Red Sand Sunrise

by Fiona McArthur

  Callie blinked a few times and bit her lip. She glanced at Bennet, who Eve decided was trying to keep his face expressionless. But the unconscious yearning in his eyes gave him away.

  Callie sighed and shook her head at her own obtuseness. ‘That’s a beautiful idea. Thank you, Sienna. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.’

  Sienna shrugged as if to say, it was just an idea anyone could have thought of, then looked at Eve and smiled. ‘Actually, it was Eve’s idea. Anyway, the later in pregnancy the better for seeing things to recognise. So don’t go to the loo,’ she reminded Callie as if she didn’t know. ‘Hold that thought and everything else while I scoot down to get it.’

  Callie turned to Bennet. ‘Will you go? Carry it for Sienna. It’s not light.’

  He jumped up with alacrity. ‘I’d love to.’ He practically dragged Sienna off the verandah. Eve and Callie watched them go. ‘I think Bennet’s keen.’

  Callie sighed. ‘I hadn’t realised he was missing out on so much. Of course he wants to see the ultrasound. I’ve been selfish.’

  Eve laughed and put her arm around her sister’s shoulder. ‘Yeah. Such a selfish witch of a woman. Maybe you’ve just been a little busy while caring twenty-four seven for your mum, being town GP, as well as dealing with all the discomforts of pregnancy.’ She gestured to Callie’s belly. ‘I think this is a lovely way for your mum to see your peanut.’

  Callie clutched Eve’s arm. ‘What if we see something that proves my baby has problems?’ she whispered.

  ‘I have no doubt it will mean you will love your baby even more – if that’s possible. True?’

  Callie sagged. A smile trembled on her lips and she nodded. ‘You are so right. And wise. Thank you, Eve. I love having you as a sister.’

  ‘You’re the best present our dad gave me, that’s for sure. He just left it a little too late before we all got together.’ Eve was going to burst into tears if she talked much more about it. ‘Let’s clear the side table.’

  Bennet and Sienna returned a few minutes later. He carried the ultrasound case carefully up the stairs and deposited it gently on the table.

  Eve grinned. ‘Bags not telling Lex if you break it. He and Blanche had a big fight over that piece of equipment.’

  Bennet lifted it even more gingerly when Sienna pointed to the small table beside Sylvia’s bed. Eve dragged the lounge as close as she could get it to Sylvia’s bed. Callie was holding her mother’s hand as she explained what they were going to do.

  ‘So you’ll get a sneak peek of this little grandchild of yours. Sienna is going to show us all now.’

  Sylvia turned wondering eyes at the four smiling faces and another tiny tear slid down her sunken cheek. ‘I can’t wait. And I love that you’re all here to share the moment with us.’

  Callie lay down and Eve helped her pull her blouse up so her taut, rounded belly was exposed. Sienna squirted the gel and Callie sucked in her breath at the coolness of it.

  Sienna squirted some more. ‘I keep it in the fridge, you know,’ she said as she smoothed it over the white skin. ‘To be mean.’

  Her voice was more gentle than Eve had ever heard it as she explained to Sylvia, ‘Callie’s baby is thirty-five weeks, so big enough for us to see the movements in real time on the inside, and for Bennet to feel them easily on the outside.’

  Sienna floated the hand-shaped transducer across the gel and the screen came to life with grey and black images. She zoomed in confidently. ‘A little hand.’

  The fingers were clenched, but Sylvia gasped as they opened like a miniature starfish and seemed to wave. The picture of the fingers dissolved and a small flexing foot came into focus.

  ‘Now foot and ankle and toes.’

  Eve glanced around at her new family and felt the sting of tears. She watched Callie’s terrified joy and Bennet’s wonder, and took a quick snap on her phone of the sweet anticipation on Sylvia’s face. It was pure pleasure, unshaded by disappointment that this was all she would see of her grandchild, just delight as each new facet of the child she would never hold was revealed to her.

  ‘Look at the little nose.’ Sylvia smiled mistily down at Callie. ‘It’s your nose. Your father’s nose.’ She glanced around at the three girls facing her. ‘All your noses.’

  And that was when Eve realised she was going to be an aunty – something she’d never thought she’d be. She saw the moment of non-professional wonder in Sienna as their eyes met but then her sister focused and was an obstetrician again.

  Eve suspected that Sienna, despite kicking and screaming all the way, was being sucked into the Red Sand vortex, and they were becoming a family. A trio of sisters. And they owed a lot to this absolute darling of a woman who was fading away in front of them.

  ‘So here is the mouth and the cheeks.’ Sienna zoomed the magnification out and the whole face crystallised into focus and they saw a tiny baby suspended in the dark pool of its mother’s womb. She used the machine like a musical instrument, dancing with the fluid so the baby took on a three-dimensional clarity. It was nothing like Callie and Eve’s fumbled attempts to gain focus and zones.

  Sienna glanced at Callie. ‘Do you want to know the sex?’

  Callie looked at her mum. ‘Do you?’

  Sylvia shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’ve seen your baby. Keep the surprise.’

  Callie shook her head. ‘Then no, thanks.’

  ‘No problem.’

  Sienna ran down a shoulder and showed them the little beating heart, but Sylvia was tiring now and she lay back from where she’d been leaning to see. Sienna flicked a glance at Callie, who unobtrusively lowered her fingers to stop the examination.

  Sienna shut the machine down. ‘Everything I saw looked perfect. Congratulations on your gorgeously growing grandchild, Sylvia.’

  ‘Thank you. Thanks to all of you. You have given me such a precious gift.’

  Eve helped Callie wipe down and then sit up. The bustle of re­arranging furniture began again. Bennet carried the machine to the kitchen table, ready to return it to the medical centre when he went, and Sienna washed her hands at the sink.

  In the background Sylvia lay back with her eyes closed and a pure, sweet smile on her face. Callie pulled the easy chair back next to her mother now the lounge had been restored and sat there quietly, holding her mother’s hand as the other two returned the room to normal.

  Sylvia drifted into sleep but her smile stayed. Her breathing slowed and for a brief moment she opened her eyes and rested her gaze on her daughter, then looked past her to a shadow beyond.

  ‘Soon,’ she whispered to the shadow.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Eve woke as the sun peeped over the horizon, and, with her skin prickling, tiptoed out to see how Sylvia and Callie were doing. Callie sat holding her mother’s cooling fingers with tears trickling down her face.

  Callie turned her head as Eve came closer. ‘She’s gone,’ she whispered. ‘I was dozing in the chair when her breathing changed to a sigh. Her eyes opened and she smiled, that beautiful smile, and then she slipped away.’

  The huge lump in Eve’s throat made it hard to talk. ‘I’m so sorry, Callie.’

  ‘She’ll never say, “Hello, darling,” again.’

  Eve didn’t know what to say, so fell back on the answer she gave all the women she cared for. ‘I know.’ She came across and rested her fingers on Callie’s shoulder. ‘She went peacefully and with dignity, as she did everything else. And you were here so she was happy.’

  Callie just nodded wordlessly.

  ‘Do you want me to phone Bennet?’

  ‘No. Not yet.’

  ‘I’ll make a cup of tea.’ Incredibly sad herself, Eve had to do something with her hands or she’d pull Callie out of her chair and squeeze her. She’d grown to love Sylvia. Who didn’t love her? Even Sienna had been surprised how little she could blame Sylvia for drawing Duncan back. Life was too damn tragic. And her half-sister was too damn nice for these things to happ
en to her.

  The last eight months had been incredibly challenging, but certainly uplifting – and a lot of that serenity had come from Sylvia.

  Then there was the birth to think about.

  Bennet would go back with Callie to Brisbane for the four weeks until the baby was born. They’d arranged to stay in Eve’s flat. Eve would follow as soon as she had relief for the centre. Two of her midwife friends from Brisbane were keen. In fact, she would probably come back to Red Sand for the first six weeks after the birth and watch for postnatal depression. With the loss of both parents in a year and a previous loss of a baby, Callie would definitely be at ­risk. But Eve would be there for her.

  But for now, Callie had a funeral to arrange, and Eve would stay in a supportive role until she was needed.

  The funeral, three days later, was everything Sylvia and Callie had planned. It was a celebration of a loving woman, and the photos she’d chosen included almost all of the congregation, from a smiling tableau of Country Women’s Association afternoon teas with every­one dressed in multicultural traditional costumes, to bake-offs, to the grinning faces outside the pub at the annual camel races.

  Eve had to smother a laugh in the church when a photo of Sylvia and Blanche, dressed in magnificent hats for the fashion stakes, had a background focus on Old Mick from the pub leering at their legs.

  There was one of Callie and Eve and Sylvia, taken by Sienna, and in every second photo their dad peered out, smiling, embraced in the warmth of the woman who had never stopped loving him, and his joy in the person who was Sylvia shone clear.

  There was even one with Callie and her parents at a Christmas lunch, and next to Callie sat a very young and debonair Bennet in brown moleskins and checked shirt.

  Then there was the photo taken by Eve on the day of the ultrasound, with Sylvia’s hand on the screen and her family around her, delight captured on every face. Even Sienna was there.

  The last photograph stayed up: a single, softly focused portrait of Sylvia, and her smile at the congregation was so tender and wistful Eve thought she was going to sob out loud.

  After the wake the house felt empty, apart from the mounds of food people had brought, and Eve covered laden paper plates with plastic and froze the cooked meals that had been pushed their way. She had no doubt the food would last Callie for the next year. Eve wondered how Callie could bear the sadness, and she wasn’t the only one – the townspeople continued to pop in with yet more food.

  For the first few days after Sylvia’s funeral Eve looked after the house quietly in the background of the passing visitors, heating the meals of macaroni cheese and spaghetti bolognaise and shepherd’s pie she’d frozen, because her cooking skills managed reheating nicely.

  Callie packed her bags for her time away and they all realised the baby would be here soon. Or maybe Callie had had enough reheating because on the seventh day, as Eve took another meal from the freezer, Callie put up her hand.

  ‘About tonight.’

  ‘No frozen meal?’

  ‘No meal. Bennet’s just rung to ask if I’d like to go to the farm for the night. It’s the last night I can go before I leave for Brisbane. He and Adam are coming to pick me up soon, if you think it’s okay for me to stay there until tomorrow?’

  Eve looked around, pretending to see if anyone could hear this scandalous conversation. ‘You mean you’re going to sleep over? With a man?’

  Callie had to smile. ‘I know. I’m silly.’

  ‘Not like you could get pregnant.’

  ‘I hate leaving you alone.’

  ‘I could ask Sienna if she wants to come over.’

  ‘Maybe Sergeant McCabe would like to come too?’

  Eve’s relaxed evening began to look a little less likely. ‘They spend their time bickering.’

  ‘But it’s usually pretty funny.’ Callie tilted her head. ‘You could probably do with a laugh. It’s been pretty miserable here for you this last week.’

  ‘As if I haven’t wanted to be here.’

  ‘I know. Thank you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.’

  ‘Don’t think I need a thank you. Go. Have a lovely evening with Bennet and Adam. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  Callie’s face lightened as she remembered. ‘We’re celebrating thirty-six weeks of pregnancy tonight and he’s promised roast.’

  ‘Fresh roast? Whatever you do, don’t let him freeze the left-overs. Just bring them home for me.’

  Later that afternoon Bennet and Adam arrived, and Bennet made a beeline for Callie and took her in his arms. The way she closed her eyes and leaned into him made Eve’s throat close.

  Eve took the little boy for a walk around the garden and let him hose Sylvia’s plants while the couple had a quiet chat before their drive back.

  When she waved them off she wandered around the empty house and it came to her that this was the first time she’d been in her father’s house on her own. But all she could think of was Sylvia and her sweet smile.

  The void Callie’s mother had left seemed impossible to fill. Sienna and even Douglas were looking good as company and she hurried over to the phone, but before she got there she heard a voice at the door.

  ‘Lex?’ She opened the screen door. ‘Where did you come from?’ She could not have wished for anyone better. He must have seen it in her face because the smile he gave Eve wrapped around her like he was already inside the house and holding her.

  Then he stepped in and did it for real. ‘You okay?’ His chest was as solid as the big oak dresser in Sylvia’s kitchen, and just as wide. She rested her forehead on the V of his shirt for a few brief, healing seconds until she remembered they weren’t really at the ‘hug on view’ stage.

  ‘Sorry.’ She stepped back. ‘I was feeling very fragile and you arrived at a bad moment.’

  ‘And here I was thinking I’d arrived at a most auspicious time.’

  ‘Auspicious? Where did you go to school?’

  ‘Geelong. And I was homesick the whole time.’ He smiled again. ‘But I’m learning to be more of a here-and-now kind of guy. Gotta be happy when a woman throws herself at your chest.’

  She smiled at that, but didn’t quite know how to go from the hug to normal conversation. ‘Callie’s gone to Bennet’s for her last night in town. She leaves for Brisbane tomorrow. How are you here?’

  ‘Spent the night in Roma. Cattle sales. I was flying back and thought I’d drop in to see how you were all going.’ He glanced around. ‘I’ve got an hour if I want to get home before dark. Do you want to stay in or get out?’

  The man was a mind reader. ‘Out? Just a walk would be good.’

  So they strolled the length of the town. Lex bought her an ice-cream, they discussed the ambulance and the few minor call-outs she’d had, talked about how Lily was settling in at Diamond Lake, and Blanche’s latest plans for the centre. They laughed a bit over Henry’s latest girlfriend, the unlikely pairing of Sienna and Douglas, and a little about the sweetness of Sylvia. Nothing ground­breaking, but by the time Lex left Eve felt as though she’d had a holiday. She kept telling herself not to read too much into it, that Lex hadn’t known Callie was gone, and he was making the best of the company he’d found. But inside, she couldn’t help whispering that he’d come to see her.

  TWENTY-NINE

  When Eve got the call to the car accident the next morning her fingers shook as she raced to unlock the door of the ambulance. It was still cool, even though the sun had been up for a few minutes. Her first big disaster: a day she’d hoped would never come.

  ‘Car versus road train,’ she muttered as she swung herself into the driver’s seat almost overshooting the seat in her haste. She knew who would have won. Shakily she pulled on the blue gloves they’d told her she had to don every time she turned the engine on.

  Apart from Gracie’s run off the road and her baby’s subsequent birth, Eve hadn’t had to deal with any MVAs. A chest pain, a snake bite and an adventurous ten-year-old’s duel with a chainsaw h
ad all been treated methodically via the set protocols she had, and her patients were flown out by the flying doctor as soon as they’d been able to come.

  She reversed the cumbersome vehicle out of its carport and swung it backwards, out onto the strip of tar, narrowly missing the telegraph pole. In her gut she knew this promised to be nightmare-bad. She wished Callie had been home to help her but her belly probably would have just got in the way. Her mobile rang beside her and she shut it off, then saw Sienna, out for a run. She flagged her down.

  ‘Tried to ring you. You going out?’

  ‘Car versus road train.’ Eve hated the way her voice shook.

  She heard Sienna sigh and ridiculously her hopes rose. ‘I’ll come.’

  And Sienna jumped up onto the seat beside her, and the laces on her running shoes caught in the door as Eve stomped her foot on the accelerator.

  ‘Seatbelt, please.’

  ‘You sure you can drive this thing?’

  Eve didn’t answer, just concentrated on getting out of town without running over any dogs or – heaven forbid – people, as she wound the speed up on the outskirts. The long ribbon of tar cut through the red dirt, and the khaki scrubby landscape became more defined as the sun rose.

  She glanced at her sister. ‘Thanks.’

  Sienna drummed her fingers on her leg. ‘I think I’ve been looking too deep for the answer. I think it must be something really simple.’

  Eve had no idea what she was talking about. Her mind was running through possible scenarios. ‘It’s three people in a car. One’s a child.’

  Sienna must have picked up the vibe because suddenly she got it and focused. ‘Okay. Sorry. What do you want me to do when we get there?’

  Right, because Eve was so experienced at this. She swallowed. ‘We probably won’t have enough hands. I’ll check the road train driver. He’s the one who called in the accident and likely to be the least hurt. Once I can confirm that, maybe he can help. Don’t want him exsanguinating from something simple while we’re busy.’