understand. Drink less booze and you could arrive in better shape. How are you now?"

"Fine."

"Are you and Janis – you know?"

"Friends? I thought that would have been very obvious Johnny. So what's on?"

"Well, Janis will be interested in this. We are meeting some of our TV people, plus a couple of lawyers who vet our stuff and a woman representing the company that invests in our programs that have potential to win international sales."

"Such as?"

"Oh I guess something about whales, our unique wildlife documentaries or aspects of rural life and profiles on some of our unique personalities."

"But naturally something right out of the box with immense appeal?"

Johnny glanced at Adela and said, "Have you had experience in TV production; you look a bit young for that."

"Anyone could have made that comment; it was nothing special."

Johnny nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Why is blue such a popular colour?"

"What is this, a quiz? Well if you think about it brown may remind one of dirt, olive of rotting food so grab something that suggests goodness and popularity and at the forefront of our brain jumps blue – blue of the sky or a calm sea."

"Why didn't you just say you like blue best of all?"

"What and have you think I was thick and predictable?"

"Hmmm," Johnny laughed. "And now my mind rejects such an assumption absolutely. You haven't done a year of so advanced education have you?"

"No, I'm only four months out of high school, a good high school for academics I must say."

"You're not my sister's top girl are you?"

"I'm surprised you even bothered to ask Johnny Birdbrain."

He coloured and his knuckles on the steering wheel turned white.

"Johnny," his sister called softly. "You were the one being offensive."

"Yeah right. My apologies ladies."

At the bar after introductions were over Johnny brought a 40-something woman over to Adela who had been introduced earlier as Maryellen Blackwell.

Johnny went to the bar.

"Do you know why Johnny wanted me to meet you?"

"I guess I'm somehow supposed to impress you but be not afraid. I have no reason to do that. Do you find your high heels uncomfortable in here on such hard flooring?"

"What? Oh you are interested in fashion."

"Yes and no. But the surface here appears to be granite and it might be of great relief for you when you get out of her and kick off those shoes."

"And you sensibly are wearing Hush Puppies."

"Yes as because I'm six feet tall I don't have to think about height dominance."

Adela and the shorter woman laughed.

"Johnny told me he thinks after his initial meeting with you that you are somewhere on the upper end of the scale between whore and genius with a mind that operates as if boosted by an accelerator. He says in just two hours he's found you offensive, defensive and full-on exhilarating and thinks you are like no other female intellectually he's ever met."

"But Johnny knows you."

"Oh darling, how sweet and clever. Come over to the corner for a quiet chat."

They settled with topped up drinks and Maryellen said, "Johnny thinks you could be just the right person to dig us out of a hole we are in. Our associates agreed to contribute $1.8 million New Zealand dollars to finance the making of a pilot episode on one of the short stories by an as yet undiscovered New Zealand writer Neville Hopkins.

"The outfit Johnny works for, Jade Film Production that is a subsidiary of Television Aotearoa, was about to begin filming of the pilot when a couple of our backers got cold feet and called for a halt pending a special meeting of all investors involved next Monday."

"Adela I'm inclined to agree with Johnny that you just might be the ace we need to break the deadlock. I'm willing to stick my neck out and offer you $5000 to join our negotiating group of four on Monday to quash this chicken-hearted attempted back-down."

"The offer is just like that, yes or no with no elaboration?"

Maryellen said, "Correct and that's because I know you'll have the brains to research the issues before Monday's meeting at 10 am."

"Don't you have people already on salary that could strengthen your negotiating hand through research and well-directed hunches?"

"Johnny called his sister over to speak to me and she explained how you once-and for-all saved her city of Michelle in Australia from citizens demanding a name change because the founding community established no apparent connection to the name Michelle for their new settlement."

"And you somehow think I'm capable of pulling off another performance like that."

"Yes and at present no other Ace is likely. I feel it in my waters Adela."

"Oh god, Janis told you to say that."

"Yes," Maryellen said simply.

"Very well, I accept your offer. I will need a copy of the short story and a copy of the screen play for the pilot and I'll need to meet and talk to the author in his writing environment."

"But Judge Harold Oldham won't be pushed around like that."

"So he's a judge and writes under a penname?"

"Yes."

"Well my thinking is even a judge could be influenced by some nudging if were of benefit to him and totally above boards. I'll be the one to speak to the judge. Just inform him there's been a hitch and there's a chance we could defeat this minority opposition."

* * *

Adela went to the meeting on Monday, telling Johnny and Janis she wished to go unaccompanied and that would assist in her focus.

Janis said in alarm, "But you'll be confronting ruthless financial businessmen who will be capable of eating you alive."

"That's a negative though darling and I wish to go into that meeting without any baggage of negativism."

Negotiations commenced after introductions, Adela being introduced at her suggestion as 'the author's advocate'. That caused a stir in within the backers' team sitting opposite.

The representatives of two backers stated their case and three others indicated they were leaning in that direction.

That meant the division was 7-5 but as one of the speakers against pulling out stated that converted to 60% of the finance for the film being in favour of continuing with the pilot and appealed for all backers to stick to their original agreement.

"This author's advocate, when will she speak?" asked a pro-pilot backer representative.

"About now would be good timing, I should think," said the chairman, Maryellen Blackwell.

Adela explained she'd been hired by the filmmakers to help solve the impasse that was developing with the filming about to get underway.

"Apparently I have a special talent at sniffing out solutions," she said, leaving that bald statement hanging.

"First because the author is an eminent person, I ask that he be admitted to this meeting as I have no wish to overstate his position on this although I was appointed as his advocate."

The meeting agreed to that as it meant the unmasking of the author.

There were gasps when in walked one of the most respected judges in the country who was well-known in the business world as having presiding over some of the most complex cases in business litigation.

"Welcome Judge Oldham; please sit where directed," Adela smiled.

"It was reading the third of eight stories that I twigged I was actually reading about a character who central to the first three stories and a quick flick through appeared to confirm this as did the title Wisdom is Absorbed. "

"Of course I had the advantage over many other readers because I aware that the author's real name was Judge Oldham."

"Obviously the time frame was wrong for the memoirs of Judge Harold Oldham. I accessed the Internet and there is was... the obituary of the Chief Justice of New Zealand Sir Sidney Oldham. He was survived by his wife and two children, one of whom was Harold Oldham a law at Victoria University in Wellington."

"I found that Sidney Oldham's father Jasper lived in Liverpool with his wife and four children and the family sailed to Melbourne, Australia where Jasper hoped to become a senior clerk to a solicitor in the Australian gold-mining town of Ballarat."

"Twelve years later Jasper relocated in Auckland with his wife and two youngest children, Sidney and little Harold. And it won't be a surprise to you all for me to remind you that the setting for these short stories is Chapter 1 Liverpool; Chapter 2 the long voyage and settlement in Ballarat and Chapter 3 Auckland, and so on."

"I have convinced Judge Oldham to push for the scrapping of the pilot and for negotiations to involve the BBC in Britain and the entire series of eight chapters to be filmed and produced as an 8-part series. If that can be achieved he's agreeable to the exposure that he is the author of his father's bio."

There was almost bedlam and then applause.

Maryellen said that the BBC was interested in joining the production of a series about a Liverpool lad who made good.

"But you are warned that our proposed consortium will have to find big backers probably to the tune of $16 million but it could go well beyond that once the full screen play, filming parameters and detail such as estimated times to be spent on location overseas are known."

At that point the meeting got down to semantics and involved Judge Oldham. Adela caught the eye of Maryellen and waved and she nodded. Adela left quietly, her job done.

She went by taxi to Johnny's flat and found Janis waiting for her.

"Well you look triumphant."

"Yes I believe I earned my money. I need a shower."

"First I have some news."

"Okay shoot."

"The chief reporter of the

Clarion

has resigned and with embarrassment admitted he was under investigation on stalking allegations. I accepted the offer to replace him that requires me being back in in Michelle ready to start work by next Wednesday. Will you accompany me back home?"

"I'll accompany you back to Sydney. I think I'm unlikely to find my future in Michelle; it's too small."

"Right I'll book two seats to Sydney for next Tuesday and I'll fly home next day."

"That's great and while you're at it try to book two seats to Queenstown for this evening plus a hotel room for one night. Book the return from Christchurch to Auckland for next Monday. It's time I showed you the real New Zealand."

"What do we walk from Queenstown to Christchurch?"

"Preferably not as that tourist town is surrounded by mountains. We'll hire a rental car from a firm that will allow us to leave it at its Christchurch depot."

* * *

The women had just reached the lobby of their hotel in Queenstown when Adela took a call from Maryellen.

"Hi you earned your money for us today. Without you those negotiations would have floundered. Where are you?"

"In Queenstown."

"What the hell are you doing down there?"

"I'm acting as a tourist guide for my Australian friend Janis."

"Are you two sleeping together?"

"No but would you like that to happen?"

"I can't possibly answer that as it's not my business and I never should have asked. I need you back here to accompany me to London to begin exploratory negotiations with the BBC."

"The earliest I could do that is next Tuesday in Sydney."

"That is unacceptable."

"Maryellen I'm sorry but is it wasn't for Janis I wouldn't be in the position I am now. Please try to understand."

"Are you attempting to browbeat me with the loyalty thing?"

"Absolutely."

"And at the risk of losing the start of your fledging career?"

"Yes."

"Fuck you Adela. Oh god, don't hear that. I'm losing it because you and I were supposed to be leaving for London in two nights from now."

"What was I supposed to hear; I heard nothing."

"Oh darling, you're the champion of discretion. Judge Oldham said unless you are in the negotiating team then we can drop the proposal to film his eight short stories."

"Oooh Maryellen it sounds that unless you compromise you'll be up the creek without a paddle."

"God Adela, that's hitting me in the slats. Please handle me gently."

"Okay mummy do we have an agreement. You make appointments with Channel 7 and Channel 9 television executives for next Wednesday and I'll meet you in Sydney where and when you wish to meet. Then we board an aircraft to London that evening, as late as possible."

"Omigod you believe we should have one of those stations join the consortium and assist with the arrival of a sailing ship in Melbourne and the rest of the Chapter 2 filming in Ballarat?"

"Oh really you are too kind; surely you and your fellow executives had thought of that."

"Pretend I said yes darling and I shall not feel such an idiot."

"Bye Maryellen; I'll enjoy working with you especially if you no longer think of me as just a fucking know-all teenager. For you information I'm not very worldly."

* * * Adela arrived back in Sydney two weeks later to be whisked to the media centre at the airport for a press conference organized by Maryellen who'd arrived from London a couple of days earlier.

The conference had a shaky start.

"Hi everyone I'm Maryellen Blackwell, the coordinating executive for a UK-Australia-New Zealand joint-venture filmmaking company called All Rise Productions Incorporation."

"What a dick of a name," shouted a reporter.

"Adela," Maryellen yelled.

Adela came on-stage in a tight-hugging very short blue dress and brilliant red high heel shoes.

"God shouldn't you still be at school," shouted an over-weight reporter standing with a photographer.

"Security removes that woman unless she grovels and pleads to be allowed to stay."

In silence the assembly watched the red-faced reporter apologize to two security heavies.

"Right folk I have dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and probably using the New Zealand side of my brain, although I wouldn't dare suggest that to the Australian media. I devised the name of the company and the name of the TV series of eight parts that is being announced exclusively to you the cream of Australian media today."