Dear Banjo

by Sasha Wasley

  Never awestruck for long, Tanya soon became chatty with Tom. ‘Are you any good at four-wheel driving?’ Willow heard her ask as the night wore on. ‘Willow says she’s crap.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m okay. You two thinking of taking a drive?’

  ‘I want to but Willow says we need a driver.’

  ‘I can take you, if you like,’ he offered. ‘But Beth’s the master. She has the Beast.’

  ‘The Beast?’ Tanya’s eyes lit up. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘The biggest, best all-terrain vehicle in town. Isn’t that right, Beth?’

  Beth agreed that her vehicle was indeed the best four-wheeler in Mount Clair.

  ‘We can go for a bash around the gorges tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Convoy, Tom? See if you can keep up.’ She gave him a challenging grin.

  Free’s eyes sparkled. ‘I’m in! I’m going in the Beast!’

  ‘Me, too!’ cried Tanya.

  ‘Yeah, I’ll come,’ said Tom, ‘but not on my own. Will you come with me in my humble vehicle, Banjo?’

  ‘Of course,’ she said, although it would have been more fun to go in the Beast.

  ‘We can get them out of trouble when they get stuck,’ he said and Beth scoffed.

  The expedition was planned for eight a.m. the following morning so Willow got up early to get some work done, letting Tanya sleep in. Beth was up by six-thirty and met Willow by the cattle yards. She wanted the lowdown on the incident with Hegney.

  ‘Where did you hear about it?’ Willow asked. ‘Free?’

  ‘Jean told Patty Glenning, the cook at Gundergin. Patty’s one of my patients. She told me.’

  Willow muttered about small town grapevines and gave Beth the facts. Beth chewed her lip in silence for a minute after Willow had finished.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Beth glanced at her. ‘Well, it’s just – do you think maybe you should slow things down a bit? Is it possible the staff at Patersons aren’t ready for these changes?’

  Willow was hurt. ‘Jean and Vern have been great. Hegney’s the main problem. He influences the other staff.’

  ‘And Dad?’

  ‘Yeah, Dad’s struggling with it.’

  ‘That’s what I’m worried about. Free says he’s shadowing you.’

  ‘He is.’

  Beth’s brow creased. ‘It’s not good for him.’

  ‘Tell me about it! It’s not good for him, the station, or me!’

  ‘I wonder – if you slow the pace of change a little, will Dad relax and take a step back again?’

  As much as Willow hated the idea, Beth was probably right. Maybe it would help get Hegney back onside, too. It sucked, though. Why should she have to pander to Hegney’s whims? He was supposed to be their employee, not the other way around.

  She sighed. ‘It’s seven. I’m going to wake up Free and Tanya.’

  Tom arrived early to have coffee with them. He’d brought a newspaper, so they settled Barry down to read in the lounge room with the world news blaring from the television. Willow dashed out to the station kitchen and asked Jean to look in on him once or twice while they were gone, and ran back to meet the others in the driveway. Tanya wore a huge grin as they piled into the 4WDs.

  ‘Be warned,’ Willow called out of the window of Tom’s vehicle. ‘She screams like a banshee every time you go over a pebble.’

  ‘I do not!’ shouted Tanya, and then shrieked when Beth swerved suddenly to avoid a farm dog.

  Tom and Willow laughed together and followed the Beast out onto the road. Beth knew of a good road into the gorges, she’d told them. As they followed Beth onto the rough track, Willow remembered the discovery in the kitchen yesterday.

  ‘Oh, hey, I found the Davy you asked me about,’ she said. ‘It was Devi, a girl from Malaysia who was assisting Jean.’

  Tom looked enlightened. ‘Ah, I remember her now. That’s the girl who got burned, right?’

  ‘Burned?’

  ‘A kitchen accident. Burned her hand in oil.’

  ‘Was she all right?’

  ‘I think so. It was a couple of years ago now. It was a pretty bad burn. She had to stay in hospital a few days and then she was out of action afterwards – she left before long, anyway. Went home to her family, I think.’

  ‘What, in Perth?’

  ‘No, in Malaysia. But don’t take my word for it. I’m foggy on the whole thing.’

  Willow sat frowning. The burn must have been fairly severe if she’d left her job to go home to her family. Hopefully it hadn’t caused permanent injury. When she got home she would look up the worker’s compensation records to find out how badly this girl had been hurt. If that jerk Hegney even bothered to record the accident.

  Tanya stuck her head out of the Beast’s front window and waved at them. Willow chuckled and waved back.

  ‘Your friend seems fun,’ Tom said. ‘You two are polar opposites.’

  ‘Are we?’

  ‘Yeah. She’s loud and bubbly and speaks before she thinks, you know?’

  ‘And I’m the ice maiden behind the glass wall?’

  ‘No! That’s not what I said.’

  She shrugged. ‘You’re right anyway. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realised how screwed up I still am.’

  He kept his eyes on the track but his brow creased. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. And I don’t think you’re screwed up.’

  ‘You don’t have to think it. I know it. I don’t know how to let people in. You know why Tanya is here this weekend? Because finally, months after I left Perth, I took the time to send her a proper reply and tell her I missed her, too. She was so excited that I revealed a feeling, she immediately booked a flight to come see me. I’m a great friend, huh?’

  ‘Why did you suddenly take the time to email her?’ he asked.

  ‘Because of what you said, of course.’

  He stared and she nudged him. ‘Tom. Watch the road.’

  ‘Sorry.’ He paused. ‘Really? You really listened to what I said?’

  ‘Um, yeah. Why is that so surprising? You do say smart things from time to time.’

  ‘Nice.’ But he was grinning. ‘I’m in shock. I was worried I’d get the cold shoulder from you after that conversation.’

  ‘Because I’m so emotionally stunted?’

  ‘Because I was pretty blunt with you.’

  ‘I probably needed someone to be blunt with me about this. Those sessions I had with Jessica – I didn’t finish them. As soon as I started feeling better about Mum and the panic attacks went away, I suddenly thought I was too busy to go back. Now I realise why she wanted me to have more sessions. Because I still don’t know how to be anyone’s friend.’

  ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

  In front of them, Beth slowed at a T-junction and turned the Beast so she could talk to them through the driver’s window.

  ‘Both directions will take you around the gorges into Devils Head Pools, but I’m going to take the right-hand one because it’s a bit rougher. Tanya wants a wild ride. Tom, I’d recommend you take the left one. I’m not sure your vehicle will handle some of the terrain where I’m going.’

  ‘That sounds like a dare,’ he called.

  She raised her eyebrows. ‘It’s your funeral.’

  ‘Nah, just kidding,’ he laughed. ‘My days of getting stuck and wrecking the suspension are well and truly over. We’ll see you at Devils Head Pools.’

  Tanya waved goodbye, that big excited smile still on her face, and Tom turned left.

  ‘I think you’re a pretty good friend, actually,’ he said, and it took Willow a moment to realise he was continuing their conversation. ‘Sometimes I have to work for it before you’ll tell me anything that’s not related to station inventory or cattle health, that’s all.’

  ‘I tell you more than most people,’ she said. ‘You’ve got a sneaky way of making me spill my guts.’

  ‘Told you – the Tom Forrest effect,’ he said, without missing a beat.
r />   ‘Oh, yes. I still have to get my shots.’

  The track was rougher now and for around fifteen minutes Tom had to focus on driving, while Willow helped identify potential trajectories across particularly rocky sections. They came up on a small rise and Tom braked. ‘Jeez, check that out.’

  Willow saw what he meant. The track up ahead cut through an expanse of riverbed that was largely mud, the water almost evaporated.

  ‘Looks soft,’ she said.

  ‘Should we attempt it?’

  ‘Yeah, go on,’ she said. ‘Beth said we’d be able to get through.’

  He manoeuvred his vehicle painstakingly across the mud, aiming for rocky patches to avoid sinking too deep. At one point they thought they were bogged but, after several attempts, the 4WD lurched forward. Willow cheered as they climbed the bank on the other side.

  ‘Nice one! You’re pretty good at this.’

  He peered back across the riverbed. ‘I should’ve taken that section over there, see? It looks much firmer. We’ll use that on the way back.’

  The river crossing was the most challenging part of the trip and they arrived at Devils Head Pools ahead of Beth’s group.

  ‘You don’t think they’re in trouble, do you?’ Willow said, gazing along the track Beth was driving.

  ‘In the Beast? Never.’

  Sure enough, Beth’s vehicle roared into view within minutes. Tanya’s eyes were wide and sparkling with excitement when she climbed out.

  ‘That was amazing! Your sister is the best four-wheel driver ever. She went up these rocks – I was so scared, thinking we were going to roll over, I just about wet my pants – but Beth didn’t even bat an eyelid.’

  ‘I hit my head on the car ceiling when we went through a really bumpy bit,’ Free complained, joining them. ‘And Beth just laughed.’

  ‘Sounds like an exciting drive,’ Willow said, smiling. ‘Will your poor head be okay, Free?’

  ‘Yeah, I’ll survive.’

  ‘Come on, Tan. Come and see Devils Head Pools.’

  ‘I brought my bathers.’

  They all laughed at Tanya, who grinned uncertainly. Willow explained. ‘It’s the dry season. There’s bugger-all water around. That’s why we have to muster the cattle, to move to them to fresh water and food sources. There won’t be much water for swimming.’

  Tanya looked astonished. ‘So the seasons are switched around from Perth? Winter in December and summer in June?’

  ‘No, we’ve only really got two seasons. Dry is about March through to October. Wet is November to February. But it’s hot all year round – even hotter in the wet.’

  Tanya followed them along a rocky path deeper into the gorges. ‘That’s bizarre. It’s like being in a different country, up here.’

  ‘Keep an eye out for snakes, okay?’ called Beth, trailing behind.

  ‘Does she think we’re kids?’ Free grumbled.

  They rounded a sharp corner in the gorge and Devils Head Pools lay before them. Dark-red rock jutted high into the sky, which was so bright it hurt Willow’s eyes to look at it for more than a moment. The cliffs dropped down like a rugged set of stairs.

  It would have been good to bring Tanya in the wet season, when waterfalls gushed down the little canyons in the rock face and the pools were full of dark, deep water, perfect for swimming. A few bedraggled plants still clung to the cliff face. They would come back to life when the water returned. Willow pointed out the two horn-like formations either side of the highest cliff that gave the site its name. Tanya was thrilled. She stared down at the soggy mud in the bottom of the main pool.

  ‘Are there any crocodiles?’

  ‘Absolutely not.’

  ‘Oh, good,’ said Tanya, but she sounded slightly disappointed.

  ‘You might see a lizard – a water monitor,’ Tom said.

  ‘Oh, my God!’ Free cried. ‘Remember that time . . .’

  Tom was already laughing and Willow gasped, recollecting. ‘Oh, God. Nightmare at Devils Head Pools.’

  Tanya pushed for details and Tom was nominated to tell the story. ‘We were on school summer break and a bunch of us came out here to swim – you know, in the wet season,’ he added for Tanya’s benefit. ‘Free was there, and me and Banjo, and some of our schoolmates. A few of us climbed up to mess around in the waterfall or jump off the rocks. I decided I’d have a go, so up I went, up to about that second ledge, see?’ He pointed. ‘I’m standing there, preparing to do the biggest bombie in the history of the world, right next to Banjo of course, because that would be hilarious, and she’s looking up at me from the water, her face getting more and more horrified every second. And suddenly she yells, ‘Tom! Duck!’ Reflex action,I duck, and this four-foot water monitor sails past my nose and lands next to Banjo in the pool while everyone’s screaming and scrambling for the edges.’ He stopped to laugh with the rest of them, although Tanya’s eyes were full of awe.

  ‘Where did it come from? Did it attack anyone?’

  ‘Nah, he just paddled over to the edge, climbed up and crawled away. They go down the waterfalls sometimes and I guess it was a bit steeper than he expected, so he took a dive. He gave Banjo a real bombing though. I can’t believe I was upstaged by a lizard.’

  Free was giggling so hard she could barely breathe. ‘I’ve been paranoid about waterfalls ever since. Willow was in shock, remember, Beth? When we went home, she locked herself in her room for the rest of the day.’

  ‘I think I must have been in Perth,’ said Beth. ‘I remember hearing the story but I wasn’t there.’

  Willow’s laughter had dried up and she felt Tom watching her. If she’d thought Free’s throwaway remark would go unnoticed, she was wrong. That water monitor incident happened on the morning they got their university acceptances. It flashed into her mind – a full, vivid memory. She went home to shower after swimming and when she was dressed, towelling her long hair dry, she found Tom waiting for her in her room, his eyes shining. He held two envelopes in his hand.

  ‘Dad picked up the mail for Quintilla and Patersons. It’s our results.’

  She gasped, dropping her towel, and lunged for the letters. They opened one another’s envelopes, discovered they’d both done well enough to get into the course, hugged, and then —

  The pain of betrayal bubbled up, as fresh as the day it had happened. It wasn’t the shock from being bombed by a water monitor that had caused her to lock herself in her room that day. Willow turned away and pretended to examine the striated gorge walls.

  She stuck by Tanya, avoiding Tom for the rest of their visit to Devils Head Pools. When it was time to go back, the ride in Tom’s vehicle didn’t have the same relaxed feel as it had on the way there. She watched the red canyons bump past as they headed for the main road, wishing with all her soul that they didn’t have this ten-year-old fracture between them.

  He didn’t speak, but she got the feeling he was stewing on it, too.

  They reached that soggy expanse of river again and Tom aimed his 4WD for the firmest ground they could see.

  ‘Let’s hope this section’s a bit easier to get across,’ he said.

  He still seemed unlike his usual self. Willow peeked at him as he drove gently forward. There was a blankness to his expression, as if he were hiding something from her. He pushed his hat back and frowned in concentration, steering over the mud. At first it seemed he’d chosen their trajectory well, but partway through the crossing she felt that telltale sudden sink, and the engine revved as Tom tried to regain traction. ‘Shit,’ he muttered.

  He changed gears and tried all the usual tricks. No good. She opened her window and peered down into the riverbed. The 4WD was sunk almost wheel-arch deep in the mud.

  ‘Oh, crap,’ she said. ‘I don’t think we’re even going to be able to get out of the car, Tom. We might sink in and disappear if we step into that.’

  He checked his side and muttered a choice word or two, but then laughed. ‘Next time, when I think I’ve found a better spot to c
ross, make sure you argue with me, okay Banjo?’

  ‘You got it,’ she said, checking her phone. ‘No coverage. You?’

  ‘Nothing. I’ve got the two-way. It’s a bit flat. But it might have enough juice to call for help.’

  They used the almost-out-of-charge radio to call Beth and after a few moments got a reply.

  ‘Let me guess.’ Beth was laughing. ‘Bogged?’

  ‘Did you know this would happen?’ Tom asked.

  ‘No, as a matter of fact, but I’m surprised you couldn’t handle even that little patch of Herne River mud. We’ll come find you to pull you out, but we’re probably a good half-hour away, if not more.’

  Willow groaned. ‘If there’s just a few bubbles in the mud when you get here, you’ll know we’ve sunk.’

  ‘We’ll be sure to leave some flowers.’ Beth and Free were cackling, but Willow heard Tanya asking in the background if they really were sinking.

  ‘Sorry,’ Tom said when they signed off. ‘Not much of an ending to our adventure.’

  ‘Oh, well.’ She contemplated the open window. ‘It’s a pretty moderate day, at least. Maybe we should sit in the tray?’

  He grinned. ‘Good idea.’ A second later he’d pulled himself out through the window and she heard his boots on top of the cab. She followed suit.

  Willow cast her eyes over the mud-spattered tray. ‘Good thing you didn’t bring the nice car out for this.’

  ‘Or wear my good shorts.’

  ‘Maybe I should have just got you to take Tanya out in the heli.’

  ‘It’s out of action at the moment. I’ve got a bloke looking at it this week. Electrical issues. One of the switches is playing up.’

  ‘Oh, right. Well, what should we do? Play a word game? Rock-paper-scissors? Or we could talk about diversification – what do you think about pigs?’

  He watched her, deliberating, until the silence grew so thick she could almost hear his thoughts. ‘Can we . . . can we talk about what happened ten years ago?’ he said. ‘The day we got our acceptances? And my letters to you that year?’

  Willow’s tension ratcheted up in a heartbeat. ‘Tom, do we really need —’

  ‘Uh, yeah, we really do.’