Authors: David Clarkson
The Outback (10 page)
‘Wasabi,’ she answered.
Having to wait in the
reception area whilst Colin and Rose were interviewed gave the girl ample time
to calm down. Despite missing some of the obvious home comforts she was
beginning to feel at home in the outback. She liked the way that the people
were free from pretention and greed, but most of all it was the absence of
unnecessary bureaucracy. If the sheriff had time to complete a crossword it
meant that he was not bogged down with pointless paperwork. This in turn
implied that he may actually take the necessary action to solve the crime
rather than just write up a report about it.
After giving her
statement, Jenny had a few questions of her own for the sheriff.
‘What will happen to the
kids if you find them?’ she asked.
‘The most important
thing is to retrieve your sister’s belongings. I know the majority of families
in this town and what you have reported today is out of character for any of
them. There won’t be any need for formal charges to be brought, as the local
elders do a much more effective job of bringing the youngsters into line than
the law ever could.’
Jenny was intrigued. One
of her reasons for coming to Birribandi was to experience indigenous culture
away from the watered down tourist offerings she had all too often found in the
cities. She decided to press the sheriff further.
‘So the Aboriginals have
their own laws?’ she asked.
‘That’s one way of
putting it. Obviously, here in the town the same rules and regulations apply to
everybody, but there is a protected indigenous settlement located about eighty
kilometres away from here. It’s a dry community so there is no alcohol, which
means that they have managed to stave off the majority of social problems that
their people have had forced on them ever since the first colonials set foot on
this rock.’
Jenny was pleasantly
surprised by the open mindedness of the sheriff. It pleased her to see that a
small town did not always breed small minds.
‘We have a friend that
works with us who comes from that community. His name is Paul; we actually came
into town today to pick up some supplies for a party that we are throwing for
him tonight; it’s his birthday.’
‘I know Paul well. He’s
a good kid. His father has helped us work on a lot of community projects to try
and get this town’s youth to take a more active role in their heritage. We work
with kids just like those that you had the unfortunate run in with today.’
He stood and walked
towards a set of framed pictures lining a wall. When he found the one that he
was looking for he beckoned her over to take a closer look for herself.
‘This picture was taken
about five years ago. Sam, you will no doubt recognise, along with myself - the
other men are Paul’s uncles.’
The photograph depicted
the men standing amidst the wooden frame of some kind of structure, which she
assumed they were helping to build at the time. Their smiles suggested a strong
bond and fond camaraderie between the men. There were several other pictures
all showing similar scenes, but one in particular caught her attention.
‘Tell me about this one.’
The sheriff knew at once
what had drawn her to the picture in question. Like the previous photograph it
showed a group of men at work together, but this time the face of one of the
men was obscured by a small piece of black masking tape, which had been placed
over the top of it.
‘Traditional Aboriginal
beliefs hold that a photograph captures not just the physical attributes of its
subject, but the essence of the person as well. The man in that picture passed
on not long ago. His spirit is now with the ancestor’s, but in order for the
transition to run smoothly it is important that nobody speak his name otherwise
he would not be able to rest in peace. To disrespect this tradition would be
the cultural equivalent of not just treading on a freshly filled grave, but
also vandalising the headstone.’
‘And to display the
picture would have the same effect as speaking the name,’ added Jenny.
‘Exactly,’ replied the sheriff.
‘The longer you stay here the more you will learn about these things.’
Jenny was once more pleasantly
surprised by the policeman’s broad view of local matters. She had also learnt
something new into the bargain. The mugging was now nothing more than a mere
memory that bore no influence whatsoever on her current mood. Matt would not be
so quick to forget, however, as she discovered on their journey back to the
caravan park.
‘Do you think that Rose
will be okay?’ he asked.
‘Of course she will. My
sister is a lot tougher than she appears. I would be surprised if she did not
milk the situation to keep Colin fussing over her though.’
He was disappointed by
her response.
‘That’s a little harsh.
After all, that was a nasty blow to the face she suffered and she did have her
bag taken as well.’
‘She did not have
anything valuable in there, you know. Rose is much too irresponsible to be
trusted with a credit card and she could not have had more than about $50 cash
on her. I have all of our bank cards and passports with me, so there is no harm
done.’
‘What about the
emotional wounds?’
‘Are you serious?’
She thought it typical
of a man that he believed because Rose had been a victim that she needed
protecting in some way.
‘If anything, Colin was
the one who suffered the most.’ she said. ‘That was a nasty burn that he got.
If he can cope with the mental anguish it inflicted then so can Rose.’
‘But...’ his voice
trailed off.
She could guess at how
that sentence may have ended and was glad that he thought better of completing
it. Rather than dig himself into a hole, he wisely chose to sidestep the issue.
‘Maybe we should just
try and put the whole sorry affair behind us,’ he said.
That, she thought, was
the smartest thing she had heard all day.
Dinner was brought
forward a couple of hours to allow more time for the evening’s celebration.
Once everyone had eaten, the mood in the camp became much more positive and
nobody dwelled on the unfortunate events from earlier in the day. Pierro even
made good on his promise and spent the afternoon baking a cake. The Italian was
also up for the drinking challenge for which Celeste had volunteered him.
Stephen and Niall,
meanwhile, managed to purchase a range of party decorations, which they handed
to the girls to decorate the camp with. The pair also brought back a great deal
of alcohol; far more, in fact, than either of the girls thought necessary.
‘You do realise that
Paul does not drink, don’t you?’ said Jenny.
‘I know that,’ replied
Niall. ‘We got your man a bottle of cola. All of this is for us.’
Not wishing to pay
premium prices for alcohol at the park, the boys had bought in bulk from the
bottle shop connected to the Tavern. They had four large crates of beer and two
boxes of wine. It was the latter that caused the girls most concern.
‘I hope you have
something to mix with that goon,’ said Rose. ‘You know what happened the last
time.’
Goon was an affectionate
term given by backpackers to the lowest quality cask wine. Its dollar value
worked out cheaper by the litre than water, but it carried more than double the
kick of a premium lager. The only thing more legendary in traveller circles
than the intoxicating effects of the drink were the momentous hangovers that
inevitably followed. Sooner or later, as economic pressures tighten, everyone
succumbs.
‘You don’t have to worry
about us, ladies,’ Stephen assured her. ‘I don’t think that we’ll have any
trouble keeping our heads tonight.’
He gave the girls a wink
before the two of them disappeared into their van to get ready.
‘They’re up to
something,’ said Rose.
‘Do you have any idea
what?’ replied her sister.
‘No, but whatever it is,
I am pretty sure that Colin will somehow be right at the centre of it all.’
Jenny shook her head
disapprovingly.
‘Are you sure you know
what you are letting yourself in for with him? After all, you do remember what
happened the last time you got involved with a guy.’
Jenny did not share her
sister’s affection for the Irishman, but Rose shrugged away her younger
sibling’s concern.
‘It’s only a bit of fun.
Anyway, he’s really tight with the other guys so I cannot see history repeating
itself with this one.’
‘So long as you are sure
you know what you are doing; I’m happy.’
‘You’re the best little
sister I could have hoped for,’ said Rose, as she gave her younger sister an
affectionate hug. ‘What about your own love life? Matt seems quite taken with
you.’
‘Oh, please,’ said
Jenny, pushing away her sister’s arms. ‘He’s a nice guy, but you know that he
is only interested in me for the lack of an alternative.’
‘Don’t put yourself
down. Besides, I’ve seen you giving him the come on. Admit it; you like him
too.’
Jenny rolled her eyes.
She had never been wholly comfortable talking about boys with her friends and
discussing it with her big sister just seemed wrong.
‘Sometimes he can be
sweet, but when it comes down to it he is only going to be interested in just
one thing; they all are.’
‘That’s what makes boys
so much fun.’ Rose gave her younger sibling a playful push. ‘You must have
considered it.’
‘Why must you always
judge me by your standards, Rose? If Matt really likes me he will be prepared
to wait.’
‘He may be able to wait,
but can you?’
‘What do you mean?’
Rose glanced around to
make sure that nobody else was within earshot.
‘You have to look at it
from the man’s perspective. They will always take the easiest option.’
‘Exactly,’ interrupted
Jenny. ‘I am not easy.’
‘That is not what I
meant. It is not like the real world here. Every day we do the same things with
the same people and there is no alternative to that. Men prefer to walk away
after one night because it is easier for them to do that than to deal with all
of the things that come after. In an environment like this, that is simply not
possible.’
‘So you think that it
would make no difference whatsoever whether I make him wait or not.’
‘Ultimately, it is your
decision, but you have to remember that you will most likely each go your
separate ways once the three months are up anyway. Provided that you have
realistic expectations the situation could not be any less complicated.’
Jenny was starting to
come around to her sister’s way of thinking.
‘So you think I should
make the most of the time while it lasts?’
Rose shrugged.
‘I think that is up to
you to decide. You and I are not all that different you know, little sis. We
can both be manipulative to get what we want; we just have different ways of
going about it.’
Jenny did not argue. For
one, when it came to Rose, disagreeing never got you far. And secondly, to a
certain extent, what her sister said was true.
***
Elsewhere in Birribandi,
preparations were underway for a much less celebratory evening. Rhett was
getting ready to make his regular appearance at the local pub, but the visit
would be about business as much as it was pleasure. A good night would mean
that he would return from the bar with more money than what he set out with.
Recently he had been having a lot of good nights and these were largely due to
the steady stream of backpackers passing through the town. Rhett hoped the new
bunch would not disappoint.
Before leaving, he had
to make an important phone call. It was a while since Rhett had been in trouble
with the law and he wanted to make sure that he continued to keep his nose
clean. The voice at the other end of the line confirmed that the bar would be
free of any unwanted interference from the sheriff, meaning that Rhett was
ready to go. He grabbed his coat and made the familiar walk from his house to
the pub.
The Birribandi Tavern
was as busy as could be expected for a weekend. It was full of all of the usual
regulars; his regulars. Rhett was disappointed not to see the foreign kids, but
he still had plenty of time to work on them. He had squeezed the previous bunch
a little too strongly and would make sure not to repeat that mistake. His job
meant that he would be able to study this new group more closely in order to
find out what drove them and which buttons to press. Joe was paying these kids
far too much money and Rhett was determined to make sure that he got a share of
it. With three months at his disposal, he could afford to bide his time.
The gang had just gotten
the campfire going when Sam pulled into the park to drop off Paul. After saying
goodbye to his father, the young Aboriginal approached them with a spring in
his step. He was dressed in blue denim jeans and a smart short sleeved shirt.
Away from the grime of the stick picking fields he looked considerably younger
than his appearance at work suggested.
‘Happy Birthday, Paul,’
everybody declared in unison.
This was the first time
they had received company in the caravan park and they were all grateful to
have a fresh face around. Jenny got up from her seat and greeted her friend
with a hug before handing him an envelope.
‘This is from all of
us,’ she said.
He carefully tore across
the seal and removed the card from inside. Its front depicted a traditional
Aboriginal dot painting of a kangaroo. This was his favourite animal. As he
opened the card, several notes fell out onto the dusty floor.
‘This isn’t money, is
it?’ he asked. ‘I cannot accept this, guys.’
‘Look closer,’ urged
Jenny.
Paul squatted down and
picked the cash up from the floor. It was made up of Sterling, Euro’s, Yen and
even a Canadian Dollar. Each had a goodwill message written on it.
‘We did not know what to
get you, so we thought that we would each provide you with a memento from our
own homes.’
The young Aboriginal was
moved by the gesture, but the mood was soon broken as Colin interjected with
his typical brand of lowbrow humour.
‘The original idea was
to get you a stripper, but none of the girls here would volunteer,’ he said,
with the dryness of sandpaper.
Paul was not sure how to
respond to the Irishman’s banter, but his blushes were spared as Colin was
swiftly silenced by a sharp elbow to his ribcage from Rose.
‘Don’t be cruel,’ she
said.
Colin pretended to
recoil in mock pain before getting the girl back by playfully tickling her
under the arms. Their behaviour made Jenny cringe, but she managed to hold her
tongue as Celeste quickly made sure that the spotlight switched to her.
‘Pierro made cake,’ the
Canadian said.
Celeste already had a
reputation for being an attention grabber and this did nothing to alter that
perception. Her child-like enunciation only served to give everyone the
impression that the exclamation was not in fact about Pierro or cake, but
designed purely to get people to notice her. It was a strategy that she was
capable of employing with humdrum regularity.
‘I am yet to meet
Pierro,’ said Paul. ‘Is he here?’
‘I will go get him,’
replied Celeste.
She got up and slowly
walked toward the dining block. There was a confidence to her stride and a
swing to her hips that suggested she was expecting all eyes to be on her. With
the exception of those belonging to the two sisters, they were. Rose in
particular found the Canadian’s mannerisms distasteful.
‘Pick your jaws up from
the floor, boys,’ she said. ‘If you are not careful, spiders will get in.’
‘Don’t go getting
jealous now,’ replied Colin, who despite his attachment to Rose had been one of
the most lustful eyed of the group.
It was not the smartest
thing he could have said. Jenny giggled, before turning toward Matt and slowly
running her index finger across the width of her neck, indicating a beheading
action.
‘You are not seriously
suggesting I should be jealous of
that,
are you?’ asked Rose.
She held him with a
stare that could freeze napalm. Poor Colin did not know what he had let himself
in for, but luckily the return of Celeste with the birthday cake was enough to
defuse the situation. She was closely followed by her pseudo Italian boyfriend.
This was the first chance the newer arrivals had to find out if the camp cook
would live up to Celeste’s inflated opinion of him.
Despite his girlfriend’s
best attempts to big him up, Pierro was not particularly tall. His height, when
taken relative to the rest of the group, would place him at the lower end of
average. Only Jenny, Celeste and Hiro were shorter than him. He was, however,
well built and wore a tightly fitted t-shirt to accentuate his muscular
physique. With his olive coloured skin and slicked back hair as black as
charcoal, he could have passed for a genuine Italian. That is, of course, until
he opened his mouth and spoke.
‘So which of you drongos
thinks they can handle their grog better than I can?’ he asked, in a broad
Australian brogue.
His bravado was a little
too robust for the occasion.
‘First we have cake,’
insisted Celeste, silencing her lover.
She placed the cake
stand onto one of the log benches and then bent down to cut it into segments.
This time Colin had the good grace to look away as she put herself on display.
Once done with the cutting, Celeste began handing the chocolate slices out
amongst the group. The largest piece of cake was, of course, reserved for Paul.
Pierro scanned the crowd intently to see how they liked his baking, but it was
met with only muted acknowledgement.
When the last piece of
cake had been dished out, people started to break away to form individual
conversations between themselves. Rose went with the three Irishmen and they all
headed in the direction of the dining room. Celeste and Pierro closely followed
behind and the Canadian girl was clearly massaging her boyfriend’s ego after
the disappointing reaction to his cake. Jonas and Hiro, meanwhile, were
concentrating on building the fire. That left Matt and Jenny to play hosts to
their guest.
‘So how have you enjoyed
your day so far?’ asked Jenny.
After her earlier
conversation with Sheriff Lee at the station she was eager to learn more about
indigenous life, but did not want to be too direct for fear of appearing nosy.
‘We do not celebrate
birthdays as such,’ Paul replied. ‘In my culture, maturity is not defined by
years. I have many relatives who do not even know their own age.’
‘Really,’ she said, with
astonishment. ‘How do you establish seniority?’
She glanced sideways
toward Matt, whom she noticed had opened a bottle of beer and begun to drink.
It was her hope that he would stay sober, as she thought Paul would feel more
comfortable if not everyone was intoxicated.
‘A man has to earn the
right to call himself a man,’ replied Paul. ‘It is what is inside his head that
counts. When you have the knowledge of the songs and the skills to protect your
people, then you are a man.’
‘Songs?’ queried Jenny.
‘That is how we pass
down our knowledge; through song and dance. My people do not keep books, as
ours is a spoken culture.’
‘Are
you
a man?’
interrupted Matt.
Jenny found his
bluntness to be intrusive and inappropriate. Paul, on the other hand, took it
in his stride. He welcomed people asking questions about his culture, rather
than for them to take no interest at all. Inquisitiveness invited education,
but indifference led only to ignorance.
‘I am yet to undergo
initiation, but that is not uncommon in this day and age,’ he replied. ‘With
modern technology we are not so dependent on the old ways.’
‘Around this place the
measure of a man seems to be judged on how much alcohol he can consume in one
night,’ said Jenny. ‘Pierro is being initiated as we speak.’
She turned to face Matt.
‘I am surprised that you
are not with them; helping perform the baptism.’
‘That’s Team Ireland’s
little project. I’ve got no part in what they have planned.’
‘So they are up to
something?’
‘Like I said, I have no
part in it.’
He was beginning to
become cagey so she decided it was best not to push any further.
‘Shall we take a seat
around the fire?’ she suggested. ‘Jonas and Hiro seem to have gotten quite a
furnace going.’
The three of them took
seats on the rough logs that surrounded the blaze. The glow of the flames
projected an intimate beacon of light amidst the darkness. With a clear
moonless sky above their heads, the entire galaxy was spread out before them.
‘Remember when I told
you that I would show you the stars, Matt?’
He nodded between sips
of his beer.
‘Well, there is no
better night than tonight.’
***
‘Higher,’ said Stephen.
Niall reached out and
overturned the card. It was the seven of clubs. He then picked up the box of
goon and began filling a glass, which was placed in the centre of the table. He
added roughly a centimetre to the level of the liquid. This took the contents
to a little past a quarter full. After that, he took a swig from his beer.
‘Lower,’ he proclaimed
confidently.
This time it was Colin’s
turn to flip the card. He revealed the four of hearts. Taking the box of goon,
he filled the glass just past the halfway mark before downing his requisite two
fingers of ale.
‘Higher.’
Pierro turned over the
six of Diamonds. The Irishman let out a sigh of relief. His plan was working.
‘Place your bet,’ he
told Pierro.
The Italian picked up
the goon and filled the glass to its rim. He then finished off his bottle of
beer before slamming it down onto the table top. He had already consumed double
the amount of any of his opponents.
‘Higher again,’ he said.
Stephen slowly turned
the card.
It was the two of
spades.
‘You lose – drink,’ the
Irishman ordered.
‘Fuck it,’ said Pierro,
roughly grabbing the glass from the centre of the table.
He clumsily poured the
liquid down his throat, but without urgency. After finishing, he wiped away the
dregs from his mouth using the back of his hand.
‘Too easy, although I
don’t see why we have to use this boxed shit. We may as well just piss in the
pot and get done with.’
‘You’ve gotta make the
forfeit worthwhile,’ said Stephen. ‘It is called a drinking game for a reason.’
‘And it seems like I am
the only one drinking.’
The Italian had a point.
The game they were playing was supposed to be each man for his self, but a
three to one divide was clearly visible. The Irish trio had earlier agreed that
to avoid suspicion they would deliberately throw a few rounds.
When the contest
resumed, Niall made an incorrect guess and paid the forfeit. Of course, with
just his and Stephen’s bets in the glass he drank only a fraction of what
Pierro had. It was then once more Colin’s turn to place a bet. He added a
generous amount of goon to the glass before beckoning Pierro to turn the card
over for him. What the Italian did not realise was that Colin already knew
precisely what the outcome would be. He was not able to count cards, but he did
have a few tricks up his sleeve when it came to dealing them.
***
The stars shone like
fireflies. They flickered like the distant embers of a celestial bonfire. It
was not the density of the vast constellations that amazed Matt the most
though, it was the colours. There were emeralds, rubies, sapphires and anything
else that nature’s spectrum could conjure up. For the first time, he truly felt
like he was on
planet
Earth.
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t
it,’ said Jenny. ‘Did you know that if we were sat on some alien world in the
centre of the galaxy there would be so many stars surrounding us that the sky
would sparkle like a never ending sea of diamonds and there would never be
darkness?’
She was clearly in her
element. At times, Matt found her to be aloof or sometimes even frosty towards
him. Not on this night. On this night, she was warm, relaxed and extremely
alluring.
‘A sky of diamonds, eh?
Your parents should have named you Lucy.’
She smiled, seductively.
‘They did. My full name
is Jennifer Lucinda Miller.’
‘Well then, Miss Miller,
what else can you tell me about this amazing universe that we live in?’
She brushed some loose
hairs behind her ear and then glanced around the circle before speaking. Much
to Matt’s annoyance, this served to remind him that they were not alone.
‘I suppose we should
start with the easy ones. Find the brightest star in the sky for me.’
He scanned the Heavens
hoping that the answer would be obvious. After several passes of the visible
skyline, he settled on a bright yellow star that possessed, without doubt,
greater luminescence than those around it.
‘That one there,’ he
said, indicating it with his outstretched finger.
Jenny laughed.
‘Well done, but that is
not actually a star. What we are looking at now is the planet Jupiter.’