He nodded thoughtfully, taking his turn at the flask of water. ‘You’re right, it would.’
Grace gave Walt Bancroft’s house and garden another once-over.
‘Nice place, this,’ she said. ‘I remember when the Palmers lived here. The tennis courts at the back look to be in good nick.’
‘They are, and Walt is an above-average tennis player.’
‘What, you’ve played tennis here with him?’
‘Yep. Heaps of times. Do you play?’
Grace snorted and clamped the straw hat back on her head. ‘Do I play tennis? Of course I do … I went to an all-girls private school.’
She pulled on the gloves again, ignoring the forming blisters.
‘Mind you, I haven’t played since uni days,’ she threw back over her shoulder, as she hefted the wheelbarrow back up the hill towards the stone pile.
That evening Grace ran a bath, poured in bath salts and immersed herself, soaking until the water was lukewarm and her skin started to prune. Aaron came in to check she hadn’t drowned.
‘Don’t laugh,’ she said, groaning as she climbed out of the tub. ‘I usually sit at a desk all day, remember?’ He quirked an eyebrow but didn’t comment. ‘The heaviest thing I push is a pen.’ He handed her a towel.
Later, when he offered to rub Deep Heat cream into her worst affected muscles, she settled back and let him.
Too stiff and sore to move much the following morning, Grace stayed in bed at Aaron’s insistence.
‘But what about Walt’s wall? Who’s going to look for the right-shaped rocks in the pile? And you were going to show me how to use the laser-level thingamajig.’
Sitting on the side of the bed, Aaron looked sideways at her, his expression inscrutable. ‘I’m all over the place today,’ he said, and the bed shifted when he stood up to get dressed.
‘There’re a couple of jobs I need to finish. I’ll get back to Walt’s wall later in the week. You should have recovered by then and be raring to go.’ He buttoned up the clean high-vis shirt, tucked it into his jeans and then leaned down and kissed her.
‘What do you think you’ll do today, now that I’ve given you the day off?’
She cuffed him lightly on the arm. ‘Oh, seeing you don’t want my help, I’ll spend some time with Mum, have a coffee with Faith … and I suppose I’ll go out to the farm sometime and say hello to Dad.’
‘I was wondering if you would. I’m sure he’d be pleased to see you.’
Grace propped herself up on one elbow. ‘Strange as it might sound after all the times I’ve bitched about him, I feel a bit sad for the old bugger, out there on his own.’
Aaron sat down on the end of the bed and it bounced as he pulled on his socks. ‘Yeah, you think they’re going to be around forever, but then they’re not.’
He paused, head bent, and rested his arms on his thighs. Grace shot up and scooted across the bed. She put her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder. He reached up and grasped one of her hands and she squeezed hard.
‘I was lucky because I got to talk to Dad before he died. I got to tell him how much I loved him, and how sorry I was for being such a dickhead back when Robert showed up on the scene.’
‘I bet he already knew that because you’d told him before. And I bet he understood before that.’
‘I had and he did, although it was good to say it again. But now I’m in a quandary about what to do about Robert,’ Aaron said in a low voice. ‘I haven’t seen or heard from him for several months. And I don’t think that bothers me, which in itself bothers me. I keep asking myself how I’d feel if I got a call saying he was dying.’
‘And how would you feel?’
‘That’s the thing, I don’t think I’d feel anything except sad for Mum. She would never admit it but I reckon she still has a soft spot for him, selfish bastard that he was … Is.’
Grace didn’t know what to say. She leaned around and kissed him on the cheek.
‘As much as I don’t want to, I’d better get going,’ he said, untangling her arms from his. ‘Day’s half over.’ He stood up.
‘What about breakfast?’
‘I’ll grab a sausage roll and an iced coffee at the bakery.’
‘Aaron! That is so not good for you. At least have some toast.’
After Aaron left, Grace had a hot shower and rubbed more Deep Heat into her aching muscles. She got dressed in light-coloured jeans and a navy blue blouse, made the bed, tidied up and then walked around to her mum’s house.
‘What is that awful smell?’ Sarah said, wrinkling her nose after she’d opened the door to Grace and hugged her.
‘Deep Heat,’ Grace said. ‘I helped Aaron shift rocks yesterday. Out at Walt Bancroft’s place.’
‘You did?’
‘Don’t look so shocked. You were there Saturday night when I offered. Why didn’t you stop me?’
‘The things we do for love,’ Sarah said. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’
Grace’s brow puckered and she pursed her lips in contemplation. ‘Is that what this is?’
‘Could be,’ Sarah called from the kitchen.
‘Mmm, I dunno … What I do know is, I’ve never spent the best part of a day shifting rocks for anyone else.’
They settled on the saggy director’s chairs on the back verandah with a pot of tea.
‘Your hair looks nice like that,’ Grace said.
‘Thanks. I decided to grow it a bit longer because I’ve no idea who the most decent hairdresser is in town these days.’
‘I hope I’m like you and don’t go too grey too soon.’
Sarah smoothed a hand over her hair, clasped on her nape with a tortoiseshell clip. ‘You girls both have my colouring so you probably won’t. I noticed Tim has quite a bit of grey … More like his father I suppose.’
‘Speaking of Dad, can I borrow the car? I thought I’d go out and say hello to him this afternoon.’
‘Of course you can. You don’t need to ask to use your own car!’
‘You might have been going somewhere.’
‘Only to collect Liam and Amelia from school this afternoon. But it’s not going to be as hot today, and I’ve walked down to the school and walked home with them before.’
‘Okay, because I should go and see Dad sooner rather than later. By now he probably knows I’m in town. I’m sure it was Aunty Kaylene getting petrol at the roadhouse when we stopped in for milk Sunday evening.’
‘If it was, he’ll know. Everyone in Miners Ridge and the surrounding districts will know. Do you want me to come with you?’
‘Not unless you want to.’
‘There’s one other thing I’d like to retrieve from out there. I’d forgotten all about it until Faith mentioned it.’
‘Oh, what’s that? I can always get it.’
‘Mum’s old treadle sewing machine. It used to be in the sleep-out, but I don’t remember seeing it when I collected some other things weeks ago.’ And it hadn’t been with the things Doug had delivered.
‘It might be in the shed by the carport. A few years back I was looking for Luke’s pushbike, and I’m sure I saw the sewing machine.’ Sarah raised her eyebrows. ‘Yeah, Tim and I ate a whole Sara Lee cheesecake and I had an attack of the guilts. I was going to go for a bike ride.’
‘Did you find the bike?’
‘No, I didn’t. I might look again today,’ Grace said. ‘Come to think of it, there are a few things at the farm that I’d hate to see sold off for a few bucks at a clearing sale.’
‘You think that’s what’ll happen?’
‘Mum, what else can happen? There aren’t many more years before Dad will be totally past it. I suppose he could lease out the land and keep living in the house for the duration. I’ve never really given it much thought. But Dad made it crystal clear to me many years ago that I’d already had my cut in expensive private school fees.’
‘How dare he say that to you! That money came from Nanna.’
G
race glanced at her mother. ‘I don’t care that he said it, Mum. Luke’s bike would be nice to have, and that’s only if Tim or Faith don’t want it. And I’d like a couple of the board games we used to play as kids, and some of my old books. Oh, and I think there’s a doll and a teddy bear that belong to me. But other than that …’
Neither mother nor daughter spoke for several minutes. Grace worried at a splinter of wood on the arm of the chair while she thought about what else she might want from the farm.
It was a bit like picking over a carcass. When she looked her mother’s way it was to find Sarah staring into nothingness. Not for the first time, Grace noticed the deepening lines that bracketed her mother’s mouth.
‘Mum?’ she queried, then noticed two lonely tears course down the older woman’s cheeks.
‘I was just thinking how sad it all is. Generations of families have lived off that land. The more I think about it, the more I can understand Doug’s reluctance to let go, at any cost.’
‘Well, so far it has cost him his family.’
Sarah dug in her pocket for a tissue and wiped her eyes.
‘I think he knows that,’ she said wistfully, but then her tone firmed. ‘I’m not certain that it bothers him that much. I get the impression that all of us, except Luke, are a huge disappointment to him.’
‘From what you’ve told me, maybe Luke had disappointed him, by choosing the wrong girl.’
‘Perhaps,’ Sarah said and sat forward in her chair. ‘Is that my phone ringing?’
53
Sarah
The call I took had my heart pounding. I raced out to Grace.
‘That was Faith. Her waters broke over an hour ago. She was in the supermarket when it happened. Carol happened to be there picking up groceries and she drove her to the hospital.’
‘Is she all right? She’s not due yet, is she?’
‘She’ll be thirty-seven weeks on Friday. They were talking about inducing her at thirty-eight weeks because of her blood pressure. Let’s go.’
‘Where? To the hospital?’ Grace said, her eyes wide.
‘Of course to the hospital! They’re not equipped to deal with obstetrics here so she’s in an ambulance on her way to Clare. We need to go and grab her suitcase and drive there.’
I flew back inside. Where were the damn car keys? No sooner had I started throwing things around looking for them, I felt Grace’s steady hand on my shoulder.
‘Mum, slow down. Let’s think this through. We can’t both go because one of us will have to pick up Liam and Amelia after school.’
‘Oh,’ I said.
‘And what about Ben? Does he know?’
‘Yes, Faith said she called him before she called me. He’ll try to get a seat on the plane out this afternoon.’
‘I’m sure if I ask him, Aaron will drive down to Adelaide and pick him up. It’ll be better if I stay here and collect the kids from school. Then you don’t have to rush to get back.’
‘Okay,’ I said, nodding vigorously, grateful that Grace was making the decisions. My brain seemed to have gone into slow motion, panic hovering just below the surface. What if there was something wrong with the baby? Or with Faith?
Granted, I wasn’t a midwife, but I had been a registered nurse for many years, and I’d had four children of my own. Country hospitals could cope with a lot of things, but the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s they weren’t.
If it were required, a retrieval team took time to get there. I needed to be with my youngest daughter, now.
‘Mum, take a breath,’ Grace said. ‘Everything will be fine. And if it’s not, we’ll deal with it together, okay?’
Mutely I nodded, and took several slow, deep breaths. Grace was a godsend in a crisis.
‘First off, put some shoes on,’ she said, and I glanced down at my slippered feet. ‘While you get ready I’ll go around to Faith’s and pick up her suitcase. Where is it?’
‘A house key is hidden outside under a loose piece of slate by the back door, and the suitcase is in the sunroom. It’s black with a pink ribbon tied around the handle. Amelia put the ribbon there because she wants it to be a baby sister.’
‘Good for her,’ Grace said and grabbed the SUV keys from the cupboard where they’d been hiding in plain view. ‘I’ll be back shortly.’
The front door slammed, followed by the squeal of the garage door and moments later I heard a spray of gravel as Grace took off out of the driveway. For precious seconds I stood like a statue in the centre of the sitting room, my brain clogged with unfinished thoughts.
Consciously, I made myself move towards the bedroom where my shoes were kept. I’d let Faith down before. I could not fail her this time.
‘I filled up with petrol,’ Grace said, explaining why she’d taken longer than I’d expected. ‘The suitcase is in the back. I talked to Aaron and he’ll drive down and pick up Ben. Let me know as soon as you know that Ben’s on the plane.’
She pressed the SUV keys into my hand. ‘Liam and Amelia will be fine. Did Faith say where her car was?’
‘In the supermarket car park, but I’ve no idea where the keys are.’
‘There must be a spare set. The kids might know.’ This said as Grace pushed me towards the front door. ‘Go Mum, and keep in touch.’
‘Oh no,’ I said, and spun around to face Grace.
‘What?’
‘What if they need to take Faith to Adelaide?’
Grace’s eyes rolled heavenward. ‘They’ll take her, and we’ll deal with it if and when it happens, okay?’
‘What about Doug?’
‘I will ring the farm and leave a message. Now go.’
I went. The drive south took forty-five minutes, plenty of time for me to think of all the possible worst-case scenarios.
Ben rang me while I was searching for a parking space in the Clare hospital car park. I broke the law and answered my phone. He had a seat on the plane.
‘I’ll hire a car to drive home,’ he said.
‘No need because Aaron will be there to collect you.’
‘Aaron Halliday? I hardly know the bloke.’
‘Just be grateful. Aaron would do almost anything for Grace.’
‘Okay. Another time I’ll buy the man a beer … Or six. I tried to ring Faith, but her phone was switched off. Look after her, Sarah,’ he said, and I didn’t miss the catch in his voice before we disconnected.
We both knew this pregnancy hadn’t been the easiest for Faith, both mentally and physically. Her blood pressure had been on the rise again over the past few days.
A man in a Volvo reversed out of a park nearby. With both hands back on the wheel, I managed to beat a woman in a 4WD to the vacant space. She gave me a filthy look and set off to go around another time.
The nurse at the desk directed me to a small waiting room, promising to find out what was happening with Faith. When she hadn’t returned after thirty minutes I went out and hovered by the deserted nurses’ station.
Never mind Faith’s blood pressure, I could feel mine rising with every passing minute.
My phone pinged with a message. Grace.
Any news?
Nothing!! I’m still waiting for the nurse to come back.
Hang in there. XX
Ten minutes later, a harassed-looking nurse trotted down the corridor.
‘Are you Faith Stevens’s mother?’ she said.
‘Yes,’ I answered, and she whisked me off to where they were prepping my daughter for an emergency caesarean section.
Amelia was going to be disappointed because at 3.23 pm, Faith’s GP obstetrician delivered a baby boy weighing in at 2.6 kilograms. I’d sat beside Faith in the operating theatre and held her hand.
Now, in the recovery room, Faith had that deliriously besotted look of new mothers the world over as she guided my newest, tiniest grandchild to her breast.
An IV line was taped to the back of Faith’s hand, a blood pressure cuff dangled from her arm and a midwife hovered on t
he periphery.
‘Mum,’ Faith said. ‘How are you doing there?’
‘I’m fine. I’ve talked to Grace and she’ll collect Liam and Amelia. Ben has a seat on the plane, and Aaron is going down to pick him up. They’ll come by here on their way home.’
The baby slipped off the nipple. It rooted around for a few seconds and Faith grimaced when it latched on again. I could almost feel the nurse relax. Then Faith’s head jerked upwards. ‘My car—’
‘Grace has it. You left the keys in the ignition.’
‘I only ducked in to the supermarket to get milk,’ she said, without even glancing up from the babe in her arms. ‘I got halfway to the fridges and I felt awful. I saw Carol and called out to her. That’s when my waters broke.’ Faith snorted. ‘She grabbed a packet of sanitary pads off the shelf! She was awesome.’
I moved the baby’s cot from beside the bed and sat down on the chair.
‘Have you got much pain, or are you still numb?’
She shook her head. ‘Still numb,’ she said. ‘Thank God.’
It didn’t take long for my new grandson to run out of puff and fall asleep mid-suck. The midwife was there, reaching for him.
‘Does grandma want a hold before I take him to the nursery to check his vitals?’ she said, rewrapping him before she handed the little bundle to me.
It felt awkward. I hadn’t held a baby since Liam, and that was ten years ago. But it only took seconds for the weight in my arms to feel familiar, and instinct took over.
Vernix clung to his scalp, his almost-black hair spiky with it. I pressed my lips and nose to his forehead, drawing in the delicious newborn baby smell.
‘Hello, grandson of mine,’ I whispered. My heart felt as if it was going to burst out of my chest.
After too short a time the midwife reached for him. ‘I need to take him through to the nursery now,’ she reminded me.
‘Not before I get a picture of him with his mother,’ I said, reluctantly relinquishing the newborn and whipping out my phone.
The nurse handed the baby to Faith and I quickly took some shots.
‘I’m sure his grandpa will want to see,’ I said.
When Grace Went Away Page 33