by Mandy Magro
‘Knock, knock! Merry Christmas!’ Heath called from the front door, his hands trembling slightly as he envisioned giving Molly her gift.
‘Come in, Heath!’ Molly called back.
‘I would, but I kinda need a hand to get in.’
Molly jumped up and went to meet him at the door. She could barely see Heath’s face over the enormous gift he was holding. He peeked around the present, smiling charmingly, his eyes bluer then she’d ever seen them before. He looked so happy.
‘Santa forgot to drop this one off last night for Rose so I thought I’d deliver it myself. Apparently it’s a castle.’
Molly pulled open the screen door. ‘Oh, Heath, you spoil her.’ She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, his six-foot well-built frame towering over her five foot, three inches. ‘Merry Christmas, buddy.’
Heath put Rose’s present on the side table and pulled the small gift from his jeans pocket, at the same time praying he was doing the right thing. There was no turning back now, he thought. ‘And this is for you.’ He gently took Molly’s hand and placed the present in her palm, closing her fingers around it, enjoying the feeling of her hand resting in his.
Molly felt a rush of warmth. Heath always gave her and Rose something for Christmas and birthdays. He never forgot. He really was the most thoughtful man she had ever met. She stared at the gift, not wanting to ruin the beautiful wrapping paper.
‘Go on then. Open it!’ he said, his cheeky smile lighting up his sun-kissed, handsome face, his blue eyes holding Molly’s gaze just long enough for her to feel like she could fall into them. A zap of something unfamiliar coursed through her, a sensation that made her toes curl. What was going on? Just recently she had found herself wondering what was going through his mind when he looked at her that way – a way he had never looked at her before. But these moments were so fleeting that she found herself second-guessing whether she’d really seen it, or felt it. Was she just overreacting? Was she reading something into it that wasn’t even there? She knew she had a tendency to do so. She shrugged it off, choosing instead to focus on the kindness of Heath’s gift-giving.
Molly felt her breath catch in her throat as she pulled the Montana Silversmiths bracelet from the box. The centre of it sparkled with a stunning horseshoe design encrusted with Swarovski crystals.
‘Oh, Heath. This is just gorgeous. I love it!’ She reached out and threw her arms around his broad shoulders. He hugged Molly’s back, the strength in his muscular body making her feel safe and secure. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, relieved that she had responded in the way he had hoped.
‘I’m so stoked that you like it. I was worried that you wouldn’t.’
Molly beamed at him as she slid the bracelet onto her slender wrist. ‘Oh, Heath! Why wouldn’t I? It’s beautiful. I’ve never been bought jewellery before.’
‘Great. Brilliant. I’m glad it’s made you happy. Well, must run, the lads are waiting for me to make Christmas brekky. Eggs, ham and beans on toast.’
‘Not so fast. I have gifts for you and the guys too.’ Molly grabbed him by the arm. ‘Come into the lounge.’ Molly had bought Heath a new pair of spurs for his bull riding and she couldn’t wait to see his face when he opened them. For Kenny she had ordered a year’s subscription to a pig-hunting magazine, and for Trev she had decided on a bottle of Johnny Walker Black, his favourite.
‘As long as I’m not intruding, I don’t want to interrupt your family get-together.’
‘Of course not! You are family to us, you know that. Why don’t you give Rose her present now?’
Heath’s face lit up. ‘I’d love to!’
Molly motioned for him to walk in front of her down the hall. ‘Age before beauty!’
‘Oh geez, thanks, mate. Rub it in that I’m three years older than you,’ Heath replied, chuckling, flattered that Molly had invited him to stay.
Molly glanced at his butt – she couldn’t help it. It looked perfect in his Wrangler jeans. With his sandy-brown hair, cropped close to his head, golden-tanned skin, and tattoos adorning all the right places, Molly had to admit that Heath Miller oozed sex appeal from every single powerful inch of him. Especially when he was riding his pride and joy, his Harley Davidson motorbike; it made his bad-boy image even badder. Her thoughts began to wander in a direction she wasn’t at all comfortable with. ‘Stop it,’ she mumbled to herself, ‘he’s like a brother to you, and Jenny was like your sister.’
‘Pardon?’ Heath said over his shoulder.
Molly felt her face flush red, like she had just been caught snogging someone behind the tuckshop. ‘Oh, nothing.’
Goodness, girl, get a grip on yourself, she thought.
By eleven o’clock the sun was glowing brilliantly in the azure skies and the temperature had soared above forty degrees. Christmas Day in north Queensland was always a scorcher.
Dusty old utes, family four-wheel drives, restored classic Holdens and shiny new Land Cruisers with all the country bells and whistles were parked around the front of the homestead, under the big shady gum trees. Men were beginning to huddle in large groups, beer in hand, firmly shaking hands and wishing their fellow farmers a Merry Christmas whilst the women gave loving hugs and kisses in between ordering their children to behave themselves. There was close to one hundred people with still a few more to come, and it was organised chaos, but it was fantastic. Molly loved it. Big Christmas gatherings were part and parcel of a small country community.
An hour later, the kids had resorted to playing under the sprinklers. Some of the adults who’d already enjoyed a few beers had let their guard down, deciding to join in the fun. The Sunny Cowgirls’ song, ‘Aussie Jingle Bells’, was blaring from the stereo Rob had set up on the back verandah and Molly bopped away happily to the music as she helped prepare the food in the massive kitchen. Molly had inherited Elizabeth’s love of cooking and had spent so much time in the kitchen with her grandma when she was growing up. Molly was so proud of her. Elizabeth was the strongest woman she had ever known. Born and bred on a remote cattle station, it was in her grandma’s blood to have guts of steel and yet she was so compassionate and loving, with magic hugs that mended everything from grazed knees to broken hearts.
Molly could see Kenny, Trev and Heath out of the big bay window, setting up the makeshift cricket pitch for the traditional afternoon game. Glancing at the bracelet on her arm she smiled reflectively, feeling blessed to have Heath in her life. He was the perfect example of what she wanted from a man: kind, thoughtful, loyal and loving and so wonderful with Rose. Under different circumstances, in another lifetime, she would have gone for him in a flash, but the past had made it impossible. She had to be happy with the close mateship they shared. Didn’t she?
The older men were crowded around the smoking barbecue, good-naturedly slapping each other on the back, no doubt talking about fruit prices, cattle, horses, and the impact of climate change on their farms and what the government should be doing about it. It was a conversation Molly heard regularly at the local pub when she joined her grandfather there for a beer with his mates, a weekly occurence seeing as the pub was only half an hour down the road from Jacaranda Farm. David was in charge of the barbecue, as he had been for as long as Molly could remember. He proudly wore a bright red Santa hat on his bald head and an apron that read ‘Laughing stock … Cattle with a sense of humour’. Molly had given it to him that morning and he had loved it so much he had been wearing it ever since, pointing it out to all his mates when they had arrived. He looked so happy and that made Molly happy too. She watched as he worked the barbecue like a pro, expertly flipping sausages, hamburger patties, steak, prawns and Moreton Bay bugs. Molly’s mouth watered at the thought of tucking into a few bugs. They were glorious, her favourite seafood in the world.
The women bustled around the large kitchen preparing trays of delicious food whilst brutally swatting at the blowflies with their tea towels. Molly was impressed with their strike rate. She wouldn’t li
ke to be a blowfly in the kitchen today; there was no chance of survival.
Her next-door neighbour, Kathy, was stirring a pot of potent brandy custard that would lavishly garnish her scrumptious Christmas pudding. Molly always made sure she left enough room for Kathy’s decadent pudding. Although you had to watch out for the sixpence that Kathy put into it every year. If you chomped down too hard on it, you’d probably break a tooth. It was traditional to make a wish if you were lucky enough to get the sixpence and then hand it back to Kathy for her to use again next year – after thoroughly washing it.
Cheryl was adding sprigs of parsley from Elizabeth’s herb garden to the salads as she danced and wiggled to the country music floating in from the verandah. Molly shimmied beside her and the two grabbed hands, spinning each other around the kitchen.
The ladies talked nonstop, filling each other in on the happenings of the week, month or year, depending on when they had last seen each other. Molly revelled in being one of the group. These women all carried an aura of strength after the years of trials and tribulations they had experienced. Living on the land was a beautiful way of life, but also one of hardship because you were so reliant on Mother Nature. Be it drought, or maybe a cyclone, you could never tell what she was going to throw at you next.
‘Hi, ladies! It smells fantastic in here!’ come a voice from the doorway. Molly squealed as she turned around to see her best mate, Jade. The two girls hugged for a moment then pulled back, grinning.
‘Jade! It feels like forever since I’ve seen you! I didn’t know you were coming home. Merry Christmas, matey!’
‘Merry Christmas, Molly! I didn’t think I was going to make it back from Byron Bay in time for Christmas, but looking at the smile on your face I’m so glad I did. God, I’ve missed you, buddy!’
‘I’ve missed you too, Jade! How was the massage course?’
‘Brilliant! I have loads to tell you,’ Jade said with a wink.
The two girls grabbed a couple of beers and headed outside to the shade of the jacaranda tree. Molly straightened up the sunflowers she and Rose had put there earlier that morning for her parents before sitting down on the ground beside Jade. For a moment they sipped their beers in comfortable silence, watching the children and a few of the adults playing under the sprinklers, laughing at Kenny as he chased Heath with a bucket filled with ice. Heath made a mad dash for safety but within seconds he slipped and hit the ground with a thump, giving Kenny the perfect opportunity to empty the bucket’s icy contents all over him. The look on Heath’s face was priceless and Kenny buckled over in laughter. The kids saw that it was on for young and old and joined in the fun by tackling both Heath and Kenny on the ground. Molly smiled. The guys were so great with all the kids, but especially Rose. They protected her fiercely, and Molly thought it was touching the way the men took it on themselves to ‘father’ Rose.
‘So, what have I missed in the few months I’ve been away? Anyone, say, fall in love?’ Jade asked, raising her eyebrows.
Molly laughed. ‘You mean have I met anyone?’
Jade took a swig of beer. ‘Well, have you?’
Molly looked down and picked at the grass, wishing she could say yes. ‘Nope. Zip. Nada. I just don’t seem to have much luck in that department.’
Jade sighed. ‘The right one will come along. You just wait. Everyone has a soul mate out there.’
‘Forever the optimist, you are! Yeah, maybe one day. We’ll see. But enough about me,’ Molly answered, wanting to change the subject. ‘Tell me all about your trip away, mate. I’m sure you got up to loads of exciting stuff, knowing you. Did you meet any sexy lovers while you were doing your massage course? I want all the juicy details!’
Jade grinned cheekily. ‘You know me too well, Molly Jones! There was one girl … We hit it off big time, but it was just good fun. We both knew after the course was over she’d be heading back to Tassie and I was coming back here. We promised to keep in touch, but I doubt I’ll hear from her again. That’s fine, though. There are plenty of fish in the lesbian sea these days!’
Molly laughed and shook her head. ‘You always amaze me, Jade. I can’t even find myself one man and you find women everywhere! You have to tell me your secret.’
‘Well, my dear friend, I reckon you’ve got to open up that heart of yours – then the men will flood to you like a river after a torrential downpour. I know first-hand that you have a big heart, Molly Jones. You just have to learn to trust it and listen to it, stop being so afraid to fall in love,’ Jade said, tapping Molly gently on the heart.
Molly rolled her eyes. Jade was always one for a spiritual speech. ‘Yeah, well, most of the men I meet expect more than just your heart to be open, mate, and as they say, good cowgirls keep their calves together.’
‘Hey, what are you saying?’ Jade squealed, pushing Molly’s arm playfully.
Molly knew Jade couldn’t help herself when it came to love. She wasn’t one for monogamy – at least not yet. And it had been quite a while. She had told Molly while they were still at high school that she wasn’t attracted to guys and that she’d rather the luscious curves of a woman’s body any day. Jade had copped a lot of bullying at school for it, but Molly had stuck by her mate, proud of Jade for being true to herself and sticking to her guns. When Jade had first come out of the closet the town of Dimbulah – population 1400, according to the welcome sign – had been gossip central, but eventually the whispers subsided and people had gotten on with their lives, accepting Jade for who she was. It was only the occasional newcomer who had something nasty to say about her and the locals had no time for anyone so narrow-minded. The proof of the pudding was Jade’s successful beauty salon and massage business.
Jade was a free-spirited soul, and brought a different way of looking at the world to Molly’s attention. She had even taught Molly how to meditate a few years back, with a heck of a lot of patience, and now Molly didn’t let a day go by without at least five minutes of meditating, even if it was while she was sat in one of the paddocks with the horses.
‘Hey, there’s a new barmaid in town, and guess what? She’s gay,’ Molly said in mock horror, covering her mouth with her hand.
‘How the hell do you know that?’ Jade said with a snort of a giggle.
‘Apparently Kenny tried hitting on her last weekend and she kindly told him that if she liked blokes she’d have gone for him in a flash, but she was more interested in women. She even asked him if he knew of any likely single ladies in town!’ Molly said with a grin. ‘And he told her about you!’
‘Oh, poor Kenny, he never has any luck on the love front. But, it sounds like good news for me,’ Jade said, smirking.
‘Well, next time you’re at the pub you should introduce yourself.’
‘I sure will! Speaking of the pub, are you going there for New Year’s Eve? There’s a new band coming to town and apparently they’re brilliant.’
‘Wouldn’t be anywhere else,’ said Molly.
Jade grinned. ‘Woohoo! Make sure you wear comfy shoes. We’re going to dance the night away. We haven’t had a chance to go out in ages. The whole town will be at the Bull Bar. It’ll be a hoot!’
‘I know. Granddad and Grandma are going to look after Rose for me so I can go out and party. You know I don’t do that so much any more! It takes too long for me to get over it the next day and I’d prefer to be spending time with Rose or out working with the horses than dealing with a bloody hangover. The days of being young, wild and reckless are long gone, thankfully. I wouldn’t change my life now for anything, or anyone.’
Jade gave Molly a sly nudge in the ribs. ‘Who knows, my friend? You just might meet your knight in shining amour … You’d better dress to impress.’
‘Yeah, well, Granddad reckons if I don’t hurry up and meet him soon I’ll be marrying some clown on a donkey!’
Jade cracked up and Molly laughed along with her.
Once Elizabeth rang the old cow bell to announce that lunch was ready, everybody lined
up to fill their plates to the brim and sat down at the tables Rose had decorated with tinsel and glitter. Afterwards, some chose to stay sitting at the tables under the golden wattle trees, talking idly, while others lay in the shade on the grass, covering their faces with their hats for a cat nap before the celebrations began again. That was the way at Jacaranda Farm. Here, you got to be yourself and completely relax.
At about four o’clock, when it had cooled down a little, the annual Christmas cricket match began. This tradition had been handed down through generations. The ones sitting on the sidelines, choosing to watch instead of play, were many years ago the ones out there giving the ball a fair old whack. Now it was the next generation’s turn to run about as the older generation watched on from the comfort of their fold-out chairs. It was the natural flow of life, beautiful and comforting. Molly and Heath’s team won, as they did almost every year, and the trophy – a toilet seat decorated with corks and tin cans – was handed out in a mock-solemn ceremony. Molly and Heath triumphantly held it up in the air to loud cheers.
By six o’clock people were starting to head home to the comfort of their lounge chairs, televisions and beds. Molly looked on, amused, as sober friends and family, those that had been given the responsibility of driving home, loaded inebriated loved ones and testy, overtired children into their cars. Many women had insisted on helping to clean up while the men had packed away all the chairs and tables. You wouldn’t have known there’d been over a hundred people enjoying Christmas together in Molly’s backyard. All that remained was the tinsel some larrikin had wrapped around Molly’s Land Cruiser, making it look like a car fit for the Mardi Gras, not for the red, dusty roads she drove daily.
Molly watched from the front verandah as Rose played with Skip and the puppies on the front lawn, giggling and squealing as they ran after her playfully. Rose had not let the puppies out of her sight since the morning. Ominous black clouds filled the sky, the impending downpour marking the end of a glorious Christmas day, as it did almost every year. Today had been so lovely, Molly thought, surrounded by close friends and family. She just wished she had been able to share it with her parents too. It still hurt on special days like Christmas and birthdays that they weren’t there with her. It made her long for a big family of her own to help fill the void her parents had left in her heart. Rose deserved a father, and the gift of a brother or sister, perhaps both. Molly didn’t want her growing up without siblings; she knew from experience that it could be very lonely.
