Without You I Have Nothing (38 page)

_{Disregarding his
stammering apologies, Elizabeth continued. “Sit up. I have breakfast for you.”}

_{While Peter ate,
Elizabeth sat at the end of the bed prattling on about everyday farm trivia
while keeping a motherly eye on his plate. She refilled his cup and fussed over
him as though he were an invalid. When he finished, she was no longer able to
contain her curiosity.}

_{“Won’t your family
miss you?  Jennifer says you’ll be here until the New Year.”}

_{Peter answered in
surprise. “I have no family, Mrs. Blake.”  He was sure that Jennifer would have
explained his circumstances.}

_{Smiling, she patted
Peter’s hand. “You can tell me a little about it when you’re ready. And please
call me Elizabeth.”}

_{As Peter felt the
gentleness of her touch, he knew that now was the time to speak. His heart
didn’t sink and there were no tears as he informed her that his parents died in
Malaysia while his father was serving in the RAAF. He didn’t reveal any details
and as he spoke, he found an inner peace as he communicated with this gracious
and understanding woman. He spoke rationally and there was no anger and no
hurt.}

_{Allowing him to talk
freely, Elizabeth didn’t pressure him for more information of his background. Satisfied
with his revelation, she returned to the kitchen with the empty plates.}

_{Finally, Peter
wandered downstairs along corridors trying to follow the sounds of voices. At
last, he was on the verandah at the rear of the mansion.}

_{Jennifer was holding
the reins of two horses and talking with her mother. Her tan, form-hugging
jodhpurs, tan riding boots and a delicate cream blouse were very stylish.}

_{Behind her, some
magpies were strutting around completely oblivious of the two black and white
male huskies that growled warningly at Peter.}

_{“Ignore them,” was
Elizabeth’s advice. As she talked, she continued feeding pieces of meat to the
two kookaburras on the verandah rail.}

_{The kookaburras
banged the meat on the rail as part of their ritual to kill their prey then
swallowed it. The meat gone they looked inquisitively up at Elizabeth with the
unspoken request for more.}

_{“The pups are jealous
of you as they consider their job is to protect Jennifer and me. You’re also a
stranger.”}

_{“Pups?  My god, I
don’t want to tangle with them, when they are fully grown.”  Peter was quick to
reply.}

_{“They’re two house
pups, the latest acquisitions to my children’s menagerie and the birds are part
of the wild, free-flying ‘aviary’ they have developed over the years. I think
every free-loader for miles around comes here for a meal.”}

_{“Even this
Sydney-sider eh?”  After the episode in the bedroom, Peter tried to relieve the
tension. “That was a wonderful meal last night and this free-loader is in no
hurry to leave.”}

_{Jennifer’s laughter
at her Mother’s confusion brought the birds to an attentive standstill. The
magpies and kookaburras seemed uncertain, trying to decide whether they should
laugh or carol with her.}

_{Ignoring his quip,
Elizabeth continued, “Heaven help any of the work dogs that try to come into
the yard. This is the pups’ territory.”  Then noticing a large black cat
stalking the pups she laughed. “That’s when Smooch allows them any peace.”}

_{Peter knelt and held
out a hand very low to the ground. The pups tried to ignore his friendly
overture but it was too much for them and they approached to get their chests
rubbed.}

_{As Peter stood and
walked towards Jennifer, they walked beside him still uncertain whether to
accept him as their friend.}

_{Jennifer backed away
still turned towards him, keeping the horses between them. “I’m so worried,”
she exclaimed. “You must still be suffering from the explosion. You need your
eyes tested. You can’t tell the difference between Mum and me.”}

_{Her twinkling eyes
and laughter showed her enjoyment of Peter’s embarrassment.}

_{“Come on. I’m about
to show you around the property. Your horse is quiet and the saddlebags are
full so you won’t be uncomfortable or starving this morning. We’ll walk the
horses so your ribs won’t cause you any pain.”}

_{Jennifer had barely
ceased speaking when Peter turned and fled, leaving two bewildered women
looking at each other.}

_{In the kitchen he
sliced an apple into four pieces before returning to take the reins and feeding
the horse the tidbits of apple as he quietly stroked its neck. Only when
satisfied that the horsed would accept him did he adjust the stirrups as though
he was born to the saddle. With absolute disregard for the twinges of the pain
in his ribs, he swung himself onto the horse.}

_{Elizabeth could only
grin as she observed Jennifer’s dismay at Peter’s ability, obviously born of
much practice.}

_{“Come on slow coach! 
Race you to the shearing sheds!”  Peter didn’t wait for Jennifer to mount up
but was off in a cloud of dust. The quiet horse showed a speed that Jennifer
had never known.}

_{Eventually, he waited
for her to catch up.}

_{“You’re definitely a
big black bugger - the worst kind. I get you the quietest horse I can, thinking
you would be horrified at riding a horse, but what happens?  You ignore the
pain. You’re in the saddle and off before I can even get my foot in the
stirrup.”}

_{Slowly, with Jennifer
as guide, they toured the shearer’s quarters, stockmen’s housing, shearing
shed, sheep yards, machinery sheds, smoke house and barns. She led him to a
distant paddock where two tractors were at work cutting alfalfa.}

_{The moment the horses
were tethered Jennifer unpacked the saddlebags to lay out a meal of sandwiches,
iced water and fruit.}

_{Peter tried to grab
her but she easily evaded him with a teasing comment.}

_{“You just behave
yourself. Mum told me how you pounced in your bedroom this morning. You’re a
sex fiend I think. If I’m not around you pounce on my mother. Poor Mum. You’d
better start running before Dad finds out.”}

_{The arrival of the
tractors interrupted further conversation between them. There was the squawk of
a two-way radio from one of the tractors and Peter heard a distorted voice
saying the lunches would be there soon if they hadn’t already arrived.}

_{Jennifer’s men-folk
had come for their meal.}

_{Peter could only
marvel at the way the family had accepted him but Andrew quickly jolted him
back to reality.}

_{“Hey, Peter, this is
Jennifer. The other woman is Elizabeth, Jennifer’s mother. I’ll have to
purchase you some glasses before breakfast tomorrow.”}

_{Andrew knew. Eric
knew.}

_{Peter just wanted to
disappear into the scrub.}

_{Jennifer hurled
herself at her brother and they rolled and wrestled on the rug until Eric
intervened.}

_{“Andrew behave! 
Jennifer sit with poor Peter. I think he wants to disappear, so hang onto him
so he doesn’t run away.}

_{Eric’s eyes twinkled
in merriment as he asked if breakfast had been enjoyable. He was lying back
with his head on his well-worn dusty hat as he began teasing Peter.}

_{“Peter, we all know
what happened this morning and have been laughing ever since. We have radios in
the tractors and Elizabeth could hardly tell us what happened for giggling. I
believe you brightened up her day immensely.}

_{“I’d have given one
hundred dollars to see the look on Elizabeth’s face this morning and double
that to see the look on yours, Peter,” and he couldn’t continue for laughing.}

_{Then he paused and
tried to control his laughter before continuing, “In fact, I think tomorrow
you’ll be on a tractor and I’ll do the grabbing.”}

_{His belly laugh was
so loud that a small mob of kangaroos lounging in the shade jumped to their
feet and bounded away to safety. The dogs that had escorted the horses lay
quietly, not deigning to give chase.}

_{“I watched you coming
across the paddock and you have a good seat. Not the first time you’ve been in
the saddle. There’s a lot of you to be explained and I’d bet a few quid you
have an intriguing story to tell. Perhaps, later, when you’ve rested you might
tell us the tale.”}

_{Peter looked skywards
his head in Jennifer’s lap as if asking for strength. Knowing this family had
to know his complete life story, his thoughts raced. There could be neither
omission nor concealment of any of the darker sides of his life.}

_{His mind hammered the
message that he had no option if he wanted to be part of this Blake family as
Jennifer’s husband. No matter how strong the chance of rejection would be, he
knew this daunting task was his.}

_{Both Eric and
Elizabeth had asked enough questions to show their concern about the mystery of
his background.}

_{Unaware of Peter’s
anxieties, Jennifer re-packed the saddlebags and slowly led the way back home
while her dad and brother returned to the tractors. On their return, Jennifer
watched Peter gingerly dismount and realized that he had over-taxed his body. “Now
it’s time you had a rest. I’ll run a soothing hot bath for you to relax in and
perhaps then you’ll rest until dinner.”}

_{The next day Andrew
caught up with Peter in the stables. He saw Peter walking very carefully down
the far end, obviously making closer acquaintance with some of their work
mounts and equestrian horses.}

_{“Grab a shovel and
muck the horse-shit out,” he called out. “You’re not to laze around like that! 
Don’t know what’s got into you.”}

_{Peter just stared at
him holding his sore ribs. “Bull-shit,” he spluttered, trying not to laugh.}

_{“Yeah, that too.” 
Laughing, they strolled out into the sun.}

_{Peter did nothing
during the following days but rest. He found pleasure in Jennifer’s company and
in getting to know her family.}

_{No one would allow
him to lift a finger. Even Andrew was solicitous although his excuse, “If
Jennifer saw you helping me work she’d be a wildcat,” was delivered with a
merry twinkle in his eye.}

_{Each day confirmed
Peter’s decision not to leave the farm without the one thing he wanted since he
first met Jennifer, but it was as though she knew of Peter’s decision and
wasn’t going to make it easy for him, as he wasn’t destined to see her alone.}

_{Day crowded upon day
and every time he found her, she was either strangely aloof or busily talking to
her mother.}

_{Feeling shut out and
impatient with his idleness, Peter wandered into the machinery shed and found
the engine of a bulldozer in pieces. He couldn’t help himself and began opening
the boxes of spare parts on the workbench. He went missing for hours as he
gravitated more and more to the machinery shed where he tinkered with the
engine.}

_{Jennifer believed he
was upstairs resting until one evening she met him as he was walking back from
the shed and sniffed loudly. “What have you been up to this time Peter?  You
smell like a diesel motor. Where have you been?  You told me you were resting.”}

_{With hands on hips,
she barred his way demanding answers. “Don’t touch me with those greasy hands. Go
and get cleaned up then tell me what you have been doing.”}

_{Over the evening
meal, Jennifer resumed her questioning and Peter had to beg Eric’s forgiveness.}

_{“Eric I’ve been bored
lying around or being entertained for days on end. I wandered over to the
machinery shed and saw a diesel motor there waiting to have parts fitted. It
was too much for me and I just tinkered for a bit.”}

_{Eric and Andrew
looked at each other and then back at Peter before Eric replied. “Peter that
engine has been a beast ever since we bought it. It is forever breaking down
because of oil starvation and overheating. I’m very grateful for your
assistance but we did not bring you here to fix motors. Do you want Jennifer
getting angry with me?”}

_{“Jennifer won’t be
angry with you but I’d better watch my back. I noticed that engine was an early
production run of the motor and the company always had those problems. However
an easy and simple fix is to…,” and the men discussed the motor and the
modifications Peter had done as he rebuilt it. They forgot the women.}

_{The next morning
Eric’s words made Peter feel accepted into the family. “We’ll tell Jennifer,
Peter does not go back to Sydney. She is to keep him here. Thanks Peter, don’t
forget to give me the bill.”}

_{Peter’s reply that
there was no charge as it had kept him out of trouble was met with laughter from
Andrew. “Yea I suppose it does stop you chasing the women around and around the
house!”}