Even though Ellin took the call in the other room, Maali shared a glance with Ryan as it became clear Paulie wasn’t listening.
“I said, ‘no’.”
More silence other than Ellin’s firm footsteps pacing around the room.
“I told you, I’m not interested in you like that,” a long pause, “Then, you’ve got to do whatever you’ve got to do.”
“I’m not ungrateful and you haven’t seen me be a bitch yet. Look, I appreciate what you’ve done for me but I’m not coming back until next semester.”
The feet stopped and Maali heard the fingernails tapping on the sideboard.
“Whatever,” and then the slam of the phone. Moments later, Ellin returned with a fresh jug of water for them all.
Maali watched as Ryan distracted Ellin by focusing on her art.
“So, what is this exhibition you are painting for?”
“Each year, a heap of indigenous artists come together for a Desert Mob Exhibition.”
“That’s it?”
“What my grand-daughter is too polite to say, is that the exhibition is by invitation only, and this year she was invited to display some of her finished pieces as well as up to three new pieces – if she ever gets around to starting them!”
“What we need is for you to stop lazing around,” he joked, flicking green paint at Ellin’s face.
“What do you mean?” she replied in mock horror, “Gran and I are doing all the work here – you just keep tap tapping on that keyboard.”
“Then do something useful,” he pulled out a new canvas from the cupboard, “Inspire me! You know these songs, you’ve heard the stories since before you were born. Draw them – paint them. Give me something to work towards. We can use them to help teach the kids.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean,” he challenged her as Ellin sized up the canvas and started pulling out paints and brushes.
“Something like this?” Maali smugly watched as the canvas came to life, the bright blues of the desert sun crashing onto the red earth. No challenge would be too much for her granddaughter.
“Tell me the story,” he pushed, “You know what I’m looking for.”
“I get it!” Ellin squealed, “You want each story to be more than just teaching them the language, but a picture book so non-indigenous kids will want to read it, too!”
Never had Maali been so proud at how quickly Ellin caught onto where this smart young man was going.
“By the way, what did that Paulie want?” Ryan had already turned away, hiding his dark face from Ellin, his tone light but not lost on Maali how serious he was about the question.
“Oh, he has some jobs lined up for me – but I need to be back in Sydney next week. I’m not ready. So, he has replaced me,” Ellin shrugged.
“Replaced you? How?” Another softly spoken question.
“I signed a contract, not being available puts me in breach. Guess I’m looking for a new job when I go back.” Ellin squeezed red and black paint onto an old pallet, rubbing them together angrily. “He’s not happy and is going to make me pay.”
“And you not being interested in him like that?” Ryan’s jaw set and Maali was a little concerned at the anger in the eyes still hidden from Ellin.
“I want the work, not him. It wasn’t the answer he wanted. No biggie,” she didn’t see the glance shared between grandmother and Ryan, instead punishing the canvas with paint.
Maali waited for Ryan’s reaction. He waited a good ten minutes before excusing himself to make a phone call. Ellin didn’t even notice as she immersed herself in laying the base of a red dust storm on the canvas.
The phone calls were forgotten as they all got back to work, Maali retelling the dreamtime story of the great dust storm that hid the sun for two weeks until two warring families came together in marriage.
Finally, the system was predicting words, and tears fell as she heard her own voice and the voice of her grand sons filter through the speakers. For the first time, she believed her language and culture wouldn’t die with her.
“Hello, this is Ellin,” the sound of Ellin’s phone ringing broke their mini celebration. “Yes, I’m the one from the TV,” the sound of the brushes and pallet falling to the floor echoed through the room. “I don’t understand – how did you know?”
Maali watched Ryan quietly leave them alone. The boy knows something, she thought. No matter, whatever happened, the rage inflicted on the canvas evaporated as Ellin’s smile lit up the room.
“Gran, oh my,” Maali almost fell over as Ellin danced her around in circles, “That was some corporate guy. He has a banking client that wants to promote their green loans – how they support sustainable development. They want me!”
“What does Paulie think?”
“That’s the best bit! Paulie already sent through the termination notice, so I’m a free agent. Every dollar I make comes to me – and even better, they are sending a film crew to shoot the commercials here.”
On cue, Ryan came back, shoving his phone into his back pocket. “Ryan, we’ve got visitors coming! A whole film crew to shoot a commercial – with me!” Maali didn’t flinch when Ellin threw herself into his arms, smiling as he stroked her hair and kissed the side of her face.
“You deserve it. Good riddance to Paulie.”
“Ellin, sweetheart, how about you make us a fresh pot of tea,” Maali wanted the truth – and somehow didn’t think it was for Ellin’s ears.
“Well?” she turned on Ryan as soon as they were alone.
“I meant it – she deserves it.” Cunning old woman. Sees everything, thinks she knows everything, Ryan thought.
“What did you do?”
“What do you think I did?”
“Who did you call?”
“When?”
“Mr Swan, I’d thank you not to treat me like a fool, and unless you want me to still be asking you questions when Ellin comes back, you’ll tell me what you did. Now.”
“I called a friend.”
“Some friend.”
“He does a lot of work for the company I work for. He also works with a lot of big firms and I knew he was looking for a fresh face for one of his clients. I told him he should look at the interview and see if Ellin fit what he was looking for.”
“Just like that?” he didn’t want to lie – any more than he had to.
“You heard what I heard. How could I stand back and let her be treated like that? I know a guy, he needs a model. If it works out, at least she doesn’t have to go crawling back to a slime-bag agent,” his conscious felt better whenever he could tell the truth these days. Keeping the lie of Ryan felt more unforgivable the closer he grew to the family.
How he felt about Ellin only grew more intense as he got to know her. The beautiful woman inside the gorgeous body. The way she mothered her brothers one minute and played touch football with them and their friends the next. The way she made sure her grandmother never forgot to test her insulin – no matter how busy they got. She could go shooting wild pigs at night with the men yet nurse an injured orphan wallaby with two hourly feeds for days.
Amazing.
To hear her treated appallingly by her agent and supposed friend – and then lose her job while she was helping build a legacy for her people – he had to do something.
“So …” he didn’t expect Maali to let him off so easily.
“I had to do something. I know a few people and they saw what I see in her.”
“They are willing to give her a job without leaving home … those are some friends.”
“She doesn’t need to know, please?”
Time stood still as he waited for the old woman to size him up, again.
“You and her, are you sure?”
“That depends,” he wanted to broach the subject but hadn’t known how or to whom. “I respect you, this is your home. I don’t want to disrespect you or your hospitality.”
“Then don’t,” the harsh
words stopped his breathing. “Don’t hurt my girl. The last white-fella she loved walked out on her, leaving his wife and three babies. Ellin never got over her father – don’t make her have to get over you, too.”
His heart started again, hearing the subtle permission. But he needed more. Time to tell the grandmother how he felt, and be prepared to walk away if she didn’t see a future for him in her family.
“Maali, hearing that phone call – I’m not a violent man but I wanted to rip down the phone and attack this Paulie character for upsetting your grand-daughter. But, I’m not like that. I can’t physically fight to protect her, and unless she decides I mean as much to her as she does to me, I don’t have a place in her life to protect her in other ways. All I could do was make a phone call. I don’t want to hurt your grand daughter,” he took a deep breath, “I want your permission to love her.”
Never had he laid his heart out bare before, not to a woman and certainly not to a woman’s family. He hadn’t even kissed Ellin, and here he was, asking for permission to love a woman who he didn’t even know thought of him in that way.
Madness.
Driven to absolute insanity, by a love built in a series of seconds together. From the instant hit to his soul when he saw her on television, to losing his mind when she greeted him at the door. Fighting within himself to be satisfied with friendship. Until now, he couldn’t stand to be apart from her any longer.
The thought of some man threatening her, unleashed something inside him.
He came here wanting a purpose in life – not realizing he would find her.
He waited, watching Ellin walk back towards the studio, carrying a tray with the ceramic tea pot, cups and a plate of sandwiches.
“She was promised in marriage,” Maali started slowly. Of course she was. The only daughter of the elder matriarch. No matter, he couldn’t stop loving her but he would never let her know and he could still protect her until the husband stepped up.
“Oh,” what else could he say.
“He left for the city and married some other girl,” his heart skipped.
“Oh, what does that mean for her?”
“Ellin is her own woman and will date whomever she chooses – we can’t control her in the city.”
“We’re not in the city,” quickly, he thought, moving towards the door to open it.
“You’ll need to speak to her brothers. You have my support.”
“What are you supporting him with now,” Ellin asked only hearing the end of the conversation.
“I want to take you into town, movie, dinner, whatever. My treat for you putting up with all of my questions,” Ryan took the tray from her.
“Are you asking me on a date, Mr Swan?” the flirty smile was more than he dared to hope for.
“What if I was?”
“I’d want to know why it took you so long.”
About bloody time, Ellin thought. After weeks of treating her with no more interest than he would a friend or even kid sister, she had started to think their blossoming relationship was all in her imagination.
“I don’t know,” she fudged, not wanting to be too eager but wanting him to commit to what the date meant. Truly a “thank you” or could it be more – did he want it to be more?
Ryan Swan the man far more worldly than anyone she grew up with. Undertones of ambitions but not for him. Each night they talked about the opportunities this new program could give not only her community, but be offered more broadly. Humble and understated. Not once did he suggest he wanted money or fame from it.
Curled up on the dusty earth underneath the old trees, she imagined years of the two of them working together and even loving together to change the world.
“We’ve worked hard, your grandmother suggested we take a day and get out of town, enjoy the sights. In any case,” he shrugged, “I owe you at least a meal or two after weeks of your hospitality.” His subtle hints at romance threatened to remain hidden beneath her paranoia – what could a man like Ryan ever see in a country Koori girl like her.
“It’s been our pleasure, after all you are doing this for our family.”
“You are too modest,” those pale eyes providing a mirror to her own soul. “You’ve been working just as hard and putting in as many hours as I have. You deserve a day away.”
Again, so different to the men she met in the modelling world where she spent as much time knocking back advances as smiling for the camera. Instead, she found herself watching over his shoulder as he worked, wanting to help him not only for her grandmother’s legacy but also because she needed any excuse to spend time with him.
Finally, when she had almost given up hope, this offer of a date – his idea or her grandmother’s? Only to go into town, but the 200 kilometre drive would take at least two hours over the rough country roads. Heaps of time to talk, listen and get to know each other even better, find out if she was attracted to the only available man here in front of her, or Ryan the person.
The risk she was too scared to admit, the trip into town was also time enough for him to find out he deserved a smart, rich city girl who knew her way around computers.
“Gran,” losing her nerve before giving him an answer, she followed Maali into the kitchen, “What did he ask you?”
“Does it matter? I said, ‘yes’” it was unlike her Gran not to even look her in the eye.
“It would be nice to know – have you married me off again?” teasing, knowing her Gran would never do that to her, again.
“He asked a question, I told him to talk to your brothers, but he has my support.”
“My brothers!” Ellin panicked, there could only be one reason for a man to talk to them, “It’s too soon … we haven’t even … do they even know?”
“Calm down,” the words meant nothing, “You obviously like him, and have done since he got here. I’m sick of you two mooning about not having the guts to say what’s in your heart. Life’s too short.”
Her grandmother grabbed her by the arms, forcing her to look into her eyes, “I know you’re scared and why. Take the trip to town for what it is. Get to know him, see where things go. Then either talk to your brothers first or let me know and I’ll talk to them.”
Ellin bit her lip, not knowing how or why life had gone from her dreaming about his lips touching hers, to now having her family’s permission to get serious with him.
Too much and too soon.
“I need to finish a painting before I lose the sun, tell him I’ll be ready tomorrow morning. We need to leave early,” she ran from the room, gathering her sketchpad and bag with an assortment of paints, brushes. She kept spare canvases in the back of her car for when the urge to go bush and paint overcame her. Days like today.
The first canvas captured her past. The shadow of a man walking away from her. Daddy. Quickly followed by the blurry vision of her former fiancé. Two men who promised her the world, only to leave.
After her fiancé moved to the city and quickly married some random he met, Ellin steered clear of romance. Not because of lack of interest from men – or even in men. She needed a partner who would accept and respect her indigenous heritage, someone her family would accept and most importantly, share her values. Honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness. Most men fell short after one or two dates.
Mountains and desert separated these figures with the young, free, girl. Arms stretched out wide, looking away from them. Forward, to her future.
Except, what future could she see. The canvas remained bare. Here she was, almost living with Ryan and falling more and more in love with him every day. He played touch football with her brothers like a native – they had even stopped hassling him about being a nerd. Especially after he side-stepped Coen to throw her a winning pass.
One day, trapped in the car with him. Alone with her thoughts and temptation. Was he waiting for a sign from her? What had her grandmother agreed to?
Splashing paint across the sky, she thought, what did she want to agree to? How far w
as she willing to go with this man?
Birrani found her as the sun set, “Thought you’d want something to eat,” he handed her a thermos of chicken soup and fresh damper.
“Thanks,” her hands were shaking, from the chilly air and nerves. “You didn’t come to give me food – I’ve been out here for days before and you didn’t care.”
“Okay, I thought if you needed to talk, I could listen.” Only a year younger, he had always been her sounding board. When she wanted to continue high school, he pushed her to join the best online forums and insisted one of the siblings needed to be smart enough to leave town – she was it. Birrani proof-read her admissions letter to university and was the first to tell her when his friend, her fiancé had left and remarried. That day, he held her while she cried before taking her hunting until exhausted, they returned home. Never to talk of the bastard again. Birrani knew her better than sometimes she knew herself.
“What do you think?” Looking at her latest painting, not in the least interested in his views of her art.
“I see you two together – he fell for you in the first day. At first, I was ready to kill him if he tried anything – but sis – he is the real deal. Gran said he spoke to her. He hasn’t spoken to Coen or me, but what white-fella respects a girl enough to do that these days?”
“Oh,” she had been too immersed in her own growing feelings, she hadn’t even notice they were returned.
Birrani left to get more wood for her fire. Ellin grabbed another canvas – sometimes her best work was in the moonlight – throwing colors from memory. The Desert Mob entries closed in a month. She had agreed a strategy with Ryan to submit some of her best works as a way to promote the language program.
Ryan. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about him.
“What did that paintbrush ever do to you?” Birrani appeared at her shoulder as she flung the paint in large, think strokes.
“I haven’t even kissed him – and he’s already talking to Gran about us.”
A Billion Reasons Why_Billionaire romance Page 5