Silver Clouds (15 page)

A rap on the bedroom door woke Tessa with a start. ‘Piss off,' she muttered, pushing her hair back from her face and squinting at her brother.

‘You never were a morning person,' said Ryan, handing her a mug of coffee.

‘Have you been here for a while?' she asked, accepting it gratefully.

‘Long enough to hear you snoring.'

‘Thanks. I think.'

‘Welcome.' He sat on the side of the bed. ‘So, how'd you go last night?'

‘Fine.'

‘Yeah, right. Burnt dinner, tissues across the floor. Yep, that makes me think everything went just hunky-dory.'

‘Oh, just piss off, would you? You and your high and mighty attitude!'

‘Steady on, steady on, I was just joking,' Ryan answered, sounding injured.

‘Well, take your jokes and leave.'

‘Sorry.' Ryan looked suitably chastised. ‘Sorry, I was just trying to get you to open up. Tessa, you've been clamped up like a bloody safe since you got home.' He got up. ‘How about I come back in a couple of hours? I just wanted to see if you were okay.'

‘You can stay if you stop asking me how I am,' said Tessa.

‘Fine.'

‘I forgot I had to light the chip heater to get hot water,' Tessa admitted.

Ryan laughed. ‘I said to Marns on the way home I thought that would happen.'

‘But I managed.'

‘Of course you did. You're a Nullarbor girl. It never leaves you, no matter how much you try to push it away.'

‘And it was a full moon last night.'

‘So it was.'

There was a silence.

‘Have you had breakfast?' asked Tessa.

‘Mate, I've been up for the last four hours. It's nine-thirty, you slacker! Come on, get up and I'll see if I can find a tin of spaghetti for you.'

‘No! No thanks. That won't be necessary. Now get out of here so I can get dressed, then I'll make
you
a coffee.'

‘Deal.'

In the kitchen they sat facing each other, silent, so many things unsaid.

Not knowing how to clear the air, Tessa finally spoke. ‘I thought about Kendra last night.'

‘Yeah, thought you might've. And I'm sure there will be nights you think about nothing but Aunty Spider.'

‘I guess.'

Ryan leaned back in his chair. ‘She knew you were struggling in the UK,' he said. ‘I didn't think you were. All I heard about were these great parties and how busy you were. I didn't think there were any problems at all, but she knew.'

‘Did she tell you what they were?'

‘Not exactly, but when her letters started to go unanswered, she knew things weren't right. And now you're back, I'm guessing you might be drinking a bit much?'

Tessa looked down at the tablecloth, her face aflame with embarrassment. ‘Bloody hell, has she passed the all-seeing gene on to you since she died?'

He snorted. ‘Well, you're in the right place to fix it. There's a long drive in front of you if you want any booze here,' Ryan said, putting his hand on her arm. ‘Now, which room are you going to start on today?'

Chapter 15

One week and more trailer loads of rubbish than Tessa could believe later, she had managed to get the bathroom, laundry and hallway cupboards all cleaned out. She'd started with places that weren't going to upset her, leaving the spare room, lounge, kitchen and Spider's bedroom. She knew that would be last.

The contents of the bathroom had consisted mainly of half-empty containers of powders and lotions. Tessa had giggled when she found five bottles of bubble bath and three gift boxes – all the same brand – filled with a hand-cream, shampoo and conditioner. None had been opened and were obviously presents from someone who didn't know Spider at all well.

Dozer lay in the doorway, head on his paws, watching every movement and pricking up his ears when Tessa spoke.

The lounge room was full of piles – keeping; to go through; family history; and rubbish. There was also a family pile; things Tessa didn't need, but Ryan, Marni, Paul or Peggy might like.

Music played in the background continually, thanks to the docking station Ryan had lent her. The music not only helped her work but was company of sorts. Occasionally Dozer joined in with a howl when Pink hit a high note or Tessa's singing wobbled off-key, causing her to roll about in fits of laughter. It felt good.

And there was the scent of sandalwood flowing through the house.

The days had been punctuated with visits from Ryan and her parents. Marni stayed away, keeping to herself. Maybe it was time she visited her, tried to open the lines of communication and be a friend, like Spider had mentioned.

She stood up from the piles of papers she was sorting and stretched. ‘Your mistress obviously liked to keep every tiny thing,' she said, looking towards Dozer.

He answered by yawning. She grinned. ‘Yeah, I've been repeating myself a lot lately, haven't I?'

The sun was beginning to set. It was time for their evening walk. ‘Come on, let's go,' she said and they started off at a quick pace Dozer climbing behind. One and a half kilometres down the track then she'd turn around and head back. She'd gone from a slow amble to a power walk. Without the grog, she was feeling the best she'd felt in ages – strong, clear-headed and alive.

Tessa was back on the verandah with a glass of lemonade within twenty minutes. She heard the vehicle before she saw the lights.

‘Hi, Dad,' she called from the comfort of the chair. She'd been around long enough now to recognise the station cars by the sound of the engine or the squeaky brakes.

Paul got out of the ute and shut the door. ‘G'day, Tessie. How you going?'

‘Really well, thanks. I've got another trailer-load of rubbish ready for you to take away.'

‘Is that all your old man is good for these days? Getting rid of the rubbish?'

Tessa grinned as he eased himself into the other seat. She noticed the grey streaks through his hair and a few extra lines around his eyes and her smile faded as she felt a sense of sadness. Everyone was changing. Getting older. The people she had always thought to be indestructible were now the opposite.

‘Drink? Only soft things here, I'm afraid.'

‘Lemon squash?'

‘Sure.'

The can fizzed as he opened it and took a long drink. ‘So how far have you got?'

‘Not far enough. She had so much stuff crammed into such a little area. The linen cupboards are full of old papers – nothing exciting as far as I can tell. I can't even see her reasoning for keeping them. Old newspapers from the early fifties, things like that. I think she may have even kept her first-ever set of sheets. I've found fifteen sets!'

‘You've got to remember that things were hard to come by out here. Always had to be prepared and she'd come through the Depression. She knew what it was like to have nothing. Sometimes it's hard to give up things when you haven't had them before and you don't know where the next one will come from.'

‘Some of the newspapers have been used for cupboard liners, just laid on top of one another. I'm sure she couldn't have kept all these papers just for that, but I'm loathe to throw any of them out until I've had a really good look at them. According to Elsie, I'm looking for a huge family secret, so I don't want to throw them out if there's some chance it's in there!'

Paul smiled wryly then took a sip of his drink. ‘I don't think it will be life-changing, Tessa. Maybe someone married a man the family didn't approve of or ran away, but I wouldn't get too excited about it.'

‘I know,' Tessa agreed. ‘Our family is
very
boring! Well, this generation is. Aunty Spider wasn't, though. She always had a part of her that was shut away and she wouldn't let anyone in.'

‘Yeah, she did, didn't she? Had a bit of a mysterious air about her. And it wasn't even that, was it? More like part of her life she just never wanted to share. She loved us to the end of the world and back, was a wonderful support and steadying influence in our lives, but I always felt there was a small part of her life that she didn't want to share. I really always thought it was William and losing him so young that made her put a wall around herself and she was never going to let anyone get through it.'

‘Yeah, that's exactly how I felt. I miss her.'

‘I do too.'

They sat companionably for a while then Paul stretched. ‘Well, I'd best be off. Your mother will be wondering where I am.'

‘Oh, before I forget. I've got a pile of bed linen for Marni – would you take it back to her? I don't reckon I need fifteen sets of sheets here.'

‘No probably not.'

Tessa went to get them. ‘How's Mum?' she asked when she returned with an armful of thick cotton sheets. ‘Did she help shift the sheep today?'

‘Yep. She's fine.' Paul opened the door into the ute and Tessa piled the linen onto the front seat.

‘Just going back to Spider for a moment, Dad. One thing I've noticed as I've been looking through the photos is that there's such an age difference between her and your dad – Grandpa. I started to draw up a family tree. Her oldest sister was Grace – she was born in 1912; then Len – who started out here on the Nullarbor – in 1914; George, 1915; Edward, who was born in 1920; and Spider in 1921. Then there's this baby who appears years later. Like in 1931. That's your dad, Tom. Such a gap. Quite curious, really.'

‘Not that odd. Don't forget the war was in the middle of that. It was a bit hard to have babies when the men were fighting on overseas. Also, back then more babies died. There wasn't the same level of medical intervention as there is now. A miscarriage is another thought. And there's always the good old mistake.'

‘Good point, I hadn't thought of that. So your grandfather fought in the Great War then?'

‘He did. He was on the Western Front but was injured and sent home in 1917, I think. It took him a long time to recover – I can't remember what was wrong with him. Must have taken a bullet somewhere, or some shrapnel, I guess. Grandma and Mum helped nurse him in Adelaide. That's where we were originally from. South Australia.'

‘Really? I didn't know that.' Tessa was intrigued. ‘I guess I don't really know much about your grandparents. I know more about Spider and Grandpa's life out here than anything.'

‘They all helped here. It's because of them Danjar Plains is what it is. Old Len was a bit of a drifter – he never seemed to stick at much, from what I can remember, but the others, they were salt of the earth, hard-working and dependable men. They all died close together, but I'm not sure how. Spider never talked about it, so I didn't pry.'

Tessa looked to the sky. ‘I wonder what stories the land would tell us if it could speak.'

‘Many we wouldn't want to hear, I'm sure,' he answered. ‘Night, Tessa, sleep well.' He leaned over and kissed her cheek and she put her arms around him in a brief hug.

‘Night, Dad. Thanks for the visit.'

From the verandah she listened as the sound of the ute grew distant, until she could hear nothing but silence. Feeling restless, she picked up the pot that sat in the centre of the table and tossed it from hand to hand.

Something moved inside and clunked against the side of the pot. Tessa stopped and shook it. This time, Tessa could feel something hitting the inside walls.

She upended it onto the table. A shower of dirt fell out and through the cracks in the table. She peered inside the pot and saw a small box covered in dust. At first she tried to fish it out, but the bottom was too deep for her fingers to reach and she didn't want to be bitten by a red-back spider, so she tapped it gently on the table.

A dirt-encrusted jewellery box clunked softly onto the iron. Tessa stared at it, not sure what to think. Her thoughts flew back to the letter she had from Spider.

Mystery
. . .
skeletons
, she'd written.

Finally Tessa opened the filthy box. Nestled on fawn-coloured silken bedding were two gold wedding rings, looking as new as could be. Tessa stared at them, trying to remember if Spider had ever worn a wedding ring. She had. But it was thick and old. Scratched and dull. These rings were shiny. There didn't seem to be a blemish on either of them.

Taking one, she went over to the light to see it better. There was writing on the inside, but it was hard to read. Tessa raced inside to grab a torch.

‘Forever mine, forever yours.'

She checked the second one. The same.

How strange! And why hide them in the pot? Tessa kept the rings in her hand, inspecting them, thinking. She went into her bedroom to find the final letter from Aunty Spider. As she opened it, she felt a tingling sensation.

‘Our family has a few skeletons and secrets!'

Huh, won't make it easy for me? Well, Spider, I've just had two rings literally fall into my hands. It can't be that hard from here on in
, she thought. But where to start? The obvious thing would be to work out who the rings were intended for.

Back to the photos.

Pouring another glass of lemonade, she went into the lounge. From their spot on the bookshelves she pulled out four photo albums and started to flick through.

In Spider's familiar handwriting there were labels against them all. One showed a young family of three standing in front of a horse and carriage. ‘Grace, Len, George. Adelaide 1911.' Tessa looked more closely and realised the family were standing in a wide open street.

‘Grace, Len, George, Edward. Mummy and Daddy', said the next one. Tessa looked at the tall imposing man who was her great-grandfather. He wore a bowler hat and a belted overcoat, while the children wore dark clothes, with collars high to the neck. It looked like Great-Grandma was pregnant again. Tessa checked the date on the photo and worked out that the baby would be Spider. Why were they always so serious in photos back then, she wondered as she studied each unsmiling face.