Polly smiled at Jim’s wording. He sounded sincere.
‘Don’t give me too much credit honey. My whole attitude was one of a tabula rasa to be imprinted and in a strange way, you and I have approached things from opposite positions. Perhaps my American soul is still unformed. After all my mother is Hispanic.’
‘You know - while we were talking to Eturasi and Luatasi, I had a flash of insight and it was this: We’re like modern missionaries with the merchandise of salvation in our bulging kit bags. But in our case, the message is that material wealth is the holy grail and the means is capitalism. How about that for inspiration?’
‘But you didn’t go that far with Eturasi - and why not?’ Polly lifted her mane of hair away from her neck. The night was hot and still.
‘Well - it didn’t come to me in verbal form till just now as I talk to you. Anyway - I wonder how the missionary analogy would have gone down with those two. After all they’re deeply dyed in the Protestant faith brought here by the London Missionary Society. It’s so intertwined now with the ancient culture that it’s not seen as political probably.’
‘Isn’t it the same for Catholics? My parents’ religion is more cultural than theological I reckon.’ She put her arm on Jim’s stomach and gave the hairs a little tickle.
‘God - we’re getting deep.’
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t react, but went on with his speculations.
‘Do you ever wonder what the world would be like if we had all stayed contentedly in our ecological niches instead of becoming a footloose species first on horseback and now on jet planes?’
Polly yawned and said, ‘I’ve run out of abstract ideas carino. Do you love me - after all my cultural exploits? - that’s about as abstract as I can be.’ She turned on her side to face him and after some moments Jim did the same.
‘As far as I understand the notion I do love you. But it doesn’t feel like that fierce passionate thing a lot of chaps feel perhaps - or else I’d be challenging Jupeli to a duel at dawn. If that’s the test of true love then I have to wonder…’
‘God - you’re so analytical it’s depressing me. Look - I think I might have taken up the local language because I thought you saw me as an airhead.’
Jim kissed her at length and she relaxed and he felt her mouth smile.
‘Airhead meets egghead. What a combination!’
They peeled apart and Jim muttered sleepily, ‘Perhaps it’s my turn to sample the local wares….’
There was no further dialogue because they were both suddenly sound asleep.
He was walking along a deserted beach throwing a stick to a dog which had come from nowhere but which gleefully ran after the stick and brought it back and stood with its tail wagging expectantly and his tongue lolling. His sheepskin-lined jacket with a turned up collar withstood the bracing wind coming off the water. Suddenly a voice behind him said, ‘That’s the stuff - make him work. There’s nothing worse than a pampered pooch.’ He turned around to see his father in old blue overalls and a welding mask propped up on his bony forehead.
‘What’re you doing here Jens?’
‘Getting away from the foundry for a break. You have the right idea - getting away from it all.’
The dog sniffed at his father’s boots, before taking up the position like a relay runner waiting for the baton. As the dog rushed off he watched his father looking at the sea rolling in, his eyes squinting at the refulgent glare.
‘It’s brighter than I expected. You’re not wearing protective eye pieces I see. Think you should. Your sight is too precious to risk losing it.’
The dog had not returned from his last retrieval and he wondered if it had been stolen. That was how it felt. He had a sudden sense of loss. His father was still there, staring silently at the water. Then Jim watched him slowly bend down and pick up a stone which he threw strongly out beyond the breaking waves. He turned to smile at Jim before walking off. Jim didn’t usually remember his dreams but when he woke in the morning he had a clear memory of this one as if he had stared at a painting in an art gallery until it had firmly impressed his mind. He felt the presence of his father for the first time since he could remember and it unsettled him slightly. His mind thought over the earlier conversation with Polly and he looked for a source there. But the dream’s provenance was more general and might have had something to do with his freedom compared with his father’s enslavement. His father’s analysis of the economic system he was part of had been a formative part of Jim’s education and he often wondered if Jens would have returned to his native Norway if he hadn’t married Jim’s mother and through her, formed a commitment to the United States.
Polly woke when Jim got up to go to the bathroom and she let out a long sigh.
‘Another lovely day I see,’ she said. ‘I’m starting to be bored by sunshine.’
‘Maybe we should go and live in Norway,’ he called as he made his contribution to Archimedes’ bath water.
Chapter 59
When the telephone pinged into her consciousness Min wanted to ignore it because her body was heavy with the sleep peculiar to the afternoon siesta. She looked at her watch and the time told her that it was her parents’ mealtime so it was unlikely to be them. It rang for some time as she dragged herself to the main room and picked up the receiver. The male voice at the other end sounded unfamiliar even though he had said her name. When Michael asked her how she was she was still not sure who was speaking.
‘It’s Michael. In Melbourne.’ As if she had forgotten his existence.
‘You sound different - I didn’t recognise your voice.’
‘I feel different. “Alienated” might be a better word.’
‘How is it going ?’ Min knew her question was trite and that he sounded as if the going was not good.
‘I wish you could come over and bridge the gap. The city feels so sort of inorganic. I know that sounds a bit mad but it’s the only way I can describe my feelings here. Too long in the jungle perhaps.’
‘I’d love to come and bring you a steamy slice of paradise and swap it for a lungful of brisk cool air. Dear Michael - the grass is always greener, n’est-ce pas?’ She tried to offer consolation but it was clear that Michael was depressed and perhaps lonely.
The conversation was somewhat stilted and Min felt as if their easy friendship was more strained. She said she would join him in Melbourne as soon as there was a break in the semester but it was a while before that. They agreed that he would ring again and he said that his movements were uncertain so there was no point in giving her a phone number. When they had hung up she felt deeply unsatisfied and anxious. She needed to talk to someone but thought it might be a sort of betrayal if she communicated her feelings to Dinah for instance. It was as if she had spoken to a stranger masquerading as Michael.
She made herself some toast which she usually ate when she wasn’t particularly hungry and then sat down to mark some assignments which were overdue. Daylight faded and night descended during the process and then she decided she would drive somewhere to think. Her mood was somewhere between brown and grey and she wanted to tune into the natural world to put things into perspective.
She parked the car in a lay by above the town. There were houses somewhere in the trees but they were hidden and not a distraction. She got out of the car and leaned against the door so she could listen to the delicate sounds of the night world preparing for its tour of duty under the sky slowly being peppered with twinkling bodies. The Milky Way was like a dusty smear above her with the Southern Cross lying to one side. Her knowledge of the constellations was sketchy but her response to their presence was one of awe and delight. She smiled to think that Jupeli could easily know more than she did about the mysterious canopy of the southern sky, but it was the early Maori voyagers who had mastered the heavenly map and made landfall in one of the last habitable latitudes north of Antarctica.
So removed had she become from her immediate surr
oundings as she tried to contemplate the vastness, that she jumped with fright when a car rounded the bend in the road and its lights picked her out as it sped past. She heard it slow down further on so she jumped back into her car and locked the doors. After several moments a figure came alongside her window and tapped on the glass. With a thumping heart she stared straight ahead until she heard ‘Bonsoir’ through the glass and she turned to see Gerard a few inches from her face and smiling. She wound down the window and feeling silly, said ‘Bonsoir.’
‘I recognise your car and ask myself if there is a problem.’
‘Nothing mechanical - if that’s what you mean.’ It was an unguarded response and she hoped he would not delve. He walked around to the passenger side where she unlocked the door and he climbed in, still grinning. After kissing her on both cheeks he asked her what she was doing in this lonely spot. Her stargazing explanation made him laugh again but then he looked perplexed. Was this the only spot where she could see the stars? Min realised that her explanation sounded lame and she couldn’t be bothered trying to convey her mood so she asked him instead what he was doing in that part of the town. He told her that he had been visiting a person who had some land for sale on the other side of the hill.
‘J’ai vendu ma propriété à Nouméa et je m’intéresse à en acheter une ici.’
‘Oh.’ Her French was blocked by her emotions and worry about Michael. She resented Gerard in her present mood and he showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he went on to mention that Yvonne had agreed to stay on now that the café was doing well and that she was keen to learn to speak English. Also it would be useful for the child to be bilingual. She would have more choices and might want to live in Australia or New Zealand, which idea seemed to amuse Gerard.
‘Tu veux rester dans ce pays?’
‘Non - enfin - je vais rentrer en Nouvelle Zélande quand mon contrat sera terminé.’ Her words were brusque and she put her hands on the steering wheel. Suddenly he put his arm around her neck and turned her head towards him. He planted a rough kiss on her surprised mouth and then with a muscular tongue, prized open her teeth. After a brief exploration, he let go of her and patted her knee reassuringly. She was speechless and as she was making a few adjustments to her oral cavity, he opened the door and got out. With a comradely wave he closed the door and disappeared into the night. Min bent over the wheel and moaned. Her intention to raise her spirit to a higher plane had been thwarted by this visitation which conveyed a dubious message.
She started the engine and drove maniacally down the hill until she saw headlights coming straight at her. They were on a collision course and she had a flash of an idea that Gerard was playing some perilous prank for added fun. She stopped and screamed at the headlights in front of her. Then she saw a very large man cross in front of the beams and once again she checked that her doors were locked.
‘Why you drive on the left? You drunk or something?’ She wound down the window.
‘Oh God - I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking - honestly - it’s the first time I’ve done that. My mind must have wandered. I’m terrible sorry!’ She started to shake.
‘You are Australian? You drive on the left in your place?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I must be too tired to think straight.’ She couldn’t be bothered to disown Australia as she so often had to. ‘They can wear this one,’ she smiled inwardly.
‘You are lucky this time,’ the saturnine face said reprovingly and he wagged his finger.
‘Make sure you drive on the right side in future.’
‘Thanks a lot for understanding. I promise it won’t happen again.’
She waited until he had climbed back into his car and backed up to go around her vehicle. They exchanged quiets toots and Min let out a maniacal screech because she had been tempted to engage in linguistic sophistry and say that for her, the left side was the right side. She’d file it away for a more suitable occasion. She was still smiling when she drove sedately into her carport.
Chapter 60
Min was disturbed by the strange encounter with Gerard hard on the heels of her worry about Michael and she found herself gazing out on to the now abundant grass in the compound, while the students sat their end of semester exams. Another session with the machetes would precede the new semester and she remembered how apprehensive she had been at the first sight of them. So much had happened and she was now more comfortable in her environment except for the destabilising effect of Michael’s departure along with Gerard’s incursion into it. “C’est la vie” would probably have explained it for the latter but that was not her style.
However, putting her life into perspective had been the effect of a telephone call from Robert to ask her if she had heard the news about the sinking of the Greenpeace ship in Auckland harbour. He was distraught that such an act of terrorism could occur in New Zealand and apparently at the hands of an allied country because two French agents had been picked up as suspects. He mentioned that two of his great uncles had died in France in 1916 and his father had fought in Europe in World War Two. Min was surprised to hear the emotion in his voice.
‘Was anyone on board when it happened?’
‘News is sketchy. I heard that the photographer was but I’m not sure whether he survived. God - can you believe it Min? I bet it’s got something to do with our opposition to those nuclear tests in Mururoa.’
‘Sounds like sheer aggression laced with wounded arrogance - if it was a
French thing. I s’pose we’d better wait till the facts come out.’
Min thought about Gerard and how he would react to the news. Would he support “la patrie” come what may? It reminded her of her angry opposition to Britain’s war in the Falklands in 1982.
She and Robert had arranged to have drinks at the Seasider with Yushi and Fanua. Noriko had already gone back to Japan but there were plenty of photos of the three of them.
One or two of the students looked up from their work from time to time and some returned her smile of encouragement, while others looked away as if she were the source of their trial by pen and paper. Flashes of guilt crossed her mind when she thought of the imposition of the written mode on people with a long oral tradition. How would she have coped in the reverse situation and had had to recite screeds of stuff from memory?
But it was a pointless scruple so she closed her eyes with her chin in her hand and listened to the low hum of the overhead fan.
Yushi had been full of enthusiasm for the holiday and said that his English had been very useful. They stayed with Fanua’s relatives in Auckland and then had gone south to Rotorua where he and Noriko had found the sulphur fumes unpleasant. He pointed out the picture of the geyser which had finally spouted its tall, jet stream high above their heads after their patient wait. Fanua laughed and said,
‘I found out that my husband is a very determined man,’ and she looked at him with newly-wed eyes.
Min asked for Noriko’s address in Japan and she told them about the lovely gift she had left behind.
‘I hoped to see her again to thank her in person.’
‘She wants to come back one day but she has to work hard in Japan.’ Fanua asked Robert where Dinah was and was told that she was busy studying her correspondence course in early childhood education and had an assignment due. Fanua said she would like to discuss it with her because she wanted to get a qualification in that area too. It was a new thing for the children in the town area and the demand was growing.
‘Dinah wants to go back to Australia and she wants to have a career to fall back on - in case her diving school plans fall through.’ Robert grinned with scepticism which was probably not noticed by Fanua who asked instead with characteristic directness, if Dinah wanted children. The smile disappeared from Robert’s face and he looked away and mumbled something unclear.
Min turned the conversation to the sinking of the Greenpeace ship and found that the other two knew nothing about it. Their shocked reaction was directly linked
to their recent visit to Auckland and the feeling of security they had had there. Min was surprised that they were also unaware of the nuclear tests which the French had been carrying out near Tahiti for years; first, in the atmosphere and after some protests from Australia and New Zealand, under the sea near the small island of Mururoa.
‘Why they test in Pacific?’
‘Because it is a great big empty ocean with a few unimportant islands dotted about and where the protests aren’t significant in France itself.’
‘But we are not unimportant.’
Min wasn’t sure whether her irony had been picked up so she agreed warmly with Fanua and said she was interpreting the French attitude as far as she understood it. She looked at Robert to take up the cudgels but he was either too tired or too angry to add anything.
Yushi also was looking pensive. Min wondered if the idea of nuclear weapons was painful for him so she tried to veer the subject away from further exploration. He suddenly burst out more emotionally than Min had ever heard him by saying, ‘Bomb is evil. It kill many, many thousand in Japan and many people suffer pain after.’ His eyes sparkled with grief.
Fanua put her hand on his and said nothing. Min felt guilty for having brought the subject up, without thinking about the possible implications for him, and she wondered what to do.
‘Let me shout us all some bubbly to say welcome back,’ and she stood up to go to the bar. Robert murmured something about ‘no cause for celebration’ but she ignored him and singlehandedly set about cheering everybody up. When she got back with a tray of flutes she asked Yushi if she could have some copies of the photos.
‘Sure. You’re welcome. Mark the ones you want.’
Later she was left wondering what had gone wrong for Robert but she did not intend to ask.
The squawk of the buzzer signalling the end of the exam, brought Min back to her immediate task. The student relief meant a burden for her to bear for as long as it was going to take her to assess their output. As she watched the scripts with their decoratively cursive script stack up, she asked herself why she held out against the multi-choice examination format.
Another Throw of The Dice Page 20
