‘It’s almost three o’clock! I should have been up hours ago.’
Leah stood in the bedroom doorway, disconcerted by the domestic scene in front of her. Sasha, lying in front of the fire, lifted her head and smiled, her tail thumping half-heartedly. Alex, dressed in faded denim jeans and shirt, lounged on the sofa with the newspaper; a football game on the muted TV in the corner.
‘You obviously needed the sleep. Rose said you weren’t working tonight. I’ll make you some tea and toast?’
‘You’ve been talking to Rose?’
He folded the newspaper carefully. ‘I met her when I collected Sasha. She invited me in for cake and coffee. We had an interesting chat.’
‘I bet you did,’ Leah said, sweeping her hair into the elastic band she had around her wrist. Rose would have been all ears. ‘What on earth must she think?’
‘About what?’
‘About a man she’s never met collecting my dog early on a Saturday morning.’
‘I know she thinks a lot of you – she worries that you’ll burn yourself out. And she didn’t seem to have much time for what’s his name? Rick, Dick?’
‘Richard. You obviously had a good chat.’ Leah wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
‘She’s a nice lady. And a damn fine cook.’
‘Did you get the carrot, or the lemon and poppy seed?’
‘Lemon.’
‘Yummo. That’s my favourite.’
‘So she said. There’s a piece for you in the kitchen.’
Leah rubbed her arms and lifted one foot after the other – the floorboards were cool and all she wore was the skimpy t-shirt she’d slept in.
A ghost of a smile drifted across Alex’s face. ‘You might want to put more clothes on. Not on my account – I kind of like the view – but you don’t want to catch another cold.’
When she re-emerged clad in leggings and a long jumper, Alex had a pot of tea brewing and two slices of bread poised in the toaster. A cup, knife, plate and jar of peanut butter waited on the bench.
‘I see you’ve found everything,’ she said, tripping up the steps into the kitchen.
‘You told me to make myself at home.’
‘Oh.’ She gave the benchtop a once-over. ‘How’d you know I’d have peanut butter on my toast?’
‘Something I picked up having breakfast with you on so many mornings.’
Leah tilted her head to the side and lifted her eyebrows.
Alex looked amused. ‘There might have been four other blokes at the table, Leah, but as far as I was concerned, I was having breakfast with you.’
‘Oh,’ she said again, and jumped when the toast popped up.
He leaned in for a quick kiss.
Leah swallowed; couldn’t stop staring at him. He winked, hooking the toast out of the toaster. ‘Eat, before it gets cold.’
When they were seated at the kitchen table, she yawned and said, ‘Talk to me. What have you been doing while I’ve been asleep, besides gossiping with my neighbour? And filling the wood basket, thanks. Why you are in Adelaide in the first place?’
‘Okay. From the top: I picked up Sasha at about nine thirty, spent an hour or so at Rose’s. Then I took Sasha with me to visit Dad. I had dinner with him last night and picked up my car, said I’d visit again today. He’s doing very well, by the way. Home now with delivered meals and a woman helping with his housework. He loved seeing the dog. Oh, and of course he asked after you.’
‘He did, did he?’ So, Fergus knew where his son had spent the night. She crunched into the toast. ‘What about Connor and Liam?’
‘When I rang Claire, she took great delight in informing me that the boys were at her parents’ place for the weekend. And then I received the usual lecture about giving more notice, blah, blah, blah. Even though I’d explained my visit was at very short notice.’
‘What a shame you won’t get to see them.’
‘Yes, it is,’ he said and Leah heard the bleakness in his voice; didn’t begrudge the way he disappeared into his own thoughts.
She finished her toast and went to the sink to refill the kettle. ‘Why don’t you ring Claire again and offer to pick up Connor and Liam from their grandparents’ place tomorrow? Surely they’ll need to be home for school on Monday. You could go for an early dinner. Pick up Fergus on the way.’
His expression lightened. ‘That might just work.’ He searched around for his mobile phone and thumbed through the contacts. ‘What time shall I say?’
‘Whatever time suits you.’
He looked up; harpooned her with his steady blue gaze. ‘And you.’
‘Me?’
‘Come with me. Claire’s parents are good people and Dad would love to see you.’
Leah’s chest rose and fell. The kettle boiled and clicked off. She folded her arms, conscious of Alex’s unblinking regard. There was a whole other request beneath his simple invitation and they both knew it.
If she went, would it mean they were acknowledging to his family, to all and sundry, that they were together? Leah couldn’t explain why, but she suddenly had cold feet. When put on the spot, she wasn’t ready to make their very private affair public. Not when they didn’t have a future together. She didn’t want to send the wrong message to Connor and Liam, or Fergus. The closer they became at home, the harder it would be to be apart at work.
Alex cleared his throat, the sound loud in the silent kitchen. ‘What’s so hard about coming with me, Leah?’
‘Nothing . . . and everything,’ she said quietly, her stomach roiling.
‘You’re making this more complicated than it is. We’re both single. We’re adults.’
‘I’m being realistic, practical. We don’t know where this thing between us is going, if it’s going anywhere. I wouldn’t want your family to get the wrong idea.’
‘Don’t worry about Dad and the boys. They like you. The others don’t count.’
‘How is it going to work, Alex? With our jobs, your other commitments . . . when are we going to see each other? Get to know each other? We haven’t even been on a date, Alex.’
‘What, not even the weekly management meetings? We go out to lunch afterwards, and then we go for a drive, take in the sights.I took you to the mound springs. What more do you want?’
Leah couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
Alex seemed to take that as encouragement. ‘We work together, eat together, and I’m only a wall away every night.’
‘You might as well be on the next planet.’
‘We have tonight and tomorrow. I can take a weekend off every month.’
‘What about your family? And how long do you think it’ll be before someone besides Stacey puts two and two together: you always taking your weekend off when I’m on rest leave?’
‘And what if they do?’ Alex wouldn’t look away.
‘You know what’ll happen. You know how precarious my position is already.’ Leah wrapped her arms tightly around herself. The seconds stretched into minutes.
Alex regarded her steadily. Then he said, ‘I hear what you’re saying. But if we always act professionally when we’re at work, don’t go all Phil and Dee, kissing in the bar and whatever else they used to get up to in that office when the door was closed . . .’ He paused. ‘Or one of us could always get a different job.’
Leah blinked. ‘And which one of us would that be?’
‘Leah, what is this really about? My job? Your job? My family? My vasectomy? You’re making up all the excuses under the sun. What’s the real issue here?’
Leah looked down at her feet. ‘It’s just that . . . maybe if . . . Oh god, I don’t know.’
‘Is the friends-with-benefits thing what you really want, while you wait for Mr Fertile?’
She looked up. Her head started to pound and her heart ached. ‘Somehow you don’t strike me as the friends-with-benefits type.’
‘I didn’t think you were either. But I’m a bloke, you get it where you can. What’s you
r excuse?’
Leah recoiled as if she’d been slapped. ‘I can’t believe you just said that.’
‘For god’s sake, Leah. You’re the one who’s being commitment-shy here.’ He stood up so fast the chair shuddered across the floor. ‘You either want to be with me, make this thing work, or you don’t. Until you make up your mind, I think it would be best if I left.’
She wanted to protest but she couldn’t make her lips work. She stood in the kitchen mute, watching while he went into the bedroom and collected his bag. When the front door slammed, something inside her broke.
Alex fumed all the way to his father’s place. When he burst in through the back door, Fergus was sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea and doing a crossword puzzle.
He raised bushy eyebrows and said, ‘I thought you were spending the weekend with Leah.’
‘So did I.’ Alex went to the fridge and snatched a beer. ‘That woman is the most stubborn person I have ever met.’
‘That’s funny, coming from you.’
‘Not helpful, Dad.’
Fergus clicked his tongue, a sly smile spreading slowly across his craggy features. ‘You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?’
‘In the biggest possible way.’
‘Can’t say as I blame you. But there’s a problem?’
Alex took a long pull on the beer. ‘My job, her job, her wanting to have a family, the fact I already have kids and can’t have more. Is that enough?’
‘Yep, I’d say so. I always thought Claire was selfish when she insisted on you having the chop. So what are you going to do?’
Alex sighed. Fergus went back to his crossword, the pencil rasping across the paper.
‘I don’t know,’ Alex said after a long silence.
‘If you want her badly enough, you’d better work something out.’ Fergus leaned his elbows on the table. ‘I’ve decided to sell up and move somewhere smaller, without such a big yard. I’m looking at a one-bedroom unit close to the beach. You’ll need to find another place to live.’
‘Right.’ Alex eyed his father. He looked nothing like the frail old man he’d been a month ago. ‘When did you decide all this? What do Heather and Lisa think?’
Fergus sat back and folded his arms. ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while, as a matter of fact. Before I had the heart trouble. This place is too big for me. Heather and Lisa agree. And at your age you shouldn’t be living at home with your old man.’
Alex snorted. ‘What would be the point of having my own place? I’d never be there.’
‘Well, now’s probably a good time to take stock, son. Take it from me, it’s lonely on your own and you’re too young to be by yourself. You’re what, forty-five?’
‘Fair go, I’m only forty-four.’
‘My point is, imagine the next twenty-five years with nothing but your job. Not much to look forward to, is it?’
‘I like my job.’
‘You do now, but give it another ten years. I guarantee by then you’ll have had a gutful of the desert, the quarters and mess cooking. That’s if there’s any kind of mining industry left in this state, and you still have a job, and your health.’
Alex drained his beer and went to the fridge for another. He held up two bottles but Fergus shook his head.
‘I hear what you’re saying, Dad. Believe it or not, you’re not the first person to point these things out. What would you do if you were me?’
Fergus stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘They can reverse those operations now, can’t they?’
Alex frowned. ‘They can, but from what I’ve read, it’s not always successful. And, you know what? I’m not sure that I want more kids anyway.’
‘Fair enough. Then how about you look for another job, closer to home? You’ve been with the company a long time – bent over backwards to do whatever they wanted. Surely they could find something for you.’
‘Yeah, funny you should mention that,’ Alex said. Fergus raised his eyebrows. Alex shook his head, and laughed without humour. ‘Dad, I can’t see myself propping up a desk in some high-rise building anytime soon, can you?’
‘Depends how badly you want this thing with Leah to work out. My advice is, if you’re certain she’s the one, you should do whatever you need to do to convince her you’re serious about a future together.’ Fergus got up from the table.
If only it were that simple, Alex thought, and set about getting quietly and steadily drunk.
‘Blondie, what do you get up to on that rest leave of yours? You look more worn out when you get back than you do before you leave.’
Leah, conscious of Alex a step ahead of her in the queue and well within earshot, forced a smile and a breezy tone for Ruby. ‘Ah, you know: this party, that party, boozy lunches, shopping marathons . . . Wears a girl out.’
Ruby chortled. ‘Thought as much,’ she said and sliced more roast beef for Leah. ‘You eat up and go get an early night. You look like you could use it.’
Leah looked around the mess. Alex was making his way to Ben’s table and, although there was a spare seat, Leah scanned the dining room for somewhere else to sit.
Alex hadn’t checked in for the morning flight. It was hard to say if her relief had won out over her disappointment. Handover to Steve at Nickel Bluff airport and the drive back had gone smoothly, but she couldn’t relax.
Alex’s cool greeting when he had arrived at Camp One hours after her, the tense atmosphere during the daily debrief, and the stiff, formal way he’d addressed her, all took Leah back to her very first days on the job. The next three weeks were going to be a real test of her mettle, and then the three weeks after that . . . With a bit of luck things between them would become easier, eventually. At the very least she enjoyed her job and from that point of view she was glad to be back.
Vince waved her over to a table of rigging and construction guys.
‘You were looking lost,’ he said and pulled out the only empty chair for her.
The men at the table acknowledged her briefly before returning to their meals. Leah picked up her knife and fork but her appetite had waned. Ruby didn’t know how right she’d been. Leah’s leave had been anything but restful. She’d spent hours staring into the dark, alternatively wishing Alex was there beside her, and then telling herself she’d be better off in the long run because he wasn’t.
She took a few mouthfuls. The meat was tender and juicy, but she could have been chewing leather.
Two of the men finished their meals and said they were off to the wet mess. ‘Be with you shortly,’ Vince said, mopping up the gravy on his plate with practised strokes.
Leah was debating whether she could force another mouthful when Frank sleazed up to the table and sat down opposite her in one of the recently vacated chairs. He leaned across the table towards her and said in an exaggerated whisper, ‘On the out with lover boy, are we? Need a shoulder to cry on?’
Leah took a slow breath. Vince looked up from his plate, his gaze shifting from Leah to Frank, and then back to Leah.
‘Frank,’ she said carefully, ‘if I didn’t value my job like I do, and if it wasn’t me who’d have to patch you up afterwards, I’d tell you exactly where you could stick that knife and fork, and I’d help you put it there.’
Vince grinned. Frank looked as if he’d swallowed a bad prawn. Leah stood up. She’d had enough of today.
‘Night, Vince. Thanks for your company.’
‘Anytime, Leah,’ he said and winked.
Frank didn’t look up from his roast beef.
Leah scraped her plate and stacked it on the trolley, then wrapped a piece of chocolate mud cake in a paper napkin to take to her room. She might feel like it later.
Unable to resist, she threw a sneaky glance in Alex’s direction, heart lurching when she connected with his steady, blue gaze.
His face gave nothing away. After the happenings of Saturday afternoon, Sunday had been a day best forgotten. Even Sasha had given up on Leah as she’d moped around t
he house. Visiting Eve and Paul that afternoon, she’d worn herself out completely putting on a happy face for them.
Paul was retiring and Eve continued to vacillate between delirious excitement and dismay at the prospect. Luckily for Leah they’d been so absorbed with what was happening in their lives to notice anything amiss in hers.
A big bloke in a navy blue work shirt reaching for the chocolate cake bumped Leah back into the present.
‘Oops, sorry,’ he rumbled.
‘No, it was my fault entirely. I was daydreaming.’ She hurried out the mess without looking back.
Leah and Alex were polite to the point of ridiculousness, tiptoeing around each other on the brief occasions they were in their office at the same time. If Alex consciously planned his activities to avoid her, she had no proof but she, too, spent as much time out on the work sites, far away from him, as she could. Unfortunately, the old adage, ‘out of sight, out of mind’, proved meaningless in this instance. The harder she tried not to think about him, the more she did.
When the weekly management meetings came around each Friday, Leah was relieved when Alex’s vehicle had other passengers besides her. There were always workers going out or coming back from leave. She could hunker down in the back seat and stare out the window when she wasn’t taking her turn opening and closing gates.
Each night she’d lie awake, unable to relax until she heard the snick of his door closing, and then the sound of running water. Some nights it was well after midnight before she drifted into restless sleep, and the alarm woke her barely five hours later. She was getting more and more tired by the day.
Towards the end of her third week on, Leah spent a gruelling day putting out road signs and directing traffic. They were running out cables ready to be strung and because some of the transmission towers were close to the road, the sporadic traffic needed to be slowed down or stopped where there were cables running across the road.
Winter was waning and the day was unseasonably warm. A line of clouds sat heavily on the horizon and by lunchtime, the wind, and with it, the dust, had picked up. To add to the general discomfort, the flies were abundant and they crawled into the corners of her eyes, around her nose and, if she opened her mouth for long enough, in there as well.
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