The Reef

by Di Morrissey

  ‘I talked him into an outing,’ said Lloyd, handing round cold soft drinks.

  ‘It’s been very interesting too,’ added Tony.

  ‘Great,’ said Jennifer, pleased to see that the withdrawn man she’d met on Sooty seemed a lot more relaxed and outgoing.

  ‘There’s Methuselah,’ said Lloyd, pointing to the great dark shape with the massive head and mouth that could swallow a child in one gulp.

  ‘That’s a hell of a big grouper,’ said Tony.

  ‘Yeah, we have a couple of them around,’ said Jennifer, looking at Lloyd, who explained to Tony.

  ‘There’s this big grouper here at the wharf, and there’s an old codger who’s a part-time handyman who’s a bit of a lech. Pervs on the girls. But he’s harmless.’

  ‘Some people look harmless but aren’t,’ said Jennifer tartly, thinking of Willsy.

  Tony raised an eyebrow. ‘You sound, shall I say, a bit touchy?’

  Lloyd chuckled but Jennifer was not amused. Both men looked at her. Jennifer gave a dismissive wave. ‘Oh, forget it.’ She took a gulp of her lemon drink. ‘So, Tony, do you do much fishing? Where are you based now?’

  ‘I’ve had a flat in Sydney for years, but I’m moving north. Bought a beach house to contemplate the great novel. Might do a spot of beach fishing,’ said Tony casually.

  ‘I’ve been telling him about Gideon, the research centre and what they’re doing,’ said Lloyd.

  ‘I went and had my first look around this morning. I think Mac is brilliant. I wish I’d had him as a professor,’ Jennifer said.

  ‘Why don’t you do a course with them while you’re here?’ said Tony. ‘Whether it’s official or not, I mean, some of the stuff they’re looking into is pretty amazing.’

  ‘That’s a great idea. Why don’t you, Jennifer?’ Lloyd said enthusiastically.

  ‘Oh, I hadn’t considered anything like that. I don’t know if it’s possible. But I’d like to spend more time with them all.’

  ‘Ah, just talk to Mac. He’ll fix it,’ said Lloyd.

  ‘Well, he did say he might be able to find me a corner to work in. That would give me an excuse to hang around at least.’

  ‘You’ll find it a lot more interesting than the resort, I imagine,’ Tony said.

  ‘I’m trying to persuade Tony to come back and write about it all,’ said Lloyd. ‘Wouldn’t Blair think that good PR?’

  ‘I wouldn’t mention that to Blair, Lloyd. He’ll be putting the pressure on Tony to write up the resort. I don’t think that’s your sort of story, is it?’

  ‘Not really. Though the future of Branch Island, well, the whole reef, from what I’m hearing, could be a big story. We’ll see.’ He put his empty can in the garbage bin and shook Lloyd’s hand. ‘Been a great morning. Thanks.’ Turning to Jennifer, he smiled and held out his hand. ‘If I do come back I hope you’ll be doing your research forty fathoms deep, or snorkelling anyway.’

  Jennifer laughed. ‘I doubt it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.’

  ‘That’s the hard part. Deciding. Please, take some of the fish we caught. See you, Lloyd.’ He stepped off the boat.

  As the reef cat approached, Jennifer took the two coral trout Lloyd handed her and made her way back along the jetty. Tony was talking to Rosie but she headed for reception to see if she could collect her printed pages and get back to work.

  Jennifer ploughed through the notes, drafting Professor Dawn’s research on the East Australian Current into coherent prose, but her mind kept returning to the research station. How she’d love to work there. Would it be possible to do some sort of course? She must be able to get credits for it. And how much she wanted to be in Mac’s orbit. The camaraderie of the research station group made Jennifer realise how lonely she’d been. Except for Rosie.

  She stretched, put the papers to one side and decided to find Blair so they could have lunch together. She was starting to notice how her appetite had picked up. The reception staff told her Blair was down with the maintenance guys so Jennifer asked them to let him know she was in the dining room. On the way to the restaurant she saw Rosie so she went to thank her for getting her file printed.

  For the first time Rosie looked slightly harassed. ‘No sweat, Jenny. Any time. You getting through some work?’

  ‘Sort of. I spent some time with Mac over at the research station. It’s pretty interesting. He thought he might let me do some work there.’

  Rosie’s face lit up. ‘Wow, that’d be perfect for you. I was going to clear out a storage room, well, no bigger than a cupboard for you.’

  ‘Please don’t go to any trouble.’

  ‘You’ll be better off with Mac’s mob. Could lead to anything, you never know.’ They fell into step. ‘You going to lunch? I was about to grab a bite. Bad morning.’

  ‘I was looking for Blair. Let’s get a table. What’s up?’

  ‘Ah, I wish I knew. Something’s going on with management. Maybe we shouldn’t discuss this, but Tony Adams inadvertently dropped a small bomb on me. He’s a correspondent turned bigtime journo . . .’

  ‘I met him on Sooty. Is he writing something about this place?’

  ‘God, I hope not.’ Rosie sat down and immediately ripped a bread roll apart as it was put on the table.

  ‘Wouldn’t that be good?’ Jennifer was thinking how Blair was so publicity conscious.

  ‘Nothing against Tony Adams. We like the glossy upmarket travel leisure stuff that we can control. Tony told me the corporate heads of Reef Resorts were jaunting around on the company boat at Sooty. I had no idea they were in the area. The head office is in Sydney. Why wouldn’t they contact me or even stop in here, see how Branch is looking? I don’t like secrecy. Especially as they’re not my favourite kind of people. Money men who only look at the bottom line. So long as it’s in profit they don’t care what it costs in human, environmental or PR terms.’

  Jennifer decided to keep quiet about Blair hanging out with these men. ‘How do you see the business side of this company?’ she asked.

  ‘Reef Resorts are an arm of a big international chain of boutique and upmarket eco resorts. The reef group, obviously, specialise in locations near reefs and islands. Fanzio and Holding are the two head honchos in Australia. My, and Blair’s, direct superiors.’

  ‘Have you ever met the international heads?’ asked Jennifer, wondering why Rosie hadn’t been included in the gathering on board Kicking Back.

  ‘Yes, I was based in London before Prague and then I wanted to come back to the southern hemisphere. The London office was understanding and switched me to Reef Resorts. Unfortunately never warmed to Mr Fanzio or Mr Holding.’

  ‘Maybe they’re cruising around and will check in later. Maybe they want to surprise you,’ said Jennifer. ‘A sort of spot check.’

  Rosie didn’t look convinced. ‘Anyway, how are you doing? Feeling okay? You look great.’

  ‘Eating like a horse. Blair still doesn’t talk about the baby idea.’

  ‘It’s a reality not an idea. He’ll get used to it. You don’t look pregnant so it’s probably hard for him to take it in.’

  ‘He’s normally such a planner. It’s unusual for him to just bury his head in the sand and not start thinking ahead,’ said Jennifer.

  ‘And you?’

  ‘I haven’t been thinking clearly for a long time. But I am now. And, as long as you’re willing to let me stay here after the baby is born, that’s about as far ahead as I want to think.’

  ‘When are you going to start telling people?’

  ‘After the next doctor’s appointment.’ She smiled at Blair threading his way through the room.

  Blair sat down. ‘Am I interrupting a ladies’ lunch?’

  ‘Not at all. I’d better get back to the office. Everything hunky dory with the grease monkeys?’ asked Rosie.

  ‘Would be if they had all the spares they need. Couple of the washing machines are stuffed. Nothing too major.’ Blair headed to the buffet as Rosie left.
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  ‘My God, Blair, that’s a huge plate of food,’ said Jennifer as he returned with a heaped plate.

  ‘You’re not being too shy in the food department lately.’

  ‘I am eating for two, remember.’

  He ate a few mouthfuls before saying, ‘When are you going to tell people?’

  She knew he meant the baby but wanted to hear him say it. ‘About what?’

  ‘You know. Being pregnant. I think you should tell your mother and Vi and Don. You probably should have it down there. I don’t think the hospital over in Headland will be much chop. What if something goes wrong?’ He kept eating as he spoke, not looking at Jennifer.

  Jennifer didn’t know whether to get upset or just laugh at him. She kept her voice reasonable. ‘Nothing will go wrong, I’m as healthy as a horse. I don’t want to go to Sydney, the hospital in Headland is big enough, it caters for a huge section of the coast and people from regional Queensland. I was planning to get back here a day or so after giving birth. We don’t need much gear for the first few months, we’re far enough away from guests and staff if it cries . . .’

  ‘Oh God. Sleepless nights . . . What about the baby depression thing. What if you get that?’

  ‘I’m not working, I can devote myself to the baby as a full-time mother. If there are problems, we’ll deal with them.’ I’ll deal with them.

  ‘That’s good. Because you know what my workload is like. I might have to go to London in a couple of months. A quick trip for a meeting or two.’

  ‘What is going on, Blair?’ asked Jennifer in a low, concerned voice. ‘Why are those corporate guys snooping around and not even contacting their manager here or checking out their business operation here? How come you’re so cosy with them and your boss doesn’t know?’

  He looked at her with some surprise and said firmly, ‘Jennifer, it’s none of your business. And don’t say anything to Rosie. She’ll be in the loop soon enough. Leave things to me.’

  ‘What do you mean? Your job, your future, concerns me too. And our child. Stop treating me like some dumb juvenile wife,’ she snapped.

  ‘Listen, when we got married we agreed I was the breadwinner, I had the assets. So my career came first. We couldn’t live on what you were earning. I’m looking to the future where we can have a very, very comfortable life way beyond what I had in Sydney.’

  Jennifer sat very still. His words, ‘what I had’, hit her. ‘So I haven’t contributed to this marriage?’

  ‘Come on, don’t be silly. You did your bit, we were lucky I had a place to start off with. You bought your own car. Good on you.’

  ‘Blair, we could have bought a place together. Started out as equals. You make me feel so . . . dependent.’ Jennifer got up.

  ‘Jennifer, I’m just looking after you, like promised your mother.’

  ‘Thanks very much, but I think I can look after myself.’

  Blair caught her hand. ‘Don’t throw a wobbly in here. You have a kid coming and a mother who’s a pain in the neck who’s going to get old one day. Hopefully my family can look after themselves. I have to think about these things.’

  ‘All right, Blair, that’s very fine of you. You fight your way to the top, go for the big money if that’s what you want. I don’t think that’s what we need.’ She was close to tears. ‘All I want is for us to be a proper family.’ She put on her sunglasses and walked out of the dining room from the side door near the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight she ran along the sandy path, turning by the dive centre, and flung herself onto the sand.

  She sat there thinking about their conversation. Blair thought he was doing what was right and responsible. What upset her more was the knowledge that she had never really supported herself other than as a poor university student for a brief time. And how supportive Vi and Don had been to her and her mother. She’d met Blair and moved in with him. They’d married and now she was following him, barefoot and pregnant. How would she manage if she was on her own with a child? She had qualifications that were of no practical use. She could throw words around on paper that related to subjects she knew about. How useful was that?

  She got up and headed back to their cabin feeling depressed and demoralised. She wanted to talk to Mac, hopefully he could give her some advice. And she thought of Gideon. The old beachcomber might have some life experience to share with her. What she wanted was a father figure to tell her it was going to be all right. She wondered what advice her own father would give her if he was around now. Sadly, the memories of a man beaten by circumstances and a domineering wife, preferring to bury his head in the sand and escape on his own, did not bring a lot of comfort.

  She felt hot and bothered by the time she reached their cabin. She pulled off her clothes, wrapped her sarong around her naked body and on impulse went and stood under the outdoor shower. It ran hot from the sun before cooling. She refilled the clamshell where the birds had put sand and leaves in it.

  She was about to pull off her wet sarong in the privacy of their courtyard but, as she turned to face the bush, she saw a flash of yellow and a man standing watching her. It was the elderly one-eyed handyman, a stupid smile on his face. She froze, the image of Rhonda returning to her, then the smirking face of Willsy – and it rendered the old man harmless in comparison. Seconds before, she was ready to scream, rush inside, feel sullied, her privacy violated. Instead she lifted her arm.

  ‘Piss off, you old bugger!’ she shouted.

  Deflated, shoulders hunched, he turned and shuffled away.

  Later in the afternoon Jennifer walked up to the reception desk and waited for the two guests to complete their check-out before taking the chopper back to the mainland. The last was Tony Adams. He picked up his leather shoulder bag, saw her and smiled.

  ‘Good luck, Jennifer.’ He paused. ‘Do you need luck? Don’t know why I said that. Make the most of your time here, might see you at the Shark Bar sometime.’

  ‘A bit of luck never goes astray. Don’t forget the rule to join the Shark Club.’

  ‘I’m taking a small step. I’m taking the chopper back. My last trip in one was rather hairy.’ He gave a rueful grin.

  ‘It’s stunning. The reef is amazing, you’ll enjoy it,’ said Jennifer.

  Bob, the pilot, appeared in the doorway. ‘All set? Camera ready?’

  Tony nodded, gave Jennifer a short wave and walked outside.

  ‘Okay now, Jennifer, what can I do for you?’ asked Heather from behind the desk.

  ‘I wanted to use Blair’s office and phone my family. We have to let them know some news.’

  ‘Sure, he’s out for a bit. Help yourself.’

  Jennifer walked into Blair’s neat office, trying to frame the words to tell her mother she was going to be a grandmother. It was not an announcement that came easily to her, she was unsure how Christina would take it. You never knew with her mother. Vi and Don would, of course, be thrilled, as was Blair’s family.

  She thoughtfully hit the numbers that would connect this island to the suburban house in Sydney.

  10

  Serpent of the Sea

  THE OFFICE WAS AIR conditioned, Blair had his desk facing a wall, the window behind him. On one wall was a large map of the Great Barrier Reef. Next to it Blair had hung his favourite picture of a castle in Liechtenstein that was now a five-star hotel. Jennifer rested her head on her hand, holding the phone to her ear, glad the door was closed as her mother droned on and on, detailing weeks of minutiae, every trivial event in her life since Jennifer had driven away. Vi and Don were scarcely mentioned.

  ‘Mum . . . Mum, ’scuse me, but can I jump in? The calls from here are really expensive.’

  ‘Oh. I see. Well, if you don’t want to talk to me, I’ll get off now then.’

  ‘It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to do any talking,’ Jennifer said lightly. ‘Why don’t you ask Vi to get on the extension so I don’t have to repeat everything?’

  ‘Oh, I thought you’d called me. Very well, I
’ll get her, though I could tell them what you say later.’

  ‘Whatever. It’s –’

  There was a click as Vi, who’d been hovering, picked up the phone, anxious to hear the news, knowing that Christina wouldn’t share everything at all. She’d drop little snippets over the next few days in front of other people. Jennifer is doing this, told me that. Oh, didn’t you know that, Vi? Goodness, must have slipped my mind.

  ‘Hi, sweetheart, how’s everything?’ came Vi’s cheerful voice.

  ‘I was just about to tell Mum my news, so I want you to know too.’

  ‘We can’t chat, Vi, this is expensive for her.’

  ‘Mum, just let me get it out, will you! . . . I’m pregnant.’

  There was an excited squeal from Vi, silence from Christina.

  Then, ‘Are you sure? Could be a false alarm, you know. Don’t get so hysterical, Vi.’

  ‘Of course she’s sure, or she wouldn’t be ringing us up. Ooh, this is wonderful. When, when?’ gushed Vi.

  ‘Have you seen a doctor? Obviously you can’t stay on that island in the middle of nowhere. You need a good doctor. I’ll make arrangements down here with Dr Martin. Now, when are you coming back home?’ Christina was businesslike and efficient.

  ‘Why’s she have to go to a doctor down here, Tina? Aren’t there good doctors up there, Jenny? That place where you go shopping?’

  ‘Yes, Vi. Headland Bay. I’ve seen the doctor and there’s an excellent hospital here. All very handy.’

  ‘You can’t be serious. You can’t stay in the middle of the ocean and have a baby,’ snapped Christina.

  ‘Is Blair thrilled?’ asked Vi, trying to get Christina off this track.

  ‘Er, I think so. I mean, we’re both still getting used to the idea. It was a bit of a surprise.’

  ‘I hope he’s making arrangements to move back here as soon as possible. You need your family now,’ said Christina.

  ‘Let’s not rush things, Tina. So what are your plans, sweetie? Do you feel okay? Don will be thrilled . . .’

  ‘I’m fine, Vi. No morning sickness. Just eating a lot.’