Walking the Tight Rope

By Hannelore Fiebig

This book takes the reader through a roller coaster of emotions.
Greg, a tough but proud businessman believes in himself and his honour as a gentleman, however, when he fell for a charming, seductive woman his life was in uproar. To keep his affair a secret Greg went to extreme measures to cover his tracks, exactly this action gave him away. When Leony, his wife of eighteen years, discovered his lies all hell broke loose and their life started to fall apart. Leony was not ready to be pushed aside although he denied his involvement and assured Leony many times over his total devotion to her.
At any time when he found no answer to her accusations he declared 'YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND'. Their struggle continued for a long time until Leony packed her belongings but then, something strange happened.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadOnTime BV
• Release date: Jul 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781921791697

Book preview

Walking the Tightrope

Hannelore Fiebig

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 Hannelore Fiebig

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The information, views, opinions and visuals expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims any liabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libel or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents of this publication.

A copy of this publication can be found in the National Library of Australia.

ISBN:  978-1-921791-69-7 (pbk.)

Published by Book Pal

www.bookpal.com.au

Contents

Walking the Tightrope

New Lifestyle

Holiday

The Big Revelation

The Battle

The Surprise

Change

A Season to Remember

Detective

The Visitors

Melbourne

Back Home

The Job Hunt

Troubles

The Break

Short-lived Truth

The Birthday

Christa’s Visit

Breaking Strings

Unwelcome Interference

Lost Opportunities

New Year’s Eve

Anniversary

Peace Attempt

The Good Old Times

Canada

Back Home Again

In Retrospect

The New House

The Wedding

Sad News Again

Epilogue

Foreword

Known as a tough businessman, a proud tradesman and a very talented negotiator, Greg was loved and hated by many people in this world. Anyone who had dealings with him in business or private, knew they could rely on his word, a handshake was good enough for him and he fiercely protected his privacy.

As a loving husband and father he believed in the old fashioned family tradition and refused to accept the more modern society where a woman can stand at the same level with a man and sometimes even higher.

According to his beliefs, women belong in the kitchen to take care of the family. A man is the breadwinner and should always be treated as the head of the household.

However, beneath his tough exterior, beats a golden heart as soft as butter and not many people, apart from Leony, knew that soft side, but no matter how hard he tried he could not convince his wife, Leony, to follow his beliefs.

Both worked tirelessly together to build up their business and get ahead in life.

The secret of their success was the fact that Leony was in charge of all office work, including the household, while Greg and his team did the physical work.

He had built up his building company and organised his teams with a strong hand and precision plus did many hours of hard physical work.

Leony supported him fully in every detail of his work but refused to accept the status of second class citizen.

Both worked long hours, sometimes until late at night often with a pad and pencil beside their bed to take down important notes for a particular job.

Then, one day they decided to sell up and move to Queensland to partially retire from the rat race.

Greg bought himself a boat to pursue his greatest passion, fishing, that is when their life changed dramatically.

Chapter 1

Walking the Tightrope

Greg was in a conference with a couple when she returned. It’s a pleasure to meet you, said Leony as he introduced her. The contracts for the purchase of their house had expired, but the finance had been delayed by red tape. However, transactions proceeded on a mutual agreement to finalise settlement in four weeks from now with full use of the house as from today. It suited both parties.

Later on, in the living room over a few drinks, they conversed with ease and found each other likeable enough to exchange invitations. How it is so often in life, nothing eventuated from it until three months later, when Greg gave a Christmas Party for his team in the games room underneath the house and didn’t fancy the company of their daughter. Why don’t you and Silvia go over to Pam, she’s on her own and would love to have someone to talk to. As you know, they’re new up here and have no friends, you see, I invited John to join us here tonight.

Sorry Greg, tell Pam, maybe another time. I’ve already made arrangements to pick up Kay to go and see ‘Sound of Music’, let’s invite the family over for Christmas. His eyes pleaded with her to change her mind, but she shook her head.

Christmas turned out to be a great success. A seemingly indestructible friendship developed and during the years that followed they spent many happy hours in each others company. With a few drinks, good music and interesting conversations, time went much too fast. They often danced into the early morning hours, while Silvia, Vera and Chris slept in Sylvia’s room, exhausted from too much talk. The three Children got along very well. Although Vera was four years Silvia’s junior, both girls communicated very well. Their independent and clear assertion of any situation strengthened their friendship firmly. Being the youngest, Chris had to go along with whatever the two girls decided, but never submitted without a good argument.

Unfortunately, not everything was as rosy as it looked.  Greg’s partner showed no real interest in continuing with their business, because his wife’s insistence to team up with his son slowly chocked a good profitable building company and it broke Greg’s heart.  His whole life was the success of his work. His forward thinking, planning ahead and his extremely competent management in everything he did established him as one of the best in the district. Now his world was visibly collapsing around him. He needed this partnership more for moral support than anything else. He saw no sense in continuing without his friend. Day by day Greg grew more apathetic towards Willy as his hate against his wife Doris raged within him, and he began to drink heavily.

To make things worse, Greg’s second love, fishing, had similar problems, either the wind was too strong or the weather was perfect, but there was no off-sider available to go out on the ocean. On many occasions Greg had left silently after breakfast, returning for lunch without a word as to where he went or what he did all those hours. Other times he would just sit there, staring at the walls with a grim expression on his face. Whatever Leony said to try and cheer him up, brought about an angry outburst of unfair accusations, You don’t understand at all, how can you, as my wife, side with them.

Listen here Greg, think! Try to see things just as they are. I am not at all on their side, but every coin has two sides. Can’t you see that he has to live with his family, preferably in peace? Give a little, take a little; things are not as bad as they look. Life goes on, this is not the end of the line, she said emphatically, but it was to no avail.

You say you know me, can you really see my point? I go out of my way to help a friend. All these years, every one else came first, I put their welfare before my own, but what has anyone done for me? Did they go just a little out of their way to help me? No! It was my brain that kept things rolling, his finger tapping the table vigorously to emphasise every single word. Many similar debates brought no change in his attitude; it just seemed to intensify his growing hostility towards Leony and the rest of the world.

Leony had started to feel depressed, her feelings were hurt. She always stood by him, but his words seemed to lash out deliberately to make her feel miserable, it dug deeper and deeper into her battered soul until she felt as empty as Greg himself, with nothing more to give but contempt.

Sometimes, when the weather promised a good catch of fish, a few happy moments changed the home life into a pleasant atmosphere, and this very special gleam in his eyes warmed her heart. It never lasted long enough to heal the rift between them.

Often the weather was perfect but he had no off-sider and this made matters worse.

Some mornings he would leave for the Southport bar before sunrise to watch the boats go out, and his anger towards the woman, who, according to him, caused the trouble, grew into hatred and he secretly cursed her. But Doris was happy to have her man where she wanted him; Greg had always been a thorn in her eyes.

In desperate need of a friend, Greg went to Pam on his way home, assured of a willing ear and an understanding soul. Pam sensed the deep desolation of his heart and lent him her shoulder to share his grief. Don’t despair, life heals all wounds with time. The scar remains for the rest of your life, but soon you’ll be able to laugh again, she said soothingly, smiling at him reassuringly. It’s your destiny and you should look ahead of you, not behind. This advice, with a good measure of concern in her voice, did invariably brighten his day. Often enough, her sorrow seemed much bigger than his did and his calming words played her ears too, giving both of them the strength to face another day.

Chapter 2

New Lifestyle

For many years Greg was in sole command of all aspects of his life; aiming high, pushing towards his goal, leading the way with inexhaustible enthusiasm, and now he felt utterly desolate and abandoned.

Leony awoke to birdsong outside her bedroom window; the sun spread a golden light through the closed curtains. It was peaceful and she thanked her lucky stars for having the privilege to live out here, not too far from town and not so close that you have neighbours looking into your windows. The four and a half years in the flat - where every footstep could be heard - had been agony to her. Sometimes she had felt like a bird in a cage with her wings clipped. The flat was cosy, warm in winter and cool in summer when the sea breeze kept the temperature down. It was also easy to clean, but the freedom here was worth every bit of extra work and effort a house needs. This one in particular; big and spacious with large windows, providing maximum light in all rooms, a superb view across the Nerang River right up to the mountains and surrounded by parkland full of wild life. The two acres hosted a great variety of gum trees, paper barks, iron barks, pine trees, wattles, bush orchids and even caped gooseberries galore. It was a perfect home for birds and animals.

Leony stretched herself lazily and turned around to see if Greg was awake. He pretended to be asleep, but the flickering eyelids and the grim expression on his face gave him away. His eyes opened for a second, and then he turned his back to her. ‘Hmm, another of these days’ she thought, but said aloud I’ll call you when breakfast is ready. With that she jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She asked herself in bitter disappointment, ‘When did I stop being his friend and become the necessary evil he has to contend with?’

‘On second thought I’ll not cook eggs, how can I be sure Greg will eat them? Lately he has hardly eaten anything in the morning, well; we will see what this day brings us.’ She set the table and walked towards the bedroom, Coffee is…

Don’t scream, he said annoyed, coming around the corner, shooting an irritable glance -partly apologetic and partly questionable- towards her. She realised immediately that he was trying to justify his temper and said nothing. Ten minutes later he left without a word. Leony’s mood plummeted and she fought hard against the lump in her throat. His ignorance was getting to her; sure he was hurt because things didn’t go exactly to his liking, but ‘what about me. Am I nothing, just a convenient buffer for his bad temper,’ she thought with tears running down her cheeks. She got up from the table and went out into the garden to release her frustration on the weeds.

A few days later things looked a little better. The telephone rang and Pam asked with a happy voice, Hi, how are you two this morning? It looked so calm outside, not a breeze in the air. Is Greg out there fishing?

No, same old story, no off-sider, but cheer up he’s in a good mood, despite his misfortune. We just decided to get some bags of manure to give our garden a facelift.

Oh, ask him if he could take the trailer and I’ll come along so we can buy enough for both our gardens. Tell him I’ll shout him a beer, she offered.

Hang on, the boy wants to talk to you, Leony handed him the phone. He listened for a while and with a glance towards Leony he said, Well, if you bring a shovel and load the trailer under my instructions you’ve got a deal.

Will do, I’ll be over in twenty minutes, Pam chuckled.

You don’t have to come along since Pam is helping me, it gives you a chance to work on your dress, Greg said turning his attention to Leony.

The coffee was ready when Pam walked in. Dressed in shorts and a light blouse, she tossed her purse and rubber gloves on the table with a challenging look at Greg.

Sissy! Who needs gloves, you can’t feel anything with them, Greg teased, but as long as your purse contains money to hold you to your promise, I’ll let you get away with it, he mocked.

Smartie, drink your coffee and let’s get on the way, my husband expects his lunch at half past twelve, we better be back by then, she answered in mock anger.

They chatted for a short while and made arrangements for the weekend, then all walked out to the car together. Leony waved good-bye and winked at Pam, who puzzled her with a mysterious expression in her eyes. As the car drove off, she paused a moment in deep thought, trying to recollect a similar incidence, because she was convinced that same glance had met her before. This unique mixture of doubt, expectation, defiance and mockery didn’t match her smile, as if she was about to say something but then thought better of it. This quick witted, talkative slender woman with light grey eyes and jet-black hair never failed to put Greg in a happier mood. In her company, his quick wit and smile returned, and her appearance often shifted any storm clouds before they caused damage in their, at times, very frosty household. Greg never missed an opportunity to measure his wit against hers, and Leony silently blessed Pam’s contribution towards his better moods. It amazed her, to say the least how well it worked, but it also puzzled her, for Pam guarded her privacy jealously.

The mild spring produced a good crop of lettuce and other vegetables, which they shared between them. Both Pam and Greg tried hard to outdo each other. Pam’s first steps took her at least three times a week to the garden, to admire his efforts, he would point his finger at her teasingly, You know why they do so well here, they need the right touch, just like mine, strong but very gentle, he’d said in response to her feigned exasperated cry, Why are yours so much bigger, we both planted at the same time and together worked out the right formula, it just makes me sick.

Leony dropped the knife and stamped her foot angrily. The cutting board immediately filling with blood from the deep cut in her finger. ‘Why always me?’ she puzzled while cleaning the blood from the board and applying a band-aid over the wound.

‘As if it’s not enough to have a cranky husband. Now I have to hurt my hand, on top of all this, it’s all his fault, if he would listen to reason I may not be so highly strung and clumsy, please give me a break,’ she sighed. ‘It will have to be cards this weekend; billiards is definitely out with my sore finger.’

Her love of cards earned her a lot of criticism from Greg, who would often refer to her grandfather’s gambling habits, a man who had won and lost fortunes through cards, ‘and you’ll follow in your grandfather’s footsteps’ he frequently nagged.

‘Well, not everyone is perfect and can find complete fulfilment in fishing, just look at the hours of enjoyment a pack of cards can bring to young and old,’ was her usual reply. Unfortunately, he had reached a phase in his life where any trace of humour coming from Leony, sounded like an insult to him. No woman on this earth had the right to step on his toes.

John was a different kettle of fish altogether. Through hard work he had climbed the ladder of success. He held an executive position in a nationwide company, and was manager of the Gold Coast branch. Although he’d soon learnt that the pressure of his position, and the fact that he was tied up in his office for most of the day, was a pain.

He despised the feeling that he was a manipulated puppet. Sure, he carried a lot of responsibility, his boss pushed constantly for higher sales, raising the quota month by month, and yet, the whole wide world campaigned against smoking, including the government, which made his job even harder.

John and Greg had often had heated discussions about politics, the ever rising prices, the handling of local government funds and the mishandling of our tax dollar, which did absolutely nothing to lift the gloomy spirits. Occasionally, Leony detected a glint of hatred in John’s eyes and sometimes had the feeling it was aimed at Greg rather than at the worldly happenings. Also, John wasn’t interested in gardening, he never-the-less joined in when Pam and Greg discussed what had to be done first to get a better crop.

Greg eventually returned with a trailer full of manure and was hungry. After lunch Leony went with him into the garden, the wind had risen and tore at the healthy looking tomato plants, so their first priority was to drive stakes in and tie them up. By the time they finished Greg’s complaints had mounted into anger, Just look how this bloody wind flattens my plants. I can’t do anything right any more. There aren’t many people that put as much effort into their garden as I do, most don’t even care. What thanks do I get for it? And you tell me there’s a god up there? Thumbs up to him, I hope we will meet one day so I can give him a piece of my mind. Leony turned and walked into the house, not willing to listen to such nonsense again but told him to come up for a cup of coffee if he felt like it.

The scorching heat of a Queensland summer can drain all the energy from you, and yet every year thousands of tourists come from all over the world to the coast to enjoy the brilliant sunshine and the ocean with its wide clean beach to get a rich tan.

Spring, autumn and winter are ideal seasons for sun-bathing, but summer is a dangerous time and can cause a lot of damage to the skin. There are warnings from TV Stations, Radio and magazines to avoid skin cancer, which most sun lovers ignore and many pay for it dearly. Crowded doctors’ surgeries are proof of the statistics and many deaths are recorded each year. Never-the-less, if care is taken the beach can be a wonderful and interesting place to be, and Leony loved nothing more than to go very early in the morning.

The sun rose over the horizon like a glorious golden ball. It promised to be a hot day. Seven fishermen marched single line along the water’s edge dressed in shorts, T-shirts and broad rimmed hats, their long beach rods, basket and buckets for baits tangled from their sides. To attract the inhabitants of the sea with a little wiggly worm on the hook is more than a game. It’s serious business. As soon as word gets around that the fish are on the bait, the challenge begins, and this morning was it. While the never-ending motion of the sea brakes on the sand all attention is focused on the tip of the rod, a flock of seagulls take advantage and avail themselves to the easy food, left unattended by anglers. Above, the cotton-wool clouds race each other to compete in the art of creation. One minute Leony can make out two poodles facing each other before slowly the formation changes to a striding lion, ready to catch the little fawn in the distance, above it swoops a beautiful wide winged bird catching its prey. Snow peaked mountains form the backdrop. The formation changes rapidly, until it all dissolves into white fuzz and only a few white clouds sail across the azure blue roof of the world as if to herald the importance of their presence, flying the flag of freedom.

She watched as there was suddenly some action on two rods at once, one snapped as the other fisherman struggled to bring the catch in, with exited exclamations, ‘Hold it baby, not so fast, calm down, that’s right, take it easy, no, I won’t let you go, you Beauty!’ The fish lost the battle and ended up in the basket. Unfortunately, the second angler, obviously a beginner, threw a sudden tantrum, after first losing the fish hook and sinker he discovered the empty bait tin. This was too much all at once. He hadn’t only been outsmarted by the fish but also by these winged scavengers, who had feasted on his previous efforts, while he’d devoted his energy to catching this promised meal. He sat down in exasperation. His mates’ cruel remarks, ‘Well, some got it and some don’t’, didn’t help at all. The other five anglers also struggled with their rods, and it looked as if they would have a successful day.

While this was happening the beach was alive with people, sun-bathing, swimming, surfing, jogging and taking their dogs for a walk. The early morning hour reflected that special holiday atmosphere of the coast. The traffic was building up over the Southport bridge like every morning during rush hour, but it never took too long before everything was back to normal. It was time to head for home.

Chapter 3

Holiday

John and Pam had often discussed their dream to go up North, to explore the beaches and the North Queensland terrain. They had tried to convince Greg of the wonderful adventure and the good fishing, but it took more than the lure of the fish to get Greg interested in going for such a long trip. After month of talking about it, Greg finally agreed to give it a go. The time was set for the school holidays and the planning started in earnest. They had six weeks to get ready, buy some camping gear, hire tents, prepare the car and boat, and get some leisure clothing for everyone, not to mention the other thousand and one things you need for a good holiday.

Finally the boat was packed and the cars loaded with the camping gear, fishing rods, food and everything else we needed for our four week holiday. Everyone rolled towards take-off in high spirits as they knew they were about to realise a dream, everyone but Greg, who was still not totally impressed by the idea of tramping around the country side. Maybe the big fish everyone talked about had a hold over him. After all, the North is known for its magnificent fishing grounds where the real big ones are just waiting to be caught. His hopes were high.

A cheering squad waited at the top of the driveway to see the convoy off. Leony’s parents who were to look after the house during their absence, took a few photos while the neighbours, who had lived up there in the North for a long time, gave final advise and a few addresses of places ‘not to miss.’ Bye. Bye everyone. Please take good care of the cat. She’s bound to miss us, Silvia called out.

Finally, the big day had arrived, the clock showed eleven-thirty, and with a bit of luck they would miss the peak traffic and get a fair mileage behind them. They estimated about two to three days to get to Cairns, where they intended to stay for one week, depending on the weather, the fishing and also the access to the offshore Islands.

Silvia asked, How far are we going today, Dad?

It depends, wherever we find accommodation for the seven of us, since we have no bookings, and we didn’t allow for the beginning of the school holidays. I don’t think we’re the only ones on the road and they can’t just wait for us to drop in. We can always camp on the roadside, or sleep in the boat, he said laughing. Chris wasn’t happy with this prospect; he was scared of the dark. Then he came up with a brilliant idea, If our cars stay together we can form a little circle with the boat and have our own coral, he said, relieved to have found the perfect solution.

That’s not a bad idea, but if we stop early enough, we should have no problem in finding a Caravan Park for one night, Leony said.

No, that is out all together. Under no circumstances will we park on the road. But don’t worry we’ll find something, we’ll just keep moving on until we find a place to stay, said Greg. Please, light me a cigarette he requested, handing Leony the packet and the lighter. Now I know what to call you from now on, said Chris, official cigarette lighter. They all laughed.

After three hours driving, everybody agreed it was high-time to find a place for lunch, But it must have easy access and be on this side of the highway, Greg stipulated.

After forty minutes of intensive searching for a reasonable place, they finally pulled up at the side of the road and got out, stretching their tired muscles. The surprised look on Greg’s face at Pam’s greeting should have been caught on camera! What do you think you’re doing to us, you bloody idiot, have you forgotten that none of us had lunch and we’re absolutely starving. I don’t know about you, but we nearly fainted of hunger.

I thought we wanted to push on as far as possible. We were looking for a suitable place for the last forty minutes, but nothing looked all right, Greg answered after he closed his mouth and got over the initial shock.

We had some bread without any spread. One piece broke off, that’s when we all dug in to it, Silvia said, with a glance to her mum.

Thanks very much, how mean and selfish not to think about us. Pam said, still very angry. Well, this time you’re forgiven, but don’t let it happen again. Come on John lets go in before I collapse and turn back home.

This is her temperament, now you can imagine what I have to put up with. Mind you, for a fellow who is used to having regular meals it’s a hell of a long time to wait for lunch, it’s nearly dinnertime. John said laughing.

The restaurant looked clean and affordable. All ordered steak and vegetables to make this their main meal for the day. Leony had to choose something else to contend with, something softer as the slightest pressure on her jaw sent waves of pain up to her brain. The dentist could do nothing with her tooth until the infection had subsided and had given her penicillin to make it bearable, except during dinner, when the pain was very obvious. Be careful, Pam said worried as Leony gingerly took her first bite.

Don’t worry Pam, I’ll survive. I intend to make the best of this holiday. Weed is persistent. Pam’s concerned look turned into a smile and nobody talked for a while.

An hour later they hit the track again and pushed on until dark. Way past Gympie they turned into a little Caravan park. The four-berth van looked comfortable, and after a light meal everyone retired so they could have an early start in the morning. The three children slept in the annex and before long, where sound asleep. Light rain began to fall. Suddenly a voice came from the annex. Hey, what’s this? I’m all wet; did you wet the bed Chris?

What do you think I am? A baby or what, move over I’m getting wet here too.

Leony smiled to herself, this is just what we need, and it certainly is a lovely start. Maybe Greg was right when he said not to venture so far from home, but who cares, little hick-ups happen all the time, it brings out the pioneering spirit in us. The women got up and moved the children into the van. Now all we have to watch is that nobody steps on them, or we have a murder on our hands, Pam said getting back into bed. By the way, I set the alarm for your medicine.

Thanks, I hope nobody else wakes up from the noise. The rest of the night went by without incidence.

Sunshine competed with rain right through the following day but the wind scattered the clouds quickly and the warmth of the earth mingled with the sweet scent of the bush. While crossing a bridge during the afternoon a stone smashed the windscreen of the leading car and all four occupants got a mighty shock. Everyone got out of the cars and helped to remove the rest of the glass, which, in no time covered the two front seats. Greg carefully removed every little chip from the frame to make sure nobody got hurt while driving slowly to the next township, which was about an hour away, where they could camp overnight and get the repair done.

We better swap seats young man, you’re much safer in Dad’s car, besides, my company might cheer up Greg a little, after such an awful experience so close to roll up. Pam said to Chris, who moaned, Why me and not the girls, they could swap too. Without waiting for a reply Chris walked to the rear of the car and called to Vera Mum said you have to go with Dad, you can get into the car, and we’ll be off shortly.

That is not true; I don’t have to go with Dad, Mum, do I?

Trust Chris, Pam said laughing to Leony, He will find a way to get out of anything that little Con, unless Silvia would like to swap with you Chris.

No, I’d rather come with you, sorry Chris, better get in, we’re off.

With the side windows closed the draft wasn’t too bad