“Yes.” Paula hoped her reply sounded cheerier than she felt.
“Your mother says to ask if you’re sure you don’t need anything from the city.”
“No, Dad. See you soon.” Paula hung up and looked at her watch again. It was nearly a half-hour drive from the farm into town. She hoped Dan would get home soon, so that she could shop before her parents arrived. She’d rung Dara last night and arranged to buy some of her home-cooked pies and cakes. Dara had wanted to give them to Paula but she had insisted on paying.
“You could do a good trade from people like me who can’t cook or people like Katherine who haven’t time,” Paula had joked.
She glanced around the kitchen once more. Her shopping bags and esky complete with freezer blocks were by the door. Outside it was another grey morning. “All threat and no promise,” Dan had said, looking at the sky. Paula wasn’t sure she understood his preoccupation with water from the sky.
“Woodie Two, are you on channel?” The two-way barked into her quiet kitchen. “Paula, this is Dan, are you there?”
Paula turned and looked at the hated radio on her fridge. She had forgotten they’d added the ‘Two’ to distinguish between her and Dan. He was ‘Woodie’ and she was ‘Woodie Two’.
“Yes, Dan. Paula here.”
“We’ve had a breakdown. I’m waiting for the mechanic so I can’t come home. I’m sending Tom back with the vehicle for you.” Paula stared in horror at the handpiece. “Paula? Are you there?”
She pushed in the button. “Yes, Dan.”
“You’ll have to drop Tom back here.”
Paula’s head was spinning. She couldn’t find her way to town from the house, how would she ever find her way from wherever ‘here’ was?
“Paula?” Can you hear me?” Dan’s voice carried a trace of irritation.
“Yes, Dan.” She wanted to remind him that she didn’t know her way about and she’d never driven the new dual cab but she couldn’t bear the thought of the local ears hearing of her naivety.
“Keep the two-way on in the ute, in case I need to reach you.” There was a click and then silence. He sounded just like Rowena. Paula could have been annoyed but she didn’t have time. She was too busy panicking. What was she supposed to do now?
Her parents were on their way. In her head, she’d been playing over the scene of their arrival. She and Dan greeting them in town, then her parents following them home where they would all unload the trailer and Paula would produce one of Dara’s delicious pies before Dan returned to work. Now there was no Dan to help her.
No doubt she should be grateful Tom wasn’t bringing back the truck or tractor for her to drive to town. Tom. She looked at the pad and pen beside the phone. He would have to draw her a map.
When Paula told him she was a little unsure of her way to town Tom grinned and started to describe the journey. He was standing beside the dual cab drawing pictures in the air with his hands.
“Tom, would you please draw me a map.” Paula waved the pad and pen.
Tom went quiet as the two-way crackled to life in the vehicle.
“Woodie Two, are you on channel, Paula?” Paula thrust the notepad and pen at Tom and got into the vehicle.
“Yes, Dan.”
“You might as well drop Tom at his place on the way to town. The mechanic will be a while. Tom’s got things to do at home and you can pick him up on your way back.”
“Yes, Dan,” Paula replied meekly, conscious of the unseen ears listening.
“Could you organise some lunch for him to bring back as well? Doesn’t look like I’ll be home for some time.” The radio crackled for a moment. “Thanks, Paula.”
Was that an apologetic tone? Paula hooked the handpiece back on to the radio and turned to look at Tom. He was hunched over the paper and pen. Paula looked from the lines he’d drawn to his face. His eyes were downcast and he chewed the corner of his lip.
“I’m not good with a pen,” he mumbled.
Paula sensed he was uncomfortable and tried to put him at ease. “Well, I can go one better than you, Tom. I really have no idea of how to get to town and I’ve never driven a dual cab.” She smiled at him and he grinned back.
“The jobs at home can wait,” he said. “I could drive you in.”
“How about a compromise? You teach me to drive this monster and give me directions.”
“Sure.” Tom’s grin was even wider.
“And Tom.” Paula lowered her voice. “If you ever need any help with that paper and pen, let me know.”
He met her look briefly then climbed into the ute.
After a couple of lurching, gear-crunching starts they were on their way, both of them grinning like a pair of conspirators.
Paula was amazed at how much she did remember of the journey but there were a couple of corners where she would have made a wrong turn, if it hadn’t been for Tom quietly giving directions. Driving the dual cab was a breeze by the time they reached town but it was much trickier to park than her little car.
She shopped for groceries, picked up her food from Dara and still had time before she expected her parents. Tom had followed her about, quietly helping her with her purchases. Dara had insisted he try one of her chocolate chip and macadamia muffins and Paula had been drawn to some beautiful multi-coloured raw silk scarves from Nepal. She bought one for her mother.
Now they sat waiting outside the post office. Paula remembered the mail delivery. She went inside to organise it. The building was very old and, inside, the small public space was filled up with every kind of post and general office need.
She explained about the change in delivery to the short, beady-eyed woman behind the counter.
“It’s lovely to meet Dan’s bride at last,” she said. “He’s kept you a real secret.” She pulled out a form and began to write on it. “I will need to see some identification, of course.”
Two more women came into the shop behind Paula. She reached for her purse, then stopped.
“I have my driver’s licence, but it’s still got my maiden name and Sydney address.”
The woman stopped writing and peered at Paula over her glasses. “Oh dear, that won’t do, I’m afraid. You could be anybody claiming to be Dan’s wife, you see.”
Paula stood looking at the woman. The door opened again and someone else joined the queue.
“Do you have your marriage certificate?” the woman behind the counter asked in a loud voice.
“Not with me.” Paula started to back away. “I’ll have to come back another day.”
“Yes dear. Make sure you bring the correct documentation.” She glared at Paula, then tore up the form she had been writing on. “Right then, who’s next?” The woman behind Paula stepped up to the counter. Paula turned and made a dash for the door.
“Hello, Paula.” She had almost stepped straight into Katherine Melton. “Marg is a bit of a stickler for the legalities.”
“Yes…I hadn’t thought.” Paula stumbled over her words.
“Getting married adds a whole lot of legal documentation. Do come and see me if I can be any help.” Katherine smiled her predatory smile.
“Thanks, Katherine. I’m in a bit of rush. Bye.” Paula’s words ran together and she charged out the door just as Tom was coming the other way.
“Sorry, Paula,” Tom said as they narrowly missed each other. “I was coming to find you. Dan just called to ask you to pick up the chemicals at the agents. Looks like we’ll be back to work sooner than he thought. The mechanic had the parts to fix the air seeder.”
“Why don’t you take the dual cab and pick up what Dan needs?” Paula glanced at her watch. “I’ll wait here for my parents. Come back for me when you’ve got it.”
Tom got back in the dual cab and pulled away from the curb and Paula walked a few steps along the footpath taking deep slow breaths. She couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been in the post office. Something as simple as organising her mail had turned into a major drama. Had she really got h
er life back together? Where was the woman who could run a busy office single-handed?
“You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
Paula looked up. Jim McInerney was standing on the footpath carrying an armload of envelopes and parcels. He was dressed up again in a shirt, large bright tie and the checked jacket, though Paula thought he looked a bit weary today.
“Hello, Jim. I’m waiting for my parents. They’re coming to stay for a few days. Are you doing the errands as well as selling the cars?”
“My office manager is sick and so is my best mechanic. We’re all pitching in to hold the fort.” He said it so cheerfully that Paula imagined he could be going down with the Titanic and still manage a smile. “The dreaded lurgy is taking its toll.”
Paula looked at him.
“The wog,” he explained. “There seems to be a particularly nasty flu-type thing doing the rounds.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve heard a few people mention it.”
There was a toot and Paula turned to see a four-wheel drive towing a trailer pulling up beside her. She took another deep breath. Her parents had arrived.
“Your visitors are here. They’re staying for a few days, did you say?”
“About a week.”
“Right then…well…” Jim paused a moment as if he was considering something. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
“Darling, it’s so good to see you.” Paula’s mother was rushing towards her. She hugged Paula and stepped back. “You still feel so thin. I thought this fresh country air would be good for you.”
“It is, Mum. I’m fine.” Paula smiled at her father as he walked towards her.
“Hello, Paula.” He threw his arms around her. She felt like a little girl again. She had to remind herself she was closer to thirty than twenty. How did her parents manage to make her feel like a child? She straightened her shoulders and stepped back. She looked around for Jim so she could introduce him but he was gone.
“How was your trip?”
“No problems.” Her father glanced back at the gleaming white hire car. “The vehicle handled very well.”
“The roads are quite good, aren’t they,” her mother said. “And everything is so well signposted.”
“We’re not exactly the outback here.” Paula defended her new home but at the same time she was thinking about the next part of the journey, with rough dirt roads and hardly a signpost in sight.
“Hello again, Paula. These must be your parents.”
Paula turned to meet Katherine’s charming smile. In turn she painted a smile on her own face.
“Katherine Melton, I’d like you to meet my mother and father, Diane and Rex Crawford. Katherine is a solicitor.” There, she did still have it in her, the perfect hostess on the outside hiding the turmoil within.
“Well, I didn’t realise the town would be big enough for a solicitor.”
“We have an extensive practice, Mr Crawford. We have offices in two neighbouring centres and one in the city. Since my father died I oversee the whole business, but I have a particular connection here, so this office is the one I like to give special attention to.” She glanced meaningfully at Paula.
Paula ignored her. She had enough to deal with at the moment without letting her imagination stray to the Dan and Katherine connection.
“I’m glad to see there are opportunities for professional women in the country. Paula is a talented businesswoman. I am sure she will be looking for another challenge, once she has the homemaking under control.”
Paula listened in amazement to her father. How could he think he knew what she would do or how she would feel and how dare he discuss it with Katherine of all people? The visit was going to be a disaster, she could tell already.
“It looks a pretty little town, Paula. I can’t wait to see your new home, darling.” Her mother squeezed her arm.
“Yes, you’re in Dan’s grandparents’ old place, aren’t you Paula?” Katherine said. “Dan must have done a lot of work on it. No one’s lived there for years. And of course you’ve been dabbling with paint yourself, haven’t you?”
Paula seethed inwardly but smiled at her parents. “We have made some changes, but I did warn you there’s still lots to be done,” she explained.
“We don’t mind roughing it, darling.” Once more her mother squeezed her arm.
“I’m sure it will be quaint. I’d love to see what you’ve accomplished.” Katherine beamed at Paula.
“You should come while we’re here, shouldn’t she, Paula? We want to get to know Daniel and Paula’s friends.”
Paula looked at her mother. There she was, trying to organise things again. The last person Paula wanted to invite over was Katherine.
“Those clouds look a bit threatening.” Rex was looking skyward. “Is it far to your place? We probably should try to get this trailer unpacked or at least under cover.”
Paula was grateful for her father’s interruption. The grey day had certainly turned even greyer while they had been standing talking. A premonition perhaps, Paula thought grimly to herself.
“We just need Tom back with the vehicle and we can get going,” she said.
“Tom’s lucky to have that job. I believe he’s virtually illiterate.” Katherine’s smile was smug. “So nice of Dan to offer the poor boy work.”
Paula glared at her. Trust her to give her parents an opinion on Tom before they’d had the chance to meet him for themselves. The dual cab pulled in behind the Crawford’s vehicle.
“He’s here now. Nice chatting to you, Katherine, but we should be off. You follow us, Dad.” Before anyone had a chance for more conversation Paula strode to the dual cab and climbed into the driver’s seat that Tom had just vacated.
“I’ll introduce you to my parents once we get home, Tom. I don’t like the look of this weather.” Paula started the dual cab but her eyes were on her father shaking hands warmly with Katherine rather than the clouds building up overhead. She pulled out from the curb, narrowly missing another vehicle, and drove slowly down the road while her parents scrambled to follow.
The drive home was torturous. How would she manage a week with her parents? What would she do with them for all that time? Dan was so busy he wouldn’t be around much for entertaining. She slowed as she realised she was leaving her father too far behind.
Katherine’s smug smile danced before her. The woman was like a snake. She and Dan had obviously been a couple, Paula knew that much. A striking couple, if the woman at church was to be believed – but that was in the past. Dan had agreed to sort something out after seeding. What could it be? What was the secret that bound them together?
Once they left the bitumen, she had to concentrate to remember her way home. Several times the dual cab bounced through sloshy potholes and snaked around corners. Paula gripped the steering wheel and concentrated on finding her way. She pulled up with a lurch beside the house and realised she hadn’t spoken a word to Tom.
“We made it.” She gave him a grateful smile.
“Yep.”
“Thanks for helping me, Tom. I couldn’t have got there and back without you.”
“Yep.”
“This dual cab isn’t so hard to manage.”
“Yep…you might just want to watch it on the dirt roads though, especially when it’s wet. They can be tricky, but…you’ll be right.”
Paula looked at his serious face. He was quite pale. “Sorry Tom. I did bounce us around a bit, didn’t I?”
“You sure you haven’t been having lessons with Miss Woodcroft?” He broke into a grin showing off his crooked teeth.
“Oh, no. Was I that bad?” She laughed, recalling her tense rides with Rowena.
“You’ll be right.” He turned away and they got out of the vehicle to meet her parents.
“Do you think it’s going to rain?” Rex asked after the introductions. It wasn’t even lunchtime but the day had become quite dark. The slight breeze had dropped right away.
“Looks like it
could. I can help you get your stuff off the trailer, if you like,” Tom offered.
“Thanks, Tom. There are a few bigger items. Are you sure Dan won’t need you?” Paula was nearly going to add that she didn’t want to get Tom into trouble but she stopped herself. He wasn’t a slave to be ordered about. He’d offered to help unload. Surely Dan wouldn’t be cross about that.
“He hasn’t called back since we were in town. It would take a while to fix the air seeder. Its wheels fell off.”
Paula looked at him to see if he was joking but his face was back to his usual reserved expression. “Is that the machine he tows behind the tractor?”
“Yep. We were shifting it on to the next paddock and both wheels just fell off. Bearings went.”
Paula stifled a smile. Tom was very solemn but the vision his description conjured in her head was amusing. Poor Dan. Now she understood why he would be annoyed and impatient. “If you help my father move the big stuff, I’ll put together some lunch for you to take back to eat with Dan. Is that okay?”
“Yep.”
Paula gave her mother a quick tour of the house. In each room Diane found something to be delighted in while Paula kept a wary eye for stray mice or protruding traps. Tom helped her dad unload the kitchen dresser, double bed and sofa bed. The rest of her gear was smaller and they could manage it themselves with the trolley Tom had brought from the shed. Paula sent him on his way with a gourmet lunch, courtesy of Dara.
The weather remained threatening but still no rain fell. They stacked the rest of the contents of the trailer in the enclosed verandah and sat down to eat their share of Dara’s pie and cake.
“Darling, this is delicious. Does Dara have a shop in town? I must take some back with me when I go.”
“She really only does the cooking as a sideline. She has a treasure trove of furniture and knick-knacks, some imports and some locally scrounged pieces. You’d love it, Mum.” Paula handed her mother the gift she’d bought that morning. “I got this for you, from Dara’s.”
“Oh, it’s beautiful, darling, thank you.” Diane threw the scarf around her neck. The vivid pinks and blues looked beautiful against the hot pink long-line cardigan she wore over a black polo top. Paula could see the tears brimming in her mother’s eyes as she stood up and hugged Paula.
A Chance of Stormy Weather Page 10