by Drew Hunt
“You both have a good flight?” Matt asked.
“It was bloody long,” Colin said.
“And tiring,” Martin yawned.
“I remember.” Matt chuckled. “Sorry, I haven’t congratulated you both on getting married, uh, hitched.”
“Thanks.” Unconsciously Martin touched the smooth metal band on the ring finger of his left hand. “Somehow getting civil partnered doesn’t have the same ring to it.”
“Wish I coulda been there…but we were a couple of jackaroos down and I couldn’t—”
“It’s okay. Like we said at the time, we understand,” Colin told him. “Hope the pictures and the video helped.”
“They did, mate, thanks.”
Martin took Colin’s elbow and they started walking, Colin pulling his case with his free arm and Matt pulling Martin’s, even though the latter insisted he could manage it himself.
Martin had told Colin he wanted the civil partnership ceremony to be filmed, knowing at least he’d be able to hear the soundtrack and relive the second-most important day of his life. The most important had been Christmas seven years earlier when he and Colin had first become a couple.
The ceremony had been amazing. Even without the video Martin knew he’d never forget standing in front of their friends and family—mostly Colin’s—as the registrar had joined them in their civil partnership. Seth, Martin’s guide dog and successor to Toby, had been there. Colin had insisted on this, saying the German Shepherd was an important member of their family.
Colin, Martin, and Matt walked seemingly miles along hallways, around corners, and more corners until finally they emerged outside.
“Hell,” Colin said, echoing Martin’s unspoken sentiments. It was hot.
Matt laughed. “Welcome to Oz in summer.”
The temperature dropped a little when they entered another building, Martin guessed from the cavernous echoes of car engines they were in some kind of covered car park.
“I’m on the fifth level,” Matt announced. “You doing okay, mate?” Matt patted Martin’s arm.
“Yeah, great.” Martin yawned again. “What time is it?”
“Just after eleven.”
“Is that AM or PM?”
Matt laughed. “AM. But I know what you’re going through. You’ll be jetlagged for a couple of days yet.”
They entered a lift with a few other people, the doors closed, Martin got a sense of them moving upward, then they stopped and the doors opened. He was about to nudge Colin, when Matt told him they were only on the third floor.
* * * *
“This is us,” Matt told Colin as they drew close to a dusty, grey pick-up truck. “We can stick your stuff in the bed, should be all right.”
“Bed?” Martin asked through another yawn. “Sounds like a great idea.”
Matt chuckled. “Bed of the ute.” Matt lifted Martin’s case into the back of the truck before reaching for Colin’s. “Sorry, but it’ll be a bit of a squeeze up front. Nance needed the car.”
Colin remembered Nancy… Nance—everyone seemed to shorten their names down under—was his uncle’s housekeeper and Bruce’s mother.
Thinking of Bruce reminded Colin of a point he’d meant to raise with his uncle. “You’ve not mentioned Bruce much in your last few emails. You two all right?”
“Uh, yeah, fine.” Matt unlocked the driver’s door and then walked around to open the passenger door. “Thought we’d get booked in at the motel…then after you two have rested for a bit we could go check out Sydney’s nightlife.”
“Uh, okay.” It was Colin’s turn to yawn. He knew his uncle hadn’t really answered the question about Bruce, but Colin decided to wait.
Two years earlier Matt had flown to London to be with his brother over Christmas. Colin and Martin had hit a rough patch in their relationship when Colin had accidentally left the garden gate open and Toby had got out and was killed. Thanks to something Matt had said—Colin never did get the full details—Martin was able to forgive Colin for his fatal mistake.
During the visit Matt had mentioned Bruce, his foreman, and how they messed around but it was nothing serious. However, Matt admitted he had feelings for Bruce and promised Colin and Martin he’d say something to the man on his return. Colin strongly suspected that conversation had not taken place.
“You two get buckled in, I’ll go pay.”
Martin reached for his wallet, telling Matt he’d get it. Matt refused.
“Jesus Christ,” Matt complained when he got back to the truck. “Bloody daylight robbery.”
“I said I’d pay,” Martin reminded.
“Thanks, mate, it’s okay. I’m just pissed off that the tight bastards made me pay for an extra half hour ’cause I was a couple of minutes over.”
“Sorry,” Martin said. Colin suspected his husband was feeling guilty for delaying them.
Colin gave his man’s hand a supportive squeeze. Martin squeezed back.
Once Matt had buckled himself in next to Martin with Colin on the far side, he turned the key and the engine came to life. The cab was just about big enough for the three of them; neither Colin nor his uncle were small men.
“A rose between two thorns, eh, Martin?” Matt said, patting Martin’s knee.
“More like a thin sapling between two mighty oaks,” Martin said, then yawned wide. “Sorry.”
Matt chuckled, put the truck in gear, and they began descending the levels toward the exit.
Matt wound his window down and put the ticket in the machine, still grumbling about the cost. The barrier rose, Matt gunned the engine, and shot out of the car park. Colin simultaneously reached for the door handle and Martin’s arm.
“You said you’d take us on a tour of Sydney?” Martin asked once they were free of the airport.
Matt seemed to give himself a bit of a shake. “If you want to.”
“You’ll have to describe the kangaroos to me as they hop across Sydney Harbour Bridge.” Martin smiled.
Matt tipped his head back and laughed. “You dozy bugger.”
This seemed to have broken the ice, and the rest of the journey to the motel was spent much more pleasantly, Martin telling Matt about the flight attendant who was really attentive to him.
Colin growled.
“Sounds like you’re jealous, mate,” Matt said, shooting a quick look over at his nephew.
“Like I told him,” Martin said, reaching for and squeezing Colin’s hand, “he’s all the man I’ll ever need.”
“Ah, nice,” Matt smiled, though Colin could see the smile was a little wistful.
“But you know what it’s like,” Martin put in, “you and Bruce, you know?”
Matt kept his eyes on the road and didn’t say anything.
“Uncle Matt?” Colin asked. “You okay?”
“Yeah, mate, fine.”
“Sorry if I’m prying, uh, being a sticky beak?” Martin asked.
“Yeah, mate, that’s what we say, but no, you weren’t being a sticky beak. It’s just…” Matt sighed.
“Sorry, Uncle Matt, it’s obviously none of our business,” Colin said.
The three drove in silence for a few minutes before Matt admitted, “I didn’t tell him.”
“Bruce?” Colin asked.
Matt nodded. “I chickened out.”
“Know what you mean.” Martin sighed. “I fancied Colin for ages before I dared to say anything. I thought it was better to stick with what I had, Colin as a sort of friend, delivering my groceries every week, rather than risk asking for more and probably being disappointed.”
Matt sighed. “Yeah.”
They soon pulled up outside a nondescript-looking motel.
“Jesus,” Colin said.
“What?” Martin asked.
“The name of this place,” Colin continued.
“I know, but the tourists love this sort of crap.”
“What!” Martin repeated.
“Sorry, love.” Colin kissed Martin’s cheek. He knew
how not being told all the facts about what was being talked about irritated his husband. “This place,” Colin chuckled, “is called the Jolly Swagman Motel.”
Martin laughed. “Don’t tell me there’s a Tucker Bag diner, too.”
“That’s round the corner,” Matt smiled.
“Really?” Martin asked.
“No, mate, just pulling your leg.”
Martin began to sing Waltzing Matilda, and Matt excused himself to book them in.
Again Martin offered to pay, but again Matt refused.
“With only one of you working now I know things are tight for you two,” Matt said, unclipping his seatbelt.
“We’re doing okay,” Colin told him, the depression over losing his job threatening to wash over him.
Wordlessly, Martin worked his arm around Colin’s waist and gave him a squeeze.
Colin looked up to see Matt smiling at them. “You lucky buggers.” He shook his head and got out of the truck. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
The ticking of the cooling engine was the only sound in the otherwise silent cab.
Colin let out a long breath.
Martin found Colin’s cheek and kissed it. “You okay?”
Colin nodded; as his cheek was still touching Martin’s mouth, he knew his partner could feel his response.
“We don’t have to decide anything while we’re out here,” Martin whispered, the warm breath against his face tickled.
“I know. It’s just…” Colin sighed.
“We’ll be okay. We’ve got each other.”
Colin wasn’t sure love would be enough. He’d always been the provider; losing his job and having to depend on Martin’s income alone was hard to take. When his uncle Matt had invited them to Australia for Christmas Colin’s initial response was to decline. Although the supermarket had given him a generous redundancy package, the lump sum would have to last them for a while until he found another job. But Matt—like a true Rogers—had persisted, even saying he’d pay for their tickets. That had initially offended Colin’s pride, but a number of trans-Pacific Internet phone calls later Colin had been somewhat mollified.
“They need drivers here, too,” Martin whispered.
“But everything we know is at home in the UK.”
“Everything that’s important to me is right here.”
Colin turned his head and kissed Martin’s lips. “Don’t know where I’d be without you.”
Martin shuddered. “Don’t know where I’d be without you either.” He yawned again. “What time is it?”
Colin looked at his watch. He’d had the good sense to alter it during the flight from Singapore. “Eleven twenty-six in the morning.”
“What time does that make it at home?”
Colin knew his man must be tired because normally he would have worked that one out for himself. “Um…” Colin counted on his fingers, “nearly half past midnight.”
“Suppose it’s too late to ring your mum and dad to tell ’em we’ve arrived safely.”
Colin smiled. He knew Martin was also interested in knowing how well Seth was settling in with them. His husband had left detailed instructions for the German Shepherd’s care and feeding. Colin’s parents had smiled and politely listened, and didn’t point out that they’d had several dogs of their own in the past.
They’d discussed bringing the dog with them, but it would have meant starving him for twenty-four hours prior to the flight, he wouldn’t be able to pee when they were in the air and… They both concluded it wasn’t an option, not for a two week holiday.
“Mum and Dad might still be awake. If the motel has a wifi connection we could place a Skype call to their landline or something. You made sure we had plenty of credit, didn’t you?”
Martin nodded.
Colin saw his uncle striding purposefully across the car park, a pissed off expression writ large on his face. “Uh oh! Brace yourself.”
“Huh?”
But before Colin could say any more Matt had opened the door. “Bloody useless drongoes!”
“Huh?” Martin repeated.
“Those galars in there,” Matt pointed a thumb back at the reception building, “couldn’t organise a bloody piss up in a bloody brewery.”
“Why, what’s happened?” Colin asked.
“They don’t have a record of our booking.”
“Oh,” Martin said.
“They’ve only got the one room left, so I took it. I was gonna go get us rooms somewhere else but they said everywhere’s booked up solid, it being close to Chrissy.”
“That’s okay, it’s only for one night,” Colin soothed.
“I asked for a roll-away bed, but the bloody drongoes don’t have any left. The room I managed to get only has one king-size bed.”
Martin chuckled. “Looks like I’ll be that rose you talked about a bit longer.”
This at least got Matt smiling. “Sorry, mates. This isn’t how I first wanted you two to see Oz.”
“It’s fine,” Colin yawned. “Just point me at the bed, we’ll have a kip and then we’ll go exploring.”
“After we ring home,” Martin reminded him.
* * * *
“What’s the name of these plants? You see them everywhere out here.” The vibrations from his chest felt soothing to Martin who was leaning up against his man.
“Spinifex, or I suppose more accurately hard spinifex. Awful stuff. About a quarter of Oz is covered in the bloody thing. If you brush against it the tips can break off and stay under your skin.”
Martin shuddered. As his lover and Matt continued to talk, Martin’s mind drifted. They’d had a great time in Sydney once he and Colin had rested. Seems they hadn’t been too far from Oxford Street, the main gay thoroughfare of Sydney. Although neither Colin nor himself were much for crowds, it had felt comfortable somehow being around large numbers of fellow gays.
The various food smells and the sounds of different accents had reminded Martin that Australia in general and Sydney in particular was a melting pot for the Southeast Asian region. Martin had heard accents from all over the place, including America and even a few from Britain.
Dinner had been interesting. Matt had said there were kangaroo kebabs on the menu at the small restaurant they’d chosen to eat at. Colin wouldn’t try them which earned him some gentle teasing from his uncle. But ever-willing to experience new things, Martin had ordered them. They had been excellent, tasting more like beef than beef, if that made any sense. He’d even managed to persuade his reluctant partner to take a bite. He’d enjoyed it, too.
“Are we there yet?” Martin moaned playfully.
He received a kiss on his left cheek. “Soon, love.”
The distance to Matt’s sheep station was a lot longer than Martin had expected. Just before going to sleep that first night—Martin in the middle as he’d predicted—Colin had asked his uncle how long it would take them to get to his place.
“We should manage it in a couple of days.”
Martin had shot awake. “Huh?”
“It’s just over eleven-hundred kilometres between here and Broken Hill. Takes about thirteen hours non-stop.”
“You done it non-stop?” Martin had asked.
“Once or twice, when I was younger.”
“Wow,” Colin had exclaimed.
“Oz is a big place,” Matt had yawned. “But there’s an awful lot of nothing between the various towns and cities.”
So they’d set out the next morning—Martin had assumed it was morning; his body-clock was all over the place—he hadn’t slept well the previous night because he’d forgotten to bring his melatonin with him. However, he put his sleeplessness down to the strange bed, the fact he and Colin couldn’t make out or make love as was their usual practice, and also Matt’s presence. Although Martin was totally devoted to his husband, his partner, his protector, and, Martin sniffed, his everything, being close to Matt’s rugged and solid strength had affected Martin deep down. Matt was like his nephew i
n many ways, both were natural-born leaders and nurturers. Lying there in that hotel bed, Martin had never felt so safe or protected. No, his feelings toward Matt weren’t sexual, but… He sighed.
“You okay?” Colin asked.
“Just a bit tired.” Martin followed this up with a jaw-splitting yawn.
“We’ll be in Dubbo in a few minutes, mate,” Matt said, patting Martin’s knee. “And let’s hope the motel there hasn’t buggered up our reservations.”
“Why, didn’t you like sleeping with me last night?” Martin asked, immediately wishing he’d phrased the question differently.
Matt laughed. “Didn’t mind a bit, but don’t want to play gooseberry with you two young love birds again.”
“No worries, mate.” Martin felt his attempts at an Australian accent were improving.
Matt laughed again. “We’ll make a dinkum Aussie out of ya yet.”
Martin heard the indicator clicking. The truck slowed and turned right. About ten minutes and a few more turns later Matt brought the truck to a gentle stop.
“Here we are, the Traveller’s Rest Motel.”
“What, you couldn’t book us in to the Waltzing Matilda Lodge?” Martin teased.
“Daft bugger.” Matt slapped Martin’s knee again.
“And no, Uncle Matt, me and Martin are paying this time,” Colin said, undoing his seatbelt.
Matt harrumphed but Colin remained resolute.
The air conditioning was off and the cab started to heat up. Martin hoped Matt would agree quickly so they could get to their room.
“You might as well let us,” Martin eventually said. “’Cause neither of us is getting out of this truck until you agree.”
“Bloody poms,” Matt grumbled.
Within fifteen minutes Colin and Martin were walking toward their room. Even though the oppressive heat of the day was waning, Martin’s T-shirt soon began to cling to his back. He decided the first thing he’d do once inside would be to take a shower.
However, immediately after the room door closed behind them Colin pressed Martin up against the wall and began to kiss him.
“Missed you last night,” he said between kisses.
“I slept next to you.” Martin laughed.
“You know what I meant.”
Martin smirked. “I don’t think your uncle would have minded if we’d have—”
