Out of Alice (34 page)

That evening the television news was headlined with pictures of the devastation that Cyclone Nelson had wreaked along the Kimberley coast. Broome had caught the brunt of it: roofs had been torn off, trees uprooted and wind gusts of 170 kilometres an hour had been recorded. Kununurra had suffered too. Staring at the pictures of flooded fields and devastated plantations, Sara shook her head.

‘It's either too much or too little.'

Over a metre of rain had fallen in two days; it seemed impossible. The cyclone had spent its fury and become a rain depression with a south-westerly trend, the danger of it reforming lessening with every kilometre that distanced it from the ocean.

‘You won't have to worry about road conditions,' John Randall said. ‘There's been no rain where you're heading. Tomorrow I'll show you and Justin how to change a tyre – just in case.'

‘Stop worrying,' Frances commanded. She looked at Sara. ‘Ring us, won't you? Otherwise he'll be imagining all sorts of disasters and heading off after you.'

‘I will,' she promised.

They left on the first day of the new year. The evening before, Sara had rung Redhill without getting an answer. Her initial alarm died when she remembered that it was New Year's Eve, and she had let go of the breath she had unconsciously been holding. Of course! They'd all be in at Charlotte Creek. If she'd only had the number, she could've rung the roadhouse. It would have to wait. Tomorrow evening would be time enough to tell Beth they were coming.

The call the following night, however, also went unanswered. Sitting on the motel bed in Dubbo with the phone in her hand, Sara felt alarm flare within her. Something had to be wrong, badly wrong, if Redhill was deserted. Her thoughts flew to Sam and she screwed her eyes shut trying to remember Helen's phone number. She'd written it down, but where? A hasty search through her bag unearthed her new address book and she paged through it.

Justin had the sound turned off as he flicked through the tele­vision channels. He glanced up from where he was sprawled on one of the twin beds. ‘You finished there yet?'

‘No. I have another call to make.' Helen picked up immediately and Sara spoke quickly. ‘It's me, Sara. I've been trying to ring the station but there's no answer. Is Sam okay?'

‘Sara! How nice. Frank and I were speaking of you only today. Sam's well. It's rained, Sara! Redhill's phone has gone out, well, most of the ones in that area have. A lightning strike on the booster station, I believe. How's Sydney? Did you have a good Christmas?'

‘Rain? Oh, how wonderful! I'm so pleased, Helen. Was it enough – is the drought broken, do you think?'

‘I'd say four inches have put a fair dent in it.' Her tone served to bring the woman whole before Sara: wry, capable, with a glint of humour in those steadfast hazel eyes. ‘And more to come, if you can believe the Met Office. It was that cyclone on the Kimberley coast, or at least the rain depression off it. It's sweeping clean across the Territory. Best rain in decades.'

‘I'm so pleased. Look, I'm coming back, with a special passenger. Is it okay if I drop in on you when we get to the Alice? It'll be a few days yet. We're heading for Broken Hill next.'

‘Of course. Come and stay, both of you. Who is it?'

‘I'll explain when I see you,' Sara said, mindful of cost. ‘Thanks heaps, Helen. Give my love to Frank. Bye.' She beamed at Justin. ‘It's rained! The drought's over.'

‘Wicked,' he said, bored. ‘Can I turn the sound up now?'

‘If you want.' Sara sighed. It had been a difficult day, with Justin treating her to long spells of silence. The only interest or eagerness he had shown was when she allowed him to drive for an hour between towns. She had refused to let it upset her, telling herself that she had known this was going to take time. If he wanted to shut her out, well, it just gave her more thinking time to anticipate their arrival at Redhill and her reunion with Jack and what she might say to him. And now there was the bonus of drought-­breaking rains.

‘Come on,' she said gaily, ignoring Justin's irritation at the interruption of his viewing. ‘Let's go find something to eat.'

Alice Springs had also been the beneficiary of Cyclone Nelson. The town was green and refreshed, the sky beyond the ranges a sparkling blue. A soft green hue had settled like a quilt over the dusty red earth and the formerly searing heat had turned humid and sticky.

‘Not much of an improvement,' Helen said, kissing Sara. ‘But, oh, it's worth it. Who's this, then?'

Justin, looking different in his new, broad-brimmed felt hat, was introduced. As tall as Sara, he stood beside her a little diffidently, lost in the quick exchange of news. Helen was concentrating on the family, Frank on the rainfall garnered from local radio reports.

‘So when are the phones likely to be fixed?' Sara asked. They were in the kitchen drinking tea under the ceiling fan, save for Justin, who had asked for a cold drink.

Frank shrugged. ‘Day or two, they say. The techies can reach the booster station from the bitumen. In any case, you need to wait a bit for the country to dry out before you head off. You don't wanna get bogged.'

‘We've got a four-wheel drive,' Justin announced. ‘It handles really well, too. We've been sharing the driving,' he added casually.

‘You can bog them too, lad,' Frank explained kindly, watching Justin mop his face. ‘You reckon it's hot? The bad news is you haven't seen the worst of it yet.'

‘You're kidding?' Justin paused his hand in horror. ‘Sara said, but I didn't think she meant as hot as this.'

He had decided to call her Sara when she told him it was how she was known at Redhill. It seemed easier for him than using her birth name.

‘You'll get used to it,' Frank said.

‘He'll be too busy to notice,' Sara told them. ‘He's going to sand and dress and seal the floors at Redhill. His holiday job. It's my Christmas present to Beth and Len. I've got all the gear and stuff in the back of the vehicle and the means of applying it right here. It might disarrange the household for a bit but it won't cost them a cent.'

‘That's very generous,' Frank began. ‘But —'

‘No argument.' Sara interrupted. ‘I cannot begin to count what you've all done for me and this is the only payment I can make. I couldn't stop the drought for them or cure Sam, but I can get their floors done.' She looked at Justin. ‘I had nobody in the world and now I've got a gawky sort of brother, two gorgeous sisters and my Dad, so
nobody's
going to stop me fixing Beth's floors. You hear me?' Her voice trembled with passion and she turned aside to run a finger under her eyes.

‘Right, we get it.' Justin eyed her uneasily and looked at his host. ‘How come girls always cry? I've got two other sisters and they turn on the waterworks every time, too.'

Frank winked at him. ‘I dunno, son, but if you find out, let us in on it, will you?'

It served to clear the tension and Sara laughed at Justin, deeply heartened by that
other.
‘I'm not crying, you twit. I'm just happy.'

Two days later they were on their way again. Now the country through which the Stuart Highway ran looked so different Sara scarcely recognised it. Even the ochre hills about the Alice were patched with the green of spinifex mounds while the flat country was a sea of brilliant feed, so bright it hurt the eye. It was a fortnight since the rain had fallen and already tiny white and yellow flowers had budded along the bitumen's verge. Water glittered still in some of the narrow creeks, and birds were everywhere. She saw ducks and bush turkeys and flocks of shrieking galahs. There was even a pelican, while the easily recognisable shapes of hundreds of budgerigars tore through the blue, swooping and turning like schools of fish.

‘Where did they all come from?' Sara wondered.

Justin, listening to his Walkman through earphones, spared a glance for the emptiness beyond the window, unimpressed by the sameness of the view. ‘Thought they lived here.' His attention returned to his music.

Even Charlotte Creek seemed fresher, renewed by the rain, the dusty ground grass-covered and the rubbish dump mostly hidden beneath a sprawl of paddymelon vines. One of the houses had a new coat of paint and the police station's front fence had been replaced. Sara parked between the half-finished hall and the roadhouse just as the Greyhound bus they had been following pulled away from it.

‘What're we stopping for?' Justin pulled his earphones out.

‘A cold drink. And to see some friends.'

Mavis was in front of the bar, opening the freight cartons the bus had brought. She looked up as they entered, seeing a gangly kid with city stamped all over him and a young woman, her red curls clustered beneath a pale Akubra. A smile split her face as she dropped the Stanley knife she was using. ‘Sara – well, hang me up and call me a hat! I didn't expect to see you back here.'

‘And I didn't expect everything to be so changed,' Sara said. ‘It's all so
green!
'

‘I know. It gets you like that. We had nearly six inches here and over five at the station, Beth said. The national park had a tad under seven. It always was a lucky spot for rain, Walkervale. Every dam in the country is full and the budgies are already nesting.'

‘We saw them. Mavis, this is my brother, Justin. How's Alec, by the way?'

‘He's good. Hello, Justin.' She shook hands, shooting a look at Sara as she did so. ‘It all worked out, then – finding your family?'

‘Yes. I've been with them since I left.' She took off her hat and moved to the bar. ‘Any chance of a cold drink? Talking makes me thirsty. On second thoughts I think I'd sooner order tea.'

‘I'll light the gas.' Mavis left her unpacking and vanished beyond the bar, her voice floating back to them along with the chink of crockery. ‘Then I want to hear all about everything.'

‘Me too,' Sara called. ‘Is old Harry doing his run this week? And Clemmy, is she well?'

Justin sighed and replaced his earphones.

There were vehicle ruts in the road to Redhill, gouged deeply into the track, the tyre marks plain to see. Sara wondered if it was Jack's Toyota that had made them. The grass, taller through the sand country, literally shone in the sunlight and no dust rose behind them. The sky was the most amazing blue, as if it had been washed and polished that very morning. Water, tinged reddish brown, filled holes and declivities in the red clay and even the mulga looked fresher.

She pointed out the Forty Mile block and the different paddocks whose names she had learned. Justin seemed more impressed by the distance they had come.

‘How far
is
this joint?'

‘Oh, about an hour more.' The words conjured her first meeting with Jack and her lips curved in a little smile. ‘Time is how they measure things out here.'

Justin shook his head. ‘I don't get it. This sort of place is where you want to live. Why?'

She shrugged. ‘Maybe because I started life on a property. I guess it's in my blood.'

He sniffed. ‘Lot of trees and nothing is all I see. Where are the cows?'

‘Scattered about. It's a big area. There's fifteen hundred square miles of Redhill. That gives them plenty of mulga to hide in.'

‘So how do they ever find them when the round-up's due?'

‘You should ask Len,' Sara said, ‘or even Sam, come to think of it. And it's called a muster.'

‘If you say so. Can I drive?'

‘Not on this bit,' she said.

Sara had rung ahead and they were expected. Jess came barking to meet them and as she pulled up at the gate she saw a curious Becky skipping down the steps, Sam and Beth moving more sedately behind her. The oleanders made a vivid screen of colour and above the familiar roofline the bright vanes of the windmill glittered in the sun. Somewhere in the background an engine throbbed.

‘The dog won't hurt you,' Sara told Justin. She got out and patted the bitch's head, then Becky was there, plaits flying, grabbing her waist in a hug.

‘You're back, Sara! An' it rained! You shoulda been here, the lightning was
so
loud!'

‘I told you I'd come, chicken. This is my brother, Justin. I brought him for a visit too.'

‘Oh.' Becky glanced at him and into the empty vehicle. Her face fell. ‘You said you'd bring the girls.'

‘Not this time. He's all right though, for a boy. Only he doesn't know anything about stations.'

Becky brightened at that. ‘I'll learn him, then.'

Sara was staring at Sam, whose head was covered in a brown fuzz of hair. ‘Sam, you look great! Gracious, I'm sure you're taller too. And your hair is growing back!'

‘Hello, Sara.' He smiled his contained smile. His face looked fuller and his eyes were bright as he studied the vehicle. ‘Wow! Is that yours?'

‘Yes.' She turned to hug Beth. ‘It's so good to see you again. I've got stuff from Helen for you. But the grass! I can't believe the difference in the place. And Sam's got hair.'

Beth clutched her, laughing. ‘It's like a miracle, Sara – no chemo for two months now. The cancer's in remission.' Her thin face was flushed, her smile brilliant. ‘And then the rain on top of it. Some days I could just cry from sheer happiness.'

‘Well, if anyone deserves it, you do. How's Len, and Jack?'

‘They're good. Oh, and this is your brother. You're very welcome, Justin. We think a great deal of Sara, you know. You're very lucky to have found her. But come in. It's just on lunchtime; I'll pop the kettle on. Sam, run and tell your father it's time to eat.' She beamed at Sara, blinking over-bright eyes. ‘I can say that now, because he can run.'

‘Is Jack still here?' Sara asked, trying for a normal tone, as they climbed the steps.

‘He's gone home, but,' she added, the word reviving sudden hope in her listener, ‘he'll be back tomorrow, maybe even today.' Beth cocked her head at Justin. ‘So, Justin, I hear you're heading for university?'

Nothing had changed and yet everything was different, Sara reflected, settling into her old place at the kitchen table. Every window showed a vista of green. New growth was bursting from the garden trees, and Sam's voice and steps rang as noisily and as quickly as Becky's. Later she would see the adorable newborn kids in the goat flock, and the empty horse yard where grass had grown over the dung-powdered dirt where Star and Lancer had stood so often to be fed. But for now Len was tramping up the steps and she rose to meet him as he entered.

‘Sara!' His bloodhound face wore a wide smile as he grabbed her close for a moment. ‘Good to see you – I like your hair short like that. How are you?'

‘Great, Len, and it's great to be back. What do you think about this, then?' She leaned down for the Akubra beneath her chair and stuck it on. ‘Complete bushie, huh?'

Len laughed and agreed, then began to tell her about the rain. Both the dams on the property were full and all the creeks had run. You could already see the improvement in the stock. ‘Dozer's back in the shed,' he concluded. ‘But enough about that. What are your plans?'

‘Justin's here to do a job,' she explained. ‘He'll fly home from the Alice once it's finished, but I'm staying on. Not at Redhill obviously, but wherever I can get a station job. I can cook, teach, do home help – somebody's got to want me. If not, I'll find something in the Alice instead.'

‘She's nuts,' Justin announced tolerantly. ‘Dad offered her a job but she turned it down.'

‘I didn't want it,' she responded. ‘Horses for courses, Jus.' It was the first time she had used the family's diminutive. ‘Out here's where I want to be.'

‘Like I said, nuts.' For the first time the mockery was absent from his tone. He might have been teasing his younger sisters, and Sara's heart was warmed by the change.

Beth hauled the conversation away from the personal. ‘What job have you got, Justin?'

He jabbed his thumb at his sister. ‘She'll explain,' he said, so Sara did.

It took time. Beth raised all the objections Sara had foreseen but once the meal was over and she had coaxed her out to the vehicle to view the carefully packed drums and paintbrushes, she knew she was winning the argument. ‘It's a gift,' she said. ‘Something I really want you to have. You can't turn down a well-meant gift! Dad's paying Justin's wages because he thinks it's good for him to work, and I do too. Also I want to get to know him and I've a better chance out here where he can't run off to the beach to avoid me. He wasn't very happy when I turned up, you see. He was sure it was a con job; and I think also that he was a bit protective of his position as the oldest kid in the family. Well, we seem to have finally got that sorted.' She rolled her eyes. ‘Half the trip out either he wasn't speaking to me or he had his head plugged into the Walkman he carries. But he seems to be coming around. By the way, you said when I first came to work here that the floors needed doing but you couldn't afford it. So what's changed? The rain's wonderful but it hasn't made you rich, has it?'

‘No,' Beth said ruefully. ‘Oh, all right then! It's amazingly generous of you, Sara. It's true the floors are either going to warp or splinter if something's not done soon, but there's no way we can repay you for this.'

‘Yes, you can.' Sara was pulling things out of the vehicle as she spoke. ‘This is from Helen, and here're a few fresh vegies I picked up in town. You can put us up until the job's done and let the kids show Justin what real life is all about. He's a nice boy but his outlook's limited. A dose of Sam and Becky is just what he needs.'

‘The kids will love to have his company. Of course we'll put you up! Thank you, Sara. It will be lovely to have the floors done.'

Len had gone back to the shed and the welder was growling again. Sara, with Becky in attendance, unpacked in her old room, while Justin, overseen by Sam, hauled the material and equipment he would be using onto the verandah. Afterwards Beth walked through the house discussing with Sara where and how the work should progress.

‘We're all using mosquito nets,' she said, ‘so we could shift the kids' beds out onto the verandah till their rooms are dry.'

‘And Sara's,' Becky chimed in. ‘It'll be fun. We can look at the stars. Does Justin know about them, Sara?'

‘I shouldn't think so, chicken.' She frowned. ‘Will the dining table be a problem? It's so big. Will it even fit through the door?'

‘Well, somebody got it in there, so maybe when Jack gets back he and Len can sort it out. Still, we could just move it to one end of the room, then put it back. Oh –' she swung her arms energetically, stretching her lean torso – ‘the timing's great! No dust to get into the new work. I'll have a proper spring clean, I think, maybe even make up that curtain material I've had waiting in the cupboard since before Sam got sick. That's getting on for three years now.'

‘He looks so different. And so well!'

‘For now,' Beth nodded, her next words a prayer. ‘Maybe for good.'

Questions about Jack hovered on Sara's tongue – when would he arrive? how was his state of mind? had he mentioned her at all in her absence? – but she bit them back. She had returned to Redhill; what happened next was his choice.

Chiming in uncannily on the thought, Beth asked, ‘Are you happy, Sara? With your dad and the rest of them? It must be strange to be pitchforked into a family you don't know. Should we be calling you Christine now?'

‘Dad calls me Chrissy, but I'd quite like to stay Sara out here. Justin's picked it up too – I like that. I'll change my surname next time my licence comes due. And to answer your first question, yes, I am happy. For the first time in my life I feel . . .' She searched for words to explain. ‘I don't know. I feel grounded, I suppose. When you don't belong anywhere, when you think you haven't any blood ties, it's hard to believe that you matter.'

‘What's your stepmum like?'

‘Frances? Funny, I never thought of her in that light, just as my father's wife. She's great. I really like her, mainly because you can see she loves Dad. She wants him to be happy, and finding me has done that.'

‘A sensible lady, then.'

‘Yes, but with a generous spirit too. She might've worried that I'd be taking something from her own children, whether it was his love or attention or just his time but it doesn't seem to have occurred to her.'

‘And the press?' Beth asked. ‘There was a news headline about you meeting him in “an exclusive Alice Springs resort”. We saw it on the news the following day but apparently by the time they'd got a cameraman round there you'd already gone.'

Sara laughed. ‘He probably planned it that way. No, I'm yesterday's sensation now, nobody's bothered me.'

‘That's good.' Beth grinned suddenly. ‘It's going to be great, having you here again. It took your leaving to make me realise how much I miss having another woman around.'

‘And I've been thinking,' Sara said, ‘maybe we could take a day and visit Clemmy while I'm here? After the spring clean maybe?'

‘It's a deal.'