Summer Down Under

by Pensy, Alison

  Just as she was about to step back into her room, she noticed a door directly opposite hers. It was open so she peeked inside. It was about the same size as her bedroom but was filled floor to ceiling with shelves full of provisions of all kinds: food, toiletries, drinks, produce. It was like a mini grocery store inside.

  Sam stepped quietly back into her room and continued unpacking, not that there was much to unpack from her compact backpack. After undressing, she pulled on her robe, grabbed some toiletries, and headed out the other door towards the bathroom. Poking her head out first, she looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear. It was, so she dashed across the hall and darted into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

  There was no lock on the door, but she didn’t think much of it, there didn’t seem to be locks on anything. The owners must have thought they weren’t necessary.

  Sam turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. She was travel weary and couldn’t wait for the warm water to envelop her tired body. Once in the shower, she was not disappointed. The water rained down, covering every inch of her, and it felt heavenly. She felt so at ease in the shower; it was one of her favorite things to do. Her muscles started to relax, and she stood for the longest time just enjoying the sensation of being wrapped in warmth.

  She was pulled from her trance by a knocking on the door.

  “Sam? It’s Daniel,” came Daniel’s muffled voice though the door, “Mum said dinner will be ready in half an hour.”

  “Thanks,” she called back. “I’m nearly finished. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She could hear his footsteps growing fainter and turned off the shower.

  Sam felt much better. Showers seemed to have the ability to revive like nothing else did. Peeking outside the bathroom again, she saw no one and made a dash back into her bedroom, quickly shutting the door behind her.

  Twenty minutes later she followed the voices down the hallway and found the kitchen. Once again, she stared. Like everything else in this house, except her bedroom, the kitchen was vast; the size of a small house! There were two huge stoves, one was an old-fashioned looking Aga that stood in the corner. The other looked like a normal gas stove, albeit twice the size of any gas stove she had ever seen. The rest of the kitchen was lined with cabinets, workspace, appliances, and an enormous sink with a draining board.

  Mrs. Miller was coordinating the meal with what looked like military precision. It was obvious to Sam that this lady felt very at home in the kitchen. This was resoundingly her territory.

  “Can I help with anything?” Sam asked, hoping Mrs. Miller would not take her up on the offer and see the painful truth that she didn’t know a frying pan from a dish mop.

  “No, no,” Mrs. Miller replied. “You go and sit down in the dining room, and I’ll be there in a minute. Dinner is almost ready.”

  Sam nodded and looked over in the direction of where Mrs. Miller was pointing. She could see another dining room off to the right of the kitchen. Only this one looked a lot less formal. She could hear Daniel’s familiar voice talking to his Father. They were both seated at the table chatting about the chores that needed doing. She crept in not wanting to disturb them, but, as soon as they saw her enter, they thrust their chairs back and stood up.

  Their reaction to her entrance took her by surprise and she took a step back and held her breath, wondering what she had done wrong. She caught Daniel’s gaze and creased her brow. Just at that moment, Mrs. Miller bustled in behind her, saw her surprised expression and chuckled.

  “Not used to chivalry are you, my dear?” It was more of a statement than a question. “I always bring my children up to be chivalrous to ladies. There’s no excuse for bad manners,” she continued, then gestured for Sam to take the seat next to Daniel on the other side of the table.

  Obligingly, Sam made her way around the table and, by the time she got to her seat, Daniel was standing behind it, a coy smile plastered across his face.

  He pushed her chair in gently as she lowered herself to sit down. She had never in her life had a man stand up from the table when she entered, let alone push her chair in for her. Sam was instantly transported to a scene from Pride and Prejudice, thinking what a remarkably handsome “Mr. Darcy” Daniel would make.

  Just then, her thoughts were shattered by a loud squawk coming from the corner of the room; she turned around to see who had made it. Sitting on top of an ornate birdcage sat a beautiful bird. She had a gray body and a pink head, and was bobbing up and down like some insane nodding dog that you sometimes see adorning people’s dashboards in their cars.

  “Who’s that?” Sam asked, looking back at Mrs. Miller.

  “Her name’s Lucrecia,” the portly woman replied. “She’s a Galah. We rescued her when she was a chick. She fell out of a nest, and her mother rejected her. We never expected her to live, but Daniel took it upon himself to care for her, and here she is ten years later, still happy and loud.” The last word was aimed directly at Lucrecia.

  “She’s beautiful.” Sam said, with a touch of admiration in her voice.

  “She’s also stuck with us,” retorted Mr. Miller somewhat sourly. “When she fell out of the nest as a chick, she broke her wing, so she can’t fly.”

  “She is definitely part of the family,” continued Mrs. Miller.

  “Does she sit on your shoulder?”

  “Oh, yes. She’ll not leave you alone if you are around the house and invite her to ride on you. She loves to get on board and go for a ride. She can’t get very far walking by herself, and she can’t see much at floor level. One of her favorite things to do is hang on your front while you are washing up. Sprinkle some water on her and she is in heaven.”

  Sam could understand that, showers had that effect on her, too.

  Dinner was superb. Mrs. Miller, it turned out, was a wonderful cook. The rest of the meal was spent discussing chores and the timetable of events for the season.

  Sam found out that her job included feeding the poultry every morning and afternoon. She listened as Daniel and his father went over the timetable of events for the upcoming months until they hit the final crescendo of the season…shearing.

  After they finished their meal, it was Daniel’s and Sam’s responsibility to clear up and wash the dishes. Sam walked over to Lucrecia. As she did, the bird started bobbing her head excitedly as Sam got closer.

  “Hop aboard,” she said, holding out her arm for the bird. Lucrecia didn’t hesitate. The little bird climbed on Sam’s wrist, then crab-walked her way up Sam’s arm and settled down next to her right ear. Sam’s grin nearly stretched from ear to ear. She loved birds and now had made a friend with one who sat happily on her shoulder.

  Daniel and Sam cleared the plates and made their way to the bath sized sink in the kitchen. To Sam’s dismay, there was no dishwasher included in the array of appliances.

  “I’ll wash if you dry?” she asked Daniel. He nodded his agreement. No sooner had the sink filled up with hot soapy water, Lucrecia was climbing down Sam’s shoulder and hanging onto her sweatshirt just below the neckline.

  Sam looked down at her and laughed. “I’m guessing you want a shower?” she asked the bird. She dipped her hands in the soapy water and lifted them above Lucrecia to sprinkle droplets over her head. Lucrecia showed her appreciation by bobbing her head and started flapping her wings and squawking her approval. Sam could see that she was going to get soaked, too, playing this game, but it made her laugh. The bird looked so cute.

  After playing with her for a few minutes, Sam got back to work on the dishes. She and Daniel worked well as the dish washing team and had the dishes washed, dried and put away in no time.

  “Come on,” Daniel said. “I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

  Lucrecia climbed back onto Sam’s shoulder, and they followed Daniel down the corridor. They wandered straight through the dining room and exited through a door on the other side that led outdoors.

  “The house is very old by Aussie standard
s,” Daniel explained. “It has been added onto over the generations. This part of the house was added about fifty years ago.”

  The whole house was encircled by a covered deck. Daniel pointed to several rooms that were used as guest rooms, each having their own separate entrance from the deck. They walked a bit further and passed a door that Daniel told her was his parent’s room. It was almost the size of another small house, and was completely self-contained with its own bathroom and living room.

  Passing his parent’s room, they carried on down the deck until it ended with a door that was closed. Daniel opened the door and waited for Sam to walk through it.

  “Thank you,” she said, to which he inclined his head.

  “This is our screened in poolroom leading to the swimming pool outside,” he announced. He was obviously very proud of this area of the homestead. Sam looked around in awe. The screen room was huge just like every other room in this palace in the outback. The sun was just setting, and they walked through the door that led straight outside to the swimming pool.

  She had seen it from the air, but, up close, the pool was spectacular, and the water, calm and inviting. To the left of it, she could see the tennis court; a high chain link fence surrounded it to keep the stray balls in and the kangaroos out. The air outside was becoming cool. The seasons in Australia were reversed and although it was the beginning of June, they were headed into their coolest months.

  As they watched the sun go down, Daniel explained that the climate there was rather like a dessert climate. It could get cold at night, but during the day it could still be very warm.

  “It’s so beautiful out here.” Sam whispered, not wanting to spoil the tranquility of the moment.

  “I think so.” Daniel agreed. “It’s my home, and one day I hope to find someone who will love it as much as I do and will stand by my side when I take it over from my parents.”

  He turned to look at Sam, his eyes searching her soul. She held his gaze for a moment before looking away. The chill in the air reached through her clothes, but she couldn’t decide if it was Daniel’s intense gaze or the night air that made her start to shiver.

  “You’re cold,” Daniel stated. “Come on, let’s turn in. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” With that, he wrapped a protective arm around her and guided her back to her room.

  “I’ll just put Lucrecia to bed,” Sam told him as he stood by her door. “Good night Daniel. I’ll see you in the morning.” She walked away towards the kitchen and out of his sight.

  Chapter Twelve

  The incredible smell of bacon and eggs wafting down the hall, and into Sam’s room, roused the newly appointed jillaroo the next morning. Muffled voices could be heard coming from the kitchen. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked over to the clock on the nightstand. An involuntary groan escaped her vocal chords when she read the time that was displayed. It was 6:30 a.m. Jillaroo or not, she was not used to waking up this early, and it didn’t agree with her.

  She struggled out of bed, pulled on her robe, and headed towards the bathroom. Still half asleep and not looking where she was going, she bumped headfirst into Daniel’s chest. That woke her up. Startled, Sam looked up to be greeted by a pair of beautiful blue eyes and a welcoming smile.

  “Good morning,” he said, smiling down at his new colleague. His dark hair was all disheveled, and he looked absolutely delicious. Sam, on the other hand, decided she probably looked like a dog’s dinner. The only consolation being that she had stopped wearing make up a while ago on her travels, so this time, she knew he wasn’t greeted with panda eyes like before, but she could more or less guarantee her hair was still doing it’s struck by lightning routine.

  “Err, good morning,” she replied, then gestured for Daniel to go into the bathroom. “You first.”

  “Absolutely not,” he retorted, brows furrowed. “Ladies first.” Daniel gestured for her to step into the bathroom.

  “But it’s your house,” Sam argued.

  “But you’re a guest,” Daniel argued back.

  Hands on hips, Sam puffed out her chest, such that it was.

  “I am not a guest,” she huffed indignantly. “I am a paid employee of your mother and father, and I intend to stay that way.”

  Daniel’s expression softened, and a smile threatened to dance around the corner of his lips, which just aggravated her even more.

  “Sam,” he said, throwing her a martyred look. “We can argue about this all day, but the fact of the matter is, I will not enter through that door before you, and I’m hungry and would like some breakfast. You would be doing me a favor if you would use the bathroom first and we can both go and have something to eat.” With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared into his bedroom. Sam narrowed her eyes at his departing back and muttered something about chivalrous men as she gave up her stand and stepped into the bathroom.

  A little while later after having washed, she wandered outside to where the menagerie of chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks called home. They were excited to see her; crowding around her feet so that she had to shuffle her way in, being careful not to step on any of them.

  After filling all of their feed troughs and scattering plenty of food around with her hands, they scurried off in all directions to eat their breakfast, leaving Sam free to search their nesting boxes for fresh eggs.

  She carefully placed her spoils into the container Mrs. Miller had given her for the task. After making sure that she had retrieved them all, she headed back inside so she could finally get to work on her own breakfast, which was delicious. As they were finishing up, Mr. Miller started giving them their instructions for the day.

  “We’ll all go up in the plane to see where the sheep are,” he explained. “Then you two can go out on the bikes and muster them back here. That should take most of the day. Tomorrow we’ll draft them...that means sort them, Sam,” he said to the jillaroo-in-training’s questioning look, “into groups and start the lamb marking.”

  Sam looked over to Daniel hoping he would see the panicked expression on her face. He did and leaned over. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

  “I don’t know how to ride a motorbike,” she admitted. “Sophie told me I would be taught everything I needed to know.”

  “Don’t worry. You can ride the four-wheeler, we didn’t expect you to be able to ride a motorbike.”

  She heaved a sigh of relief at that statement and smiled at him.

  It looked like Mrs. Miller was to do the dishes during the day, as they were all excused to go to work while she bustled about the table collecting the dirty dishes and taking them into the kitchen.

  It still boggled Sam’s mind that these people used a plane like normal people used a car. After about fifteen minutes in the air, they spotted the flock of sheep. The flock was quite away from the holding pen where they were to muster them to. Daniel’s dad wasn’t kidding when he said it would take most of the day.

  Mr. Miller flew back to the house, and after landing, Daniel got the sheep dogs out. Sam fleetingly wondered how the dogs were going to get all the way to where the sheep were. They would be exhausted by the time they got there, if they had to run all the way.

  This was Sam’s first introduction to the dogs, and Daniel told her their names.

  “This is Archie,” he said pointing to the older looking dog. “And this is the baby, her name is Jess. She’s about a year old now.”

  Sam bent down to pet them and was quickly reprimanded by a condescending voice.

  “They are working dogs, not pets!” Mr. Miller bellowed at her. Startled, Sam straightened and whispered ‘Sorreeee’ under her breath.

  Daniel looked her way rolling his eyes slightly as if to ask forgiveness for his Father’s rudeness.

  “You can take Jess today,” Mr. Miller barked.

  “But, Dad,” Daniel groaned. “She’s hopeless.”

  “She needs the experience, and I’ll not hear another word on the subject.” Mr. Miller called Archie to heel and
strode off in the direction of the house.

  “Not one to mince words, your father,” Sam whispered to Daniel when Mr. Miller was out of earshot.

  “His bark is worse than his bite.”

  Sam raised her eyebrows. Where had she heard that before?

  As Daniel gave Sam instructions on how to operate the four-wheeler, she inwardly sighed with relief. It looked simple enough; even her clumsy self felt confident enough that she could master it without ending up overturned in a ditch.

  Daniel walked towards his bike and called to Jess. Sam goggled as the young dog leaped onto the back of his seat and stuck to it like she was sitting on Velcro. They took off across the paddocks to where the flock of sheep was.

  Sam followed Daniel across the fields until they came to a dried out creek that more resembled a half-pike that the Olympic snowboarders would use. Daniel rode down one side and straight up the other with ease. Waiting on the other side, he turned to look at his apprentice jillaroo.

  “Come on, then,” he beckoned across the great divide that was looking bigger and steeper as every second passed.

  Okay, so maybe Sam could see her clumsy self overturned in a ditch, after all. Self-preservation kicked in.

  “You must be kidding!” Sam yelled back. “I can’t do that.”

  “You have to Sam,” he called. “It’s the only way across. You can do it, you’ll be fine.”

  She shot him an incredulous glare. Who did he think she was, Evel Knievel? This was her first time on a four-wheeler for goodness sake. Sam shook her head. There was no way she could make it down there and then back up the other side in one piece.

  “Trust me,” he called again. “Just give it some revs and go for it.”

  Sam wondered how she got herself into these situations and closed her eyes.

  “Give it some revs?” she muttered derisively, before pulling back on the throttle and hanging on for dear life. She screamed all the way down one side and back up the other. Within seconds, she had made it over to the other bank.