He got out his phone and checked it again, making sure he hadn’t missed a call, but there was nothing. Restless, he got up and went back into the house, into Bec’s room. Everything looked normal there—the bed was made, the stuffed teddy bear he’d bought her when she was born was propped up against the pillow, and only the little bag Mel always packed with spare clothes had gone.
Then he checked their bedroom. Nothing out of place there. Well, one good thing was it was clear she hadn’t left him again. That thought had seeped into his mind when he had first arrived home, but now he knew they’d be home soon.
An hour later, his anger got the better of him and he went back out to his car and drove to Mark and Ellen’s place. There was Mel’s car. He pulled up and looked at it, trying to work out whether to go and knock on the door or just wait for them to come home.
‘Fuck it,’ he snarled. ‘I tried to tell you I was coming.’
He got out and slammed the door, before stalking up the path and rapping loudly on the door.
It didn’t take Mark long to open it.
‘Oh, you’re back, are you?’ he said without saying hello.
‘Yeah, I am. Is Mel here?’
There was the sound of little feet running and then Bec came into the light. ‘Daddy! Daddy!’
Dave bent down and swept her up into his arms, ignoring Mark’s glare. ‘Hello, my little princess, how are you?’
‘I’m good, Daddy, but I’ve missed you. Did you see any more kangaroos?’
‘Not this time, but I’ve got a photo to show you of the one I did see.’ He saw Ellen come into the hallway and he gave her a wave with his free hand.
Suddenly he realised there was something wrong.
‘So, is Mel here?’ he asked, looking straight at Ellen.
‘Come into the kitchen,’ she said. ‘There’s more room in there.’
Still carrying Bec, he followed his in-laws down the passageway. He wasn’t sure what he was about to be told, but he was certain it wasn’t good. Had Mel lost the baby? Oh god!
Putting Bec down, he kept a hand on her shoulder for comfort. ‘So, where is she?’ Dave asked. ‘Is the baby okay?’
Mark turned around to face him. ‘She’s in hospital.’
‘Yes, Mummy’s in hospital!’ Bec parroted. Dave pulled her closer to his legs.
‘Why?’
‘It’s nothing too serious, Dave,’ Ellen broke in. She took a step towards him, her hands outstretched. Her perfectly manicured nails and smooth hands reminded him of Mel. ‘Everything will be fine, but the doctor thought it was a good idea. Just so she could have a rest.’
‘You don’t go to hospital to have a rest,’ Dave said, staring hard at his mother-in-law. ‘What else is there?’
‘Mel’s got high blood pressure …’
‘You didn’t think to get hold of me and tell me?’ Dave turned on Mark and spat the words at him.
‘Daddy?’ Bec turned her face up towards him and held out her arms.
Dave was too busy staring Mark down.
‘We thought you’d be too busy with work,’ Mark answered. He smirked. ‘We’re happy to be here when you’re too busy for your family.’
‘Daddy!’ Bec’s voice was urgent.
‘Mark!’ Ellen snapped. ‘Take Bec into the bedroom. Daddy will come in to read you a story in a minute, darling.’ She reached out and smoothed a hand over Bec’s hair.
‘Hang on, you thought I was too busy with work to want to know my wife was in hospital?’ He glared at his father-in-law. ‘What sort of person do you think I am?’
‘Now, boys,’ Ellen said. ‘Stop it, not in front—’
‘You know what you would be doing if you were any sort of a husband? You would be taking parental leave to look after your wife, so she didn’t get into this situation in the first place. But don’t worry, since you’re so busy, the doctors can look after Melinda and we’ll look after your daughter, take on your responsibility.’
‘Daddy?’ Bec’s voice held tears in it as she patted Dave’s leg to get his attention.
Somehow his daughter’s voice filtered through the red mist of rage. Dave took a breath, gathering himself and squatted down. ‘It’s okay, sweetie. Go with Granddad and he can read you that story. I’ll be in once I’ve finished talking to Gran.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘I’ll be in shortly, I promise.’
Mark reluctantly took Bec’s hand. ‘Come on, what story should we have tonight?’ He threw a glance full of hatred over his shoulder as they left the room together.
‘I’m sorry, Dave,’ Ellen whispered as the footsteps faded into the bedrooms further towards the back of the house. ‘I’m sorry, he’s just been so angry. I don’t know what’s got into him the past few years. I just can’t seem to talk sense into him anymore. He worries me.’
Dave flicked his hand. ‘Doesn’t matter. Tell me about Mel.’
‘They were worried about pre-eclampsia.’
‘What the hell is that?’
‘The most simply put, it’s protein in the urine and high blood pressure. She had a lot of swelling around her ankles and because she was running after Bec and was on her feet all day—’
Dave grunted and she held up her hand. ‘I know you have to be away, Dave, don’t say anything right now, just listen. Because she had to look after Bec, having a decent rest was impossible. See, if she has bed rest, which she’s getting in hospital, her blood pressure should come down. But if it doesn’t, they might have to bring the baby on early. I understand the only cure is the delivery of both the baby and placenta.’
Dave ran his hand through his hair and looked around as if for an answer. ‘I just don’t get why you didn’t call me. When did this happen? I’d left the number for the satellite phone on the fridge at home.’
‘Oh, did you? Mel didn’t tell me you had one. If you hadn’t come home by tomorrow, I was going to find the station phone number and call there.’ She reached out and put her hand on Dave’s arm. ‘She’ll be okay, you know. This can happen in the later weeks of pregnancy. She’s in the right place. If something does go wrong, the doctors will know about it straight away and fix it. They’ve hooked a monitor up so they can see the baby, hear its heartbeat and make sure it’s not distressed in any way.’
Dave took that in. Distressed in any way. This high blood pressure thing sounded more serious than Ellen was admitting. ‘And Bec?’ he finally asked. ‘What about …’
‘Bec can stay here. I know you’d love to have her at home, but it’s not practical with your work. I understand that. You can come and see her every night, have tea with us, whatever works for you, but understand that we are here to support you through this.’
Dave gave a laugh, but there was nothing joyful about it. ‘That’s very nice of you, Ellen, but I’m not sure Mark is on the same page.’
‘He’ll have to be. When times get rough, families have to pull together.’
Dave had a fleeting thought of his mother and two brothers who hadn’t done that for him when his father had kicked him off the farm all those years ago. Not always, he thought.
‘What hospital is she in?’
Ellen turned back to the bench and picked up a piece of paper. ‘Here are the details,’ she said. ‘Room five on the third floor.’
Staring at his wife’s writing on the paper, a wave of emotion overtook him. He’d been hundreds of kilometres away when she’d needed him.
‘I’ll go to her now,’ he said. ‘I’ll just say goodnight to Bec.’ He turned to leave the room then stopped. ‘Thank you,’ he said quietly.
‘Visiting hours are over, Mr Burrows,’ said the woman at the front desk of the hospital. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t let you in. It’s very late and the nightshift staff have started.’
‘I’m her husband, surely you can let me in,’ Dave said. He’d been trying to persuade her patiently for the last five minutes.
‘Doesn’t matter who you are. You’ll disturb the other patients.’ She crossed her a
rms and stared at him.
‘Look, could you make an exception just this once. I’m a policeman and I’ve been away for work. I haven’t seen my wife since she was admitted.’
The woman looked at him again and then sighed. ‘You men—workaholics, always away—I don’t know how your wives put up with you.’
Sensing a weakening, Dave didn’t say anything.
‘Oh, all right then. Off you go. Take the second lift on the left. But make sure you don’t make any noise.’
‘Thank you. I could kiss you I’m so grateful.’
‘That won’t be necessary.’ She ducked her head and looked back at the computer, but not before Dave caught the glimpse of a smile.
Not needing to be told twice, he found the lift and pressed the button. When he got to the third floor, he found the signs pointing to room five. He peered inside to see Mel dozing, her dark hair spread across the pillow and the outline of her belly under the blanket.
He went in quietly and pulled a chair up next to the bed. Reaching out he took her hand, hoping she would open her eyes, but she didn’t.
Instead she just said, ‘You’re back.’
With his other hand, he pushed her hair back from her face. ‘Yeah, honey, I am. What have you done to yourself? Why didn’t you call me?’
‘What have you done to me might be the better question.’ Her tone was cold.
Dave nearly reared back only he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. ‘Sorry?’
Now she did open her eyes and turned to look at him. He was startled at the iciness in her eyes. ‘What you did to me,’ she repeated.
‘Honey, I think this is something that happens to women sometimes. I asked the nurse when I first got here. I know you’re probably frightened—’
‘Yeah, it does. You’re right. But when you can’t rest because your husband isn’t at home, that’s when the doctors put you into hospital to make sure nothing bad happens to the baby. Do you know I could die from this? The baby could die because of this! Yet the job is still more important than me and your daughter. And your unborn child!’
Dave took his hand away. ‘Mel, sweetie, I didn’t know you’d been admitted until I got home tonight. I wasn’t told. If I’d known, I would have caught a flight home. The job is never more important than you all.’ He took a breath, hoping Mel would offer some kind of olive branch, but she remained silent. ‘Look, don’t upset yourself anymore. Go back to sleep and we can talk about this in the morning. Do you know when you can come home?’
She ignored the question. ‘Give up the job, Dave. Please. For me and the kids. Just give it up.’
Stifling the anger that roared up inside him, he stood and went to the window to look out. ‘Maybe it’s just better if I come back tomorrow when you’ve had a good night’s rest,’ he said.
‘Can’t do it, can you?’ she said.
He felt like she was taunting him. Asking him to prove how much he loved her and the kids. ‘Let’s talk about it again when you come home. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Dave left the room without kissing her goodbye.
Chapter 17
‘Why is she doing this?’ Dave snapped down the phone to Spencer. ‘I just don’t get what she wants me to do.’
‘Pretty clear to me,’ his friend answered. ‘She wants you to give up the job. Question is, what are you going to do about it?’
‘What can I do? She’s just about to have our baby! I can’t not be here for her.’
‘So you’d give it all up because she asked you to?’ His tone was incredulous. ‘Surely not.’
‘No! Yes! Fuck, I don’t know. What a shitty, shitty spot to be in.’ Dave slumped down on the floor, his back up against the wall. ‘I don’t know,’ he said again, this time very quietly. ‘I really don’t know what to do.’
‘Mate, I don’t know what you should do either. What I do know is that when you’re a stockie you’re going to be away a lot. When you’re on the beat in uniform, you’re going to be on nightshift sometimes, not just daytime hours. Dave, what we do isn’t easy on anyone. Doesn’t matter which part of policing you’re involved in, there’re crappy hours and crappy shifts. That’s just how it is.’
‘I know, I know.’ He let out a frustrated sigh. ‘Bob said that too. Have to get used to communicating on the phone and being away. I don’t mind talking on the phone, but a phone call doesn’t help with the practical things, does it. That’s what she’s saying now; she needs help at home.’ ‘What about getting a nanny?’
‘I don’t think anyone except me is going to cut it somehow. Well, that’s the impression I got. She actually said, “What have you done to me?” as if I’m to blame she’s got high blood pressure. But in a way I guess I am, because I wasn’t there to help and let her rest like the doctor said. I didn’t even know the doctor had told her that.’
‘Dave, listen to yourself. You’re making excuses for her. Do you really think that if you’d been there her blood pressure wouldn’t have gone up? I don’t know much about these things, but I’m guessing it would’ve.’
‘If you ask her father it wouldn’t have.’
‘We know he’s a tosser.’
Dave didn’t feel like laughing but he couldn’t help it when he heard Spencer’s sour tone.
‘I’m hoping it will all blow over when the baby is born. You know that she’s just feeling really vulnerable at the moment. I understand having Bec and trying to run the house would have been a lot more work without me around. And to be fair, she’s had me at home for a couple of months, so I guess she got used to me being there.’ He was quiet while he took another sip of beer. ‘Her family have been helping out while I’ve been away, so it’s not like she’s been completely on her own.’
‘Can I be really blunt?’
Dave harrumphed. ‘You usually are.’
‘Mel saying you not being there is an excuse she’s using to try to make you feel guilty. You’ve just said yourself the folks have been helping out. I don’t think she’s been without help as much as she thinks she has. Christ on a bike! You’ve only been back at work for a week and a half!’
Dave let that sink in. He’d already had those thoughts but hadn’t wanted to say them aloud. Instead he said, ‘I don’t know how she thinks we’re going to live if I don’t work.’
‘I’ve got a bit of an idea about what she might have in mind,’ Spencer said.
‘Daddy’s money? She knows me better than that. Not a chance in hell I’d take help from that arsehole.’
‘Hmm, well, I guess you’ll have to have that conversation sooner rather than later if that’s what she’s thinking.’
They both fell silent and Dave’s mind flew through all sorts of scenarios. He could give up work and get a job as a stockman at the saleyards. Maybe he could become a stock agent—he’d have the qualifications. Still, all of those jobs meant being away from home for long hours. Maybe he’d just become an accountant as Mel had suggested.
Like hell.
The only figures he liked were stocking rates and estimated breeding values.
And what about Brisbane?
‘This court date, Spencer, like I told you last time, it’s right around when the baby is supposed to be due. What can we do about that?’
‘Yeah, you need to try to shift it. Ring the DPP and see if you can organise to give your evidence by video. That should keep everyone happy. You’ll have to cite family reasons—something really important that you can’t leave the state for, because they’re not going to be thrilled by the idea. They much prefer people in their courtroom.’
‘I guess my wife having some sort of life-threatening illness is important,’ Dave said dryly.
‘I guess it is,’ Spencer agreed. ‘Do you think it’s worth Kathy going to visit her and having a chat? She talked her around last time.’
‘I’d like to say yes, but I think it’s gone past that. And why should Mel have to be talked around? If she doesn’t want to be with—’ He broke off as
he felt a bubble of hurt in his chest. He tried to breathe through it. How could their relationship have come to this? ‘Anyway, I’ve got to try, don’t I? She’s about to have our second child and I know what it’s like not to be a part of Bec’s life, so I can’t let that happen.’
‘I’ll be here to support you in whatever decision you make, mate.’
Dave opened his mouth to say something more about Mel but decided there really wasn’t anything left to say. Instead he said, ‘Speaking of mates, have you got any idea how much bloody Bob Holden gives me the shits? He keeps calling me “son” and, man, he can put away some piss.’ All of Dave’s pent-up rage came spilling out as he talked. Somehow, he knew it was all to do with Mel, but Bob was bearing the brunt of his anger now.
‘What’s wrong with calling you “son”?’ Spencer asked.
‘It’s the connotation, isn’t it? Little boy, who doesn’t know much. Hang with me and I’ll teach you. For fuck’s sake. I didn’t come down in the last shower.’
‘Dave, mate, calm down! It’s a nickname. An affectionate nickname in our business is something you earn—you know that. The little bit I do know about Bob is that if he’s calling you that it’s because he likes you. Maybe he sees something special in you. A protégé.’ He paused. ‘I reckon you could be blowing all that out of proportion, you know. Probably because of what’s going on in your personal life.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Dave snapped. ‘Bob’s really bloody annoying. I had words with him about it when we were camped out one night. He just kept coming and coming with that stupid word. The more he drank, the more it came out. And—’ Dave paused for effect ‘—I can’t believe how he can function the next morning with all the beer he drinks. One night he was drinking whiskey and he was still up before me. Although,’ Dave conceded, ‘there was also one morning he was in a filthy mood ’cause he had a hangover. He’d been drinking rocket fuel, so I’m not surprised he had the mother of all hangovers. Trouble was, he took it out on the bloke at Spinifex Downs when we went to interview him. He’s fucked to be around when he’s like that.’
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