The Opal Desert (33 page)

Davo went outside and Shirley muttered to Anna, ‘You know how men are about cars. Be patient and have a lesson with him.'

‘I don't know, and I don't want to give Davo the wrong idea,' said Anna.

Shirley studied Anna as she spooned tea leaves into the teapot. ‘Are you planning on staying round here for a bit?' she asked. ‘You seem to like the great outdoors.'

‘How do you know that? You don't know me,' said Anna lightly.

‘I know you like to get out early in the morning for a jog,' said Shirley.

‘Run,' Anna corrected her.

Shirley smiled, but didn't probe any further. ‘I think you'd find having access to a car out here quite handy. I'm happy to let you borrow my old bomb any time.'

‘I thought you had a friend who uses it,' said Anna, as she poured boiling water into the pot.

‘Kerrie arrived with Davo the first time she came here. Came on a whim, like I imagine you did. She drove her own car the next time she came.'

‘I came for the job.'

‘Let Davo give you a lesson. You'll be independent. Besides, I'd like to see more of you.'

Anna looked at Shirley, then eased the tea cosy onto the pot and put it on the table. ‘Why do you want to bother with me?'

‘Why not? I enjoy the company of interesting, intelligent young women. They are few and far between out here.' She pulled out a chair and reached for the milk jug. ‘But suit yourself.'

‘Thank you, Shirley. I'd appreciate a loan of the car now and then, if I can drive it.'

When Davo came back inside, Shirley was telling Anna about her days training as a nurse and the fun of living in a nurses' home and how her father had brought her here as a little girl.

‘Any tea left? I've checked out the car. It's fine.'

‘Thanks, Davo. Sit down.' Shirley poured his tea.

‘I was telling Anna about my father being a teacher and how opals were his hobby and passion.'

Davo sipped his tea and half listened while Shirley talked. As soon as they'd finished he carried the pot and his cup to the sink and turned to Anna. ‘You ready to go back to work?'

Shirley reached for Anna's hand and squeezed it. ‘Thanks for coming to see me. And thank Mick for sending up my goodies. You too, Davo. And Anna, it's been lovely to meet you at last. I'm sure we'll see each other again.'

Anna nodded. ‘Thank you for the tea. I've enjoyed your company.'

‘She's a good old stick,' said Davo, breaking the silence as he drove Anna back down the hill.

‘You seem to be very friendly with her.'

‘Yeah. Gotta help out where you can, right?'

‘Where do you come from?'

‘Mostly Melbourne, but I hardly ever go south. Too cold. What do you reckon about that driving lesson?' He turned to look at her, reaching out to give her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Anna felt her body stiffen, but if Davo noticed, he didn't show it. ‘I'll think about it. Thanks.'

Anna varied her morning run and didn't always go up the hill past Shirley's dugout, instead choosing to run to the outskirts of town where the small cemetery stood in barren isolation.

A couple of days later, as Anna emptied the dishwasher and set out the beer glasses on the bar on a clean towel, Mick commented, ‘Pam and Doug are back. You'll like them. They'll pop in some time. They run the Golden Dome B&B. They take a holiday each summer.'

‘Do they get someone to run the B&B while they're away?' asked Anna.

‘Not worth it. Too damn hot. Not enough tourists to worry about, so they don't take bookings.'

‘The miners seem to stay on.'

‘Yeah, well, some of them haven't got anywhere else to go or can't afford to leave. When someone takes off on a trip you can bet they've sold some opal. Anyway it's cool working down a mine, better than the pub. You seem to be coping okay. Smart to get out early morning. I wouldn't recommend jogging about the place at night. Could be dangerous in the dark.'

‘This place is okay as long as that AC keeps going,' said Anna, pointing to the noisy air conditioner in the bar. She was also grateful for the rusty old air conditioning unit in her room. It might use a lot of power but it made sleeping at night possible. When she asked about her morning shower, he told her that hot water wasn't a problem because he'd installed solar panels years before. Later Anna realised that solar units were fast becoming a fact of life for most of the dugouts and the town's buildings. Those who could afford it had set up portable solar panels to provide their power. Mick told Anna that there had been experimental solar dishes set up at White Cliffs in the 1980s to service the whole town as a test project and even though it had been successful, it was now closed down and White Cliffs ran on individual solar panels like Opal Lake.

As Mick predicted, Pam and Doug came into the pub early that evening. Word must have spread because a lot of locals were there to catch up on their news.

Anna quietly served everyone and in a lull Pam leant across the bar and held out her hand. ‘I'm Pam. I'm a friend of Shirley's too. Would you like to come over for a coffee when you can get away?'

‘I've just met Shirley. A coffee would be nice. I'll see when it's all right with Mick.'

‘Just come over whenever you can. We'll be there, getting ready to open for business. If Mick gives you a hard time, come and see us, we can always do with an extra pair of hands,' she said with a smile.

‘Don't try and steal the best asset I've ever had in the bar!' Mick chided Pam.

Anna merely smiled and served a customer.

‘How on earth did you find her?' Pam asked the publican.

He shrugged. ‘Lucked out, I guess. She answered an ad in the paper. Nice girl. Comes from Adelaide. Quiet. Bit of a loner. Fitness type. She jogs for damn miles, and eats meat like it's going out of style. Never touches a drink. Keeps to herself here, but she might tell you more.'

‘I bet business has picked up among the young blokes since she arrived,' said Doug as he joined Pam.

‘Word's out she's off limits. Polite but not interested,' said Mick.

‘What she does is none of anyone's business,' said Pam.

‘Would you like another?' asked Anna, coming over to her.

‘No, we'd better be going. Promise you'll come and see us soon,' said Pam. ‘Come for a late lunch. We can't offer bright lights and dancing, but we'd enjoy your company.'

Anna gave a rare, big smile. ‘Thank you. I'll try to stop by in a day or so.'

Davo spoke briefly to Pam and Doug as they left, then came over and leant on the bar, watching Anna. ‘Pam and Doug, lovely people.'

‘They seem to be.'

‘I'll be heading back to the Hill tomorrow arvo, so you want that driving lesson in the morning?'

Anna busied herself for a moment at the beer taps. ‘If it's no trouble, I suppose so.'

‘No worries. See you out the front, say nine?'

Anna showered after her run and was ready for her driving lesson when Davo drove Shirley's car down the hill and pulled up outside the pub.

‘Hop in.' Davo got out and into the passenger's seat. Mick came onto the verandah and watched with interest.

Davo handed Anna a sheet of paper. ‘That's the gears.' He went through his diagram, pointing to it with a grubby finger. He explained about easing out the clutch, and described what to do, but Anna's initial attempt saw the car jerk forward. She stabbed her foot on the brake. ‘S'okay, don't panic. Try again,' said Davo.

As Anna tried again, he rested his hand casually on her leg. ‘Slow, slow, right. Accelerate . . .'

Anna tried to push his hand off.

He took no notice, and squeezed her leg. ‘Now, change down . . .'

Anna angrily flung his hand off her leg. She grabbed the gear stick and pushed it into gear. The car moved forward and picked up speed. As she tried to put the car into second, the gears made the most awful noise.

Davo leant back and chuckled. ‘You're grinding the gears.'

‘If you don't shut up I'll stop the car right now and we'll forget this,' snapped Anna through gritted teeth.

She looked at Davo's rough diagram again and then braked and started again, working her way through the gears. The car kangaroo hopped a few more times down the main street. Then she suddenly felt her feet co-ordinate and she discovered she could let the clutch in and out smoothly as she changed gears. She turned around at the end of the main street and drove back towards the pub.

‘Go up the hill. See if you can do a hill start,' challenged Davo.

Anna found this manoeuvre difficult. She hated the sensation of rolling backwards before she engaged the gears. She raced up the hill towards Shirley's dugout.

‘Whoa. Do a turn and go back down the hill,' said Davo.

‘I get the general idea. Let's take the car back to Shirley.' She pulled up outside Shirley's place.

Davo leant over and patted her shoulder, idly ruffling her hair. ‘Not bad, not bad.'

Anna pushed his hand away. ‘I'm not a damned dog! Thanks for the lesson. I'll practise a bit more by myself.'

‘Anytime. Give us a yell.'

‘Aren't you leaving this afternoon?' She got out of the car.

‘I'll be back.' He smiled easily.

Anna didn't answer. She turned to walk back down the hill.

‘Hey, aren't you going to say hi to Shirley? I'll give you a lift back in my bus!'

‘I have to go to work.' She broke into a jog and headed down the hill.

Davo watched her go as Shirley called out to him.

‘How'd she do?'

‘Smartarse chick,' he muttered under his breath, then turned to Shirley. ‘She'll get the hang of it. Independent little miss.'

‘Yes, she is. I'm not sure she's your type, Davo.'

‘You're right. She's not,' said Davo. ‘Here are your keys. See ya next time.' He headed out to his van. Shirley dropped the keys onto her table and watched him leave.

The bar was unusually crowded for the Opal Lake Hotel. It still amused Anna to compare the pub to the sleek, chic coffee shop where she'd worked in Adelaide. She was intrigued by two men who stood in a corner, close together, their backs to the rest of the room as they looked intently at something one of them held. Anna walked around the room and out onto the footpath, collecting dirty glasses and emptying the makeshift ashtrays Mick had improvised out of earthenware mosquito candle holders. She came close to the two men and they stopped talking and straightened up.

‘Can I get you two chaps a refill?' Anna asked as she picked up their schooner glasses.

‘Yeah, thanks.' One reached into his pocket and handed her twenty dollars. ‘Keep the change, love.'

‘Thanks.' She smiled. ‘Had a bit of luck, did you?'

She'd seen men be generous with their money once or twice before, and some got drunk before a more sober miner dragged them from the pub, with the whisper ‘They're on opal' accompanying their exit.

The other man nodded. ‘A bit. Luck's been a long time coming.'

‘Well, good on you.' Anna went and got them another drink. No one else appeared to be taking much notice of the men. She brought their beers over and put them on the small table beside them.

‘Thanks.' One of the men handed a drink to his friend. ‘What's your favourite opal, eh?' he asked Anna.

‘Oh, I don't know. I don't know much about them,' said Anna.

The second man rolled his eyes. ‘Probably only seen rough opals. Or you're the type who fancies diamonds, are you?'

‘Not on what I earn here,' she said with a smile. ‘Are you selling opals?'

‘Not yet. It's hard to part with a beauty when it comes along. Like women. Go on, Kev, show her.'

‘Oh, that's all right, you don't have to,' began Anna, not wanting to be put in a position of trust. She'd heard how secretive miners were about their discoveries. But the men were obviously quite chuffed by their find, and Kev pulled his fist from his pocket and opened his hand.

Anna craned forward and caught her breath as she saw the dazzling stone in Kev's palm.

‘Can I touch it?' she asked in a low voice, quite awestruck. She'd seen rough stones with glimpses of colour in them before and Mick had sawn open a Yowah nut to show her two half centres of intricate earthy-toned patterns shot with pinpricks of gold and red. But this stone, nicely polished, was the size of a bantam's egg. ‘That's amazing. It's so big. What will you do with it? It'd be a shame to break it up, wouldn't it.'

‘It's up to the jeweller who buys it what he does with it. We just want to enjoy it for as long as we can,' said the other man.

‘Have you got more like this?' asked Anna, then realised she'd overstepped the mark.

‘Ah, that'd be telling.'

‘It's very beautiful. I hope you find more just like it.'

‘That's the idea. It's taken us years to find this one.' Kev grinned. ‘Gave up good jobs in the city to do this.'

‘Are you staying here for long?' asked Anna.

‘No, we're heading to Andamooka next.'

‘Good luck,' said Anna.

Anna went back to the bar, aware that Mick and several of the men were looking at her with interest.

‘So?' asked Mick. ‘Any good?'

‘I wouldn't know,' said Anna. ‘It was pretty but if that's all you find after years of digging I wouldn't be doing it.'

The men turned back to their beer and conversation.

But Anna couldn't stop thinking about the opal she'd just been shown. It was the first really good opal she'd seen and suddenly she understood their attraction. The way the two men gazed at that stone, caressing it, turning it in the light, the fact they'd given up good jobs to find it. Now she saw the hypnotic allure that a beautiful opal could have on some people.