Family Farm

by Palmer, Fiona

  16

  TRUE to his word, Will picked up Izzy at seven on the dot. She was waiting by the gate in a pair of denim shorts, which made her legs look like they went on for miles. Her blue long-sleeved checked shirt was unbuttoned and tied at her waist, revealing a tight-fitting blue tank top. Izzy could take his breath away without even trying. Part of her beauty was that she wasn’t even aware of it. He’d seen enough girls who flaunted what they had, but not Izzy.

  ‘Is that all you’re bringing?’ Will said, watching her place her small black carry bag into the back of his ute. When she threw him a strange look, he explained, ‘Chicks usually need about ten bags for all their stuff, don’t they?’

  Izzy gave him a quick wink. ‘I’m not your average chick.’

  That’s for sure, Will thought to himself. He wasn’t used to someone like Izzy. He wasn’t bored listening to her talk – he enjoyed it. She wasn’t afraid to question his ideas or disagree with him. Or give him shit, for that matter. Her views on farming and her plans for Gumlea had made him want to think about his own. He knew his dad would pass the farm on to him when the time came, but he hadn’t thought much further than that. Izzy really had it all worked out. She just needed the land.

  ‘So what are your plans, William?’ Izzy asked as if reading his thoughts. ‘Are you happy to stay on farming or are you thinking of heading off like Shane?’

  ‘No, I’m a lover of the land. You couldn’t pay me to move to the city. But I’ve got it better than most. I feel sorry for the guys – and girls,’ he added quickly, ‘who have to sell up because they can’t afford to continue farming, no matter how much they love it. How I wish we could keep the district together. You remember how many people there used to be around when we were kids? I reckon it’s nearly halved.’

  ‘I know. I’ve noticed the difference just being away for a few years. I can’t believe Ray sold up. He loved his place. Me, I hope to live out my life here just like Aunt Betty. She and Jim are in no hurry to leave. She reckons she’d up and die if anyone tried to move her, and that Jim would perish without his little bits of farm work to keep him active.’

  ‘I’m with you on that one too. But you never know what each year will bring. If we get good years like this every now and then to keep us going, it’s okay. It’s those bad ones that keep coming more frequently that hurt. Like last year. We had the best start to the year. It rained perfectly and the crops took off and everyone started to think you beauty, but then one big frost came in and wiped out three-quarters of it. A whole year’s planning gone in one early morning. There were blokes cutting crops into hay just to get something for them. I have never seen so many bales of hay around. It broke my heart.’

  Will’s comments seemed so genuine and compassionate and she appreciated his words. She realised the two of them were very similar in the way they thought and that he loved his patch of earth just as she did. Little things he said kept surprising her, and begrudgingly she admitted she was really beginning to like him.

  As he drove, they chatted easily, and they made it to Corrigin before they knew it. Corrigin was famous for its Dog in a Ute Queue event, which had been held a few times. Izzy’s dad had gone to it with their old dog Joe. They stopped at the roadhouse, adorned with a ute on the roof, for a bacon-and-egg toasted sandwich. Will watched Izzy as they sat out the front eating. That was yet another thing that Will liked about Izzy – she wasn’t afraid to eat. ‘You put away just as much as I do,’ he exclaimed. ‘Where does it all go?’

  ‘Same place you put yours,’ she replied, oblivious to his admiring gaze.

  When it was time to hit the road again, Izzy offered to drive but Will declined. She put on Shannon Noll’s new song to try and change his mind but it turned out he was also a fan. It was just before lunch when they arrived at the hospital without any fights erupting over the choice of music. Will never even complained when she put on her mixed CD of old Aussie rock songs from bands like Mental as Anything and Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. He even had his finger tapping to the Choirboys’ ‘Run to Paradise’.

  They parked, entered the hospital and walked up a hallway lined with numerous doors.

  ‘Hospitals are kind of freaky, with the smells and all the long corridors,’ said Will, feeling out of place.

  ‘I know what you mean’ said Izzy, holding out her arm to slow Will down. ‘He’s in here.’

  She peered through the window, checking it was okay to go in, then rapped her knuckles on the door a couple of times before entering.

  ‘G’day, g’day,’ said Izzy, as she entered the room.

  ‘Isabelle, what are you doing here?’ Bill reached for a remote control attached to a cord. He pressed a button and his bed groaned and creaked as it tilted upwards, putting him in a better sitting position. The whites of his eyes doubled in size as his lids widened and a large smile danced across his tired, pale face when Will approached his bedside.

  ‘Bloody hell. The people you see when you haven’t got a gun,’ Bill said. He looked as happy as a bobtail with a strawberry.

  Will carefully shook Bill’s lightly bandaged hand. ‘Yeah, it’s good to see you too, mate.’ He laughed at the sheer pleasure on his face.

  ‘So, what’s happening?’ Bill had perked up considerably.

  ‘Well, we thought we’d better pay you a visit. Make sure you weren’t climbing the walls, trying to get out.’ Will gave him an understanding smile. He knew how hard it would be for Bill to have to sit still. ‘And I had to pick up some parts as well,’ he finished.

  Izzy sat down on the bed next to her dad, careful not to knock his heavily bound legs, while Will took the empty chair by his bed.

  ‘What’s Mum doing?’ she asked.

  ‘Gone back to Sarah’s for lunch. Maggie is meeting them there.’

  ‘Oh great. I haven’t seen Mags in ages.’ Izzy’s cousin Maggie was two years older than her. Being a city girl, she’d taught her cousins stuff they’d never known about – like boys, make-up and teenage girl magazines. ‘Since we’re staying the night, I might be able to catch up with her,’ said Izzy, glancing at Will for a split second, seeking his okay. ‘Anyway, how’s the treatment going, Dad?’ Izzy’s throat tightened at the thought of those horrific burns and the extreme pain she knew her dad suffered every time they changed his dressings. If it was affecting him, he never let on. She never saw despair cross his face. Instead he was always so bloody cheery and strong. She knew that the one thing killing him most was being stuck in this room.

  ‘Yeah, the doc said they’re coming along all right.’

  ‘All right? What do you mean by all right?’

  ‘My hands are doing really well and I might be able to take the bandages off in a week or two,’ Bill said, raising his arms, which resembled white clubs. ‘Not long now and they might let me go home, maybe another two to three weeks. Jean is learning how to dress my burns so I can get out faster.’

  ‘Ah, that sounds great, Bill. I’ve certainly missed having you around,’ said Will shifting in his chair. The vinyl cover made a sucking sound as it stuck to the exposed skin below his shorts.

  ‘So, what’s happening back home? How’s Brian coping with you over on Gumlea all the time?’ asked Bill.

  Will shifted again. Izzy could see he was uneasy about having to lie about the work he wasn’t doing on Gumlea.

  ‘Not much. Dad’s cool. It’s easy running from one to the other. I help Dad and the worker out if they need it and Izzy’s been helping me on Gumlea when I need an extra hand.’

  ‘Don’t let her do too much. I don’t want her getting into trouble. It’s easy to get injured on the farm.’

  ‘Dad, as if I’m going to be careless,’ Izzy cut in. There it went again – her blood was beginning to boil.

  ‘Bill, don’t worry. I wouldn’t put Izzy in any dangerous situations.’

  Bill sighed heavily as if he realised he’d lost this battle. ‘I know you wouldn’t, Will. I do trust you, don’t get me wrong. But
she’s the only baby I’ve got left.’

  ‘Da-a-d, I’m twenty-two now,’ said Izzy as the hairs on her neck prickled. It was excruciating to hear her dad speak about her like this. ‘I’m going to get something to eat. I’ll leave you two to gibber on.’

  Izzy found herself, and her rumbling belly, wandering the corridors for a vending machine. She couldn’t stand listening to her dad talk to Will about the farm as if she wasn’t even a part of it, and it was hard to watch them behave like father and son. It was her family farm. She couldn’t help but envy Will. As much as she appreciated him and realised that he was filling the hole that Claire had left, she would still have given anything to be in his shoes.

  A vending machine loomed out from an alcove ahead. She picked up her pace, only to find a white square of paper stuck to it, with the words ‘out of order’ scribbled in black marker across it. Damn, she thought, she’d have to wait till lunch. She turned on her heel in frustration and headed back to the room. Maybe they’d be finished by now and she and Will could go and get something to eat.

  Will caught Izzy’s eye as soon as she entered the room. ‘Well, we’d better get going,’ he said. ‘I have to pick up the parts before the shop shuts.’

  Thank you, her face seemed to say without words. She had come all this way to see her dad and all he wanted to do was to talk to Will. He’d never asked her how things were going.

  Bill nodded his head reluctantly. Life had to go on, even if it did seem to stand still in his little room, which was becoming more of a cell every day. After a round of hand shaking and hugs, they were about to leave when Bill said, ‘It’s so good to see you happy together.’ He smiled at Will.

  ‘Yeah, thanks, Dad. Good to see you too,’ Izzy replied, wondering just what he’d been implying with that.

  Will gave one last wave, then put his hand in the small of Izzy’s back and guided her down the corridor. ‘That wasn’t so bad.’ He gave her a smile, but Izzy was stony-faced.

  ‘For you, maybe. You know, I thought the whole life-and-death moment might have changed his outlook, but he hasn’t budged a bit.’ She swung around to face Will. ‘And why is he so happy to see us together?’

  Will didn’t know what Bill had meant either so he just shrugged his shoulders and headed to the lift. ‘Bill really does have a bee in his bonnet about you doing farm work, hey.’

  ‘You don’t say,’ Izzy mocked. ‘But thanks for helping out back there.’

  Will sighed and she watched his shirt pull tight against his chest. ‘Don’t know what you mean,’ he said.

  She touched him gently on his arm. ‘Well, I appreciate you trying to influence him, Will, even if it didn’t work.’

  ‘We’ll keep working away at him, Izzy. Eventually he’ll come around. He has to.’

  It was sweet of Will to say so, but Izzy couldn’t imagine it ever happening.

  A short time later, Will pulled into the driveway of Izzy’s Aunt Sarah’s house in the suburb of Como. The South Perth Como area was popular with ex-country folk. Sarah’s mid-sized red brick house wasn’t far from the city centre and close to the zoo. Will parked in the driveway and admired the tidy front yard with its large lawn and frangipanis growing along the fence line.

  ‘You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?’ Izzy asked.

  ‘Nah. I’ll head back to the flat and grab some takeaway. Mum wants me to put together a new storage cupboard she’s left there. So I’ll do that and then come to pick you up. What time?’

  ‘Um, they’ll probably eat around sevenish, so how about half an hour after that?’ Izzy opened the car door and turned back to Will. ‘Cheers. I guess I’ll see you later tonight, then.’

  ‘Sure will,’ he replied, watching her climb out. Izzy gave him a quick wave as he reversed out of the driveway. They had made plans to go to the Ocean Beach Hotel, called the Obie by the locals, for a few drinks and a catch-up with Maggie after dinner. Will knew Maggie from when she’d come to the farm on school holidays. He didn’t like hanging around the giggling girls back then.

  Carrying her small bag, Izzy walked up the driveway to the front door. It opened before she even had time to knock.

  ‘Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. How ya been, Izzy?’ said a tall, skinny woman dressed in stylish casual pants and a fitted white top. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Izzy couldn’t help wondering how her cousin got all the good genes.

  ‘Hiya, cuz,’ said Izzy, hugging Maggie tightly.

  ‘Careful. Don’t get too close. I have a cold,’ Maggie warned.

  ‘Bloody hell, Mags. I’d never have guessed. You’re looking fabulous as usual.’

  Maggie’s red nose was the only thing that gave the game away. Other than that, she looked gorgeous, even though she was in casual clothes. She was one of those people who knew how to dress and carry herself gracefully. More or less the opposite of me, Izzy thought.

  ‘Come on in. It’s been ages. I was wondering whose car that was. Was that Will I saw driving?’ she asked curiously.

  ‘Yeah, he had to come to Perth so I hitched a ride. We’re planning to go to the Obie tonight. You keen?’ Izzy asked eagerly. ‘You can catch up with him then.’

  ‘Oh, I would’ve loved to, but I’m feeling like crap. It’s half the reason I’m here. Mum’s looking after me.’ She laughed as she pulled out a tissue from her pocket and began blowing her nose gently. ‘Sorry, Izzy. You’ll have to go it alone. At least you’ll have Will to talk to,’ she joked, giving a wink.

  Maggie put her arm around Izzy and led her inside. ‘Come on. Our mums are in the kitchen.’

  After squeals of delight and hugs all round, Aunt Sarah pulled out of Izzy’s embrace and studied her at arm’s length. ‘Izzy, you look so well, all brown and fit. Have you been working out?’ Grey hair circled Sarah’s long oval face, which was much like Izzy’s dad’s. They definitely had the same eyes and mouth.

  ‘No, I’ve just been working. You look great yourself. Not a day older than when I last saw you, and that must have been a good few years ago. I missed the last Christmas get-together. It’s a shame I couldn’t come home for it.’

  ‘Goodness me. Has it been that long? We must be due for another family get-together on the farm.’

  ‘Yeah, that sounds good.’ It was all good in theory, but Izzy knew just how busy everyone’s lives seemed to be these days. She turned her attention to her mum and gave her a warm embrace. ‘Hi, Mum. How you holding up?’

  ‘I’m missing home lots, love, sick of the city noises and smog, but other than that I’m doing well. It’s good you came. Have you seen your dad yet?’ Jean asked.

  Izzy filled her in and Jean beckoned her to come and sit down. ‘We’ve just put the kettle on,’ she finished.

  Izzy enjoyed catching up with them all. She had been away from her family for so long. Aunt Sarah had worked as a teacher, where she met Don, the principal of her school. They’d married and moved to Perth, then had Paul and Maggie. Paul was twenty-eight and was working on a mine up north, so he was hardly seen any more. He never used to come out to the farm with Maggie on school holidays as he was so much older, so Izzy wasn’t very close to him like she was to Maggie.

  The afternoon flew by with constant chatter, most of it about Maggie’s new boyfriend, Tim, and how she reckoned this bloke was the one she was going to marry.

  ‘Why? What’s so good about him?’ asked Izzy, intrigued.

  Ever the drama queen, Maggie rested her face in her hands and started to describe him. ‘Oh, Izzy, he’s tall, strong, half Italian, has loads of money – he works for his father’s company in the city. Don’t really know what they do, something with the stock market … Anyway he lives in Cottesloe not far from the beach. He’s so romantic and we’ve been together for six months now. I’m really in love with this one.’ Izzy was spared more on Tim, when he called Maggie on her mobile.

  Later, as they sat down for dinner, Izzy turned to her mum and watched her eating her risotto.
Did her hair look greyer? She thought perhaps it did, and she looked pale and tired too.

  ‘Hey, Mum. You look knackered. How are you handling things?’

  Jean politely finished her mouthful and placed her fork down on her plate. ‘I’m okay, Izzy. I just think being stuck in the city is wearing me down. I long for my house and garden, not to mention some fresh air.’

  ‘Why don’t you come home for a day or two? I can stay here with Dad.’

  Jean gestured with her hands. ‘No, darling. I think you and your father would drive each other crazy. Can you really see yourself sitting in a room alone with him for hours on end?’ Izzy’s grimace said it all. ‘And anyway, I don’t want to leave him. He’s way out of his comfort zone in that hospital, relying on other people. You know how he hates that.’

  ‘As long as you take time out for yourself. Why don’t you and Sarah go to the beach and have a break? I’m sure Dad would survive a couple of hours without you.’ Izzy put her hand over Jean’s. ‘Please? You can’t look after anyone if you’re run down.’

  Jean smiled and the wisdom lines around her eyes and mouth crinkled. ‘I’ll try.’

  After they finished their meal, Maggie jumped up off her chair and grabbed Izzy. ‘Look at the time. Come on. We’d better get you ready.’ She dragged Izzy from the large dining table into her old room.

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Izzy, confused. ‘I only need ten minutes.’ She couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

  ‘Oh, no. Tonight you’re going to catch yourself a man.’ Clearly Maggie thought that everyone needed to be as deliriously happy as she was.

  ‘No, I’m fine, Mags. Honest. I was just going to wear some jeans,’ pleaded Izzy.

  Maggie grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into her old bedroom. From the door, Izzy could see the pink patterned wallpaper and old dolls lining the shelves and windowsill.

  ‘No excuses. You’re going to knock some fella’s socks off tonight. I don’t want you coming home until you find one,’ she ordered, shutting the door behind them. ‘Luckily I still have half of my clothes here. There should be something worth wearing in this lot.’