Central to Nowhere

by D. J. Blackmore

  ‘What do I do?’ Adam whispered. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  Ivy looked up at him. ‘We don’t give up. We pray.’

  ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll leave that to you.’ He was bitter, like wishes had gone unanswered before.

  Ivy plucked at his sleeve. ‘Do you need help?’ Adam blinked. Ivy asked him, ‘What do you want? What do you need?’

  ‘My son! I need my son!’

  ‘Then ask. Pray.’

  ‘To The Great and Powerful?’ Adam’s voice was tart. He got up and limped to his car keys. Ivy looked at him with tears in her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks and dripped on the floor.

  ‘That’s right. You got it, The Great and Powerful.’

  But as she closed her eyes and called aloud for help, she heard Adam break. He collapsed to his knees, overcome. She went to him and continued to pray.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ He wiped at his tears, surprised at himself. ‘I don’t know what came over me. I’m overwrought, that’s all.’ He took a shuddering breath and exhaled. Anger had given way. He was strangely calm. ‘I want you to come with me.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘I’m not really sure I know; Mum’s maybe. I’ve got to find Michael.’

  They walked out into the dawn together. Adam had lost his limp—he was walking with purpose, pulling Ivy along to the car. It was as though he wasn’t wearing the boot any more.

  ‘I’ve never known the trip into town to take such a short time. We’ll be at the crossroads soon.’

  Adam swerved slightly to go around a lump of roadkill and slowed at the sight of emergency lights.

  Ivy sat up, pointed at the ambulance, rescue squad and highway patrol car that had pulled into the embankment.

  Among the vehicles was the broken body of a rusty sedan.

  Adam cried out, running towards the car he knew too well.

  ‘I’m sorry, sir, you can’t come here. You’re not permitted any closer.’ An officer blocked his path.

  Adam tried to push past, but two other burly officers stepped forward.

  ‘I’ve got to see!’

  The noise of a side grinder stopped and the car door was lifted free.

  ‘Will you just let the rescue squad do their job, sir?’

  ‘That’s my son!’

  Ivy’s stomach lurched as a stretcher was brought to the car. There was a little body, with dark curly hair.

  ‘It’s all right, sir, the boy’s all right.’ A Saint John’s ambulance officer clasped Adam about the shoulders, looking him square in the eyes. ‘It’s your son?’

  ‘Yes.’ Adam clutched at the worker in white. ‘Yes, he’s my son. His name is Michael.’

  ‘And what’s your name, mate?’

  ‘Adam.’

  ‘Adam, your son is going to be okay.’

  Adam bawled like a boy.

  ‘Is that your wife in the car, Adam?’

  Adam shook his head.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ Ivy said, staring at the veil of dark hair that trailed out the driver’s side window.

  ‘We’re doing everything we can to help her, Adam,’ the man said.

  ‘I need to see my son.’ Adam grabbed hold of Ivy.

  The officer hesitated. Nodded. He moved aside and let Ivy and Adam pass.

  She glanced towards the carcass of the sedan.

  ‘Would you mind talking to us down at the police station, sir, if that’s all right?’

  ‘Yeah, sure.’ Adam’s nod was absent as he went past. He had Ivy by the hand and she stumbled in the long silver grass trying to keep up.

  Michael was covered by warm waffle weave blankets. He looked so pale against the white. But he opened his eyes at his father’s voice. There was the ghost of a smile on his face.

  ‘Mum won’t wake up. I tried to shake her, and there’s blood on her face.’

  Adam bowed his head and kissed Michael on the cheek. Ivy saw his tears fall. Her own tears, too.

  ‘Mummy is hurt bad, mate.’

  Michael nodded. ‘They’re going to make her better.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Adam whispered. Michael’s eyes filled with fear, spilled tears onto his cheeks. Adam amended his prognosis. ‘She’s got to go to hospital for a while.’ Small arms reached around his father as Michael cried.

  ‘You want Daddy to ride with us?’ The ambulance officer asked Michael. Michael nodded. His face crumpled. He couldn’t speak.

  ‘I’m coming right back,’ Adam told Michael and stepped away to talk to Ivy.

  ‘Can you follow us? I need you at the hospital.’

  Ivy nodded. He wiped her eyes. Inside her head, all she could think was, Did I pray for this? I begged God for Michael to return.

  She felt so fragile ... fragile enough to break.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  The officer put his hands together to form a bridge with his fingers as he leaned forward on the table. ‘Mr O’Rourke, how much do you know of your ex-wife’s private life?’

  Adam looked back to the officer sitting on the other side of the desk. He thought about the question and shook his head. ‘Since we divorced, not much at all. Rachael came back, unannounced, with Michael for a few days. She dropped him at my mother’s house while I was out mustering. He was staying with my mum this weekend, as Dad was in hospital.’

  ‘What’s the problem with your father?’

  ‘Alzheimer’s.’ Adam frowned. ‘Does all this have some bearing on the duty of care of Michael? Are you saying that there’s neglect on my behalf? I hope not, because for the last three years, I haven’t been granted the privilege of seeing my son.’

  ‘Not at all, I’m just trying to get a handle on details of your ex-wife.’

  Adam nodded, mollified.

  ‘So you didn’t see her at all yesterday or last night?’

  ‘No, why would I?’

  ‘Just a question, Mr O’Rourke. I’m trying to find out as many particulars as I can. This could have been a fatal incident, and drugs are involved.’

  ‘What? That’s ludicrous!’

  ‘Were you aware that your wife has a drug dependency?’

  Adam stared, open-mouthed. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘The officers found a glass pipe and a quantity of methylamphetamine in her car.’

  Adam raked his hands through his hair. ‘It must belong to someone else.’

  The officer shrugged, palms up, and sat back on his chair, folding his arms.

  ‘Mr O’Rourke, the facts don’t lie. It’s all here in black and white, so to speak.’ The officer took a bag from a drawer and pushed it towards Adam. Adam blinked, looking down at the bag, wondering what was inside, yet unwilling to find out. ‘Have you seen this before?’ He opened the labeled bag and drew out a blue glass pipe.

  ‘My son is in hospital. He could have died, and you’re questioning me like I could be guilty of taking an illicit drug!’

  ‘Can you please sit down, Mr O’Rourke?’ The officer nodded and sealed up the bag.

  ‘And she is not my wife, she’s my ex-wife. And did I know Rachael was on drugs? No, I didn’t. We have been separated for three years. We have been divorced for two. She blew in like a hot westerly wind, unannounced, uninvited, and quite frankly, unwanted.’

  ‘What did she want?’

  ‘She wanted money.’

  ‘Did you give her money?’

  ‘Yeah, I did. She was only supposed to take one-thousand bucks, that and nothing more. Said she owed it to someone. I didn’t ask questions, just told her where to find it since I had a crook leg. Later on I found out that she’d taken the lot.’

  ‘How much was that?’

  ‘Two thousand, give or take,’

  ‘Nice little bit of spending money.’

  ‘I think
I can guess what she spent it on.’ Adam clenched his jaw. ‘There’s something else I should tell you about. It was the night the circus was in town. I disturbed an intruder when we got home. I don’t know who it was. But later that night I saw the drawer had been opened and everything had been scattered on the floor.’

  ‘Was anything taken?’

  ‘No, I hadn’t been back to the bank to get more cash, so the drawer was empty anyway.’

  ‘Do you have any suspicions on who the perpetrator might have been?’

  ‘My guess was Rachael. Now I’m certain of it. Must have thought I’d been down to the bank again.’

  ‘Did you report the incident?’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  The officer sat back in his seat once more and put his hands behind his head. ‘You’re very fortunate that your son was spared his life. He was in the front seat, but thankfully he was wearing a seat belt. His mother got that part right.’

  Yes, he was very fortunate. It was dawning on him now just how close to losing Michael he had been. Emotion hit Adam head on. T-boned him. He tried to hold himself together—it felt like there was an airbag tight against his throat. The officer was still talking, saying something about someone’s ID.

  ‘Hold on, who else did you say was in the car?’ Adam repeated. ‘Seth? Seth was in the car?’

  ‘You know him?’ The officer pressed Adam.

  ‘He came to the station to work just recently.’

  ‘Well, he’ll survive.’

  ‘Not if he comes back to the station, he won’t.’

  ‘If he has belongings there, I’ll have a police officer escort him to pick them up.’

  Adam rubbed a hand over his eyes. It had been a long day. Michael would return home with them after the doctor gave him the okay later this afternoon. Adam just wanted to get Michael and head home.

  ‘You’re very fortunate that you still have your son and your … ex-wife,’ the officer reminded him. He closed the book he’d taken notes on, put it in his breast pocket and buttoned it up. ‘It’s a good day for you, Mr O’Rourke. You’re very lucky.’

  Adam walked out of the police station and let out a long breath. ‘She’s a drug addict. I can hardly believe it,’ he told Ivy. ‘They found a pipe for smoking ice inside her car.’

  ‘Adam, there are a few things I need to tell you.’ Ivy took his hand and they stopped under a tree shading the footpath.

  ‘Of all the irresponsible things a parent can do … what did you say?’

  Ivy pleaded, ‘I knew about the drugs. Michael showed me the pipe.’

  ‘You found Michael with that pipe and you hid it from me?’ Adam folded his arms and shook his head.

  ‘I didn’t hide it from you. You were out mustering. You weren’t even there. You came back with a broken leg and had a visit from the flying doctor to put a cast on your leg. Yes, it slipped my mind. And besides that, what business was it of mine?’

  ‘My son could have been killed.’ He saw that it cut. He saw her shoulders slump. He saw her pain as she turned away.

  He looked at Ivy. She bit her lip. ‘That’s not all, I guess I had better tell you the rest …’

  ‘Yeah, I think you should.’

  She quailed, but went on, ‘When I spoke to Rachael at the race track, Seth was there with her.’

  Adam stared at her for a moment, gobsmacked. ‘I can’t believe you kept all this from me.’

  ‘I didn’t think it was my place to get involved.’ Ivy’s head was downcast. Now she looked up. ‘I was concerned, but I didn’t think it was right to go telling tales to you. After all, in the beginning, I thought you and Rachael were a married couple. How was I to know that you weren’t aware of her habit?’

  Adam sighed. A warm breeze blew over them. Adam felt the lingering fingers of summer. They stirred his hair. He was afraid that Ivy would slip away from him. That she would leave almost as soon as she had come. Like a breeze, here then gone. So why was he pushing her away?

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice was as soft as the breeze and just as warm as she reached out and took his hand. ‘Forgive me for not telling you.’

  ‘No, I’m the one who’s sorry. It’s not your fault. I can’t take it out on you. This has shaken me up, that’s all.’ He cleared his throat and sighed. He hadn’t lost his son. Michael was alive. He couldn’t have said why he wanted to cry.

  Her fingers were light and her eyes shone like the sun after rain. ‘That’s understandable, but everything’s going to be all right,’ she whispered. Adam was bathed by the warmth of her voice and the promise of tomorrow.

  Chapter Forty

  It seemed a miracle that besides some cuts and scratches, Michael had come through the accident unscathed. He clung to Adam when they went to take him home from the hospital, and Ivy knew that there were some wounds that the eye couldn’t see. Those wounds would take the longest time to heal.

  It would be a long time until Rachael was released from hospital. Longer still until she was allowed to care for her son. Ivy knew that Adam would do anything to protect his child.

  ‘You ready for home, mate?’ his father asked.

  Michael nodded his head. The boy had been shaken, turned upside down. He hadn’t been in to see his mother because the paediatrician was concerned her wounds might upset him further. One day very soon, he had been told. He stood close by Adam now.

  ‘You want me to cook dinner tonight?’ Ivy asked.

  ‘I reckon we should eat out.’ Adam smiled.

  Michael nodded. ‘We’ve got to do romantic. Dad, Ivy will have to show you how.’

  ‘Oh, and you think Ivy knows all about that kind of stuff, do you now?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  ‘Oh yeah, and what makes you think that?’

  ‘Cause she’s got a pretty face, and she’s lovely inside her eyes,’ and his own eyes shone as he looked at Ivy.

  Adam kissed Michael’s forehead. ‘You’re a smart kid, you know? I reckon you’re right.’

  They all turned to look behind them at the sound of bellowing from another ward.

  ‘Someone’s being bad.’ Michael’s eyes grew big in his head so Adam picked him up.

  ‘Oh, what are you doing here?’ Adam turned to see his mum. Grace spun around. ‘Oh, he’s with you. Thank goodness.’

  Adam said, ‘I hadn’t had a chance to call you yet. Michael was in an accident late last night.’

  Grace’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Is he all right?’ She looked her grandson over. ‘I called you to tell you that Rachael came and picked him up, but you didn’t answer your phone. It just went to message bank. I felt terrible. I didn’t want to let him go, but what could I do?’

  ‘He was lucky.’ Adam put Michael down and said more quietly, ‘Rachael is a little worse off, Mum. Hit a roo and ran off the road.’ Adam took a deep breath, collected himself. He lowered his voice, stood close to his mother so she could hear. ‘Rachael’s car was found upside down near the intersection heading into town. There were drugs found in the car.’

  ‘Why, that’s ridiculous and I don’t believe it. Rachael wouldn’t do that. She must have been minding them for someone. Oh, I’m going to have to sit down.’ She put a hand out to the hospital bed.

  Adam anticipated his mum’s pitying look in Michael’s direction. She held out her arms. ‘Mum,’ Adam said quietly. ‘Careful what you say. He’s got enough to worry about.’

  ‘Of course he does. I can hardly credit it.’

  ‘You’re not to blame, Mum.’

  Ivy imagined that it would be some time before Michael’s dad let him have a sleepover at Grandma’s again. He’d had a brush with mortality that morning, and Adam wouldn’t let his son out of his sight any time soon. They were heading home. Tomorrow was the start of a new day. Adam put one arm around Ivy, the other held fast to his son.


  Grace blinked at the three of them—their little family—like she hardly knew what to say. So she said nothing.

  Yelling stopped the tender moment. ‘Don’t you dare touch me!’ Then a clatter as something was thrown in the room.

  ‘Oh dear!’ Grace was up. She hurriedly left the room.

  ‘Is that the singing man?’ Michael asked.

  ‘Yes, I think that’s your granddad, Michael,’ Adam said.

  ‘I don’t want to go and see him.’ Michael was shaking his head. He put a hand out to Ivy. She reached out and took it.

  Adam cast a worried glance at Ivy. ‘I think I better go and see what’s up.’

  She nodded. ‘Michael and I will walk out to the car together. There’s a bench under a big tree outside. Why don’t we sit under the tree with the teddy that the kind Red Cross ladies knitted for you?’

  Michael nodded and held his stuffed toy close to his chest.

  ‘That’s where his heart is,’ he explained, pointing at the red cross.

  ‘I’ll meet you beneath the mango tree.’ Adam nodded.

  Michael was excited. ‘That’s what people kiss under at Christmas time.’

  ‘That’s mistletoe,’ Adam corrected with a smile.

  ‘Do we got some of that?’

  ‘What? Mistletoe?’

  ‘Yep, that, missile toe.’

  ‘I’ll find some.’ Adam winked at Ivy and then he was gone.

  Michael was singing the only line of Jingle Bells that he could recall. Ivy didn’t have the heart to tell Michael that Christmas was ages away. But perhaps they would find some mistletoe next year.

  Only time would tell.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Trevor had thrown the contents of the bed pan at the male nurse. The uniform had copped most of the assault. The rest had trickled down the nurse’s face. They reached the ward as the poor man was mopping himself up. He glanced up at them briefly. His look was dirty. Adam flushed.