“That young man’s come into his own as well,” Olive said. “I used to think he was a bit wet behind the eyes but he’s very thoughtful and well organised.”
“Yes he is.” Natalie smiled, both at Olive’s funny way with words and at the recollection of the conversation she’d had with Milt not long after she’d returned home. He’d taken her aside and gravely warned her to be prepared for some news. After all they’d been through she’d wondered what on earth he’d been going to tell her. He’d sat her down and warned her to be aware that Laura and Paul were an item, his way of telling her they were a couple in the full sense of the word. She’d smiled quietly to herself over that.
It was late in the afternoon and Natalie and Olive were packing up their sold-out stall when Olive paused and gave Natalie a close look. “I haven’t had a chance to ask how your holiday was,” she said.
“It feels a distant memory now but I really enjoyed it, thanks, Olive.”
“You do look refreshed.”
“I feel it.” Natalie thought now might be an opportune moment to talk to Olive about the cleaning. “I thought now that I’m trying to organise my time a little better that perhaps we could see about getting you some home help.”
“That’s a good idea and Laura and I are already on to it.” Olive whipped the cloth off the table and began to fold it.
“You and Laura?”
“Yes. She’s been such a help while you were away. She popped in one day with some information about home help and someone’s been to visit me already to see what might be available.”
“That’s great.” Natalie stacked the empty cake containers into a large cardboard box. That had been a conversation she hadn’t been looking forward to.
“You know I never want to be a burden to you and Milton,” Olive said.
Natalie opened her mouth but Olive cut her off. “I should never have let you do my cleaning. You do so much, Natalie, for everyone, but I enjoyed our little catch-ups even if you only came because you had to clean for me.”
“Oh, Olive.” A surge of guilt swept through Natalie and then she dismissed it. She looked Olive in the eye. “You know when you first moved I was happy for you and for me. We both had our own space at last, but we’ve lived together for so long and…well, I missed you.”
Olive humphed. “Missed my interfering.”
Natalie shook her head. “We’ve had our moments. I know you didn’t like me teaching but—”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t like you teaching.” Olive’s expression had a guilty edge. She lowered her voice. “I got to have the place to myself when you were at work. It was more that I worried for you.”
“Worried for me?”
“After everything that happened back when the girls were babies.”
Natalie blanched and looked around but there was no-one nearby to hear them. Most people were headed to the other side of the oval where the final event for the day was taking place, the monster auction.
“I mean your difficulties coping,” Olive said quickly and jerked her head in the direction of Vee’s plant stall. “Not the other.” She pursed her lips.
“I don’t understand.”
“Do you remember that book I gave you? The Model Wife.”
Another pang of guilt surged through Natalie. She nodded.
“It was rather old-fashioned, of course, and there’s no way you’d follow all that it said, but there were elements of truth, especially for a farmer’s wife. A farm is a huge business and a farmer doesn’t just need a wife, he needs a person who can help him with that business, and before you say you do that, of course you do, but when you first wanted to go back to teaching I was concerned it would be too much. You’d had some tough years and I knew how hard it would be for you to juggle everything. I never worked beyond the property but there were days when I’d be out in the paddock or up in the shed as long as Clem and then I’d have to cook a meal, keep that huge house clean, see to children. I knew your…mental health wasn’t strong after the children and I worried that you would push yourself too hard.”
Natalie let out the breath she’d been holding. “It was the teaching that kept me sane.”
“I think I understand that now. I’ve had a few chats with Laura and Paul. They really are so well suited and Paul is very impressed with you.”
“Really?” She still found it hard to believe.
“Anyway, it seems you’re well respected and I won’t say another word about you going out to teach.”
Natalie wasn’t sure whether to feel pleased or annoyed about that. Olive’s sentiments were a little late considering Natalie was thinking of retiring.
Nancy’s voice blared from the loudspeaker again, asking everyone to gather outside the clubrooms where the auction was about to begin.
“Nancy’s been a champion keeping this together today,” Olive said. “We’re done here now, we should head over.”
Natalie followed after Olive, pondering all that she’d said. She’d never imagined Olive’s reason for not wanting her to work was because she was trying to look out for Natalie. They passed the second-hand book stall, all the unsold books packed in boxes.
“You know, you should have brought that old book to the sale,” Olive said. “Someone might have had a giggle over it.”
Natalie pressed her lips together and walked with her mother-in-law to join what seemed like the greater part of their local community gathered for the final session of the fundraiser.
“Hi!”
Laura gasped as Paul stuck his head out of the committee tent and beckoned her in.
“What’s up?” She glanced around – there was no-one else in the tent. “I was just on my way to pack up my gear.”
“I’ve only seen you in passing all day.”
“You were busy. The bike-a-thon was more like a marathon. Some of those kids wouldn’t give up.”
“I was impressed, especially with a couple of boys whose behaviour hasn’t been the best. They threw their hearts and souls into it and raised a lot of money between them.”
“This is a supportive community.”
“I know. When I first moved here I didn’t know how I was going to stick a three-year appointment but now…it feels a bit like home. Especially since I met you.”
He gripped both her arms and gently drew her forward.
Laura glanced around again. “I thought you were keeping us a secret.”
“There’s no-one here.”
Before he even pressed his lips to hers a tingle went through her from head to toe. She melded her body against his. His hands slid around her back and pressed her tightly against him.
“Are you in there, Mr Brown?”
They jumped apart but Nancy had already stepped into the tent. “Well, I never,” she said.
Paul brushed at the front of his jumper and Laura swept some hair back from her face.
“I was just wondering if there were any more announcements to be made before we packed up the sound system.” Nancy took a step back. “But I can see you’re busy.”
Paul cleared his throat. “I don’t know of anything else that needs to be said. It will be dark if they don’t start packing up soon.”
“Right you are.” Nancy looked from Paul to Laura and then smiled a knowing smile. “I’ll be off then. Leave you to it.” She backed out of the tent.
Paul’s face was a picture of surprise. Laura couldn’t stop the giggle that erupted from her mouth. She took his hand and brushed a kiss across his lips. “I hope you’ll cope with everyone knowing about us,” she said. “Because it won’t be long and the whole district will have been informed.”
The startled look left his face and he shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
Laura grinned. He leaned in and kissed her and then they both broke away, laughing.
It was dark before Natalie and Milt arrived home. Laura and Olive had both stayed in town so it was just the two of them. Milt stirred the fire in the kitchen back to life
but they’d been gone all day and it would take a while to put some heat back into the room. Natalie kept her coat on while she heated some soup.
“I’m not very hungry after all the food I ate today but I could make you something else,” she said.
Milt closed the door of the pot belly and stood up. “Soup will be fine, thanks, Nat. We’re both too tired to do anything more.”
“There’s some fresh sourdough to go with it.” Once upon a time he would have insisted on more than soup and bread for an evening meal. “You and Trevor did a fantastic job of the auction.”
Milt set the table then sat. “Trevor’s a competent auctioneer. I was only his runner and don’t I know it.” He gave a groan and arched his back.
“You donated several items and got others on board and it was a perfect end to the day. The bean counters were still tallying when I took our stall takings over but it looks like the final total will be well over ten thousand dollars raised.”
“A great effort.” He buttered a slice of bread and took a bite. “This is good. Where did it come from?”
“Mel who married the youngest Rolland son had a stall today. She’s making other breads and rolls as well, all from home and running an impressive little business, from what I hear.”
“It was encouraging to see so many young ones from around the district involved today. Makes you feel positive about the future when you see their collective brains trust.”
“And their fresh ideas. Laura had a chat with Mel about running her business.”
“I’m glad Laura’s thinking seriously about running her own mobile salon. There’d be a lot of people who’d book her up.”
Natalie recalled the first visit she’d made to Veronica’s and the professional way Laura had conducted herself. Veronica’s smile when she’d looked in the mirror had been heart-warming. “A shorter style makes the hair you have look fuller,” Laura had said. “And other ladies who’ve had much longer hair have told me it prepares them better for going bald.” Laura had also suggested she go with Veronica to the wig library so she could start looking at what might suit her.
Natalie poured the soup into bowls and took them to the table. “Laura’s got a lot of talent.”
“I know. She was lacking in some self-belief. I had a few chats with her while you were away.”
Milt had supported all three girls in her absence. Natalie hoped he’d continue to be more open with them.
“She’ll have a few starters,” Natalie said. “It was a smart idea to give away some beauty vouchers.”
“A lot of the stalls look like they sold out.”
“There wasn’t a crumb left from our stall and Vee only had a few plants left.”
“Would they be the two boxfuls in the back of the four-wheel drive?”
Natalie grinned. “It’s for a good cause and Vee did such a good job organising her green thumb friends, and I think she even got a couple of nurseries near Adelaide to donate plants as well.”
“How’s Vee getting on, do you think?”
“Okay. Not looking forward to going back for treatment. She misses home and her garden. It really is beautiful, Milt.”
“I know.”
She looked down at her soup. Of course he did. She wondered again how often he’d been over there then pushed the thought away. What did it matter?
“What are you planning to do with the last week of school holidays?”
“Help you, put the house back together, make a start on the garden.”
“Mum’s taken with the idea. I never thought she would be.”
“Vee’s garden was inspiring,” she said. “I see you’ve done more work on the tennis court.”
“It’s nearly all levelled out and we’ve started fixing the fence.”
“Milt—”
“I know you don’t want us to ever have a court again but it was my way of building a bridge with Bree. Something we could do together that wasn’t work.”
Natalie was surprised he’d thought that through and come up with the idea but glad he had.
“That was a worthy reason to do it, Milt, but I was going to say I have another. I’d like to incorporate it into my garden plan, use it as a boundary, build a gazebo.”
“Hell’s teeth!”
“We could have tennis parties again.”
“You’ve certainly changed your tune.”
“I used to love having people over and the tennis court was the focus.”
He raised his eyebrows at that.
“You know why we stopped the competition tennis. It would have meant seeing the Halbots. I wasn’t much of a player but I loved the social aspect. It used to be fun when we went to other people’s places or they came to us for social tennis days.”
Milt’s spoon clattered to the bowl. “Hell, Nat, I’m so sorry.”
It was a big statement covering so much.
“I’m sorry, too.”
“What for?”
“For running away, leaving you with everything.”
“I should have been paying more attention to what you were saying. I was so wrapped up in work…Oh hell.” He lurched forward again and looked her directly in the eye. “I appreciate everything you do for me, for Mum, everything. You do know that, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“I don’t want you to go off like that again, not without me.”
Natalie took his big hand in hers. “I’m sorry everyone was worried but I needed the break and I’m glad I did it but…next time I go away I want it to be the two of us. A holiday we can enjoy together.”
“That’s good.” He smiled a rather smug smile. “You see I was hoping we might go away next weekend, before school starts.”
This time it was Natalie’s spoon that returned with a clunk to the bowl. “Go where?”
“Melbourne. I couldn’t get a refund on my Broome tickets but I can convert to a different flight.”
“But…” Natalie couldn’t believe what Milt was suggesting. “But Bree’s away, who will—”
“It’s only for two nights. Laura will be home and Paul and Mum both offered to stay and help keep an eye on things.”
“You’ve already worked it out?”
“There was a show Laura thought we might see and I wondered if you’d be up for seats at the footy? It’s at the MCG. It will be our wedding anniversary but if you’d rather stay home I can use the credit another time.”
“No!”
Milt smirked.
“No,” she said more softly this time. With all that had gone on she’d been the one to forget their anniversary was close but Milt had remembered and that meant so much to her. “I’d love to go to Melbourne with you this weekend.” If she’d had the energy she would’ve dragged him to his feet and danced with him round the kitchen but given that they were both very tired she simply leaned in and kissed him instead.
Thirty-Eight
Six months later
Natalie scrutinised her dining table and liked what she saw. The special dinner plates, the crystal glasses, Olive’s silver cutlery; it had all been set out with the napkins, the crackers and the sparkling decorations. All ready for Christmas dinner even though Christmas had been two days ago. That day it had just been Natalie, Milt and Olive for dinner; today there’d be fourteen, fifteen if she counted her new granddaughter. She’d made little Olivia Rose a place card and sat it between Kate and Sean’s.
Their baby had been born three days before Christmas in Adelaide. Her name had been a nod to Olive and to Sean’s grandmother, Rosalie. Olive had been thrilled. Kate had slowly come to terms with the change in her life plan – there’d been lots of long phone calls in the months prior to the birth and Natalie had visited as soon as the baby was born, of course. Given Kate’s anxiety about parenting they’d kept her in hospital for a few extra days for which Natalie was grateful. If only she’d had the support her daughter was getting, her baby days might have been less traumatic.
Next to Laura’s she
adjusted Paul’s place card, never imagining he’d be sitting at her Christmas dinner table. She smiled as she thought of Laura and Paul. The stiff young principal had loosened up and Laura had blossomed. They were so sweet together.
And then there were Bree and Owen’s names. They’d travelled back from Marla a week ago, visited Kate and the baby and had Christmas with Owen’s family in Adelaide. They’d arrived home last night and were out with Milt now looking at the new tennis court. Owen would go back to Marla for a month or so in the new year but then he’d be back for good. He and Bree were busy planning how they were going to manage her work on the property and his taking over the garage in town.
Natalie had placed Olive’s name next to her mother’s. Althea and Ray were arriving today for a few days and they were bringing Lina and the twins with them. Marcus and the staff were looking after the shop in Victor and Bron and Karl were having a short holiday. Natalie was so pleased for them.
She cast another look around the table. They wouldn’t dine in here till tonight. Lunch would be eaten under the side verandah next to her garden, which was beginning to take shape even though the plants still had a lot of growing to do. Veronica had helped her with the planning and once her treatment had finished and she was feeling stronger she’d helped Natalie do some planting. She’d lost her hair but it was already growing back and it was quite wavy. “I used to have curls when I was younger,” she’d said, “but I hated them then.”
“Mum! Kate and Sean are here.” Laura’s voice was full of excitement.
Natalie gave her dining room one last glance and went out to join her family.
The conversation after lunch was punctuated by the thuds of tennis balls and the laughter of the players. Laura and Lina had teamed up against Paul and Owen, and the twins were being ball boys. The rest of the family were spread out in the scattered shade. The day was getting warmer but there was a bit of a breeze. Natalie had said they’d go inside if it got too hot but everyone seemed happy. Olive and Althea had hardly stopped talking since they sat down and Ray was dozing in his chair. Bree was nursing Olivia and Sean and Kate were looking on with the tired, spaced-out gaze of new parents.
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