Icefall

by Hallowes, Guy

  While Tanya believed in the science, she still had overwhelming doubts about the lifestyle change that would occur if she accepted David's proposal. If she channeled all her ambitions into developing The Settlement, she would have to forget about anything else in her life. She vainly hoped that Mark would come up with a different solution, so that she could forget about it altogether.

  Mark responded by taking her in his arms, 'Children, you say, maybe we could practice … ' He started to undress her. He decided to stop expressing his doubts to Tanya, hoping to avoid more forceful arguments.

  Evan was busy moving to Europe. He joked with his mum, 'If it's true then I will drown with a whole load of Poms. Seriously I just don't know, but I have this opportunity and I am going to pursue it.'

  Jonathan was quite straightforward with Chloe, 'Dad is right. When it happens I will be in the army and we might be able to do some good. I shall certainly be keeping in close touch with Dad and you all to see what is going on and will help when I can.'

  The weekend when David and Tanya were in the mountains, Chloe joined in a mixed four-ball at the golf club, partnered with Alan. They both played well and came close to winning the competition. 'I think I will skip the drink,' she said to Alan and the others in the four-ball. 'I'm just going down to Freshwater Beach for a quick dip and then I'll be on home.'

  'Come and swim at Manly,' suggested Alan. 'You can change at my flat on the beachfront.'

  'I'll join you at Manly, but I think I'll change here. Give me five minutes.' She rushed off.

  Chloe at five foot six was a slim, natural blonde and knew, even at fifty, that most men found her attractive. She followed Alan, parking near the beach. She skipped across the road, slipped out of the shirt covering her bikini, and gingerly stepped into the light surf. Alan found her as she was drying off.

  'I could do with a cup of coffee. Maybe over there.' She pointed to a café just off the beachfront.

  'I have a flat nearby.'

  'Is that where you live?'

  'No, it's just an investment.'

  Chloe wondered why he hadn't let the place. They talked and joked easily for more than an hour, ordering another coffee, Chloe finding the good looking Alan increasingly attractive.

  Chloe looked at her watch, 'Is that really the time? I must be going.'

  'Are you going home like that? Just in your bikini? What happens if you have an accident or have to stop for petrol? You could easily pop over and change at my flat, it will only take a few minutes.'

  Chloe looked at him enquiringly, decided there was no harm in his suggestion, and said, 'Yes that makes sense, thank you.'

  'What a lovely place,' Chloe said as Alan quickly showed her through the penthouse flat, 'facing the sea, but not noisy since it's so high up.'

  'It needs some decent furniture,' said Alan. 'I've only had it a few weeks.'

  He showed Chloe to a spare bedroom. She changed into a plain shirt and tight-fitting black jeans, showing her slim figure off. She had taken trouble with her make-up. Alan looked at her admiringly.

  'Thanks,' said Chloe, smiling. 'I'm a bit late now, but I'll see you at the club in a couple of weeks. Maybe we'll win the comp this time.' She pecked him on the cheek as she left, with Alan thoughtfully touching the place where she had kissed him. He was sure they had both felt the electric charge at the gesture.

  On the way home, Chloe thought about the nightmare of the settlement for the first time that afternoon. When she thought of Alan and the upcoming golf tournament, a slight frisson of excitement flowed through her. She quickly suppressed it.

  David talked about the place he and Tanya had seen and Chloe took a cursory glance at a few pictures on his digital camera. 'We'll be going up there again in a week or two,' said David, glancing at her. He added hurriedly, 'This time by helicopter, with a seat for you. The place seems ideal.'

  Chloe nodded, 'Okay. We'll see when the time comes.'

  Tanya hired a helicopter from a client and they made several, unannounced trips over two days. The first trip took Tanya and two surveyors into the site. Two hours later the chopper returned with David and Fred Costas, a well-established small time builder and a friend of David's.

  David and Tanya persuaded the pilot to fly around the whole property in order to properly assess its isolated location. The western side was pristine forest, protected by massive rock faces through which there was no apparent gap; the North was much the same. The South, they knew, could be accessed by walking through the narrow gorge. David asked the pilot to fly slowly across the eastern aspect. The whole place seemed perfect to him. He thought it was quite beautiful; the bluish tinge in the atmosphere from the eucalypt oil in the leaves of the gums wafted into the atmosphere. He loved how untouched it was.

  'There are a couple of possible gaps to the East,' Tanya pointed.

  'The additional access may be useful, but we will have to make sure they look inaccessible from the outside.'

  David tried very hard to encourage Fred Costas to be part of the scheme. He knew that over time many houses would have to be built. There would be ongoing construction work if The Settlement was to succeed.

  Fred listened politely. 'This all sounds rather farfetched. We have had many dealings over the years, but this is a way out scheme. Anyway, I can do nothing until you have built a road. We can talk again after that.'

  'The road will only be a single track, but it will be tarred,' said David.

  'It needs to be able to take a large truck, say a load of twenty tons.' He hesitated, half of him intrigued and half of him wanting to have nothing to do with it, but he added, 'I have a mate who may be interested in building the road. I'll talk to him if you like?'

  David managed to get Chloe to come on one of the later helicopter trips. She was nervous and felt nauseous during the one hour journey. After two hours tramping around the place, Chloe could see it was ideal for what David had in mind. It was indeed a beautiful place and on the day of the visit the sky was clear and there was a fresh southerly breeze blowing, keeping the temperature down.

  The fast flowing stream was clear. David knelt down and sipped the water. 'It is beautiful and sweet, try it.'

  'Yes, very sweet,' she said unenthusiastically. She still couldn't see herself living there.

  'When the road is built, how long will it take to drive to Sydney? I presume we won't always have access to a helicopter?'

  'Probably not. Three hours or so by car.'

  David did not register the negative feelings emanating from his wife. He was completely obsessed with his impossible dream coming to fruition.

  'What do you expect me to do here?' asked Chloe. They were perched on the verandah of the tiny cottage on the hillock.

  'Well, we'll need to encourage the right sort of people to join us.'

  'What do you mean by the right sort of people? Millionaires and such?'

  'No, God forbid. We want practical people who will contribute—builders, teachers, people who understand this environment, perhaps the original inhabitants. Apart from that, you could start a horse breeding programme.'

  David knew that in her youth Chloe had been a very good and keen horsewoman. The practicalities of owning and riding horses in Sydney as well as bringing up four children meant she rarely rode any more.

  'Horses? What would you do with them?'

  'Several things. After the Ice Shelf collapses, we will not be able to use any of our vehicles. We'll need horses to get about and perhaps seek out other communities like this one.'

  'You think there will be other communities?'

  'Yes, I expect so. But there will be recreational uses for horses, like gymkhanas and polo.'

  'All young people want to do is play games on the Internet and sleep with each other.'

  David smiled, 'The Internet will collapse, perhaps forever. Riding horses will give them an alternative. If we have a decent stable we may be able to trade horses with other communities and we will need horses for regular patro
ls.'

  'It sounds like a return to the dark ages.'

  'For a few years it may be like that.'

  'What do you envisage, a sort of hybrid between the Zulus and the Mongolians, with you as either Shaka or Genghis Khan?' she said playfully and then more seriously, 'Do you think you are going to be some sort of dictator here?'

  'No. I had always assumed we would have an elected council and the leader would be chosen by the council. But, I haven't really had time to think it all through. You could help.'

  'Okay, Genghis, horses it will be. I'll probably enjoy that. When should we start?'

  'We purchase the property within a month or two. Then build the road, over six months to a year. We will need to build a few houses … But you could do some research, think about what sort of horses would be suitable ...'

  'You mean there are alternatives to four legs and a tail,' said Chloe with a straight face.

  Despite himself, David laughed. He knew he needed to lighten up a bit, especially with Chloe.

  Chloe allowed herself to be hugged. 'Oh yes, the bloody house. I will be involved in designing that if I'm going to live in it. I presume we can dispense with black snakes on the verandah and dead bodies in the lounge.'

  'I have started to talk to an architect. All the houses here will use little energy. They will have solar power and face the right way.'

  'What about air-conditioning?'

  'Only nature's air-conditioning. The design of the house will make the most of it.'

  'How big will it be?'

  'Not very big. I think we will spend much of our time outside. There will be community facilities within walking distance. We don't need a competition to see who can build the biggest house.'

  'Khrushchev, not Genghis,' muttered Chloe. She was having difficulty taking the whole thing seriously, it was just so far removed from her current reality.

  Chloe, despite her negative feelings, started to research horses and spend time with David's architect on house design. If one believed in climate change, everything David was doing made sense. She just was not prepared to accept her world would change quite so catastrophically. She continued to play golf with Alan. They usually had a swim afterwards and Chloe often changed in his flat. She felt more and more comfortable in his company.

  On one of the weekends when David was away at The Settlement, she played golf with Alan in one of the club competitions. She had hit her ball into a deep patch of rough out of sight and Alan had come to help find her ball. He accidently bumped into her, when suddenly and unexpectedly they were passionately kissing. Chloe was amazed at the strength of her physical response to Alan's deep kisses.

  'We had better stop this,' she said shakily as she tried half-heartedly to push him away. 'Careful, or we'll be missed,' she said breathlessly after another deep kiss. They found their way separately back to the fairway. 'No luck, it's too thick in there,' she said shakily to the other couple, who had not noticed anything amiss.

  As usual they went for a swim after the game. Alan said, 'Come up to the flat, you can have a shower there. I have bought some special coffee.' Chloe thought of the kiss and nodded.

  Halfway through her shower Chloe called out to Alan. He nervously peered around the door carrying a tray with two cups of coffee. He nearly dropped everything when he saw her naked body through the shower door.

  'Join me,' she said more boldly than she felt, 'forget the coffee.'

  He needed no second invitation and was out of his swimming costume in a few seconds. They washed and dried each other thoroughly and then dived onto the bed. It was warm so they made love on the top of the soft clean sheets. Then they made love twice more.

  As dusk arrived, Chloe dragged herself off the bed, dressed, and kissed a drowsy Alan as he watched her every movement. As she was leaving, Alan pressed something metallic into her hand.

  'These are the keys to the flat. I will call you during the week.'

  Chloe thought she would feel guilty. But instead she felt liberated from the nightmare of The Settlement. She relived and savoured every moment of her lovemaking with Alan. To say she had enjoyed it would be an understatement; it was kind, gentle, and very inventive. She knew she would go back to see him. In fact, she almost turned around there and then, when she was halfway home.

  David was pleasantly surprised at Chloe's sunny demeanor when he returned. Mistakenly, he thought Chloe was finally on board.

  Tanya had soon established the precise dimensions of the property for sale and the rights attached. 'There are no restrictions on water rights,' she told David. 'That means the dam you suggested for the top of the property is possible.'

  'I have established a basis for building the road and have worked out roughly what it would cost.' David showed Tanya his costings. 'There is a twenty percent contingency in those figures and Fred has given me the cost of building two and three bedroom cottages. Again, I have added some contingencies, but I think I will be able to get him down once he comes on board.'

  Tanya spent thirty minutes on her laptop manipulating figures. 'If the property can be bought for almost nothing then it looks as if one would be able to build the road, five three bedroom cottages, with some money left over for the dam, provided Mark and I join the scheme.'

  'How are you going to get the property for nothing?' David was anxious about the two big unknowns. Acquiring the property for nothing was surely a dream and Tanya and Mark's commitment was still unconfirmed.

  'Just watch me,' she smiled.

  'Do you want help?'

  'Not with what I have in mind. I will have that little shithead all tied up in knots within the next week,' she said, referring to the agent.

  Tanya made an arrangement to see the estate agent, which she changed twice. She was deliberately late when she did eventually arrive for the appointment. The agent was agitated, but had obviously made an effort with his appearance. Tanya started off by listing all the problems with the property.

  'Building that road is the killer.' She mentioned a cost figure almost double the one David had given her.

  The agent blanched, but undeterred he mentioned a purchase price. Tanya started to pack her things away. The agent looked nervous; he had hoped this was his big chance.

  'Look, we'll have to get real about this property. Maybe we should have dinner together.' Tanya told him where she was staying. 'I will see you there at seven thirty.'

  Tanya made the most of her natural beauty and wore a very short skirt. The agent's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her. During the dinner she talked to him in an intimate manner and made him feel he was the most fascinating person in the world.

  'What are your real expectations about the property? It is useless to the owners, they never go there. In order to use it, a road will have to be built. What do the owners want? Would free access be any good to them?' asked Tanya.

  'What about cash?'

  'Forget cash. If a road is built, for the first time ever, access will not be a problem,' said Tanya.

  'Access?'

  'Yes, people will actually be able to go there.'

  'Who will build the road?'

  'We will, once the property belongs to us,' said Tanya.

  'How would the owners benefit?'

  'Access.'

  They continued arguing for the next half hour. Tanya could see David's dream becoming a reality. Despite the excitement, she kept her head and was completely ruthless in her dealings with the agent. 'Look you'll have to speak to the owner, if we build the road for the first time ever he will be able to go there; if he then builds a house there he can either use it or he may be able to sell it. I can't do better than that,' said Tanya firmly but courteously.

  A deal was finally concluded. The property would be transferred into the name of "The Settlement", and the new owners would be responsible for building the road. At the seller's expense, The Settlement would build a house to an approved design, to which the sellers would have the right of occupation for
one hundred years. There would be no other considerations, cash or otherwise relating to the transfer.

  'Give me the full name of the owner please,' asked Tanya as she made some adjustments to the agreement on her computer. She showed him the draft.

  'It seems okay,' said the agent uncertainly.

  'I would like to know tonight. Can you call the owner? I will just get this printed off, then we can sign it and have a drink to celebrate,' said Tanya.

  Tanya returned twenty minutes later with two copies of the agreement, having settled her bill. The agent read the agreement and asked for two small changes, which they altered by hand and initialled.

  'You have authority to sign this?' asked Tanya.

  Yes.'

  They signed.

  'Okay, let's get those drinks.'

  The agent tried to put his hand on her leg when they sat at the bar.

  Tanya shook her head. 'Sorry, that was never part of the deal,' she muttered, gave the surprised agent a kiss on the cheek and left. 'I'll be in touch in a day or two.' She did not return to her room, but went straight back to Sydney.

  'How on earth did you manage all this? They are actually going to pay us to take the place,' said David quizzically. He had glanced at the agreement and then read it more carefully, when Tanya proudly presented it to him the next day.

  'It's amazing what the thought of a bit of fanny will do, unfulfilled of course,' said Tanya, without even the hint of a blush. 'The road still has to be paid for.'

  It was David who blushed. He certainly didn't want any further discussion on how Tanya had manipulated the situation with the agent.

  'Of course, but we were going to do that anyway. Build the road I mean.'

  For Tanya, securing a deal on the property was the final piece of the jigsaw. They could now create a place where they might survive the apocalypse. This was the new reality. All I need now is to convince Mark to help fund the place.