Chapter 5
"Mac, she was great." Jack sighed. "She was fun, caring and most of all, a great friend to everyone." Jack laughed to himself, reliving the memory. "She.. She had a way of making you smile, even if you didn't think it was possible that you could. That talent of hers made it practically impossible to hold a grudge, well I know I found it hard." Jack gave a heavy sigh, he then looked at Robbie and Tasha, remembering what he'd read last night. "One of the most important things to Mac, apart from beer and footy of course, was her friends." The audience gave a light laugh, chuckling at thoughts of the tomboy. "Tasha, Robbie, Ric and many more. She could ramble about them for hours, about how great they were, about how much they meant to her, about how lucky she felt to know them." Jack started to gain confidence. "I know that she left the bay, quite suddenly really, but she never stopped caring for you all. When I was with her in Sydney, one of our first conversations was about you all. I could tell just by looking at her that she envied me for still knowing you, for you all still being part of my life, as she wanted what I had, she wanted all of you." He looked at the silent audience, and then to the book in his hand. He held it up. "This is one of Martha's possessions that she had with her in Sydney. It's a photo album filled with pictures of you all. She told me that she'd look at it when she was down and lonely, and personally, that makes me happy. Even though I wasn't aware of it at the time, we were all helping her get through the hard times, like friends should." Jack's speech continued, the audience stayed silent with the occasional sniffle or the gentle sound of the wave disturbing the quietness. He brought up classic Martha moments, lifting the mood, and really reminded everyone of the great Martha that they'd missed for 14 months. "I know everyone loved her and will miss her, no one more than myself. She may have gone from Summer Bay, but she definitely hasn't gone from memory." Jack's throat started to ache, as he tried to keep his tears away, and sat down.
"Well done mate, she would have really been proud." Tony said, putting his hand on his eldest sons shoulder.
"Thanks." Jack mumbled. He sat through the rest of the service daydreaming about Martha. He watched Tasha at the front, fighting away her tears as she tried to get through her speech for her best friend. Robbie followed, he talked about the good times the trio shared. Himself, Tash and Mac. Jack smiled as he listened to their tales, he'd heard some of the mischief that they'd got up to before he came to the bay, but not all. He could imagine them, he was carrying out the stories in his head, it was the same Martha, but new actions, like she was living again.
Afterwards, at Noahs, many people came and put a comforting arm around Jack and thanked him for the speech. Jack did stay around for about 2 hours, but he then left early to go to the beach. He sat down, knees to his chest, staring out into sea, as EVERYONE in Summer Bay does when they're down and depressed. He lifted his shirt up, revealing the scar in his stomach. It was the only physical thing he had left of the crazy happenings that went on up on the cliff, and it was slowly healing and fading away.
