Gibb River Road

by Damian Maher

  They stayed at the beach until they had to return for the boat shuttle.

  Since they now knew how to cope with all the surprises of the hazardous road, the way back to the Kakadu Highway only meant repeating the exercise. On the way to Pine Creek, the sheer beauty of some of the sights they saw forced them to stop. While drinking his coffee, William read aloud from the travel guide. “Pine Creek arose from the fact that in 1871 workers digging holes for the telegraph line found gold. They’re still mining iron ore today, but they also rely on tourism. ”

  “Let’s see if there’s some gold for us there,” Jacob said, smiling.

  *

  “It’s almost dark,” Jacob said as they arrived at Pine Creek and found a remote space in an RV park. “What a strange feeling! Bats are hanging from the highest branches, and the nearest deadly animal is who knows where.”

  “Australia! I’ve locked it into my heart! Shall we check out the special buffet they offer today,” William said enthusiastically as they sat in front of their mobile home. “I hope there won’t only be meat.”

  “Sure. Let’s have dinner and then have a drink at the bar!” Jacob said. I enjoy being with William. There is something about this man . . . he thought to himself.

  “Why are you looking at me that way?” William asked.

  “I am looking at the three bats behind you,” Jacob said, blushing.

  Quite a few people whose eyes were too big for their stomachs gathered around a huge dinner buffet. They were returning to their wooden tables with loaded plates in their hands.

  “Great, isn’t it? So many vegetables and vegetarian foods! Good thing I didn’t cook today!” William said .

  “You’re an excellent cook! I haven’t even noticed that I stopped eating meat,” Jacob said.

  “Well, thanks, but I think you’re just trying to make me enthusiastic about cooking, so you won’t have to cook!”

  “That’s partially true!” Jacob said with a grin.

  “May we join you? There’s no free table left,” a tall woman asked politely, with her husband behind her.

  “Sure! You’re welcome,” William said.

  “Well . . .” Jacob uttered to himself.

  “We’re coming from Derby. We decided to travel through Gibb River Road. Today we visited Katherine’s thermal pools. We soaked in the warm water the whole day. It was almost impossible to leave, but we had to set out at five o’clock because we don’t like to drive at night,” the woman said chattily.

  “Why don’t you like to drive at night?” William asked.

  “There are so many animals that can cross your way. Cattle. Kangaroos. It’s simply dangerous. And what if the car breaks down? You don’t want to have problems in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere,” the man said.

  “Yeah! You could only wrap a snake around your neck and strangle yourself!” Jacob said, and they all laughed.

  “Don’t even joke about the snakes, Jacob!” William said. At that moment his phone got a signal and started to receive messages. “Excuse me, I have to make a call,” William said, leaving the table to get away from the noise.

  Jacob was only partially listening to what the woman was saying.

  “What was it?” he asked as William returned to the table.

  “Nothing special. I canceled Marlon. I am not doing business with him anymore,” William said.

  “Good! That’s good!” Jacob said, in a voice that nearly sang.

  “There’s live music today,” the woman said, biting passionately into a chicken leg. “After weeks of Outback wilderness, that should be a change! Are you coming?”

  “Sure!” William said. “I feel like I need to get slightly drunk and party through the night! Just to wash away the last of the jet leg.”

  After dinner, they went to the bar to have a beer and listen to the band. The couple they had met earlier was first on the dance floor. Soon others joined, and the party started.

  “Wanna dance?” a young woman asked William, grabbing his shoulder.

  “Sure,” William answered, taken by the loud, joyful atmosphere.

  “I won’t return him soon,” the girl screamed to Jacob. “Not many men in Pine Creek want to dance. But after he’s done, it’ll be your turn!”

  “William, I guess you’ll score tonight!” Jacob said as the woman dragged William toward the dance floor.

  “ Help! Help me, Jacob!” William joked.

  “There’s nothing I can do. You’re on your own, mate!” Jacob said.

  “I’ll put salt in your coffee tomorrow!” William said, grinning.

  Clinging to his beer, Jacob watched William intently as he danced with the woman.

  “Hello, sailor! I’m Roberta,” said a woman who took a seat near Jacob. With her short hair, thick muscles, lumbering gait, heavy shoulders, and her jowly face, with a deep dimple in her chin, she looked more like a man. Life was written on her face, and she had obviously worked hard.

  “Jacob.”

  “You’re here with your friend?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Jacob said.

  “I know men. I immediately saw that you have the sensibility of a gay man. On the outside, you try to be macho, perhaps to please your father?”

  Jacob blushed, “You couldn’t be more wrong!”

  “Well, that’s what I think!” she said, sounding convinced of what she was saying.

  “Oh, so you are Pine Creek’s psychologist?” Jacob said.

  “No. I’m Pine Creek’s hooker,” she said without the slightest bit of embarrassment.

  “That’s okay. But don’t waste your time on me,” Jacob said.

  “I’m not here for business, unless you want me to be. I like to talk to people. I worked like crazy all day around the house. You can imagine how it is with three kids. I’m alone for everything,” she said.

  “You seem like a very down-to-earth person. How come you became a prostitute?” Jacob asked. She smells incredibly clean and fresh.

  “After we had three kids, my man was killed in the mine. I was left alone, with no income. Many lone miners, very normal and kind men, want to have some fun. I love men. And I love sex. Well, most of the time. This job is not as horrible as most people think.”

  “I guess it’s okay if it works for you. Do your customers also want to talk to you?”

  “Well . . . even men who have killed human beings have cried when they talked with me. I actually am kind of a substitute for the village psychotherapist,” she said. “But, you know, the only people I let into my life are the ones who are honest enough to feel, to talk, to be who they are, without playing games.”

  “I understand that,” Jacob said.

  “You look to me like you want to drown some kind of a problem. Your expression is too tight for a happy person,” Roberta said.

  “Actually, I came to Australia for the sole purpose of killing myself,” he said, wanting to shock her.

  “And why haven’t you done it yet?” Roberta asked, unimpressed.

  “ I met William. Accidentally. We talked at the hotel bar, and he invited me to join him. I don’t know why, but I agreed.”

  “Why did you want to kill yourself?” Roberta asked. She looked interested, like a real psychotherapist, except that she truly wanted to know.

  “My daughter and my wife died,” Jacob starting to tell her his story. Soon, Roberta’s eyes became moist, and by the time Jacob finished, she sobbed.

  “That’s hard. That really is hard,” she said, wiping her eyes. Then she took his hand and whispered, “You know what? Life is worth living. That’s it. Its worth doesn’t derive solely from other people, not even from the dearest ones. And you know what? You should be able to let your daughter and your wife start encouraging you and giving you strength.”

  Jacob was quiet for a moment, but then he said, “I guess you’re right. It’s horribly hard and heartbreaking, but I still have to live. What good would my death do?”

  “Now you’re talkin
g. Heaps good!” Roberta said, her look warm and accepting.

  “It’s strange. A completely new world opened to me here in Australia. I don’t even know myself anymore,” Jacob said.

  “That’s okay. You’re put on earth simply to live your life, not to understand every bit of it. Just allow yourself to be happy!”

  “ You’re an incredible woman. I’ve never met a person so warm, so understanding, so wise. And you really have this power that makes people trust you. You could be a very good psychologist or psychiatrist,” Jacob said.

  “School’s not for everyone,” Roberta said. “I don’t like books too much.”

  “That’s okay. But what about you? Do you have problems? You are a sole provider,” Jacob asked.

  “Not many people ask about my problems. Usually they talk about themselves. They don’t even notice me. You’re different. I told you that you have a gay sensibility,” she joked, and they laughed. “Yes, I have to come up with ways to earn money. But that isn’t the main problem. I had breast cancer, and after the surgery, the doctor said that there is a chance that it might come back. I’m not worried so much about me. You know, we all have to die. It’s in God’s hands. But what about my children? Who will provide for them? I have no relatives, and my daughters, Olivia, Vivian, and Evelyn, aren’t grown up yet. They all go to primary school. That’s my problem, if you really want to know.”

  “You’re a good mother. Even if you die, and your children have to go to foster parents or find some other alternative, it would be okay for them. I’m sure that you already have given them everything they need. I have no doubt about that,” Jacob said.

  She slid off her bar stool and gave him a hug.

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me,” Roberta said. “I have to go now, though. I see an old client winking at me. You know, in this small town ninety-nine percent of my clients are returning customers.”

  “I’ll never forget you. Here’s my number,” Jacob said, handing her his business card. “Call me if you ever need something. I mean it.”

  “Here’s my number,” she said, writing it on the place mat. “Call me if you decide to kill yourself again.”

  She smiled, but Jacob knew she could not have been more serious.

  Jacob then saw William sweating and swinging on the dance floor. Soon he waved goodbye and went to bed.

  *

  Jesus, I’ll remember Pine Creek by this massive headache. William woke up feeling the consequences of the previous night. He had danced the night through, until finally, groggy from vodka, with juice serving more as a seasoning, he made it to bed, helped by a woman with whom he had danced. Now he heard Jacob making noise around the car. He tried to open his eyes.

  “You look awful. Did that woman beat you up?” Jacob asked, smiling.

  William uttered a groan. “Leave me alone. It’s bad enough as it is!”

  “See? That’s what a gay man gets from messing with a woman!” Jacob said.

  “ Please, don’t talk so loud. My head will explode,” William said.

  “Come on, princess, coffee is ready. And here’s a potent analgesic that will help you,” Jacob said, giving him a pill.

  William finally managed to drag himself from the car to the camping chair. He wore dark glasses as he drank his coffee, and he looked like the depressed Maria Callas toward the end of her career. They were quiet for a while. The diva wanted total silence.

  “I just had another Australian experience in the toilet facilities! I thought I was grabbing the soap, but I ended up with a green frog in my hand. It was sitting near the tap, just where the soap is supposed to be. I brought the frog out so it wouldn’t get hurt,” Jacob said quietly after he thought that the pill he had given William had started to take effect.

  “That’s Australia!” William whispered.

  “Are you getting better?” Jacob asked.

  “I think the pill is starting to work. Thanks!” William said, taking different pills from a gray case.

  “I wonder if all those vitamins are as healthy as you think. Every substance that you take in changes your body. I prefer natural vitamins. If you eat properly, you should be okay,” Jacob teased him.

  “Leave me alone,” William said quietly. “What about your teeth fetish, Jacob? You want your teeth to be pearly white, and you use about ten special toothpastes alternately. And you brush your teeth compulsively three times a day. We had to stop the car just because of that. Remember?”

  “ I like my teeth clean,” Jacob said. “It’s not because I’m narcissistic. I don’t mind sporting a good growth of stubble.”

  “It suits you,” William said. Does he look hotter every day?

  “Is that a butcherbird singing?” Jacob exclaimed, excited. “I think I hear a butcherbird. They have such complex, high-pitched melodies. They use them to defend their territories.”

  He moved carefully toward the bush and motioned William to come as well.

  “See, that’s a butcherbird! The big black-andwhite bird. He has a large, straight bill with a distinctive hook at the end that he uses to skewer prey,” Jacob whispered. “That’s incredible. I’ve wanted to hear that bird sing since I was a little boy. My mother read me a fairy tale where this bird was the main character. According to the fairy tale, only people who had lost their way in life could hear the butcherbird sing. With his song the butcherbird calls you to be who you really are, because this is the only way to reclaim your life. And now he sings! William! He actually sings!”

  And as if the butcherbird knew how much his singing was appreciated, he gave a real performance.

  “That was exciting! And the bird actually noticed how we listened to him. Maybe the bird felt how special this was to you,” William said as the bird finally flew away.

  Enraptured, they waited in silence to see whether the bird would come back, but he didn’t.

  “ You’re doing better, Jacob, aren’t you?” William asked, looking straight into Jacob’s eyes.

  “I guess I am. It’s as if here, in the wilderness, far from everyday life, I was forced to deal with my true self. I had to find my path and figure out how to be me. That’s the butcherbird’s call. It was in me all the time.”

  “You slept like a baby. You didn’t even wake up last night when I came back from the party,” William said.

  “Yes, that’s new. That alone makes a world of difference!”

  “I’m so glad!”

  “You’re a helper, aren’t you?” Jacob smiled. “My own butcherbird!”

  “After my mother died, I had to take care of everyone else. I’m still kind of obsessed with helping people and saving the world. I do know I can be pushy in this regard. But caring for other people is just my way of remembering my mother.”

  “But today I am taking care of you. I am your personal butler. So, one piece of toast or two?”

  “I’m allowed to be a diva today? In that case, I want nothing and everything, with a touch of bird’s milk, please!”

  “Okay. I’ll cook just that, then!” Jacob smiled and went inside .

  3 WILD DONKEYS

  In good spirits, they continued their journey from Pine Creek to Katherine.

  “It’s about ninety kilometers. It should take about two hours,” William said, checking the map while Jacob drove.

  “Shall we just drive through the town a bit and afterward spend the whole day in Katherine’s hot springs? I need to soak up the warm water and relax,” Jacob said.

  “Great!” William said. “I’m all for it!” “What about our daily dosage of ‘Casta Diva’?” Jacob asked.

  William put on the music, and they both enjoyed the beautiful Australian scenery, which was becoming much drier and redder than around Darwin.

  “Let’s have a competition! Let’s see who is a better joke teller! Let’s see who wins,” William proposed, giving Jacob a playful look, after ‘Casta Diva’ had finished.

  “Okay, you start!” Jacob accepted the challenge.

&nb
sp; “Here it goes: at Sunday mass, a priest decided to reprimand his congregation, for he had come across some very, very indecent behavior recently.

  “‘Yesterday, after dark, I went into the forest. And whom do you think I saw? Him and her! A disgrace!’ He crossed himself.

  “‘After that I went somewhat deeper into the woods. Jesus help us all! Whom do you think I saw? Her and her! A horrible disgrace! A sin!’ He crossed himself again. ‘Horrible, just horrible!’

  “‘But then I had to go even deeper into the woods. Sweet Jesus! Dear Lord! Whom do you think I saw now? Him and him! Do I witness the end of the world coming? Horrible! Even more, it was Sodom and Gomorrah!’

  “Then a member of his congregation, sitting in the last row, raised his hand. It was Dick, the stoned one with the reddish nose.

  “‘Reverend, if you’d decided to go even deeper into the woods, you’d have seen me and— me!’”

  They both laughed uproariously.

  “A good one!” Jacob said, smiling. “I also happen to know a gay joke. A gay man goes to a seafood restaurant. ‘What’s your special today?’ he asks. ‘It’s octopussy, sir,’ the waiter says. ‘That’s great, but . . .’ the gay man suddenly shows some hesitation. ‘Oh, you don’t like octopussy?’ the waiter says, trying to help him. ‘I guess I might like it, but, please, only the octo part for me . . . I don’t eat pussy.’”

  “Oh, that’s a lame one! But look, there’s a black snake crossing the road!” William exclaimed, excited.

  “And it’s a big one, too! At least two meters in length. What do you think: does a black snake crossing the road bring misfortune?” Jacob joked. But William was still unnerved by the idea.

  Somehow, their boisterousness ebbed. The seemingly endless road cut monotonously through vast grasslands dotted with trees. Driving felt like a meditation. While Jacob was driving, William tried to observe him. Oh, William, dream on!

  After they passed Edith, a small settlement, they knew they had about thirty kilometers to go before they reached Katherine.

  “Katherine appears to be an easygoing town,” Jacob said when they reached it.