The next morning she awoke before dawn, leaving Rebecca, Jamie and Deedee to sleep, she slipped out of bed followed by the dogs and headed into the kitchen. Lola and Josh were there, still on guard duty and together they tackled the logistics of transporting the trailer.
It was Josh, who came up with the idea of using one of the wire mesh bedframes. ‘If we lay it lengthways across the center of the canoes,’ he began, then stopped, seeing Georgia’s doubtful expression, ‘wait, let me draw it, do we have any paper?’
‘Yeah,’ Lola said, ‘just behind you, second drawer down.’
He sketched quickly, brows furrowed in concentration, drawing the two canoes spaced apart, and then he drew in the oblong of the bedframe, stretching across the middle, from one canoe to the other. ‘See, like this,’ he said handing over the sheet of paper.
Georgia stared down at the drawing, surprised at its precise detail and depth perception. ‘For a quick sketch, this is really very good.’
‘Yeah it is,’ Lola agreed, ‘how did you even do that so fast? It’s so good it deserves a frame.’
Josh suddenly looked shy. ‘You think?’ he said, ‘it’s nothing really.’
‘No,’ Georgia said, ‘it is really good, I mean you could have done this as a…,’ she trailed off, suddenly embarrassed.
‘Yeah.’ Josh said, ‘I hear you, and if things had been different I had planned to go to Missouri State University to study for an Art degree. Won’t be doing that now though.’
‘No, I guess not, but nothing stopping you from drawing and painting if that’s what you want to do, just a matter of finding the materials for you.’
‘That’s true,’ Josh said, ‘so do you think this will work?’
Pulled back to the matter in hand, Georgia studied the paper again, then nodded. ‘Yes I do, it’s rather like a catamaran, I could see how that could work.’
‘Yeah exactly!’ Then all we have to do is fasten it securely and load up the trailer so it is balanced atop the bedframe.
Lola pursed her lips. ‘But won’t it sink, after all that trailer is real heavy, it’s not like we can even lift it.
‘That’s a point,’ Georgia said, ‘how much weight can the canoes take?’
‘That I don’t know,’ Josh said, ‘but there’s only one way to find out for sure.’
They waited until the others were up, and then after carefully measuring the trailer once more, the three of them set to work dismantling the king size bed. The other one was too small. Then once the canoes were laid out near the edge of the lake, they lashed the frame in place. Securing it with heavy ropes found in the barn, feeding the rope in and out through the frame and under the middle seat of each vessel. The final result was a stable floating platform.
‘Now comes the hard part,’ Georgia said, as they stood looking at their handiwork. ‘Now we have to work out how the hell we are going to get the trailer up onto it.’
‘We need to make a ramp,’ Josh said.
‘I reckon we should have breakfast first, and then get the others to help.’ Lola said, ‘my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut.’
It took all of them, Ruby included, to push it up the ramp they had set up along one side of the canoes, lining up with the bedframe. The first ramps they made were too short, the incline too steep, so they had to go back to the barn, and pry more planks from the inside walls. The second attempt using longer ramps, supported underneath with rocks and planks, was much more successful and with a lot of grunting and cursing, and yells of push harder, the trailer was finally in place. This too was secured with ropes and they were all feeling very pleased with their efforts when Ruby asked, ‘How are you going to get the canoes into the water?’
They all stared at her, then at the weighed down canoes. Then all eyes turned to Georgia.
‘Um, push them?’ She suggested, knowing even as she said it that that was not going to work. Why hadn’t she thought this through?
Eventually they overcame the problem, using fence posts as rollers, but once they had been dug up (no easy task, who knew corral fence posts were set in so deep), they had to get the trailer back off the platform. Then, and only then, they could lay the posts out under the canoes.
It was nearly three o’clock by the time they were finished, and the floating platform had been pushed out onto the lake waters. They watched anxiously as the canoes settled, sinking lower in the water than Georgia felt comfortable with, but even so there was still a good six or seven inches of freeboard. At least the whole thing hadn’t just sunk beneath the surface. Exhausted, covered in sweat and dirt, they tied off the platform. (It would be too much to have it float away after all that!) Then after they were sure it was secure they cooled off in the lake, after which they went indoors to finish packing and clean the house.
Josh raised his eyebrows when Georgia pressed a broom into his hands and sent him to sweep the hallway. As she walked back into the kitchen she heard Rebecca, who had been given the job of dusting, talking to Josh. ‘I told you she’s a clean freak, she likes everything to be Aussie clean.’
‘Huh, never heard that expression before,’ Josh said.
‘No you won’t have, we made it up, and you’ve heard it now, and believe me it’s way easier to just do it, cause we won’t be going anywhere until this place is spotless.’
Lola who had overheard her as well, grinned at Georgia’s expression. ‘Out of the mouths of babes,’ she said.
I’m not that bad, am I?’ Georgia asked.
‘No, you’re not that bad, but you’re the only person I know, who breaks into a house and then insists on cleaning it before you leave.’
‘Well, we are just leaving it the way we found it, and we have the time, we can’t leave till after dark anyway.’ Georgia said as she finished wiping the kitchen table down.
It was around 8.30 in the evening, when Georgia, Jamie, Rebecca and Josh set off for the Jenkins property. With Georgia and Rebecca taking the stern, and Jamie and Josh up front, they began their precarious journey. She had originally planned to take Deedee instead of Rebecca, but Rebecca had kicked up such a fuss, and made the point that it was better to leave Deedee behind, in case the whole structure tipped over. Deedee had pointed out that she still had her life jacket, but Georgia had to agree with Rebecca. She was after all a stronger swimmer.
Of course she was no fool, she knew that Josh was the real reason she wanted to come.
She had given the rifle to Lola, with strict instructions to keep it loaded, and nearby at all times and insisting that the three of them stayed together and out of sight until they returned.
‘And don’t light any candles either, best if you stay in the dark, and mind you keep the dogs inside,’ she had added as she waded out to the canoe.
‘Just go already,’ Lola laughed. ‘Don’t worry about us, we will be okay.’
Georgia gave a silent prayer that they would be, and then gave the signal to start paddling. ‘Concentrate on moving smoothly, it doesn’t matter how long we take, just as long as we get there.’
She was relieved to see the night sky was dotted with clouds, allowing them just enough light to make out where they were going, and yet leaving it dark enough to make it possible for them to travel unseen.
The journey was torturous, panic rising in Georgia every time the vessel creaked or groaned, fearful the structure was about to collapse. She constantly checked the freeboard, and the hull of the canoe, just in case they started taking on water. Occasionally they spoke in whispers, mostly though, it was Jamie who did the talking, giving Josh hushed instructions on how to hold the paddle, and the best way to get a long smooth stroke. It had never occurred to any of them that he might not know how to paddle a boat. But then how hard was it? Not hard at all really, not unless you were ferrying a quarter ton of trailer with you.
Chapter Sixty Four
It was with immense relief that they finally reached the Jenkins Place. Georgia stiffly unfolded herself and lowered herself out
of the canoe into thigh deep water as the others scrambled out as well. Everything hurt, and she had the beginnings of a headache, realizing as she massaged her stiff neck that she had been clenching her teeth most of the way. ‘Can’t believe we actually managed to get it here,’ she whispered as she steadied herself against the canoe. One of her legs had gone to sleep.
‘Damn,’ Josh exclaimed, a little too loudly for Georgia’s liking, ‘I didn’t realize it would be that scary, and you have been doing this every day!’
Jamie who was struggling to untangle the towing rope hissed, ‘keep your voice down, sound travels for miles over water!’
‘Sorry, I forgot.’
‘It’s not normally that bad, but when we did the long trips on our way down here it was pretty exhausting.’ Georgia whispered as she waded over to help Jamie, feeling coming back to her leg.
The rope came free, and together they started pulling it closer to the side of the dock. She stumbled in the shallows as her foot slipped on a mossy rock and Josh caught her arm. ‘Careful now, don’t want to get that shotgun wet.’
‘So how are we going to do this?’ Jamie asked as Josh helped Georgia ashore.
‘The same way we did before.’ Georgia said. ‘We lay out the ramps and…, wait did anyone think to bring the ramps?’
Jamie drew in his breath.
‘Crap,’ Josh exclaimed.
Rebecca muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, ‘typical’ and as comprehension dawned on Georgia that they had been forgotten, it took everything in her power not to snap at Rebecca’s muttering. But it was her fault, no one else’s. So instead she held her tongue, and cheerfully said, ‘okay, well then I guess we will just have to use brute force and pull it off the canoes, how hard can it be?’
Not hard at all they discovered, as together they yanked at the trailers towing ropes. Before anyone could stop what was happening, the trailer lunged forwards sending them scattering. As the fulcrum of weight shifted, the floating platform catapulted backwards, actually becoming airborne for a few seconds before crashing back down on the water, and slowly beginning to drift away.
The trailer was partially submerged, but at least it was still upright. For a moment, they just stared, then Jamie gave a strangled laugh, and Rebecca, her arms folded across her chest said, ‘I suppose that means we have to walk back.’
‘No, there are other canoes here,’ Georgia began, then stopped. Yes, there were other canoes, but no paddles; at least none that she had seen.
She handed Jamie the shotgun and her watch, and began tugging off her jeans, urgently whispering to Josh, ‘help me, we have to get the canoes back, the paddles are still onboard.’
‘But I can’t swim,’ Josh said in low voice.
Georgia came to a standstill, turning in horror to gape, open mouthed at him, speechless. Then she looked back at the floating platform. It was becoming more difficult to make out clearly, as the moon had now totally disappeared behind the clouds. If she waited any longer…,
‘Oh bugger it,’ she thought, as she kicked aside her jeans and dived in. By the time she returned ashore, sopping wet, chilled through, and out of breath, she was quietly furious. Josh could not swim! Her mind whirled at the very thought of it. They had gone out on the lake, on an unstable vessel, knowing the risks, knowing that in a worst case scenario, they might have to swim for it. But Josh could not swim! Somehow her mind could not get past that, and the words kept revolving in her mind, almost making her dizzy.
She barely spoke as they dragged the trailer out of the water and into a patch of scrubby bushes. They would work out how to get it up to the workshop tomorrow, when all of them were here.
That done, she turned to Josh. ‘We are going to have to change our plans, with you not being able to swim, there is really no alternative.’ And I can’t believe you didn’t think to share that important little detail with me earlier! ‘You’ll have to stay and wait for us here. There’s no point endangering your life any more than you already did, and I simply can’t take the risk of one of the canoes capsizing with you on board.’
‘You are kidding me right? You are going to leave me, a black guy, alone on some random white dude’s property in the middle of the night? Man, if someone finds me, they will shoot me out of hand. Why do you think I have been living mainly out of cars on the freeway? I’ve got more sense than to break into houses. That’s a death sentence for sure.’
Georgia stared at him, shocked, not sure what to say to that.
‘He’s right you know,’ Jamie said, coming up to stand next to her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Georgia said, ‘I had no idea it was really like that.’ Her words felt lame, but she did not know how else to put what she was feeling.
‘Yeah, well times have changed since Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat, but not as much as they should have.’
Georgia felt herself flush even though his words had been gentle. If their roles had been reversed she would have said something like, ‘how stupid are you? Or, what rock have you been living under’, or even, ‘don’t you ever read the news.’
She was not sure she would have been able to speak quite so calmly. And it wasn’t as though she didn’t know that such extreme racism existed, even if she didn’t understand it. Her husband, or whatever he was now, had been a lawyer. It sickened her to think, that as much as she wished it to be otherwise, Josh was right. He wasn’t safe.
‘Perhaps if one of us stays with you?’ She suggested.
‘I’ll stay with him,’ Rebecca burst out.
‘No, that’s not going to happen,’ Georgia said at the same time as Josh exclaimed, ‘that would be even worse!’
‘I’ll stay,’ Jamie said, ‘and perhaps it might be an idea to leave me with the shotgun,’ He shrugged. ‘Just in case, you know.’
Georgia nodded. ‘Are you okay with that Josh?’ she asked, beginning to wonder if perhaps they should just risk it and take him back with them.
‘We will make it will work.’
‘Can I stay too?’ Rebecca tried again.
‘No, we have to get two canoes back, and I am not doing that on my own.’
Once they had cut the wire bedframe free from the canoes, they set off once more, Rebecca sitting sulkily up front, Georgia in the stern. The other canoe tethered behind them.
Despite all her warnings to keep a low profile, Lola, Ruby and Deedee were waiting in the shadows near the water’s edge; the bear apparently forgotten
As she and Rebecca brought the canoes ashore, Ant, Badger and Millie all excited with this change of routine, rushed down to greet them, barking excitedly and leaping to be picked up.
‘Did you miss me my princess,’ Georgia said as she bent down to pick up Ant, receiving a sloppy wet kiss from Millie in the process.
‘What took you guys so long? I was beginning to worry,’ Lola said, as she hurried over. ‘Is everything okay, where are the others?’
‘Everything went well, Jamie and Josh stayed behind, but it’s getting late, so we best be getting this stuff onboard and head off.’ She stopped, peering at the huge pile on the ground. ‘What is all this?’
‘Well Deedee and I were talking, and seeing as how there is all that room on the canoes, and it is only a short journey, we thought we would hoss the couch cushions, the blankets and the pillows so Ruby would be more comfortable and…,’ Lola paused, then continued, ‘if it’s okay with you that is?’
‘It’s okay with me, as long as you realize we are not going to be able to take that stuff all the way to Bethel with us, so don’t get too attached to it.’
‘I know,’ Lola said, her voice muffled by the armful of pillows that she was handing over to Rebecca. ‘And by the way, I left a thank you note for the owners, and told them you would be in touch about the missing stuff when everything got back to normal.’
Georgia laughed. ‘You did? Not sure whether I should say thank you or not.’
It was nearly two th
irty a.m. by the time they landed at Jenkins place. The night had turned relatively cold and Georgia found herself shivering, not yet used to the change in temperature. At first there was no sign of Jamie or Josh, but as they made their way up the hill they saw their shadowy forms hastening down towards them.
‘Is there more gear to bring up?’ Josh asked as he reached them.
‘Is there?’ Georgia laughed. ‘Yes you could say that.’
They waited while Josh and Jamie collected the last of the pillows and cushions and together they all walked up to the barns.
‘How about this house?’ Lola asked as they passed the darkened structure of the late Mr and Mrs Jenkins’s home.
‘No,’ Georgia said, not wanting to explain, ‘we will stay up at the barn. Believe me it’s a much better idea.’
‘Yeah,’ Jamie said, ‘Josh and I had a look in there, you don’t want to know.’ Of course they did! She should have warned them.
‘Why, what’s wrong with it?’ Deedee asked.
‘Like I said, you don’t want to know.’
‘But I do.’
‘No, you don’t’
‘But…,’
‘He doesn’t want to tell you,’ Josh said, ‘because someone died in there.’
‘Is it still in there?’ Deedee asked.
Georgia gave up. ‘Yes, and there are two bodies in that house, not one, which is why we are staying in the barn.’
‘Two? Man, we only saw the one and that was enough,’ Josh said.
‘Do you think we might change the subject?’ Lola asked as they reached the barns.
Georgia slid open the door of the first one. ‘Good idea. So this is where we will be sleeping.’
Josh hurried past them, dropping his load on the floor. ‘Hang on, wait there, we have a little surprise.’ As the others stood in the doorway, he felt his way along the window sill at the back. There was a little clicking sound, and suddenly the room was filled with a soft glow.
‘Oh heavens,’ Lola exclaimed, ‘a hurricane lamp.’
Survivors of the Sun Page 61
