by Magro, Mandy
Sarah’s eyebrows shot up, revealing how impressed she was. ‘I’d love to watch someone training bulls. How bloody fantastic!’
They pulled up out the front of Judy and Steve Walsh’s homestead, parking under the shade of a coolabah tree. A rustic timber fence bordered the massive, two-storey red-brick home, built to withstand the searing heat of the outback. The Colorbond roofing looked new, and there was a solar water-heating system on it. A swing chair hung in the shade of the front verandah, the perfect spot for relaxing with a cuppa. A wind chime sounded melodiously from near the front door. There was an enormous rainwater tank off to the side of the house; the size of it amazed Sarah. A windmill sat on the other side of the homestead, spinning lethargically in the morning sunlight as if trying to wake up. But if the house was beautiful, the garden was even more so. It was like stepping from one planet to another when you walked down the path to the front door. Bougainvillea was in full bloom, in every shade imaginable, and the grass was greener than her lawn back home in Mareeba during the wet season. A thriving vegetable patch was visible off to the side of the house. It was like a tropical oasis in the middle of the harsh Australian outback, and gave you a warm, welcoming feeling before you even got inside.
Sarah was nervous about meeting her new boss and his wife. She wanted to make a good first impression. Judy and Steve had two children: Georgia, who was the same age as Sarah; and Matt, who was twenty-five. Georgia worked alongside her dad everyday whilst Matt drove the semitrailer in and out of Mt Isa regularly to deliver cattle to the saleyards. He was away a fair bit, Brad had told her, but when he was home he bred stud bulls for bucking out at rodeos, and to sell for breeding.
Brad yelled out through the flyscreen door once they reached the front porch. Judy swiftly appeared in an apron covered in flour. ‘Hello, you lot, you’re just in time for some scones. Come in and make yourselves comfortable with Steve and Georgia out on the back verandah. But before you go anywhere, I must know – which one of you is Sarah?’ Judy asked, wiping her hands on her apron.
Sarah stepped forward. ‘Hi, it’s so great to finally meet you, Judy. I’m really happy you guys have given me the job of cook. Thanks heaps.’ Sarah reached out to shake Judy’s hand, but Judy ignored her and leant in for a warm, welcoming and amazingly firm hug. It took Sarah by surprise, as Judy was petite, but when you looked a little closer, her hands showed years of hard work, and her kind brown eyes revealed a strength that came from years of living in the unforgiving outback. Sarah was overwhelmed by a sudden feeling that she and Judy were going to be in each other’s lives for a long time. Shaking the feeling off, she quickly introduced Lily and Daniel, who were waiting patiently behind her. Judy gave them both one of her welcoming hugs.
‘You have the most amazing garden,’ Lily said, smiling.
‘Thanks, Lily. I do love to garden. Mind you, I have to water a lot and Steve gets a bit cross with me. I tell him to zip his lip, though, because at least I don’t want diamonds and pearls to keep me happy!’ Judy answered with a cheeky grin. ‘Now let’s all head out the back so you can meet the larrikins of the household. Matt is away at the moment but you’ll get to meet him tomorrow.’
Sarah took in as much as she could of the old homestead as she walked through it. There were black and white pictures showing days gone by, of men riding bulls, beautiful sunsets with cattle and dust in the foreground, and family photos adorning every wall. Old Akubras were perched on hooks, and leather whips and saddles that had seen their days out mustering were now on show in corners of the house. A huge grandfather clock ticked away in the comfortable lounge room, commanding Sarah’s attention with its antique beauty. Sarah presumed it must be a family heirloom. A large, black leather lounge was the centrepiece amongst bookshelves filled to the brim.
Sarah was getting occasional wafts of the scones Judy had just baked, and her belly started rumbling in anticipation of the yummy mounds of golden yellow glories smothered in jam and cream. They were her favourite treat when she was a kid hanging around her mum’s ankles, and nothing had changed since then.
Steve and Georgia were sitting with their feet resting up on the top rail of the verandah, pushing their chairs back to balance on the two back legs.
‘Will you two buggers sit on those chairs properly?’ Judy exclaimed, following Lily outside. ‘You’re going to go head over heels one day and get a right bruise on the back of your noggins!’ Sarah smothered a smile as Steve and Georgia dropped their legs off the rail in unison and quickly but carefully lowered their chairs to the ground.
‘Hey, guys, I’m Georgia. Happy to meet you,’ Georgia said, standing to welcome them. Sarah noted how pretty she was while shaking her outstretched hand. Georgia had olive skin and jet-black hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail with wisps floating around her face, and she was attractively curvy.
‘You lot are just in time for smoko. You seem to time that well quite often, Brad,’ Georgia teased. ‘I think you’re addicted to Mum’s famous scones.’
‘Oh no, you’ve caught on to my secret smoko plans,’ Brad said, faking shock and smiling.
‘Hi there, Sarah. Nice to finally meet you after all the stuff Brad has told me. Most of it’s good, so don’t worry,’ Steve said, as he shook Sarah’s hand like he was operating a jackhammer. ‘We’re rapt you’ve decided to come out here and feed our hungry mob. It was getting too much for Judy, so you’re really helping us out.’ Steve pushed more chairs over to the table on the porch for them all to sit down.
‘I’m very happy to be here, Steve, so thanks for the opportunity. I’ll make sure your workers are well looked after,’ Sarah answered. She could not get over how much she felt like a part of their family already, and she’d only known them for ten minutes.
‘Hey, Brad, when Matt gets back home tomorrow, why don’t we have a barbecue and a night of cards at the cottage so we can enjoy ourselves before the season really kicks off?’ asked Georgia.
‘Sounds like a plan to me, Georgia girl. You supply the beef and I’ll supply the beer. Deal?’ Brad answered.
‘Deal. And you guys can meet Matt – and Brooke,’ she continued, turning to Sarah, Daniel and Lily. ‘Matt’s bringing his missus back with him from Mt Isa – the city chick has finally decided to move out here.’ Georgia rolled her eyes. ‘Fat lot of help she’s gonna be. She hates getting her hands dirty!’
‘Well, we’re always up for a party,’ Daniel replied.
‘Good. Party tomorrow night, then,’ Georgia said as she headed into the house to help her mum carry out the trays of scones and jugs of homemade lemonade.
Sarah slid into the chopper seat and pulled on her seatbelt, checking three times that it was firm and secure. She slipped the headphones and microphone over her head, watching anxiously as Brad prepared for their journey in the sky. He checked everything carefully before he flicked a switch and the blades stirred into action. Sarah had always loved the noise they made, the powerful strength of the motor spewing out its energy through the immense force of the blades.
Stumpy had told her a bloodcurdling story about choppers that morning, explaining how he had got his nickname. When he was still a young lad, trying to break his way into the world of the jackaroo, he had somehow managed to slice off the top half of his left-hand fingers in a freak helicopter accident on a station. He said he could still feel the blades slicing through his fingers when he thought about it too much. Sarah shivered at the thought.
‘It’s time to hit the skies, Sarah.’ Brad’s voice boomed through the headphones, making her jump.
Sarah felt the chopper suddenly lift off the ground as if weightless, feeling her stomach lurch with the movement. She had been in a chopper a few times before with Brad, but it had been a while since the last time. She looked out the window, watching the homestead shrink quickly into the distance, her mouth dropping open in awe at the endless view that spread out before them. The ground below was a sea of red dirt, strewn with spinifex bushes and riddled with cra
cks, revealing the dryness of the earth beneath them. Far below kangaroos bounded this way and that, trying to escape the noise of the chopper. The terrain below looked completely treacherous to Sarah – she was glad to be viewing it from the safety of the chopper. Being stuck out there on foot would be a death sentence if you weren’t bush savvy.
Barbed-wired fencing stretched out for miles and miles, making Sarah admire the strength of the men that must have put them up with their bare hands. The occasional glimmer of a dam shone into her eyes, making her squint. Sarah watched a mob of cattle running away from the chopper, being swallowed by the clouds of red dust they kicked up behind them. She spotted the wheel of an old carriage sticking out of the ground. It lay buried under the years of life that had continued around it. Sarah wondered what happened to the people travelling in the carriage, many years before. It made her think about how immense the station was, and she felt a sudden surge of freedom. Brad pointed out areas below them, showing her the path they would be taking when they went on a seven-day muster across the station in a few months’ time when Sarah would be camp cook. He explained how they would push the cattle along about twenty kilometres a day, putting them safely into a holding yard each night with food and water to let them rest their legs. They would then move camp the following morning and do it all over again, moving the cattle and putting them into the next holding yard, until they reached their final destination back at the homestead. Here the cattle would be loaded up and sent to the saleyards or the slaughterhouses. The younger ones would be tagged and sent back out to roam until the next muster.
‘It’s so amazing up here, Brad. I’m jealous you get this view every day. I pity the folk who live their lives in front of computers. They’re missing out on all this.’ Sarah waved her hands about, gesturing at the land beneath them.
‘You’re concentrating so hard on rounding the cattle up and working with the guys on the motorbikes and horses that you don’t really get a chance to take it all in. You can come up with me tomorrow, if you want, and see what the mustering side of flying in a chopper is like,’ Brad said as he turned the chopper back in the direction of the homestead.
A huge grin spread across Sarah’s face. ‘That sounds bloody fantastic! Count me in.’
Sarah let Duke come inside and sit out on the back patio. He had his very own spot out there now, so this was like his private bedroom, with an awesome view to boot. Sarah, Daniel, Lily and Brad gathered a few beers and a large packet of salt-and-vinegar chips and made themselves comfortable to enjoy the last few rays of the afternoon. Sarah gazed dreamily out at the horizon as the uninterrupted sunset filled the sky with a sea of spectacular colour. They were silent, other than the munching of chips, as they sat quietly admiring the sheer beauty of the scene as the sun slipped away and a clear sky full of stars took its rightful place.
Night time signalled dinner, and Sarah’s belly started screaming for food. She and Lily went off to the kitchen to sort out some fodder while the men got the barbecue fired up. Slim, Stumpy, Liam, Patrick and Chris had joined them on the patio and were forming a rowdy crowd. The girls laid pieces of steak out on a tray and Lily took it out to the men. Sarah took on the duty of preparing a salad, whistling along happily to the tunes floating in from the stereo out the back. The Sunny Cowgirls were singing ‘Dancing on the Darling’ and she loved the song. It put her in a real party mood every time she heard it.
Taking a second to look up from the kitchen bench, Sarah drank in the scene that lay before her: a group of friends enjoying a night of food and laughter amongst the magnificence of the land sprawled out around them. She couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest girl alive.
Chapter Seven
BRAD woke to his alarm at five a.m. He reached over to the bedside table and quickly switched it off so that it didn’t wake Sarah – she looked so peaceful sleeping. Too many whiskies last night had left him with a dull throb behind his eyeballs and he groaned as he rolled out of bed. Slipping on a pair of work jeans and a T-shirt, he grabbed a pair of clean socks out of the clothes basket before he slipped quietly out the door.
‘Good morning, guys. Ready for the big day ahead?’ Brad asked as he wandered into the kitchen, rubbing his temples.
The men answered with grunts and groans as they stuffed pieces of toast into their mouths. Liam and Patrick were sipping coffee.
‘You’d be able to stand ya spoon up in that bloody coffee by the smell of it, lads! I won’t be able to keep up in the chopper after you down that much caffeine. You’ll both be riding like you’re in the Melbourne Cup!’ Brad said, stirring them.
‘Yeah, that’s what all the women tell me,’ Liam said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
‘Oh, pull the other one!’ Brad laughed.
‘Yeah, they say that too!’ Liam threw back, and the whole room of guys erupted in laughter.
Stumpy put his cup in the sink to signal to the others it was time to head to work. ‘Come on, you lot. We got ourselves some cattle to muster.’ He picked up the packed lunch he had prepared that morning: Vegemite and cheese sandwiches, a packet of gingernut biscuits and a variety of different flavoured chips. Not really food fit for a king, but food all the same.
They stepped out into the cool morning air, enjoying it while they could. In an hour or so the temperatures would soar and the flies would stick to your skin like shit to a blanket. The flies were that brash out in the bush they would land on your eyelashes, refusing to budge, even when you swatted them like a maniac. They were an annoying part of the scenery, but the outback without flies would be like a lamington without coconut. It was just part and parcel of living in the Australian outback; even the flies out here had to be tougher than the city flies.
‘Catch you lot out there. You got your walkie-talkies turned on and ready for action?’ Brad asked as he walked to his chopper.
‘Rodger dodger,’ Patrick answered in his strong Irish accent as he pulled on his well-worn boots.
Chris lagged behind the group as they went to get their horses, like he always did, puffing on his cigarette.
Slim tried to pull his jeans up under his belly, which was taking up a lot of space in his shirt. His buttons strained with every breath he took. He referred to his belly as the ‘verandah over his toolshed’, which always got a few laughs.
They saddled up in record time and headed towards the mob they would round up and bring in by tonight. The sun rose gloriously in front of them as they rode off towards the horizon in the sea of red dust from the horses’ pounding hooves, their Akubras perched high on their heads.
Sarah woke to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting into her bedroom. She stretched with the grace of a slinky cat and blinked a few times to allow her vision to clear, glancing at her watch. Well, bugger me dead, she thought to herself, it’s nearly nine a.m. She heard a knock at the door. ‘Come in if you’re good-looking,’ she sung out.
Lily peered through the door and smiled at Sarah, who had the wildest bed-hair ever.
‘Good afternoon, your Royal Highness. Are you gonna be joining the land of the living today? Daniel’s been a real darling and cooked us a breakfast of bacon, eggs and baked beans. Real fart material,’ Lily said, giggling.
Sarah threw her pillow in Lily’s direction. ‘Well, that’s bad news for you two then, cos when I get a bad case of the arse burps my farts are right rippers!’
Lily ducked the missile. ‘You can say that again, Sarah. Poor Brad – he’s gonna be stuck in the chopper with you in a few hours’ time.’
Sarah threw another pillow, hitting Lily fair in the head.
Lily took a second to recover before picking the pillow up and heading for Sarah, who was now hiding under the sheets, screaming in mock terror. ‘Right! It’s on for young and old!’
Daniel appeared in the doorway just as one of the pillows exploded and the girls were covered in a sea of feathers. He burst out laughing at the sight of them.
Sarah blew a feather out of her mouth and turne
d to see her brother standing at the door, spatula in hand. Lily was giggling so much she had no strength in her legs to stand up. Tears of laughter were streaming down her face. The whole room looked like a bird had flown in the open window and hit the fan, succumbing to an instant and untimely death.
‘Are you two all right there? Breakfast is ready and waiting when you’ve finished playing round like a pair of teenagers.’
Sarah rolled her bottom lip in mock sadness. ‘Sorry, Daniel. We got a bit carried away. Lily started it.’
‘I think we know who started it, Miss Clarke!’ Lily said.
Breakfast was so tasty Sarah almost picked up her plate to lick it clean, but she knew Daniel would slap her over the knuckles if she did that. He was a firm believer in good table manners, just like their dad. Neither Sarah nor Daniel had dared to move when they were kids at the dinner table. Until the last mouthful of food was eaten on everybody’s plate, nobody would be excused from the table.
‘What do you feel like doing for the next few hours? We can’t go too far, cos Brad is coming back at lunch to take me up mustering with him,’ Sarah said as she gazed out the kitchen window, devouring the view.
‘How ’bout we go for a swim in the dam? It’ll be nice to float around for a while,’ Daniel suggested as he washed up the breakfast plates.
‘That’s a fantastic idea! Duke can tag along too. He’ll love going for a dip.’
‘I’m going to put my togs on then,’ Lily said.
‘Race ya!’ Sarah said, whipping the tea towel at warp speed and slapping Lily on the backside.
The girls ran to get ready. Daniel smiled. The day had started well.
Sarah, Lily and Daniel made a beeline for the dam. Duke had jumped off the back of the Cruiser before they’d even had time to pile out. He was now swimming around in circles, barking at the splashes his paddling paws were making, creating a huge area of murky water around him. Lily squealed as her feet sunk into the soft, sludgy bottom of the dam.