Flight of the Jabiru (9 page)

The bathroom was across the hall from Lara's room and the bathtub was deep and long enough to hold a large family. It was too inviting to resist, but it took more than half an hour to fill enough for a good soak. Lara hadn't had a bath since leaving England. The female passengers on ship had to make do with three small showers and be very quick to conserve water. The water was often cold by the time the last passengers took a shower, but that didn't matter through the Suez Canal because of the heat. As the only hotel guest, Lara knew she wasn't inconveniencing anyone by soaking in the tub for almost an hour before going to bed.

The next morning Lara was up early after an unsettled sleep under a noisy ceiling fan. At four o'clock in the morning she turned the fan off in favor of enjoying a slight breeze through the balcony door. The silence was wonderful, but short lived. By six o'clock she could hear vehicles and voices in the street outside the hotel. She ate breakfast in the small dining room alone; toast with jam, cereal, and fresh tropical fruits that included mango and pawpaw, and then read the newspaper to pass the time until the shops opened. She was eager to shop for a bathing suit, summer dresses, and flat, comfortable shoes.

When Peggy came into the dining room to collect Lara's dishes, she warned her to watch out for the air force men in town, whom she described as randy skirt chasers. She also warned Lara to avoid the natives, as they might be drunk.

“Surely not at this time of the morning,” Lara said, thinking Peggy must be confused.

“A lot of them are good, but some drink all night and go somewhere for a sleep once the sun comes up, usually along the shoreline. There might still be a few around. We don't serve the Abos liquor,” she said sternly, “but they still get it from locals who exploit them, and they can't handle it.”

Lara couldn't believe how warm it was by nine o'clock. She took her time wandering from shop to shop, as being unhurried was the only way not to break into a sweat.

Lara was amazed by how many military men were in the city. A lot were wearing Australian uniforms but there were also plenty of Americans with strong accents. Most ogled her and whistled. It was hard not to notice that she was the only woman in the street wearing a tailored dress made of linen, nylon stocking and high heeled shoes, so she received many curious looks from the locals who were wearing loose shifts made of cotton, no nylons, and comfortable sandals. They were also tanned nut brown.

The streets of Darwin were so different and strange, compared to Newmarket. They were wide with deep gutters to cater for the torrential downpours described by Sid. Along the Esplanade, there were boarding houses and private residences. Most of the shops were one street back, in Mitchell Street. As Lara wandered around, she admired the foliage in gardens, which was profuse and strange, exotic and colorful. None of the plants looked familiar, but Lara was in awe of the shady boab trees and bird life that included colorful parrots. She saw really dark natives in the streets but they didn't seem intoxicated. She noticed they weren't wearing shoes and although they were covered, fashion was not of any importance.

After finding some comfortable shoes and dresses which were far from high fashion, but practical, Lara decided impulsively to treat herself and have her hair washed and styled in a hairdressing salon. When she was done, she felt wonderful, just like her movie actress idol, Carole Lombard, who coincidently was also blond and five-feet-two-inches tall.

It was soon obvious that her likeness to Miss Lombard did not go unnoticed by the American air force personnel. As she walked back to the hotel several stopped her and boldly asked for a dinner date, which she politely refused with some amusement. They were very gracious, funny, and charming. Many were also very handsome, especially in their smart uniforms. Although Peggy had warned her, she enjoyed the attention. She thought that she could treat herself to that.

Lara's feet hurt, so she decided to have an early lunch in the hotel dining room, but not before she removed her nylon stockings and changed into a new cool cotton dress that was loose. The relief was heavenly. The Philippine cook had a chicken mango salad on the menu that sounded very inviting. She'd just made herself comfortable when several American air force men came in.

Lara soon found herself surrounded by men in uniforms. As the Philippine girls ran in and out of the kitchen bringing meals to tables, the men chattered to Lara while she ate her salad, asking her about herself and what she was doing in Darwin. They flattered her with compliments, each more extreme than the last as they tried to outdo each other, while jovially putting each other down as they competed for Lara's attention. She couldn't help laughing. Mrs. Parker kept a watch on what was going on, as she ordered her flustered staff around. She was amused to see that Lara had changed her clothing and that the nylon stockings were gone. She still looked very attractive with her hair styled and a touch of coral lipstick.

When a civilian appeared in the doorway, obviously not looking for a table to dine, Mrs. Parker went to him. Lara didn't notice him at first as she giggled at the antics of the Americans. Suddenly she looked up and saw Mrs. Parker pointing in her direction. The man with her was definitely looking her way. As he waited, Mrs. Parker came towards Lara.

“There's someone here to see you, Miss Penrose,” she said. “He claims you are expecting him.”

“Surely he's not your boyfriend,” an American said with a hint of amusement.

“No,” Lara protested. “I don't know him.”

“You don't want to go out with a civilian when you could be dating one of us,” another American said, cheered on by his mates.

“I'm not going out with anyone,” Lara protested. “I'm here to work.” She excused herself from her admirers and approached the man who looked like a younger version of Sid with red hair, except his shirt was buttoned.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“G'day, love,” he said as if he'd known her all her life. “I'm Colin Jeffries. I was told to pick you up and bring you back to Shady Camp billabong.”

Lara was taken aback by his casual friendliness, which was just as Sid had described the locals. “I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Jeffries. I wasn't sure when to expect you.”

“I was only given an approximate date for your arrival, so thought I'd take a punt that it was today. Looks like I got lucky! Are you ready to go?”

“Err... yes.” She hadn't finished her tea, but he seemed in a hurry. “I'll have to pack my suitcase if you don't mind waiting a few minutes.”

“I'll bring the car around to the front of the hotel,” Colin said thinking he might have time for a quick coldie. “I'll see you outside.”

Before Lara could ask if he'd carry her suitcase downstairs, he was gone.

“It would be too bad if I had a lot of luggage,” Lara mumbled, hoping she could squeeze all her purchases into her case and that it wouldn't be too heavy.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lara struggled out of the hotel with her bulging suitcase but she couldn't see Colin Jeffries anywhere. There were two vehicles parked right outside the door. She assumed one of them belonged to him.

One vehicle was a Model T Ford with a canvas canopy and no side curtains. The other was a Vauxhall with wood paneling along the sides. The Ford was battered, rusty, and mud spattered up to the door handles. Searching for a clue about which vehicle might belong to Colin Jeffries, Lara walked between the two and glanced inside the Ford, not unduly surprised to see ripped seats and springs exposed on the driver's seat. The floors, back and front, and the back seat, were littered with odds and ends that included fishing reels, boxes of hooks, several fishing rods in various states of disrepair, hats, old tee shirts, thongs, and an assortment of unrecognizable objects.

Although the Vauxhall had a few dents and rust patches, something typical of many of the passing vehicles, Lara noticed there was a floral shirt on the back seat, similar to the one that Colin was wearing. There was also a well-worn hat that she could just imagine him wearing and a bunch of flowers. It was the flowers that convinced her that the station wagon was Colin Jeffries's vehicle. He'd obviously bought them to welcome her to Shady Camp, a touching gesture she greatly appreciated. As the Vauxhall was locked, she put her suitcase down between the two vehicles and stood waiting, hoping he'd appear before her flowers wilted in the heat.

Ten minutes later she was still standing in the hot sun and becoming impatient. She was on the verge of going back into the hotel when she saw a man come out of the saloon bar door further along the street. She suddenly wondered if Mr. Jeffries was keeping her waiting while he was drinking. Surely a man who'd bought her flowers wouldn't be so inconsiderate!

Leaving her suitcase by the front tire of the Vauxhall, Lara walked towards the entrance to the saloon bar and looked through the window. Sure enough, she spotted Colin Jeffries sculling a glass of beer at the bar.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered angrily. She would've popped her head inside the door and given him the benefit of a teacher's scolding, but luckily for him he was heading for the door. Colin Jeffries burst onto the footpath and immediately turned right, so he didn't see Lara. As he walked towards the doorway leading to the reception foyer, concluding she was still packing, he lamented that he would've had time to scull another pint of beer. Lara followed and called out to him.

“You drank your beer so fast that I doubt you enjoyed it, Mr. Jeffries,” she said, taking him by surprise.

Startled, Colin Jeffries turned around. “Where did you come from?”

She caught up to him. “While you were drinking I've been standing outside in the hot sun for at least ten minutes, waiting for you.”

“Oh, sorry.” He broke into a smile and rubbed his stomach appreciatively. “There's nothing like a cold beer on a hot day,” he said. He'd actually had two pints but wished it had been three.

“I wouldn't know,” Lara mumbled, but got no reaction. It seemed sarcasm was wasted on Colin Jeffries.

“Did you put your luggage in the car already?”

“I left my heavy suitcase beside your vehicle,” Lara replied pointedly, but again her comment went right over his head.

He glanced towards his vehicle. “Crikey. Someone's swiped it already.”

“If you are suggesting it's been stolen, I'm sure it hasn't. I was only a few feet away.” She couldn't see it from where she was but she was sure it was still there.

“It's not there,” Colin Jeffries insisted.

Lara wondered how many glasses of beer Colin Jeffries had sculled. “My case is beside your car, Mr. Jeffries. I'll show you.” They proceeded towards the vehicles. Colin Jeffries went to the driver's side of the Model T Ford, while Lara went to the passenger side closest to the Vauxhall.

“I told you it was gone,” Colin Jeffries said.

“No, here it is,” Lara said, pointing down to her case beside the front tire of the Vauxhall. Colin Jeffries came around the Ford to see her case on the ground. “I thought you said it was beside my car,” he said, glancing at the Vauxhall.

“I did,” Lara said. Colin Jeffries looked at his Model T Ford. “That's my car,” he said. “Whatever gave you the impression I'd own a ‘Woodie'?” He shook his head as if it was unthinkable.

Lara thought about the flowers with disappointment. Her heart also sank at the thought of the Ford being her mode of transportation to Shady Camp. “You fish, I see,” she said trying to hide her dismay. The thought of getting into Colin Jeffries's filthy Ford, in her new dress, which happened to be predominantly white with a splash of red and green, was abhorrent.

“It's a bit rough,” Colin Jeffries said as if that was all that was wrong with it. “But she's never let me down,” he added proudly. Colin Jeffries didn't offer to help with her case, so Lara picked it up, using two hands. “Look, I don't want to put you out, Mr. Jeffries. I'm sure you have things to do in town. I could easily catch a bus to Shady Camp billabong...” Colin Jeffries looked astonished. “The Darwin bus service doesn't extend to the wetlands,” he said. “Throw your case in the back and we'll be on our way,” he suggested.

With the greatest reluctance, Lara gingerly placed her case on top of his junk in the back.

“Climb in,” Colin Jeffries said when she appeared hesitant.

Lara was about to suggest a gentleman should open the car door for a lady, but she knew it would be a waste of time. “Manners are obviously in short supply in the Territory,” she mumbled as she tried to open the Ford's door, but Colin Jeffries didn't hear her as he was shouting g'day to a mate across the street.

The door to the Ford appeared to be stuck. Not wanting to appear helpless, Lara pulled and pulled on the handle. All of a sudden it came off in her hand. She gasped in horror as she looked at the hole in the door where the handle should've been.

Meanwhile, Colin Jeffries was rummaging in the back seat and somehow found a towel amongst all the rubbish. Lara thought he might throw it over her seat so that her dress wouldn't get dirty, but she was wrong again. He put it over his own seat, perhaps because the leather had become hot and he was wearing shorts, or to cover the exposed springs. He then climbed over the top of the door on the driver's side and literally plopped himself in the driver's seat. It was only then that he noticed that Lara was staring at him with the door handle in her hand.

“I'm so sorry,” she mumbled embarrassed. “The door wouldn't open...”

“No worries, throw the handle in the back. I'll get round to fixing it one day.”

Lara sensed ‘one day' would never come, but she did as he requested and then stood waiting by the door, baffling Colin Jeffries.

“You'll have to climb over,” he suggested, thinking a teacher might've worked that out for herself.

Startled, Lara gaped at him. “Can't you open the door from the inside?”

“Nope! I told you the door handles don't work.”

“Surely you don't expect me to climb over the door ... in a dress!”

“My Betty does it all the time. She even did it the day she dropped our fourth.”

Lara had no idea what he meant, but she didn't want to appear incapable. She was suddenly very grateful that she wasn't wearing one of her English suits with a tailored skirt. Even so, she wasn't sure the dress she was wearing was going to allow her to climb over the door. There was only one way to find out!

Taking a steadying breath, she stepped onto the kick plate and then pushed her skirt between her legs, for the sake of modesty, and tried to swing her leg over the door. The result was she nearly lost her balance because the skirt part of the dress wouldn't stretch far enough.

“Would you like me to give you a hand?” Colin Jeffries offered.

Lara might've accepted it he hadn't been smirking. She could just imagine herself the brunt of future jokes with his mates in the pub, and it riled. “No, thank you,” she said. “I'll manage.” It was time to throw modesty up in the air. She hoisted her skirt up a few inches, well above her knees, but she still couldn't get her leg over, and she was attracting attention. A middle-aged couple were getting into the Vauxhall and giving her the strangest looks. With nothing left to do, she lifted her dress even higher, revealing a good part of her thighs. She only just managed to get her leg over the door while holding the top of the canopy to keep from falling backwards.

Ignoring wolf whistles from air force personnel, and praying she wasn't exhibiting her underwear to all and sundry; she sank onto the seat and wriggled to pull her skirt down.

“That wasn't so hard,” she lied.

“Crikey! Who would've thought Christmas would come early this year,” Colin Jeffries muttered.

Lara judged the delighted expression on his face to mean that he'd enjoyed a good eyeful of her thighs. Squirming, she found somewhere to put her feet amid the rubbish on the floor.

“Off we go, then,” Colin Jeffries said still grinning, and the engine cranked to life. It was obvious he was unconcerned about the state of his vehicle, and certainly far from embarrassed about it.

Sitting so close to Colin Jeffries as they journeyed through the streets of Darwin, Lara became aware of a strong ‘fishy' smell.

“Do you have fresh fish in your vehicle, Mr. Jeffries?” she asked, hoping the question didn't sound like a criticism. She glanced into the back of the vehicle looking for the offending fish.

“How about we stick to calling each other Colin and Lara? Mister this and Miss that is too formal for the Top End.”

“Okay,” Lara happily agreed. Despite his apparent lack of manners and culture, she decided she liked Colin. He was as about as down to earth as it was possible to get. As a teacher in one of the better schools in Newmarket, she'd had to deal with many parents in the same social circle as Lord Roy Hornsby, real upper crust snobs, so Colin was a refreshing and most welcome change.

“Regretfully it's me who smells like fish because I've been chopping up bait for the shop this morning,” he apologized. “Soap and water won't get rid of the smell, especially when you deal with fish bait on a daily basis. I can't smell it anymore. Luckily my wife often helps me with the fish, so she doesn't find me offensive.”

“I didn't mean to imply you smelt offensive...” Lara blushed, but Colin only laughed. “So you run a shop?”

“Yeah, me and Betty run the store in Shady Camp billabong. We sell practically everything, which is just as well as ours is the only store in the settlement.”

The only store! Lara hoped she could get into the city on a regular basis.

“I love your accent,” Colin said. “Are you from London?”

“No, Newmarket in County Suffolk. Your accent is rather intriguing, too. Where were you born?”

“Here in the Top End. I'm an Aussie, through and through. My ancestors came out on the First Fleet in 1788. Obviously they were British, but I don't know where from.”

“The name Shady Camp billabong conjures up an image of a tropical oasis, where shady trees surround a tranquil waterway,” Lara said. “Is that an accurate image?”

Colin glanced sideways at her and smirked. “There's no shortage of trees and plenty of water,” he said.

Lara laughed. “You are too down to earth to appreciate the romantic setting that's your home,” she said. “I'm sure your wife would agree.”

“I don't doubt that,” Colin said. “Shady Camp billabong is just one of many that contribute to the Mary River,” he added. “So there's plenty of water around.” If Lara didn't see the downside to so much water, then he wasn't going to point it out.

“I'm looking forward to seeing it. Do you have a family?”

“Sure do; three boys and a girl. Ruthie, Robbie, Ronnie, and little Richie. They're ten, eight, six, and four.”

Lara suddenly realized what Colin had meant about his wife ‘dropping her fourth'. But if Richie was four, then the Ford's doors hadn't opened for a very long time. Why wasn't she surprised? “Oh, then they'll be my students,” she said, eager for information about the school.

“Yeah, we're real lucky to have you,” he said happily. His tone became more apprehensive when he added, “I hope you stick around.”

“I intend to,” Lara said, wondering why he would think otherwise. His apparent appreciation of having her as the school's new teacher made her feel more positive about the position.

“I should warn you that there hasn't been a permanent teacher in Shady Camp for three years,” Colin said watching her reaction closely.

Lara was surprised it was that long, and more than a little dismayed, but it explained the fact that Sid hadn't seen a school. Unfortunately, the children would have a lot of catching up to do. “I was told there was a shortage of teachers in remote communities in the Northern Territory, but three years is still a very long time for a school to be without one.”