Red Sand Sunrise

by Fiona McArthur

  She glanced at her watch. Unbelievable; it was four already. Callie would have been to theatre, where they would have repaired her classic caesarean wound. Sienna had never done a classical incision before – straight down the middle instead of bikini line – but it had saved minutes on the way in and that was what they’d needed. Callie should be waking up now. She’d ring Eve later to see how it’d all gone.

  Just then the message came through, and there they were: her half-sister and her new niece. She stared at the picture. Swallowed the huge lump in her throat and let the thoughts she’d been fiercely withholding fly out the window. They were both fine! A miracle.

  Sienna’s mouth curved upwards and she let out a sigh. The day had been worth it.

  She texted back her thanks and congrats to Eve and then put her phone on silent. Next thing Eve would be texting and ringing, and Sienna couldn’t talk to Eve just now.

  She’d better go feed those animals. She thought about the smelly little hens and having to touch the still-warm eggs, of her long-lost father’s dog that would need the water changed in its bowl.

  Maybe she could use the washing-up gloves from here and replace them tomorrow. The shop did have washing-up gloves.

  Then she smiled. Okay, so she seriously was not an animal person and she doubted she ever would be, but she could just wash her hands afterwards. And the dog would be worried with everyone gone. She actually had some sympathy for it because she was a bit worried and lonely herself.

  Sienna decided if she could do lifesaving surgery on loved ones, which was not good practice because it stuffed with your head, then she could wash a dog bowl. But the smile fell off her face as she remembered the morning again, so she shut down the computer and hurried to the animals.

  Douglas found her as she came back along the street from Callie’s house.

  She didn’t see him coming, was on autopilot, thinking only of making it back to the B&B, hopefully avoiding Fran’s questions and slipping into her room and under her covers. The idea of spending a few hours with the sheets pulled over her head was extremely attractive.

  ‘Sienna?’

  ‘Douglas?’ God, he probably thought she looked like an escaped mental patient dressed in this hospital gown – she hadn’t found anything else in the medical centre to change into. She looked up. Had to look up because up was where he was, and she never got sick of the novelty. Today the solid frame of Douglas looked even better; she couldn’t help but think that his masculine chest looked a good place to hide.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  Her eyes filled with tears but she tried to speak normally. ‘Of course.’

  He just looked at her. Stepped forward and took her hand and pulled her in next to him so he could tuck her fingers in over his arm as he turned towards the police station.

  ‘Come with me, madam. I have a few questions.’

  ‘Bloody constabulary,’ she murmured weakly, but he was squeezing her fingers in sympathy so that the bones were crushed together, as though in a vice. But the pain was good compared to the mush in her brain.

  He must have realised he was holding her hand too tightly because suddenly his grip loosened. But he didn’t let go.

  ‘Sorry.’ And he quickened his step.

  He bypassed the police station entrance and instead went up the dusty path to the police residence, pausing briefly as he unlocked the front door, and then ushered her into the house she’d been trying to get into for weeks. She heard the door lock behind them.

  ‘Kitchen or bedroom?’

  God love Douglas. ‘Bedroom, for pity’s sake. Even if you just hold me and I can close my eyes.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’

  ‘Bedroom’ or ‘just holding’? she wondered vaguely, but it felt so damn good to be steered. To let go of directing the play, always working towards an outcome. All she wanted to do was close her eyes, forget today, and if she could do that in the circle of this honey of a man’s arms she would be forever grateful – or at least grateful today.

  Douglas drew her by the hand down the hallway into an immaculately made up bedroom. The army strikes again, she thought with a semi-hysterical giggle, though she barely had time to acknowledge the scarcity of the furnishings before he sat her down on the bed.

  To her surprise he knelt down in front of her and took off her sandals. They were Eve’s sandals, which she’d found at the house and were a little tight. His strong, cool fingers gently massaged the marks where the straps had indented her feet. She sat there like a statue, too drained to even sigh at the bliss, but she did look at the thick swirls of black hair just out of reach and promised herself she would run her hands through it later.

  He stood her up again, slid the patient gown over her head, tossed it on a chair so she stood before him in her bra and pants that were still damp from rinsing.

  He let his breath out slowly as he slid one finger down the hollow between her breasts. ‘I always imagined lace under there.’

  ‘Did you now?’ Her mouth was dry and the smart answers were a little harder to come by as his gaze swept over her. The fire in his eyes briefly made her, of all things, blush.

  Then his hand lifted as he bent, threw back the covers and, again to her surprise, reached forwards to put his arms around her shoulders and knees. He lifted her into the middle of the bed like she was a child. In the sweet novelty of the moment she didn’t care that he hadn’t taken off her underwear.

  Nobody had ever lifted her into bed, or if they had she’d been too young to remember; maybe her father had but either way the sting was back in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to clear it.

  ‘You’ll do your back in.’

  ‘Can’t think of a better way of doing it.’ His tone was matter of fact as he swiftly removed his boots and socks and unbuttoned his shirt. Now she was the one to watch and admire. She sucked in her breath as he undid his belt, slid off his trousers to expose long, strong thighs and a pair of well-packed black trunks before he shifted in beside her. More underwear. But still lots of hot, solid skin blissfully pressed against hers as he pulled her closer.

  ‘Come here.’ Then his arms were around her, crushing her in the most delightful way and she buried her nose in his gorgeous chest and for the first time since she was a tiny child, she felt safe and protected in a man’s arms.

  And then she wasted it all as she began to cry.

  THIRTY-THREE

  Eve didn’t bother with the nurses’ home bed; she spent the first night in the chair in Callie’s room and it felt like a night shift.

  Eve finger-brushed the little dark mop of hair that spiked out of her niece’s bony skull and felt a rush of love for this scrap of humanity. So precious, so fragile, yet with a fierce will to live that confounded half the staff in this hospital. The other half were born outback and expected it.

  The time she’d spent here had changed her perception of the world, but more importantly it had changed her perception of herself.

  She wasn’t different here, she fitted. She didn’t feel adrift, she felt anchored. A big part of that was Callie and the bittersweet memories of Callie’s mother, and another part was the feeling that she’d come home. But it wasn’t her home. She couldn’t be a part of Callie’s family because Callie already had Bennet and Adam and now a baby too.

  So she savoured every moment because soon it would be time for her to decide if she was going to go back to where she came from.

  By lunchtime Callie seemed to have recovered her resilience and had already spoken to Bennet on the phone, reassured herself he would be fine, and vice versa, and excitedly confirmed his agreement to name their baby Amari, a name suggested by one of the midwives that meant ‘a miracle from God’. Her second name was Sylvia.

  Late that afternoon Bennet would be able to come in a wheelchair to Callie’s room. Callie had done some transferring of her own and was resettled into a lovely single room in the maternity ward after her first assisted shower.

  Cal
lie complained that Eve had needed to help her, and Eve just laughed. ‘You know you sound like your mother when you showered her?’

  ‘I do not.’ Callie looked mutinously at her sister.

  ‘So if I were the post-operative one, would you help shower me?’ Eve snapped her fingers. ‘Ha. If I hadn’t lived with you I might have lost that battle.’

  ‘Hmm,’ said Callie, smiling. Then her face saddened. ‘Do you think Mum can see our little Amari Sylvia?’

  Eve had no doubt. ‘I’m absolutely sure of it. And I can even feel her smiling.’

  Callie stared at her sister. Eve seemed so confident in her conviction. It was a comforting thought. ‘You’re amazing. I can’t believe how it feels to have you in my life.’

  Eve shook her head. ‘I’m lucky too, you know. Hence the determination not to leave you in peace until the cavalry arrives this afternoon.’ She helped her sister back to bed, where Callie sighed into the fresh sheets.

  ‘I can’t wait to see Bennet.’

  ‘I know.’ Eve handed her the pain-relief tablets the nurse had just passed across. ‘If you’re managing okay I’ll probably go home tonight. Give Sienna a break. She says she’s finished her review.’

  Callie looked up. Despite the dark rings around her bruised eyes there was still a sudden glow of interest. ‘About the prem labours?’

  ‘Yep. She’s coming in late this afternoon to see you. And then we’ll drive home.’

  ‘You called it home.’ Callie reached out her hand and caught Eve’s fingers. ‘Red Sand could be your home, Eve. Have you thought about settling here and not returning to Brisbane? Your niece would be growing up without you.’

  ‘I know. We don’t need to talk about this now. But if I did go back I’d visit heaps.’

  Right at this moment she didn’t ever want to leave Callie but that wasn’t the real world. She had no idea how she would settle back once she returned to Brisbane. Or even if she would. But she couldn’t live alone here, either.

  When Sienna arrived several hours later, she was present for the tearful reunion with Bennet.

  After spending time with Bennet yesterday, sharing insights she hadn’t been able to avoid, she’d glimpsed the depth of love he had for her half-sister. Not surprisingly there was something about a man trapped in a vehicle that opened the floodgates and for Sienna the hardest part had been preventing Bennet from injuring himself more as he tried to free himself to get to Callie.

  ‘Amari looks good in your arms, Bennet.’ And you look better than yesterday, she thought, and her gaze was drawn to Callie. It was a miracle to see her talking and smiling, albeit carefully, and still leaning her head back on the pillow to conserve her energy. Sienna knew how close it had been.

  This was the problem with families. Emotion.

  *

  Eve watched Sienna’s face, unusually visible emotions flickering on it as she absorbed the stories in the room. For Eve the family felt complete again, except for the missing presence of Sylvia. But Eve genuinely believed Callie’s mother was hovering somewhere anyway.

  Sienna looked like she couldn’t wait to leave, but that was okay. Eve was ready to leave herself now, because Callie would recover. Callie had her family and her happiness with Bennet.

  Eve thought of Lex and his unobtrusive help, which she was just coming to realise had made it all happen so seamlessly. How she’d got from the crash site to Callie’s bedside, the parcel of clothes and bathroom items that had arrived for her and for Callie. A man who didn’t say much, even after he’d kissed her. How depressing was that? She needed to see him, and at the very least thank him, but also hopefully hug him – because she needed a Lex hug something terrible.

  There were tearful kisses all round as they prepared to depart, and one last cuddle with Amari, which even Sienna demanded a turn of. Eve’s last look back saw Adam sitting on the bed, snuggled up to Callie, and Bennet, crutches cast aside, holding his new daughter in one arm and Callie’s fingers in the other hand.

  ‘Thank God we got out of there.’

  Eve spluttered back a sob that turned into a laugh. She patted Sienna’s shoulder. ‘Poor Sienna. You did very well. All that disgusting emotion.’

  Sienna stopped. Looked at Eve’s shaking head and smiled herself. ‘Okay. It does make me uncomfortable but I am pleased for them. Very pleased.’ They reached the outside door and crossed the hot car park. ‘But it’s been a pretty tough couple of days for all of us.’ She stopped at her tiny dust-covered sports car and the lights flicked on as she opened her door. ‘It’s been a tough couple of months.’

  ‘Too true.’ Eve opened her door and climbed awkwardly into the low vehicle. Glanced across at her sister, who slid behind the wheel with the elegance of a film star.

  ‘How do you do it, Eve?’

  Eve had been thinking the same question about her sister. But they probably weren’t referring to the same thing, and she grinned at the idea of Sienna wondering how Eve could be so elegant.

  ‘Earth to Eve?’ The old Sienna, exasperated. ‘How do you do it?’

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Stay warm and fuzzy, and give so much, and still be sane?’

  ‘Who says I’m sane?’

  ‘Good point.’ She reached for the key and then let her hand fall. ‘No. Too easy.’ She looked levelly at Eve. ‘You were very sane getting Callie out of the car. Very sane calling for the emergency caesarean. I’m sorry I was so slow.’

  Eve blinked. ‘God, Sienna. You were awesome. There was a lot going on.’

  ‘I know. So it blew me away that you recognised the right course of action and I didn’t.’

  The memory of that morning so many months ago had been the reason for that. The gift she’d been given in the guise of death. ‘Have you ever been involved in a caesarean like that?’

  ‘Never.’

  Eve nodded. ‘I have.’

  She saw the relief on Sienna’s face as she got it. ‘Oh.’ Her sister leaned forward and started the car. ‘Not something you’d forget.’

  ‘Nope.’

  For the rest of the drive they discussed Sienna’s findings.

  ‘There’s really nothing to tell. The antenatal care in the past was excellent. I believe the previous losses were incredibly bad luck, and I think the care you give now will make outcomes even better. The clinic is a good thing and these women certainly deserve it.’

  ‘So nothing at all?’

  ‘The only slight variation I would suggest is rescreening women in their second to third trimester for chlamydia. It’s a simple test and that’s turned up twice in the notes: both women had premature rupture of membranes.’

  ‘We screen at first visit, but we can do that again. Easy. And Callie wants a sexual health and women’s health clinic as well.’

  Sienna nodded. ‘At least we’ve ruled out factors like fertilisers and familial genetics.’

  Eve looked thoughtful. ‘As far as the STIs go, we may have a serial offender who doesn’t know they have something they could pass on.’

  ‘Yep. Always the way.’ Sienna pulled over onto the gravel to let a caravan and trailer going the other way stay on the road. ‘Some foetuses just don’t seem to be worried, regardless of the environment they grow in, while others perish. But because your birth numbers are so low in a small community, every baby who died flagged that something wasn’t right.’

  Eve shuddered and ran over it in her mind. ‘The good news is the women who birth here did get fabulous care and the clinic is making access easier.’ She thought about the two million dollars. ‘Blanche accidently got it right in a very expensive way. Poor Lex.’

  Sienna laughed. ‘But I’ll write a paper on it. Get word out there in case STIs are a risk somewhere else. Blanche might save more babies than she expected.’

  ‘Whether this will help the grieving parents I’m not sure. Hopefully Blanche is satisfied enough to feel she made sure there wasn’t a causative factor. Still, I categorically believe your Red Sand mums
will have the same positive birth outcomes as in any other town.’

  That was wonderful news but it also sounded like closure. ‘So you’re going soon?’

  ‘ASAP. I’ve done my job. It’s up to you and Callie now.’ She lowered her voice but Eve still heard her. ‘I just need to get the hell away from here.’

  Eve glanced across. ‘What about Douglas?’

  ‘Nice guy.’ There was silence for a long moment. ‘Very nice guy. But he lives in the wrong part of the world.’

  ‘And here I was thinking you were going to sponsor a nail bar and settle down.’

  ‘Ha! Not a hope in hell.’ She glanced at Eve. ‘But I might be a better sister to you now that I appreciate you.’

  ‘So you appreciate me now?’ Eve grinned. ‘You’re not too bad yourself. I’ll miss you.’

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Sienna packed her room and was out of there by lunchtime the next day.

  Eve and Fran waved her off, and Douglas was conspicuous in his absence. Sienna had promised to drop in to see Callie when she reached Charleville.

  The winds of change were sweeping across Red Sand like the rainless clouds that were sweeping across the blue sky.

  That night Eve had a phone call from two midwives she’d worked with in Brisbane, asking if she needed a replacement. They’d be willing to come out in the next two weeks if she did. She could be home for Christmas.

  Two weeks. Would that be long enough for Callie? Or would that mean too much of Eve now that her sister had her new family?

  The next morning Eve woke before the sun and knew she needed to think about the future. She climbed out of bed in the empty house, glanced at the trappings of her other family’s life, and pulled on her favourite purple tights and green top. Slung a yellow scarf around her neck.

  The day before, Sienna had told Blanche about her results; Eve had passed the findings on to the hospitals and Fran had booked appointments for the at-risk women to have extra tests on Monday.