Without You I Have Nothing (66 page)

_{"Must get one of
them to train a dog I can send after Sis when she annoys me. However, I suppose
it would be quicker to tell Peter to calm her down. Bet he knows how.”  He
threw his head back and roared his merriment to the heavens.}

_{His laughter quickly
stopped when Jennifer grabbed his helmet and shook his head mercilessly until
his teeth rattled.}

_{"Stop teasing me
or I'll set Peter on you and that'd be worse than all the dogs. He's my
protector, so if you tease me again, start running.”  The smile in her eyes
belied the strict tone of her voice.}

_{To Jennifer's
surprise ten horses trotted up the hill with miniature riders urging them
forward.}

_{Laughing at her
daughter's perplexed look, Elizabeth giggled, "I said I had been doing
some teaching but I didn't tell you that Andrew has been busy as well. We have
been busy teaching all the children to ride. They love helping round up cattle
and they are looking after the horses so well. I believe they have an inborn
knack of working with animals."}

_{The old shearing shed
had workers clambering all over it. They were extending the building and were
adding a third floor.}

_{"The third floor
is for conference rooms,” was Andrew's explanation. "I have been asked to
lecture at some of the conferences. Don't tell anyone. They'll never believe you.
Tiny and Blue are lecturers as well!"}

_{Sauntering down the
hill were two men - the same age as Andrew but so different. One, a walking
mountain, could only be Tiny, and the other, Blue, had the reddest mop of hair
possible.}

_{"Hi, Jennifer! 
You look as though married life agrees with you. Peter, you look worn-out,
what's this girl done to you?”  The twinkle in Blue's eyes said more than his
words.}

_{Tiny pounced and
ignoring Jennifer's shriek grabbed her. He threw her high into the air before
catching her and putting her back on her feet.}

_{"Despite being
married you're still our Jennifer who used to play mud pies with us down by the
creek and once went skinny dipping with all of us. I'm sure you thought you
were a boy until that day. Strange you never went skinny dipping again, even if
you were only five.}

_{Blue took over and
his deep voice was passionate as he explained how water recycling was in place,
water harvesting and water management being a top priority. He even explained
how the workers had developed drip irrigation on one of the vegetable plots
with the water loss negligible. These plots were along the creeks towards the
scrubby ends of both properties.}

_{Later, the cavalcade
of motor bikes and horses crested the last hill where both properties merged with
the Forestry Commission Pine Plantation and the native forest.}

_{Jennifer and Peter
received the last surprise of the day. Below them lay a small, thriving village
of fairytale houses, each in its own well-tended plot of ground with streets,
streetlights, a small general store, a building - Bush Fire Brigade was its
sign - and a small four-man helicopter. There was a small community hall and a
second official-looking building proudly proclaimed Blake Pastoral Hospital.}

_{"It's staffed by
a surgeon from the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, and his wife, the
nurse, is an obstetrics specialist,” Andrew explained. "It even has a
modern operating theatre and we have four other nurses we can call on. All are
ex-British army Gurkhas, fully trained."}

_{Women in saris and
others in pajama-like samfoos were on the verandahs surrounded by little
children who began running towards the bikes and the horses to get a ride. Happy,
smiling faces swamped them, and hands reached out to tug them into various
homes to welcome the visitors.}

_{Hours later they
returned to the Board Room, where they sipped at the Boh Tea Peter had demanded
he bring home from Malaysia.}

_{"There's nothing
more to display, Jennifer.”  Her father beamed. "We'll have to work very
hard to bring our plans to fruition. Our Gurkha friends will be stockmen here
and will boost the guards in Sydney, as some of the Security Guards in Sydney
have been less than reliable. Oh, did you like the tourist coach?"}

_{Jennifer could see
the pride and the new light in her father's eyes as he shed years in his
enthusiasm for the future of Blake Pastoral.}

_{"The ideas of
this man of yours has kicked us all into the future, and what a bright happy
future that'll be."}

_{The meeting resumed.}

_{"Now, Madam
Chair, to finalize this meeting, I propose that the Board holds a house-warming
ball in the ballroom in three months. By that time, our Sydney friends will be
able to join us, as will friends from Malaysia and Singapore. You and Peter are
the hosts, but all expenses will be borne by Blake Pastoral, as this party will
be strengthening our ties with all our guests.}

_{"At the bottom
of the pile of papers in front of you is the suggested guest list, the
arrangements and the menu - everything is set out."}

_{Then, forsaking his
executive's attitude and looking towards Andrew, he concluded the proceedings. "I
believe,” he said seriously, "There may be some announcements made at the
ball."}

_{It took Jennifer no
time to slip back to her studies and into her work as the head of the legal
department of the Sydney Branch of the insurance company.}

_{However her legal
mind demanded to know when all the plans had been set in motion, and she was
amazed at the new direction for the company.}

_{In fact, she wanted
to know everything and did not rest until she found that Eric, Andrew and
Elizabeth had been working full time while she and Peter had been overseas. The
three of them had worked closely with both accountant and solicitor as they
tried to bring some sort of order to their ideas.}

_{It took much longer
to adjust to having servants, amahs and cooks in the house, even though they
were rather like ghosts - almost invisible.}

_{She missed Peter when
he was out in the paddocks with Andrew and Eric, but she missed him more when
he flew to Sydney to check on things at the workshop and to meet with Ted. His
daily phone calls to Ted discussing finance and Joe discussing the workshop and
not been enough for him.}

_{However, his return
meant hours of passionate loving and at least one sleepless night spent in
pleasuring each other, so she didn't complain too much about his absence.}

_{When she flew to
Sydney, she was always happy to have Peter's company, and was delighted to slip
behind the wheel of her Mini once more. Their quayside penthouse became their
haven with many nights spent wrapped in each other's embrace.}

_{Jennifer marveled
that their sex life was becoming more and more intense. That she needed him was
a fact, and that he worshipped her was without question.}

_{Nights at the opera,
at concerts or just playing chess were treasured events, and she always looked
forward to the end of the day when they were alone and could relax with each
other.}

_{During one of their
quiet evenings together, a phone call came through from a very excited Bill to
say that Susie had gone into labor and that he was calling from the hospital. Jennifer
was full of questions none of which Bill was able to answer.}

_{Bill cut her off mid
sentence saying that a nurse had called him back into the delivery suite, as
the moment was very near.}

_{"We'll ring you
as soon as the baby arrives."}

_{Peter had difficulty
restraining Jennifer from rushing to be with Susie.}

_{"This is their
moment, so just be patient,” Peter reassured her as he eased her onto the
lounge close to the phone, trying to make her relax.}

_{Two hours later the
call came from Susie. Although she sounded exhausted, she was shouting with
joy.}

_{"It's a boy! 
Jennifer, I can't wait to introduce James William to you and Peter."}

_{It was impossible for
Peter to contain Jennifer's enthusiasm any further. Her description of the baby
was incoherent.}

_{It wasn't until both
of them were standing at the nursery window that they saw just how gorgeous
this little bundle was, with his shock of dark hair. He was vigorously
squirming as if trying to escape from the confines of the bunny rug enclosing
him.}

_{Day after day,
Jennifer visited Susie and James until it was time for her and Peter to make a
trip back to their home on the property.}

_{Susie and Bill were
delighted when Jennifer and Peter accepted the honor of being James' Godparents.
The Christening was to be a family-only celebration in six weeks.}

_{Back at Rocky
Springs, the week of the housewarming party eventually arrived and they had
returned to their country home to find that the family had been busy.}

_{Jennifer was
delighted to welcome Peter's four sisters and their husbands. No motel for them.
They stayed at Rocky Springs.}

_{Their Sydney friends
arrived. Ted and Bob shared one room while Karen and Ruth shared another at
Deep Springs.}

_{The Commander, Susie
and baby James stayed with Peter and Jennifer.}

_{Baby James was lucky
that the young daughters of the RSM became his constant babysitters. Susie
complained that often they would not allow her back in the room except to feed
him. Bill's laughing comment, "Half his luck to have all these pretty
girls tending to his every need,” brought a loving slap from Susie.}

_{Elizabeth had a full
house, Jennifer had a full house and the Shearing Shed Motel was full.}

_{The Tourist Coach had
been meeting planes for days and cars had been dashing hither and thither. Blue,
Tiny, Andrew, Peter and Eric had been either collecting guests or conducting
tours around the two properties under the watchful eyes of the security.}

_{Two tables were set
in the dining room and the buffet was ready as the first guests arrived for the
party. People sat on the verandahs with their meal and their Thai and Tamil
guests were impressed with the heat of the food. The Australian guests seemed
more inclined to eat the baked lamb and the steak while the Chinese dipped into
everything.}

_{Peter offered to
share his chilies with everyone but they politely declined.}

_{Amongst the happy
crowd, the servants threaded their way to tend to everyone's needs and seemed
to know instinctively what the guests desired. In the background, the RSM kept
a wary eye on proceedings. Eventually guests began to drift away as they left
to change their clothes for the ball.}

_{Peter's Indian
sisters followed Elizabeth and Jennifer to a bedroom where they helped them don
their saris. Only when bangles covered their arms and tinkling ankle bracelets
enclosed their ankles, their foreheads showing the red bindi and they slung the
ends of their saris over their right shoulders were they considered dressed.}

_{All four of them,
resplendent in their gold brocaded saris of various hues, made their way to the
ballroom.}

_{Peter's eyes glowed
in appreciation as he stood at the door welcoming their guests, and Jennifer
could feel the heat of his love as she clung to his arm. He didn't need to say
a word. She could sense how beautiful she was to his eyes.}

_{It was only when
Marissa, on the arm of Tiny, and Nicolette, on the arm of her brother, arrived
that she found herself wondering... When a third dainty girl arrived on the arm
of Blue, Peter mentioned she was also a ballerina from Sydney. Jennifer became
suspicious, remembering her brother's statement that he was considering taking
the plunge.}

_{It was towards
midnight and everyone held a glass of champagne when Ted stepped into the
limelight demanding silence and attention.}

_{"Ladies and gentlemen! 
Jennifer and Peter!  Thank you for your attendance and for making this
housewarming a happy occasion but...”  The guests held their breath wondering
what was to come.}

_{Ted walked a few slow
paces towards the center of the floor and turned slowly to gaze around the
room.}

_{Peter wondered why
Ted hadn't joined a dramatic society; such was his flair for handling the
crowd.}

_{"But...” again
he paused until a voice rang out.}

_{"Get on with
it!"}

_{Ted gave Andrew a wry
look.}

_{"I have great
pleasure,” he continued, "in announcing the engagements of Nicolette and
Andrew, Marissa and Tiny, Margarita and Blue."}

_{Pandemonium broke out
as Jennifer flew across the room into her brother's arms, hugging both him and
Nicolette. Cheering and clapping interspersed with "For they are jolly
good fellows” drowned all other noises.}