by Emma Nichols
‘Always does.’ Ash smiled. She stretched in the seat, picked up her coffee and sipped repeatedly. ‘Fuck that’s disgusting,’ she said, swallowing quickly. She headed for the counter and came back with two sugar sleeves, emptying them swiftly into the mug.
‘I already put sugar in it,’ Craig said, with a broad grin.
‘Not enough to kill the taste,’ she laughed, stirring in the sugar and trying again. ‘Much better,’ she said, smacking her lips. She’d much rather have the taste of Iman’s sweets lingering on her tongue than the acrid flavour of the drink in her hands, but, the delicious sweets would send her into a dreamy sleep, whereas the coffee would keep her awake; and she needed her wits about her.
‘What’s that ‘bout?’ Craig asked.
‘What?’
‘That look?’
‘What look?’
‘You had a funny, gooey kinda look there for a moment,’ Craig said, a mischievous grin revealing the remains of the sandwich he was chomping on.
‘Fuck off,’ she said, starting to laugh.
‘Just sayin’,’ he said, slurping at his coffee. ‘It is,’ he added.
‘What?’
‘Fuckin’ disgustin’.’
Ash bit into the pastry on her plate and chewed. ‘This isn’t much better either,’ she said.
‘Kill for a beer,’ he said.
‘Me too.’
‘Another coffee?’ he asked.
‘Yup.’
He placed the filled cups on the table and threw down a handful of sugar sleeves. ‘You good?’ she asked.
‘I’m gonna talk t’ Katherine,’ he said, with confidence.
‘Good. I think she’d appreciate that.’ The twinkle in his eyes didn’t escape her notice. ‘I hope she…’
‘Yeah, I hope…’ he said, stopping before the words were out.
Rape was the only word on Ash’s mind. Craig represented something from which Kate had been trying to escape. ‘She will,’ she said, hoping for Craig’s sake that Kate would be open to exploring something with him.
17.
Ashley relaxed back in the chair and rubbed her eyes at the relative silence. While it was easy to adjust to the constant hum of the generators, the additional thundering from the flare, together with the stress of the well flowing, created a permanent tension that eventually resulted in complete mental and physical exhaustion. With the well shut-in, providing much-needed breathing space, she closed her eyes. With everything on track, they should be able to kill the well by the end of the week. The thought of being able to see Iman again floated into her mind and caused her stomach to somersault. Jeez! She sat upright. The surge of excitement surprised her, encouraging a broad smile that seemed to override the tiredness that had caused her eyes to close. She turned to the opening door, trying to compose herself. ‘Zack! Everything okay?’ she asked.
His sky-blue eyes looked vacant, and his cheeks red. ‘Can I talk to you?’ he asked.
‘Sure. I’ve got time now. Sit,’ she said, pointing to the only other desk chair in the cabin.
He shrugged his already slouching shoulders, his eyes downcast, and slumped into the seat. He looked dejected, and something else. ‘It’s Niomi,’ he said.
Ashley’s ears pricked up. Fuck, she’s pregnant!
He shook his head at her wide-eyed glare. ‘No, she’s not pregnant. I wish she was,’ he said, despondently.
Ashley frowned. ‘That my friend would cause you a whole lot of trouble,’ she said, with a slight smile, trying to raise his spirits.
He huffed. ‘Yeah, I know.’ His eyes tracked the cabin floor.
She stood and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s great you feel that way about her.’
His head rose, tears spilling from his eyes. ‘How’s that so great when her parents will reject me?’ he asked.
She lowered herself and faced him directly. ‘There’s always a way Zack. Does she love you?’
‘She says she does,’ he said, wiping his dirty sleeve across his damp cheeks, sustaining her gaze.
‘Then you need to find a way,’ she said. She looked intently into his glassy eyes. ‘Sometimes we need to help our parents move on,’ she said. ‘They can be stuck in their fears. It’s tough, but you need to be strong for Niomi, and find a way to talk to her parents.’ She winced, knowing she had failed to live up to her words of advice with her parents, but she wasn’t about to share her inadequacies with him.
He was nodding and starting to smile. ‘It’s fucking lonely as hell out here,’ he said.
‘Can be,’ she said. Her eyes locked onto the metal structures out the cabin window. But it is beautiful here too, she pondered. The flare; dancing, singing, so vast; that was an incredible sight. The darkness of night; so dark, and with thousands of bright stars visible to the naked eye. And then there was the desert itself; wave after wave of red, orange and gold, never beginning and never-ending. ‘Can be very awe-inspiring,’ she said. He frowned and she pressed her hand reassuringly on his arm. ‘You can find a way,’ she insisted.
‘Yeah,’ Zack responded, but he couldn’t see how.
‘I gotta change the paper charts before the next flow period,’ she said.
‘Sure.’ He stood.
‘One more week Zack! One more week.’
‘Sure. Thanks,’ he said exiting the cabin, though his tone hadn’t lifted.
*
‘Hi Katherine.’
‘Craig.’ The acknowledgement was brief, official; stuffy even, but it still caused heat to enhance Craig’s already rugged complexion.
He studied her wavy red locks sticking out randomly, courtesy of wearing a hard hat; and the light-green eyes that seemed to stare straight through him, and smiled. He’d always been captivated by Kate’s eyes and the way they shifted in tone. His heart raced, and his hands were beginning to sweat.
‘Company man’s here already; Jean-Marc,’ he added.
‘Okay, shall we?’ she said, pointing towards the meeting room. She needed to apologise to Ash, but she would still be asleep. Fucking shifts! Craig opened the door. Katherine planted her most welcoming smile on her face and strutted into the room. ‘Good afternoon Jean-Marc,’ she said.
‘Katherine,’ he responded, taking her hand, his eyes undressing her from top to toe and back again.
She winced and pulled away from his cold, weak grip. ‘Right, let’s get this meeting started,’ she said, moving to take a seat at the small table.
Craig’s blood boiled. ‘Coffee?’ he asked, nudging the company man towards the urn of hot water and coffee powder. ‘Hey, we’ve gone all out today,’ he jested. ‘We got cookies!’
Jean-Marc leaned across him, grabbing at the cookies on the plate.
‘Thanks,’ he said taking the offered cup from Craig.
Craig handed out a second cup to Kate, the small hairs rising up his arm when her hand touched his. He cleared his throat. ‘Right, let’s talk, then we can get started with the inspection.’
Jean-Marc dunked his cookie. ‘Merde,’ he cursed, as the soggy end plopped back into his cup.
Craig stood, collected the plate, and placed it on the table. ‘There’s more,’ he said. ‘Here.’
*
Ashley flicked through the numbers in her book, sipping at the hot drink in her hand. The sun had long since risen into the sky, and the day shift crew were already working. She shovelled a spoonful of bean stew into her mouth and chewed twice before swallowing; any longer and she would have needed to acknowledge the taste. She washed the lumpy food down her throat with more coffee and leaned back in the seat, allowing the yawn to widen her jaw. She groaned as she stretched.
‘Mornin’,’ Craig said, plonking his drink and plate on the table opposite her.
‘Evening,’ she teased, rubbing her eyes and yawning again.
‘Good night?’ he asked.
‘Zack’s struggling,’ she said, glancing out the window, her interest momentarily piqued by the increasing density
of the grime sitting on the outside of the pane. She turned back and sipped at her coffee.
Craig shrugged, ‘That it?’
‘What?’
‘Well, any details?’ he asked, frowning.
‘Niomi,’ she added.
‘Ah huh.’ He scooped up a spoonful of beans and swallowed them without chewing, then rapidly picked up his coffee and slurped it. ‘Fucking can’t wait to get back to some good food,’ he said, rolling his tongue around his teeth.
‘That too.’
‘What decent food?’
‘No, getting out of here. He’s lonely.’
‘Fuckin’ rookie,’ Craig complained, but his tone revealed more compassion than he cared to show.
‘Yeah, he’s young. But, he’s got a thing for Niomi, and he’s a good operative.’
‘Yeah, he’s a good kid. Reminds me of me,’ he said.
‘He’s barely five-foot-six,’ she said, laughing.
‘Fuck off.’
‘I can’t eat any more of this shit. You wanna smoke?’ she asked.
He shovelled the remainder of his beans and downed his coffee, rubbing the cuff of his sleeve across his mouth. ‘Hell yeah,’ he said, clearing his plate and heading out the door.
‘How did the meeting go?’ she asked, as they walked to the boundary.
‘Client’s happy, so we’re happy.’ His smile suggested there was more.
‘And Kate?’
His face lit up. ‘She’s good.’ He tilted his head from side to side.
‘What?’ she asked, looking straight into his eyes.
‘Got some work t’ do there,’ he admitted, but his eyes were shining.
‘And you want to, right?’
‘Yup.’
She slapped him on the arm. ‘Good.’
He placed a cigarette in his mouth then crossed the perimeter line.
‘You could get carded for that,’ she teased.
‘Shoot!’ Craig laughed, flicking his lighter and sucking down hard.
*
Niomi skipped her way around the kitchen, a beaming smile lighting up her eyes. ‘One more week, one more week.’ She grabbed Iman’s arm and squeezed it tightly. ‘One more week!’ she exclaimed. Her excitement was infectious, and Iman’s smile broadened, bordering on a chuckle. ‘Are you excited?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Iman responded, though she wouldn’t have labelled her feelings that way. Anxious might have been a closer description. She had managed to avoid Katherine since the incident at the base canteen, and she hadn’t thought about how she was going to deal with Ash’s return.
Niomi studied her friend. ‘When are you going to tell her?’ she asked, perceptively.
Iman looked up from the bread she was kneading, her eyes vacant.
‘You have to tell her,’ Niomi responded, shaking her head at the idea that Iman hadn’t planned to say anything.
Iman pounded the dough with a heavier hand than required. ‘I told you, she’s with someone else; so it doesn’t matter that I’ll be leaving.’
‘You don’t know that.’ Niomi walked around the metal workbench that separated them and stood in Iman’s space. She pulled Iman around to face her, holding her gaze intently. ‘You can’t let her go, just like that,’ she said. Water was beginning to pool across Iman’s lower lids and trip over the edge onto her cheeks. ‘You’re in love with her, I can see it.’
Iman closed her eyes and bit down on her quivering lip. Her head tilted backwards, and a low groan escaped her mouth. She opened her eyes. ‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘She’s in love with someone else. There’s nothing I can do about that.’ Her arms hung lifelessly down at her sides, then she raised a shaking hand and pressed it against her forehead.
‘You don’t know that for sure.’ Niomi grabbed Iman’s hand and squeezed tightly, rubbing her thumbs soothingly across her knuckles. ‘I mean, you just might be wrong, that’s all,’ she said softly. ‘I’ve seen how she looks at you. She doesn’t look at anyone else like that.’ Niomi’s gaze was as tender as her touch. ‘I mean it. Even Zack thinks she’s hot for you,’ she said.
Iman choked and started to laugh through the tears.
‘What?’ Niomi asked.
Iman was still chuckling. ‘It’s nothing. It’s just funny hearing you talk that way.’ She reached out and cupped Niomi’s rosy-cheeks. ‘Thank you; you’re a good friend.’ She pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. Niomi squeezed tightly. ‘One more week, eh!’ Niomi squeezed again.
*
‘Hi.’
Ash stopped and looked up from the table. ‘Oh, hi,’ she said.
Kate strolled across to the counter and filled a cup of coffee, then crossed the room. ‘I thought you’d be in bed by now,’ she said, sipping the hot drink.
‘I was just chilling for half-an-hour,’ she said. Ash sighed at the sorrow weighing down Kate’s eyes, her own eyes burning from the days of twelve-hour shifts, the ever-present mix of heat and H2S gas, and then there was the insane noise that seemed to infiltrate every cell in her body. She repeatedly blinked, struggling to hold Kate’s stare.
‘You look tired,’ Kate said.
Ash rubbed at her face. She hadn’t looked in the mirror since they arrived; she didn’t need to. ‘I am,’ she said, sipping the hot chocolate drink and stifling a yawn. She winced at the strong sugary taste that had never seen a cocoa bean, ever. ‘What do you want?’ she asked, her voice quiet, weary.
‘Can I sit?’ Kate asked, pointing at the seat opposite her.
Ash nodded, leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, her cup poised at her lips. ‘You okay?’ she asked. There was no malice in her tone, just exhaustion.
‘I just wanted to apologise.’
‘You already did.’ Ash responded, lifting her elbows off the table and leaning back into the seat.
Kate’s face twitched. ‘I mean a proper apology. I really am sorry. I behaved badly, Ash, really badly.’
‘Yes, you did.’ Ash stifled a yawn and continued to rub her hand across her face.
‘And, I…’ She was struggling for the words. ‘It’s not like me.’
‘No, it’s not.’ Ash smiled weakly.
‘I am truly sorry.’
‘Apology accepted,’ Ash said, sitting more upright in the seat.
‘Thank you.’ Kate’s eyes lowered to her cup on the table. ‘I’m going to resign,’ she said.
Ash’s eyebrows shot upwards. ‘Why?’
‘I think it’s for the best,’ she said, rubbing her fingers through her flattened hair, her features remaining emotionless.
‘What makes you think that?’ Ash asked, unsure whether she should feel compassion for Kate’s suffering or annoyance at her victim mentality, and feeling something closer to bemused.
‘I need to deal with the past,’ she continued. ‘And being around you, and even Craig… well, it’s not easy.’
Ash pursed her lips and nodded. ‘Have you talked to Craig about this?’
‘Talked to me ‘bout what?’ Craig interrupted, beaming a smile at his two favourite women.
‘Nothing,’ Katherine blurted.
‘She wants to resign,’ Ash said, watching Craig’s face transform at the news. ‘Exactly,’ she said. ‘Right, I’ve got to get to bed. I’ll leave you two to chat,’ she said. Her attention on Craig, and her back to Kate, she pulled a face at the Texan, which said, talk to her. Within three paces, she had shut the door and was heading for the boundary, the already prepped roll-up held lightly between her lips.
‘What’s all that about?’ Craig asked. ‘Please don’t resign,’ he said, slumping into the seat Ashley had vacated.
Kate huffed, rubbed her hand across her tense face then tapped a finger on the table. ‘It’s not that simple,’ she said, unable to hold his deep-brown eyes.
He reached across and gently cupped her fidgeting hand. ‘I know,’ he said, drawing her eyes to him. He smiled warmly, and she responded with a slight movement of her lip
s. It was enough. ‘Ya can talk t’ me,’ he said softly.
She slid hands out of the touch. ‘Not now,’ she said, rising from the seat. ‘I need to get back to the base.’ She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, turned to the door, and headed to her car.
18.
‘Right, we’ve started killin’ the well. They’re reverse circulatin’ on the rig floor, and we’ll soon be pullin’ outta the hole.’ Craig bellowed, at the nodding heads and smiling faces in front of him. ‘Ain’t y’all happy those shifts ‘r’ over?’
‘I’ll start working on the report.’ Ash said. ‘Let’s start rigging down the gauges and all the measurement equipment, and, Zack, Aimar, remove the safety slings.’
Zack looked up vacantly. Aimar slapped him on the back and dragged him away. Within seconds the crew had dispersed.
‘So, any holiday plans?’ she asked, walking up the staircase to the rig floor.
‘Greece maybe,’ Craig said, with a shrug.
‘Nice, mainland or island?’
‘Crete.’
‘Raft race next weekend,’ she said, rubbing her gloved hands together. ‘You ready for it?’ she asked.
He smacked his hands together. ‘Hell yeah, we’re gonna win this year,’ he said.
Ash laughed, as memories of last year’s drowning came to mind. ‘You gonna keep control of those legs then?’ she asked, eyeing his long limbs as they reached the wellhead.
‘There’s nothin’ wrong with my legs,’ he said, squeezing at his thin hard quad muscle to demonstrate a point.
‘Not if they’re kept out the water, rather than acting like a bloody anchor and tipping us over,’ she added.
‘Fuck off.’
‘You did!’ she exclaimed, laughing.
He huffed, suppressing a chuckle. ‘Ya goin’ away?’ he asked.
‘Nah,’ she said, watching the workers on the rig floor. ‘I’ll take a bit of time out, then get back to it. Someone’s gotta clear up this shit while you’re sunning it,’ she said.
He assessed her. ‘You gonna speak t’ Iman?’ he asked.
Ash recoiled and banged her hardhat on the metal frame. ‘Fuck!’ Heat swamped her body, and she wanted to rub her head.