by Di Morrissey
Shirley took this in, then shifted in the bed. She folded her hands on top of the sheet, tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘My poor, poor Stefan. How could I have ever doubted him? I can’t believe that anything so terrible could have happened. My poor darling man.’
Kerrie smiled at her. ‘Now you know that Stefan never stopped loving you.’
Shirley nodded. ‘I suppose so, but when I think that I didn’t trust him. How could I have had such thoughts? Kerrie, I don’t understand, Bosko told me that Stefan had got married. How could he be so cruel as to say that?’ Shirley’s eyes narrowed. She suddenly understood. ‘Stefan was set up, wasn’t he?’
‘Yes, he was, and by that man Bosko,’ replied Kerrie. ‘The man I hired to trace Stefan’s records was very lucky. Many files had disappeared, but he found Stefan’s papers and it was clear that the person who had falsely accused Stefan and alerted the Yugoslav authorities of his arrival in Yugoslavia was Bosko. It seems that Bosko was really an agent provocateur. While he was supposedly recruiting Croats, Serbs and Albanians in Australia to work against the communist regime in Yugoslavia, he was really working for the UDBa, the Yugoslav secret police. So far from supporting these nationalist groups, he was making sure that the Australian authorities thought they were terrorists. At the same time, the money he extorted from the opal miners went to the communist regime, and not to the people that the miners really meant to support. He was a very busy man.’
‘I suppose he hated Stefan for not buying into his lies,’ said Shirley.
‘And from what you’ve told me, Shirley, Bosko might also have been worried that Stefan could have gone to the Australian authorities over his extortionist activities. I suppose that when he knew that Stefan was going back to Yugoslavia to see his mother, it was a good opportunity to get him out of the way. I’m so sorry, Shirley,’ said Kerrie.
Shirley turned to Goran. ‘And you flew out to Australia to tell me all this. Thank you very much. What happened to you, Goran?’
‘I survived my sentence and things began to change in Yugoslavia. The prison closed down entirely in the late eighties.’
‘So if my Stefan hadn’t died from pneumonia, he would have been released eventually? It’s so hard to believe that such a terrible thing happened, but at least now I know. And you found this out for me, Kerrie. How can I ever thank you?’
‘Shirley, you’ve been such a good friend to me, it was the least I could do. If the same thing had happened to me, and the love of my life just disappeared into thin air, I would always wonder what happened, just as you did.
I had the means to hire someone to do the search and then to fly Goran out here, and I am so pleased that I could,’ said Kerrie. She leant over to hug Shirley.
Shirley looked at Goran. ‘Thank you for being a friend to Stefan. See what good friends I have, too.’
‘If there is anything else I can do to help you, please let me know. I was in bad shape when I came out of Goli Otok. I was sad that Stefan had died. Perhaps I should have tried to find you, but I wanted to pick up the threads of my life again. Australia is such a long way away and there were too many Shirleys to look up.’
‘Please, it’s all right. I’m so grateful to you. All those years I spent wondering and now I know. I wish I could thank you properly. If I was home in my dugout I could.
I loathe being in here,’ she said crossly, sounding more like the Shirley of old.
Kerrie smiled. ‘Goran is happy to stay a few days, seeing as he’s come all this way and you’re in hospital. We’ll take him out to Opal Lake. Then he can see the “cave” you live in. Now, Shirley, do you want to rest? I’ll pop back this afternoon and we can talk if you like,’ said Kerrie, standing up. ‘Goran, let me buy you lunch.’
*
Shirley walked stiffly, using a stick, but she was already feeling better and had renewed energy, so she decided to take a few slow laps around the hospital corridors. It was days since the visit from Goran, which she sometimes felt she’d dreamed, but her general sense of peace and wellbeing reminded her that the encounter was real.
She thought she’d like to look at the orthopaedic section of the surgical ward because it was where she used to work all those decades ago.
A passing nurse paused and asked, ‘Can I help you?’
‘Now that I can walk, I know that I have to keep exercising. I used to be a ward sister in an orthopaedics unit years ago, in Sydney. I bet things have changed since my day.’
The nurse smiled. ‘Yes. We try not to immobilise people for weeks on end these days. We’ve only got a few orthopaedic patients in at the moment, mostly knee and hip replacements.’
They chatted as they walked.
‘You look like you’re recovering well,’ said the nurse.
‘Gallbladder. Glad it’s over. Everyone has been very kind and efficient here and looked after me really well, but I don’t plan to come back any time soon. Any patients here with broken bones that I could have a look at?’
They moved further along the corridor until they came to a private room where a bored-looking policeman was sitting outside a closed door reading a newspaper.
‘The patient in here is under arrest. I don’t know why they bother with security,’ the nurse said to Shirley in a low voice. ‘He’s got broken legs. He’s not going to run anywhere.’
Shirley stopped. ‘Could I look in on him? I’d like to see how you treat such patients now. No more high traction you said?’
The nurse spoke to the policeman who stood up and folded his newspaper before nodding. The nurse opened the door to the room. Shirley paused in the doorway.
‘You have a visitor. A former sister who knows all about broken bones,’ said the nurse to the patient.
Shirley ignored the modern equipment. She was staring at the occupant of the bed. Calmly she said, ‘Good morning, Davo.’ He turned his head away from the window and his eyes widened. Swiftly he brought his one good arm up to shield his face.
‘You know him?’ asked the nurse quietly.
Shirley walked slowly to the bed and stared down at Davo.
‘Why’d you do it, Davo? Why? What were you thinking of when you took off, not just with my opals, but with Anna?’
‘Dunno.’ Then he mumbled, ‘Sorry, Shirley.’
‘You stole my opals, went through my things and hurt that girl,’ she said angrily.
‘I don’t think that we should be talking to him,’ said the nurse in a worried voice.
‘I dunno what happened. Everything was going bad. I thought the business would fold and then what would I do?’
‘You could’ve just asked me to help you. You were supposed to be my friend,’ snapped Shirley. ‘Now look at the trouble you’re in. You’re a big disappointment to me.’
‘What’s going on in here? Do you know this man?’ The policeman bustled into the room.
‘We’re just going,’ said the nurse. She took Shirley’s arm.
‘Am I going to jail? What’ll happen to me, Shirley?’ Davo whined.
‘Do you expect me to care, after what you did?’ Shirley turned away.
‘Are you the woman he robbed?’ asked the nurse, looking incredulous, as they headed back down the corridor.
‘I thought he was just a bit stupid, but he was a ratter, and ratters can be very violent when they’re after opal,’ said Shirley. ‘He took my opals, but he did more than that. He took a young girl against her will. Now he wonders why he’s in hot water.’
‘I thought you were very decent, under the circumstances,’ commented the nurse.
‘He’ll have plenty of time to think about what he’s done. I’d better go back to my room. I have a friend coming to visit any time now. Thanks for the tour.’
*
The hotel was closed. Anna finished cleaning and wandered into the sunshine out the back where Mick was busy with his buckets of rough opals. Anna sat in a chair and stretched her legs as Mick stepped away from his wheel and studied the opal he was hol
ding for a minute before sitting beside her.
‘It’s got some nice colour but patchy.’ He handed it to her.
‘Yes, blue and green stripes.’ She gave it back to him.
‘Ribbon, with a bit of pinfire. I’m trying to collect examples of all the different opal patterns.’ He turned the stone in the sunlight, enjoying the flashes of colour.
‘Why don’t you mine fulltime, Mick?’ asked Anna. ‘Digging out opal yourself must be more exciting than buying it from a miner.’
He nodded. ‘Sure is. I used to love mining. Now you need money to buy dozers and heavy equipment. Price of diesel has gone through the roof, times are tight and people aren’t paying the good prices for opal, not like they used to. Lot of miners who have the good stuff are sitting on it, waiting for times to change. Too many restrictions from the mines department now. So little blokes like me, retired people working up here in the winters, are finding that mining is too expensive. We’re being pushed out by the big boys who are after the gas below the opal level, and whatever else they’re finding down there. Nah, I’m happy being in town now. Let the others do the mining, while they still can.’
‘I’ve been happy here too, Mick. But it’s time I went.’
‘I understand that, love. Been a terrible thing, this Davo business.’
Anna paused a moment. ‘It was scary at the time. But when I think about it now, somehow it’s made me stronger because I came through it. I’m not going to let it affect me negatively. In fact, in a way, it’s proved something to me.’
‘What’s that?’
Anna almost smiled. ‘Having to pace myself out there, at the lake, because I knew I had such a long way to run showed me that my head can control my feet. I used to be a mad bolter, but now I know I can stop that. I really understand what my coach was trying to tell me. When I start running competitively again, I’ll be able to run a tactical race.’ She added, ‘I need to get some money together somehow and I’ll be right. I’m raring to go and give running my best shot. So Mick, I’m going back to Adelaide to find my coach.’
‘Well, I’m blowed. All of us felt real bad about Davo. Never would have thought that he would grab you like that. But, as everyone says, ratters can be dangerous. In a way it was my fault, too. Everyone knew Shirley’s key was hanging in the bar, so I guess he just helped himself.
I s’pose he thought he could get away with it. Would have too, if you hadn’t surprised him. You pressing charges?’
‘I can’t pretend it didn’t happen, but I just want to move on now. I’ve told my parents and they want me home for my twenty-first birthday.’
‘That’ll be a big day. When is it?’
‘Quite soon, actually.’
‘You know what would be nice? How about we give you a send-off party and make it an early twenty-first bash as well!’ exclaimed Mick enthusiastically. ‘Y’know, Shirley will be home in a day or so, and we might be able to get her to come down to the pub, now that she’s been to Broken Hill. Kerrie’s bringing her back. Kerrie’s bloke, Tim, is bringing some Yugo friend. Pam and Doug are back. Ingrid’s here. Yep. Sounds like a party.’
‘I don’t want any fuss,’ began Anna.
‘Thelma can make a cake, we’ll have a barbie out here. Give you a right old send-off, Anna.’
Mick phoned Kerrie who agreed that it was an excellent plan.
‘We’ll be back in a couple of days,’ she told Mick. ‘Tim has taken our friend Goran to Lightning Ridge for a bit of a look-see while I’m here keeping Shirley company in the hospital. Tim’s father Roth is on the valuing committee over at the Ridge.’
‘So he’s one of the experts who values stones anonymously for miners unsure about their value. Been a good system that,’ said Mick.
‘Yes. Roth wants to bring more jewellers and marketing people from all around Australia to learn more about opals. He says people don’t know enough about them to appreciate the fabulous stones. I told Tim that every Aussie girl should get an opal when she turns twenty-one!’
‘That’s it! That’s what we can give Anna! She needs money so she can go on training or something.’
‘I’m one step ahead of you, Mick!’
There was a shout from the front of the pub and everyone moved outside as a great cheer went up. Kerrie and Tim were on either side of Shirley, supporting her as she gingerly walked from the car, while a smiling Goran walked behind her. Spontaneously everyone broke into applause as Shirley was helped inside and settled into a chair.
Pam and Ingrid looked at each other, their eyes filled with tears of delight. Kerrie sat beside Shirley, who gazed around, taking in the scene.
‘Never thought I’d be down here again,’ she said softly to herself.
‘Gin and tonic, wine or . . . ?’ Mick asked Shirley.
‘This is an occasion. We thought champagne!’ said Tim. ‘Mick, bring out your best bubbly.’
‘This is an amazing place,’ said Goran. ‘I see why it meant so much to Stefan. And Shirley is very special. But that place she lives in. It is a cave! I could hardly believe it when she showed me. I always thought that Stefan had exaggerated.’
‘It’s different,’ agreed Tim. ‘Some dugouts are very luxurious. But Shirley seems to have all she wants around her and even if she is nearly eighty, she manages quite well.’
‘There are good people here, too,’ said Goran. ‘It is a friendly community. My relatives have never left Sydney. They have never seen places like this, which are nearly on their doorstep, while I have flown nearly halfway around the world to be part of this.’
‘We haven’t had a big bash in Opal Lake for some time, so this has turned out to be the perfect opportunity,’ said Pam as she surveyed the room from the other end of the bar.
Anna laughed. ‘This is such fun, I can’t thank everyone enough.’
‘I’m glad that we could get here, too,’ said Helen. ‘Who’s that with Kerrie and Tim?’
‘It’s quite a story. That fellow – Goran – met Shirley’s Stefan in Yugoslavia. Bit of a tragic tale as it turns out,’ said Mick. ‘I’m sure we’ll get the details eventually.’
‘I believe it’s made a big difference to Shirley,’ said Anna quietly. ‘I’m so happy for her.’
‘We’re just glad to have her back at the Lake, safe and well,’ said Mick.
‘How is the fossil research going?’ Tim asked Helen and Gustav as they came over to join him, Kerrie and Shirley.
‘It’s so exciting. Our dream of establishing the Australian Opal Centre is becoming a reality. Soon we will be able to exhibit properly the greatest collection of opal, opalised fossils, and heritage and stories that have come from the opal fields,’ said Gustav. ‘Glenn Murcutt and his wife, Wendy Lewin, have designed a groundbreaking building out near the Three Mile open-cut at the Ridge, so it’s in situ so to speak.’
‘It’s an amazing building,’ enthused Helen. ‘It will draw visitors from all over the world – a global centre of research to promote everything to do with our national gemstone. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world!’
‘Sounds fantastic,’ said Kerrie. ‘Tim and his father have some novel ideas for ways to promote opal. How about in the Sydney to Hobart, one of the maxi yachts used a spinnaker made of opal print material? And at the Sydney Festival opal-patterned lights could be projected onto the sails of the Opera House!’
Shirley listened to this exchange and said to Helen and Gustav, ‘I have something I’d like to donate to this Opal Centre, but there is one proviso.’
Kerrie stared at her, guessing what Shirley was about to say.
‘It’s a rather lovely opalised fossil and I’d like it to be displayed as a gift from Stefan Doric.’
Kerrie touched Shirley’s arm and said softly, ‘That’s a lovely idea. Very appropriate.’
Shirley turned to Anna. ‘And for you, young lady. I want to help you. You were very brave and I want to thank you for retrieving my opals. Over the years old miners have be
queathed me their opals on the understanding that, when the time came, I would know what to do with them. I think that time is now.’
Anna looked stunned and began to shake her head, but Shirley took her hand.
‘It’s time those stones were put to good use. I’m sure Roth can organise a good price for them and you can use that money to get to wherever it is you need to help you become a great runner.’
‘Shirley, I couldn’t possibly accept . . .’ began Anna, her eyes brimming with tears. ‘Just offering them is so wonderful of you . . .’
‘I’m not just offering them, I mean it. And I hope I get to see you on a podium winning some medal, if that’s what you’re aiming for.’
Anna was speechless, embarrassed and shocked. She turned and flung her arms around Shirley, hiding her face.
‘This calls for a toast,’ said Tim. ‘Everybody, gather round.’
With their champagne glasses raised, everyone in the pub grouped together, some even spilling out the front of the little hotel onto the footpath.
‘To the doyenne of Opal Lake, Shirley! We’re glad you are healthy, happy and back home. To Goran, thank you for making the journey to bring Shirley the truth. And to Anna, who is our hope for the future not only as an athlete but as a young woman we all admire.’
‘And the best barmaid this pub ever had,’ interjected Mick.
‘And . . .’ Tim continued with a smile, ‘to Kerrie, whose generosity has brought so much of this about, and to your own future, your own dreams and your own happiness. May they be mine, as well. I love you.’ He leant forward and kissed her.
Cheers, laughter and shouts followed, and people gradually moved to the barbecue and its tantalising smells.
Kerrie reached for Anna’s hand. ‘A small birthday gift from me. For you to keep and remember Opal Lake.’
‘I don’t need anything to remember, this has been . . .’ Words failed Anna. ‘I’ll come back and visit, may I, Shirley?’