The Reef (22 page)

She stretched, put the papers to one side and decided to find Blair so they could have lunch together. She was starting to notice how her appetite
had picked up. The reception staff told her Blair was down with the maintenance guys so Jennifer asked them to let him know she was in the dining room. On the way to the restaurant she saw Rosie so she went to thank her for getting her file printed.

For the first time Rosie looked slightly harassed. ‘No sweat, Jenny. Any time. You getting through some work?'

‘Sort of. I spent some time with Mac over at the research station. It's pretty interesting. He thought he might let me do some work there.'

Rosie's face lit up. ‘Wow, that'd be perfect for you. I was going to clear out a storage room, well, no bigger than a cupboard for you.'

‘Please don't go to any trouble.'

‘You'll be better off with Mac's mob. Could lead to anything, you never know.' They fell into step. ‘You going to lunch? I was about to grab a bite. Bad morning.'

‘I was looking for Blair. Let's get a table. What's up?'

‘Ah, I wish I knew. Something's going on with management. Maybe we shouldn't discuss this, but Tony Adams inadvertently dropped a small bomb on me. He's a correspondent turned bigtime journo . . .'

‘I met him on Sooty. Is he writing something about this place?'

‘God, I hope not.' Rosie sat down and immediately ripped a bread roll apart as it was put on the table.

‘Wouldn't that be good?' Jennifer was thinking
how Blair was so publicity conscious.

‘Nothing against Tony Adams. We like the glossy upmarket travel leisure stuff that we can control. Tony told me the corporate heads of Reef Resorts were jaunting around on the company boat at Sooty. I had no idea they were in the area. The head office is in Sydney. Why wouldn't they contact me or even stop in here, see how Branch is looking? I don't like secrecy. Especially as they're not my favourite kind of people. Money men who only look at the bottom line. So long as it's in profit they don't care what it costs in human, environmental or PR terms.'

Jennifer decided to keep quiet about Blair hanging out with these men. ‘How do you see the business side of this company?' she asked.

‘Reef Resorts are an arm of a big international chain of boutique and upmarket eco resorts. The reef group, obviously, specialise in locations near reefs and islands. Fanzio and Holding are the two head honchos in Australia. My, and Blair's, direct superiors.'

‘Have you ever met the international heads?' asked Jennifer, wondering why Rosie hadn't been included in the gathering on board
Kicking Back.

‘Yes, I was based in London before Prague and then I wanted to come back to the southern hemisphere. The London office was understanding and switched me to Reef Resorts. Unfortunately never warmed to Mr Fanzio or Mr Holding.'

‘Maybe they're cruising around and will check in later. Maybe they want to surprise you,' said
Jennifer. ‘A sort of spot check.'

Rosie didn't look convinced. ‘Anyway, how are you doing? Feeling okay? You look great.'

‘Eating like a horse. Blair still doesn't talk about the baby idea.'

‘It's a reality not an idea. He'll get used to it. You don't look pregnant so it's probably hard for him to take it in.'

‘He's normally such a planner. It's unusual for him to just bury his head in the sand and not start thinking ahead,' said Jennifer.

‘And you?'

‘I haven't been thinking clearly for a long time. But I am now. And, as long as you're willing to let me stay here after the baby is born, that's about as far ahead as I want to think.'

‘When are you going to start telling people?'

‘After the next doctor's appointment.' She smiled at Blair threading his way through the room.

Blair sat down. ‘Am I interrupting a ladies' lunch?'

‘Not at all. I'd better get back to the office. Everything hunky dory with the grease monkeys?' asked Rosie.

‘Would be if they had all the spares they need. Couple of the washing machines are stuffed. Nothing too major.' Blair headed to the buffet as Rosie left.

‘My God, Blair, that's a huge plate of food,' said Jennifer as he returned with a heaped plate.

‘You're not being too shy in the food department
lately.'

‘I am eating for two, remember.'

He ate a few mouthfuls before saying, ‘When are you going to tell people?'

She knew he meant the baby but wanted to hear him say it. ‘About what?'

‘You know. Being pregnant. I think you should tell your mother and Vi and Don. You probably should have it down there. I don't think the hospital over in Headland will be much chop. What if something goes wrong?' He kept eating as he spoke, not looking at Jennifer.

Jennifer didn't know whether to get upset or just laugh at him. She kept her voice reasonable. ‘Nothing will go wrong, I'm as healthy as a horse. I don't want to go to Sydney, the hospital in Headland is big enough, it caters for a huge section of the coast and people from regional Queensland. I was planning to get back here a day or so after giving birth. We don't need much gear for the first few months, we're far enough away from guests and staff if it cries . . .'

‘Oh God. Sleepless nights . . . What about the baby depression thing. What if you get that?'

‘I'm not working, I can devote myself to the baby as a full-time mother. If there are problems, we'll deal with them.'
I'll deal with them.

‘That's good. Because you know what my workload is like. I might have to go to London in a couple of months. A quick trip for a meeting or two.'

‘What is going on, Blair?' asked Jennifer in a
low, concerned voice. ‘Why are those corporate guys snooping around and not even contacting their manager here or checking out their business operation here? How come you're so cosy with them and your boss doesn't know?'

He looked at her with some surprise and said firmly, ‘Jennifer, it's none of your business. And don't say anything to Rosie. She'll be in the loop soon enough. Leave things to me.'

‘What do you mean? Your job, your future, concerns me too. And our child. Stop treating me like some dumb juvenile wife,' she snapped.

‘Listen, when we got married we agreed I was the breadwinner, I had the assets. So my career came first. We couldn't live on what you were earning. I'm looking to the future where we can have a very, very comfortable life way beyond what I had in Sydney.'

Jennifer sat very still. His words, ‘what I had', hit her. ‘So I haven't contributed to this marriage?'

‘Come on, don't be silly. You did your bit, we were lucky I had a place to start off with. You bought your own car. Good on you.'

‘Blair, we could have bought a place together. Started out as equals. You make me feel so . . . dependent.' Jennifer got up.

‘Jennifer, I'm just looking after you, like promised your mother.'

‘Thanks very much, but I think I can look after myself.'

Blair caught her hand. ‘Don't throw a wobbly in here. You have a kid coming and a mother
who's a pain in the neck who's going to get old one day. Hopefully my family can look after themselves. I have to think about these things.'

‘All right, Blair, that's very fine of you. You fight your way to the top, go for the big money if that's what you want. I don't think that's what we need.' She was close to tears. ‘All I want is for us to be a proper family.' She put on her sunglasses and walked out of the dining room from the side door near the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight she ran along the sandy path, turning by the dive centre, and flung herself onto the sand.

She sat there thinking about their conversation. Blair thought he was doing what was right and responsible. What upset her more was the knowledge that she had never really supported herself other than as a poor university student for a brief time. And how supportive Vi and Don had been to her and her mother. She'd met Blair and moved in with him. They'd married and now she was following him, barefoot and pregnant. How would she manage if she was on her own with a child? She had qualifications that were of no practical use. She could throw words around on paper that related to subjects she knew about. How useful was that?

She got up and headed back to their cabin feeling depressed and demoralised. She wanted to talk to Mac, hopefully he could give her some advice. And she thought of Gideon. The old beachcomber might have some life experience to share with her. What she wanted was a father figure to tell her it
was going to be all right. She wondered what advice her own father would give her if he was around now. Sadly, the memories of a man beaten by circumstances and a domineering wife, preferring to bury his head in the sand and escape on his own, did not bring a lot of comfort.

She felt hot and bothered by the time she reached their cabin. She pulled off her clothes, wrapped her sarong around her naked body and on impulse went and stood under the outdoor shower. It ran hot from the sun before cooling. She refilled the clamshell where the birds had put sand and leaves in it.

She was about to pull off her wet sarong in the privacy of their courtyard but, as she turned to face the bush, she saw a flash of yellow and a man standing watching her. It was the elderly one-eyed handyman, a stupid smile on his face. She froze, the image of Rhonda returning to her, then the smirking face of Willsy – and it rendered the old man harmless in comparison. Seconds before, she was ready to scream, rush inside, feel sullied, her privacy violated. Instead she lifted her arm.

‘Piss off, you old bugger!' she shouted.

Deflated, shoulders hunched, he turned and shuffled away.

Later in the afternoon Jennifer walked up to the reception desk and waited for the two guests to complete their check-out before taking the chopper back to the mainland. The last was Tony Adams. He picked up his leather shoulder bag, saw her and smiled.

‘Good luck, Jennifer.' He paused. ‘Do you need luck? Don't know why I said that. Make the most of your time here, might see you at the Shark Bar sometime.'

‘A bit of luck never goes astray. Don't forget the rule to join the Shark Club.'

‘I'm taking a small step. I'm taking the chopper back. My last trip in one was rather hairy.' He gave a rueful grin.

‘It's stunning. The reef is amazing, you'll enjoy it,' said Jennifer.

Bob, the pilot, appeared in the doorway. ‘All set? Camera ready?'

Tony nodded, gave Jennifer a short wave and walked outside.

‘Okay now, Jennifer, what can I do for you?' asked Heather from behind the desk.

‘I wanted to use Blair's office and phone my family. We have to let them know some news.'

‘Sure, he's out for a bit. Help yourself.'

Jennifer walked into Blair's neat office, trying to frame the words to tell her mother she was going to be a grandmother. It was not an announcement that came easily to her, she was unsure how Christina would take it. You never knew with her mother. Vi and Don would, of course, be thrilled, as was Blair's family.

She thoughtfully hit the numbers that would connect this island to the suburban house in Sydney.

Serpent of the Sea

T
HE OFFICE WAS AIR
conditioned, Blair had his desk facing a wall, the window behind him. On one wall was a large map of the Great Barrier Reef. Next to it Blair had hung his favourite picture of a castle in Liechtenstein that was now a five-star hotel. Jennifer rested her head on her hand, holding the phone to her ear, glad the door was closed as her mother droned on and on, detailing weeks of minutiae, every trivial event in her life since Jennifer had driven away. Vi and Don were scarcely mentioned.

‘Mum . . . Mum, 'scuse me, but can I jump in? The calls from here are really expensive.'

‘Oh. I see. Well, if you don't want to talk to me, I'll get off now then.'

‘It's just that I haven't had a chance to
do
any talking,' Jennifer said lightly. ‘Why don't you ask Vi to get on the extension so I don't have to repeat everything?'

‘Oh, I thought you'd called
me.
Very well, I'll get her, though I could tell them what you say later.'

‘Whatever. It's –'

There was a click as Vi, who'd been hovering, picked up the phone, anxious to hear the news, knowing that Christina wouldn't share everything at all. She'd drop little snippets over the next few days in front of other people. Jennifer is doing this, told me that. Oh, didn't you know that, Vi? Goodness, must have slipped my mind.

‘Hi, sweetheart, how's everything?' came Vi's cheerful voice.

‘I was just about to tell Mum my news, so I want you to know too.'

‘We can't chat, Vi, this is expensive for her.'

‘Mum, just let me get it out, will you! . . . I'm pregnant.'

There was an excited squeal from Vi, silence from Christina.

Then, ‘Are you sure? Could be a false alarm, you know. Don't get so hysterical, Vi.'

‘Of course she's sure, or she wouldn't be ringing us up. Ooh, this is wonderful. When, when?' gushed Vi.

‘Have you seen a doctor? Obviously you can't
stay on that island in the middle of nowhere. You need a good doctor. I'll make arrangements down here with Dr Martin. Now, when are you coming back home?' Christina was businesslike and efficient.

‘Why's she have to go to a doctor down here, Tina? Aren't there good doctors up there, Jenny? That place where you go shopping?'

‘Yes, Vi. Headland Bay. I've seen the doctor and there's an excellent hospital here. All very handy.'

‘You can't be serious. You can't stay in the middle of the ocean and have a baby,' snapped Christina.

‘Is Blair thrilled?' asked Vi, trying to get Christina off this track.

‘Er, I think so. I mean, we're both still getting used to the idea. It was a bit of a surprise.'

‘I hope he's making arrangements to move back here as soon as possible. You need your family now,' said Christina.

‘Let's not rush things, Tina. So what are your plans, sweetie? Do you feel okay? Don will be thrilled . . .'

‘I'm fine, Vi. No morning sickness. Just eating a lot.'

‘Don't you get fat, Jennifer. That flab is hard to lose after a baby.' Christina's authoritative tone cut across Vi's weepy happiness.

‘Did you get the email pictures?' asked Jennifer, now desperate to change the subject.

‘Ooh, yes, we looked at them on the computer
screen. It's a real tropical island, all right. Must be hot,' said Vi.

‘Everything is fine. I'm back into work mode and in fact there's a very interesting bunch of scientists and researchers here from a Queensland university.'

‘Fancy that. That'll be interesting for you, luv.'

‘Typical. Those uni types playing around on some vague sort of research. For what? Sounds like a good excuse for a holiday to me.'

‘I knew you'd say that, Mum.' Jennifer laughed. ‘I'd better go, I'm in Blair's office. We send our love, give Don a hug and I'll keep you posted after my next appointment with the doctor.'

‘You look after yourself, Jenny.' Vi then added, ‘By the way, what do you want? Boy or girl?'

‘Vi, so long as the child is healthy, that's all that matters. Next you'll be asking her for names. And you haven't even started to think about that yet, have you, Jennifer?'

‘Not really. Well, I hope you're pleased for us.'

‘I'm just very worried about it all.' Christina tut-tutted.

‘You said your living quarters were small, how on earth are you going to manage a baby in there?' asked Vi suddenly.

‘Vi, she's not going to stay in that place!' Christina's voice had that tinkling glass-breaking sound Jennifer recognised. ‘You leave everything to me, Jennifer. I'll send you a letter soon.'

‘I'm fine, everything's under control, Mum.
Bye, Vi. Bye, Mum.' She quickly hung up. The conversation had gone as she thought. She hoped Vi could keep a lid on Christina's ideas of ‘helping'.

Jennifer passed Lloyd outside the boutique.

‘Your fish are in the staffie freezer. Tell the chef when you want one cooked for you and Blair. Or else ask Doyley to whack it on our hotplate.'

‘Great, thanks heaps.' Maybe she and Blair could have dinner alone at their place, talk quietly, share a bottle of wine. Make love. It had been ages.

‘Thank Tony. Oh, and Mac said to call over tomorrow. Bring your stuff and move in!'

She went back to work with renewed enthusiasm knowing this was the last time she'd have to set up her laptop and work on a temporary table. Good on you, Mac.

It was even better than she hoped. Mac showed her to a small room that was air conditioned with empty floor-to-ceiling shelves and a long desk under the window.

‘It's our storage lockup when we're not here. Computers, diving equipment, all that kind of stuff gets put in here. So the following season it's waiting for us. Saves carrying gear back and forth. Should suit you all right.'

‘Absolutely. This is fantastic. You're sure I'm not throwing anyone out?'

‘No way. And if you need company, Rudi's lab is next door, the canteen rec room is across the sandy square. My place is always open so use
the kitchen, help yourself to tea, coffee, food, whatever.'

‘Mac, you're so kind.'

‘No slacking off is all I ask. Get that book done. I'd be interested to talk to you later about maybe writing something for us. But finish what you're doing first.'

‘You've never read anything I've written. Is it academic, esoteric, historical, scientific?'

‘Don't worry about that for now. But do put some time aside for when Isobel is here. I think you'll enjoy her. She's an amazing woman. You might want to write about her. Though I think Lloyd got that journo Tony a bit interested.'

Jennifer spread her things around her, settled down to work and hardly noticed the time passing.

‘Want a coffee break?' Rudi was smiling in the doorway. ‘I'm going to make a brew.'

‘I'd love one.' Jennifer stretched.

‘Come next door. I have the makings in my lab.'

She followed him into the cluttered laboratory. ‘Where are you from originally, Rudi? Your name and your faint accent. I can't place them.'

‘My family were from St Petersburg. I came here when I was ten. Went to the University of New South Wales. And don't tell anyone, but my name is Rudolf. Now, how do you like your coffee?'

Jennifer walked around looking into the various glass tanks as he poured the coffee. ‘Milky, please. Why did you choose to study sea plants?'

‘I know they don't look that important individually, but they're a foundation of a food chain and have been part of the marine ecosystem for over two billion years. And gorgeous to see. Swimming through kelp forests off Tasmania or over the seagrass meadows near the reef is unreal.'

‘You make it sound like a day in the country,' she said, laughing. ‘And are the forests filled with beasties?'

‘There is some weird and wonderful marine life down there, for sure. I'm interested in the chemical side of what's in their tissues and fibres that protects them, stops fish eating them.' Rudi drained his cup. ‘It could have applications in medicine, pharmaceuticals, genetics, or even chemical warfare . . . who knows?'

Jennifer was thoughtful. ‘The work, research, that's being done here maybe isn't so esoteric after all. So all you guys paddling around on the reef under the sea . . . what you find out could benefit humanity or mean big bucks?'

‘Possibly. We don't often look at the whole picture. Scientifically it's a step-by-step process on a small scale until there's a breakthrough and you can move forward, if not in leaps then at least in the right direction. It's just satisfying to get confirmation of a hunch or theory.' He refilled their coffee cups. ‘Though I have to say, there has been interest in what I'm doing from some strange quarters. I leave all that stuff to Mac as he's head of the program. Though I'm hoping Isobel might turn up some new specimens.'

‘So who is Isobel and how does she fit into the picture?' asked Jennifer, intrigued.

‘Ah. Here, I'll get on the net and you can read for yourself. She's very famous in our world, but not so well known by anyone on the street I guess.'

Jennifer settled herself on a stool in front of Rudi's computer as it downloaded a photograph of an attractive, cheerful-looking dark-haired woman in her fifties. She was wearing a colourful wetsuit and sitting at the edge of a reef in the Caribbean. ‘Queen of the Dark and Deep' scrolled across the screen beneath her photo, followed by a string of links and websites. Jennifer chose one and clicked.

For the next hour she jumped from story to story, from photos to interviews with the astonishing Dr Isobel Belitas. Inspired by the legendary Sylvia Earle, the world's leading aquanaut, Isobel had become fascinated with the world beneath the sea -‘where our future lies'.

Jennifer read how the Brazilian-born, American-educated Isobel had made dives deep into the Mariana Trench – a slash in the ocean floor one thousand eight hundred metres deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Here Jacques Cousteau had taken down his bathyscaphe in 1960 whereas Isobel, in a special diving suit, was strapped to a small submersible that took her more than three hundred and eighty metres below the surface where she released herself and walked on another part of the ocean floor for nearly three hours.

Looking at the pictures of the strange underwater
vehicles developed over the past decades in which adventurers and scientists had tried to find what was in the darkest reaches of the sea, Jennifer was struck by their similarity to the odd winged machine she'd seen next to Gideon's shack.

‘You coming up for air?' asked Rudi, entering the lab. Jennifer hadn't heard him leave and, glancing at her watch, hadn't realised how absorbed she'd been.

‘It is fascinating. I can sort of understand why you get so . . . immersed in all this. She's a brave and fearless person, or just crazy.'

‘You can decide for yourself on Friday night,' said Mac, coming in the door. ‘She'll be at Gideon's. We're having a welcome-back party for her.'

Jennifer returned to Professor Dawn's notes on the history of the East Australian Current with an early observation of it from explorer Lieutenant James Cook in May 1770 as he charted the coast of Australia. It was off Cape Byron, the most eastern extremity, that he became aware of the surge of the surface stream, tens of metres deep, that travels down Australia along the Coral and Tasman seas.

Professor Dawn was only one of the many scientists who have studied the EAC for more than two centuries. But as he showed with modern technology, this travelling body of water can be mapped and observed from earth observation satellites, with ocean monitoring and measuring equipment and also from research vessels.

Professor Dawn's dry descriptions took on new meaning for Jennifer as she imagined Dr Isobel Belitas inside, or strapped to, a small underwater machine chugging along beneath the sea, observing and sending back information from the sophisticated miniature equipment attached to the submersible. It was science fantasy, the wild tales of Jules Verne, space exploration upside down! Jennifer turned off her computer, overcome with feelings she couldn't describe.

She waved to Mac. ‘Going home for lunch. See you later. And thanks again.'

Mac, sitting at a table in the shade with a graduate student, going through her papers, gave Jennifer a brief wave in return.

In the middle of the day the pisonia forest was still and hot. No breeze stirred the strange sticky fruit and leaves. Even the noddy terns were silent and less active. Instead of returning to the resort she turned down the track leading to Coral Point and when she came to the small headland she was surprised to see Blair in the distance, standing with two men, gesturing around and out to sea, admiring the view.

She called out, waved, and could tell by Blair's body language he was uncomfortable.