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  SWITCH

  David Finchley

  About The Author

  David Finchley was born in in 1946, in post-war Germany. He moved to Australia with his family at the age of ten. After completing school, he studied Medicine at Melbourne University, going on to specialise in Neurology.

  He continues to practice Neurology. Having been able to reduce his workload, he has now had the time to pursue his long-held desire to write. Switch is his third novel.

  Published in Australia by Sid Harta Publishers Pty Ltd,

  ABN: 46 119 415 842

  23 Stirling Crescent, Glen Waverley, Victoria 3150 Australia

  Telephone: +61 3 9560 9920, Facsimile: +61 3 9545 1742

  E-mail: [email protected]

  First published in Australia March 2015

  This edition published March 2015

  Copyright © David Finchley 2015

  Cover design, typesetting: Working Type Studio, Melbourne

  The right of David Finchley to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to that of people living or dead are purely coincidental.

  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 without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Finchley, David

  Switch

  ISBN: 9781925280845 (eBook)

  Digital edition distributed by

  Port Campbell Press

  www.portcampbellpress.com.au

  eBook Conversion by Winking Billy

  ACT 1

  IT WAS GOOD

  WHILE IT LASTED

  ‘Welcome aboard Mr Goodman.’

  ‘Thank you, Alice.’

  ‘Here we are, 2A. Enjoy your flight.’

  Nathan deposited his carry-on in the overhead compartment and sat down in the window seat. He loved travelling at the pointy end of the plane. First class was his preference, but on its domestic routes, business was the best Qantas could offer. It would do. He buckled up and waited as the other passengers filed into the plane.

  Ten minutes later the doors were closed and two minutes after that the 767 began to taxi to its take-off point to start the short flight to Sydney.

  Nathan declined the champagne and accepted the orange juice which he drank and was handing his empty glass to Alice as the plane taxied slowly. He sat back, closed his eyes. This was the first time he was travelling on his own. Not the first time travelling alone. He had done that numerous times before. He had lost count of the number of business trips he had taken on behalf of clients, trips to visit clients interstate or, as on this occasion, to a conference. No, it was the first time he was travelling since he had been on his own. It was, almost to the day, three months earlier that his wife Sylvia had announced that she was leaving him. After thirty five years of marriage and two children, she was leaving him for none other than her fitness instructor. He was a blond, blue-eyed, twenty-something ruggedly good looking man. Nathan had met him once. He couldn’t recall his name. It began with an R. Ralph? No, Rory. That was it, Rory. He was American, or so he said.

  Sylvia, in an attempt to soften the blow, told Nathan that she still loved him but that it was no longer enough. She wanted more out of life. Not financially more, she was quick to add and certainly not financially less, but her life lacked excitement and with Rory she felt alive, felt young again. And the sex was great. Ouch! That last one hurt the most.

  Age had been kind to Sylvia. Now approaching her mid-fifties, life had left her with her spectacular beauty which was what first attracted Nathan to her. The five trips a week to the gym had left her with the same body as she had in her thirties and the right mix of hormones had kept her libido at a teenage level.

  Life had not been quite so kind to Nathan. It did leave him his good looks and most of his hair. In the fitness department, he could not hold a candle to Sylvia. He had tried. The half a dozen or so lapsed gym memberships bore witness to that. He finally resigned himself to three or four walks a week which did nothing for his cardio-vascular fitness nor for the growing paunch which Sylvia would never tire of pointing out. It was however, in the domain of sexual prowess that life had been the cruellest to Nathan, as it was to so many men after the age of fifty. The desire was still there but the performance wasn’t. Erectile dysfunction. Those two dreaded words, the effect of which he knew all too well.

  The miracle of Viagra went some of the way to mitigate the problem and certainly prevented a bad situation from becoming worse. But the pills’ effects were not instantaneous and Nathan came to the conclusion that after thirty five years, the extra half an hour that Sylvia had to wait for the drug to work was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

  Although Sylvia left him, it was actually Nathan who did the leaving. He moved out of the family home and relocated to a flat in the city. His elderly parents were devastated by the news and vowed never to speak to Sylvia again. Nathan counselled against that course of action. Sylvia was, after all, still the mother of their grandchildren. The children, both living independently, took the news differently. His daughter reassured Nathan that Mum would soon come to her senses and return to him and that he should just hang in there. His son told him that he was better off without her.

  Sylvia’s parents had both died some years earlier. Nathan had been very fond of them as he knew they were of him. He was happy that they had been spared having to deal with this situation.

  As for Nathan, he wasn’t at all sure what to feel. He had no inkling of Sylvia’s dissatisfaction. There were the occasional niggly remarks but they were said in good humour, or so he thought. It was true, they were no longer madly in love with each other, if they ever were. Nathan always felt the marriage was comfortable. While that may have been enough for him, clearly it was not enough for Sylvia.

  They were two different people. Perhaps they were a mismatch as a couple. Nathan had heard that remark often enough from his friends. Perhaps, considering their differences, they had done well to stay married for as long as they had. Nathan was sad but not devastated, nor shocked by Sylvia’s actions. He would have to move on with his life although he had absolutely no idea how to do that after thirty five years with the one woman.

  Thirty-five years ago. He could remember it as if it was yesterday.

  NATHAN GOODMAN

  Nathan was tall. Six feet two inches in the old measurement. He could not relate to height in centimetres. He was good looking, handsome even. His hair was dark brown, almost black. His eyes were green, emerald. He had a broad smile which revealed perfect white teeth, courtesy of the orthodontist to whom his parents had handed over several thousand dollars.

  He had been a bright student throughout all the years at school. It was said of him that he was something of a maths genius. He topped year twelve at Melbourne High School by a wide margin. He had friends at school, not many. Like him, they were also top students. Nathan did not mix with the cool group at school. He was too bookish and had been labelled a nerd in the second week of arriving at the school and the label stuck. It did not bother Nathan one bit. His parents had instilled in him the importance of education and he was happy that his scholastic achievements made them so proud.

  Nathan was an only child of parents who were Holocaust survivors. Born in Poland, they somehow managed to escape Hitler’s murderers and survived the war having lost almost all their families. Neither parent came from observant Jewish homes but after the war both turned to t
heir religion and practised Orthodox Judaism as best as they could. This was the opposite of the behaviour of many other survivors, who having come from religious backgrounds, distanced themselves from orthodoxy after their wartime experience due to the belief that their God had abandoned them in their greatest hour of need.

  Nathan grew up in a house where the Sabbath was strictly observed. He was expected to attend Synagogue each Friday evening and Saturday morning, which he did until his Bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen. After that, his attendances became fewer and by the age of eighteen were limited to the High Holidays, three days a year.

  His father, although disappointed, accepted that this was the price one had to pay for living in a secular, Christian society.

  Nathan was accepted into Melbourne University where he completed a Commerce degree with Honours and finished at the top of his year. He could have used his mathematical skills to enter the field of science but chose commerce with a view to becoming an accountant. He may have been a nerd but he knew where the money was.

  After graduating, he was snapped up by one of Melbourne’s top tier accounting firms where he excelled. After three years with the firm and much to their dismay, he left and with two friends from university, set up his own accounting firm. It was to be a small, boutique firm catering to high-value clients. The firm, Goodman and Partners, did very well and did not stay small for long. Nathan’s future was assured.

  SYLVIA GOLD

  Sylvia Gold was blonde, blue-eyed and tall. She was somewhere between five feet, eight inches and five feet, nine inches (she also did not believe in centimetres). She was strikingly beautiful; had been as a baby, as a young child and even more so when she blossomed as a teen. Her looks were Scandinavian, not at all Jewish. It was often said of her, ‘Someone in her background was not Jewish’.

  Her parents were German Jews. They got out of Germany in the late 1930s and missed the horrors that followed. Sylvia had two brothers, both older who doted on her, as did her parents. Her father, Abraham Gold, ran a very successful business. He was a tailor in Germany and after starting small, he eventually owned the largest men’s suit manufacturing business in Victoria. There was no shortage of money and Sylvia was spoiled and indulged. She had always been led to believe that she was special. The typical Jewish princess. She attended all the really cool parties and her own parties, held at her parents’ palatial home, were a must for the younger hip Jewish set.

  She attended Macrobertson Girls High School. Mr Gold, despite his wealth, did not believe in private education. Sylvia was a disinterested student, her marks were average at best. She was bright enough but could not see the point of putting too much effort into her studies, certainly not at the expense of her social life. Her ambition was to complete school, which she did, obtain a university degree which she almost did, an Arts Degree at Melbourne University. All this with a view to marrying well.

  NATHAN GOODMAN MEETS SYLVIA GOLD

  Melbourne High School was an all-boys school and Macrobertson Girls High School was an all-girls school. Every year Melbourne High held a social at the school. Year 12 boys from the school were partnered with Year 11 girls from Macrob. There was a random matching system. In years gone by names of students were written on scraps of paper and drawn from a hat. Now it was done by computer match.

  Nathan was matched with Sylvia. He could not believe his luck and all night his friends were looking at him enviously as he had on his arm the most beautiful and most sexy girl at the social.

  Sylvia was less impressed. Nathan picked her up in what he referred to as a limousine. The car was actually a black Ford Falcon owned by one of Nathan’s father’s friends who was a taxi driver and their chauffeur for the night. Sylvia had already spotted the car when she peeked through the venetians in the front room of the house. Great, she said to herself, a Ford Falcon. Not a good start.

  Nathan came to the door and when Sylvia opened it, he presented with her a corsage of frangipanis. Strike two.

  Nathan enquired about her wellbeing, shook her father’s hand and smiled at her mother, telling them how pleased he was to meet them and reassured them that he would look after their daughter. He spoke politely and with sincerity and after only a few sentences, Sylvia could almost see the word ‘Nerd’ tattooed on Nathan’s forehead. She sighed inwardly. It was going to be a long night.

  She did however notice his height and that was something in his favour. Sylvia was self-conscious about her height and Jewish boys taller than her were scarce. She also could not fail to notice his good looks. His green eyes sparkled and his broad smile would have melted most girls’ hearts. Just not Sylvia’s. She had already made up her mind about him.

  They sat in the back seat of the Falcon for the thirty five minute drive to the school. Nathan made an attempt at small talk but soon gave up receiving only one word replies from Sylvia or no reply at all.

  As they entered the school hall, Nathan could see heads turning towards them. Not just the boys, the girls too. Sylvia was a knockout.

  The band was already playing and Nathan asked Sylvia to dance. The music was so loud that conversation was all but impossible, which was probably just as well. In the weeks leading up to the social, Nathan had taken half a dozen dance lessons and despite herself, Sylvia was impressed by his prowess on the dance floor. She considered herself to be a pretty good dancer but found herself struggling to keep up with Nathan. She had to admit he had some pretty cool moves.

  They danced all night, only taking short breaks for a cold drink or a visit to the toilet which Sylvia seemed to make quite regularly.

  On the way home in the car, little was said by either of them. Nathan was exhausted from the dancing and apart from telling Sylvia that he had had a wonderful evening, to which she replied ‘So did I,’ the rest of the trip was conducted in silence.

  Nathan dropped Sylvia at home just before midnight. He saw her to the door where she let him kiss her on the cheek. He tried for the lips but she turned her head. Sylvia went inside, relieved that the evening was finally over.

  Nathan on the other hand was floating. He was in love, or so he thought. He told his parents the next morning that he had a wonderful evening and had spent it with a very beautiful girl. He did not say (and his parents did not ask) that the girl was not Jewish, which is what Nathan had concluded from her looks. His friends had come to the same conclusion and when Sylvia was out of earshot, told him that he was a lucky dog to score such a beautiful ‘shikseh’.

  Nathan did manage to get Sylvia’s phone number and would have called her to ask her out. But it was October and the final exams were just around the corner and he knew he had to study. Moreover, his parents made it clear that he would have to suspend his social life until after the exams, so he did not call Sylvia for a date.

  When he finally did get around to calling, he was informed by her mother that Sylvia was not home. She was away on holidays with friends. Her mother did not say where.

  Over the Christmas/New Year period, Nathan together with three friends drove to Surfer’s Paradise. Ralph, who was older, having repeated Year 12, had his driver’s licence and borrowed his mother’s car for the trip. They rented an apartment and spent three weeks, mostly drunk or chasing girls, usually both at the same time.

  After returning, Nathan took a holiday job to save some money to buy a car, or at least to contribute to the cost of a car which he hoped his parents would buy him.

  And before long the university year started. He enrolled in Commerce at Melbourne University with two of his closest friends from school. All three wanted to be accountants and had made long-term plans to eventually go into practice together, if it all worked out.

  Although he still thought about Sylvia, so much time had passed since their one and only date that he felt a phone call from him now would not be well received.

  Their next meeting was not until the next year, during orientation week at the university. Sylvia had been accepted into the Arts Faculty and Na
than was about to commence the second year of the Commerce course, having topped first year. He saw her before she saw him, walking through the garden at the Botany School. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He caught up with her, flashed a smile and said, ‘Hello. Great to see you again Sylvia.’

  Nathan could tell by her reaction that clearly he had not left the same impression on her as she had on him. There was the vaguest look of recognition on Sylvia’s face. She returned his hello, obviously not being quite sure who she was saying hello to.

  ‘Nathan. Nathan Goodman,’ he said. And when there was still no recognition, ‘The Melbourne High social. We were each other’s dates.’ Then a smile as Sylvia finally realised who he was.

  ‘Nice to see you too Nathan, what course are you doing?’

  ‘Commerce,’ was his reply. ‘Second year.’

  ‘I am Arts, first year. It is a bit overwhelming after school, isn’t it?’

  They ended up chatting for the next half an hour and Nathan summoned up enough courage to ask her out for a date. To his surprise she said yes. ‘I’d love to,’ she added.

  Two years later they were married, one month after Nathan graduated with an Honours Degree, again at the top of his class. Not surprisingly, he was snapped up by one of Melbourne’s leading accounting firms who offered him the job while he was still in his final year.

  Sylvia who was bored with her Arts course after the initial novelty of university wore off, was happy to drop out and become a wife and eventually a mother.

  Sylvia’s parents were delighted by the match. Nathan’s parents less so and only gave their approval after a thorough search through the Gold family tree to satisfy themselves that Sylvia, despite her outward appearance, was fully Jewish, which she was.

  Sylvia bore Nathan two children in quick succession, a boy Matthew, followed eighteen months later by a girl, Karen, also blonde, blue-eyed and beautiful and no doubt destined in the future to also have to prove her Jewishness.