by Di Morrissey
‘I think you’ve met everyone somewhere along the track,’ said Lily, ‘except perhaps Mika. She’s helping us with some Japanese translations.’
‘Seems I missed a great yachting party.’
‘You should have let us know you were coming,’ said Lily dismissively. ‘Anyway, relax and have a drink.’ She took Dale by the arm and led him away from the group into the kitchen. ‘How are things going back in the big smoke?’
‘Pretty mundane compared to the high life up here.’
‘Dale! Don’t be like that . . . this morning was unusual. We’ve decided when we will get the harvest really under way, and this was a sort of a celebration of where we’re at.’
‘Why is the professor here? He’s not exactly critical to the harvest, is he?’
Lily refused to rise to the bait. ‘Dale, Palmer is involved in a project up here. We invited him as he’s initiated a great staff development program that Ross is going to supervise.’
‘You never invited me.’
‘Because it’s been full-on work. Like I said, today was a bit impromptu, I wanted to thank the mob here . . . it just evolved . . .’ Lily felt tense; she shouldn’t need to apologise. ‘Anyway, it’s great you’re here. I’d love your input about what we’re doing. Are you staying?’
‘Am I invited?’
Lily struggled to stay calm. ‘Of course you’re welcome. Though it’s a bit awkward. I’ve moved into the women’s bunk house as Sami is bringing Biddy up here to stay in this cabin. I thought it would be more comfortable for them . . .’ her voice trailed off.
‘You’re saying you don’t want me to spend the night with you?’
‘We’ve been quite strict with the staff about . . . fraternisation. I don’t want to appear to have one rule for them and –’
‘There seemed to be a lot of cosy fraternising going on just now. Ah, stuff it, Lily. I’ll go back to Broome.’
‘Dale, don’t be like that. It’s just a bit difficult up here. Let’s get together back in Broome, when I’m less harassed.’ She was fobbing him off and they both knew it.
He put his drink down. ‘You mix with some funny people, Lily. I really hope this deal works out for you but I don’t think you should make it your life. Give me a call when you come back to earth.’ His anger had dissipated and there was a touch of sadness to his voice. Nonetheless he strode out the back door of the cabin without saying goodbye. Lily pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down feeling shaky. All the warmth and laughter of the day had gone.
Palmer came into the room and glanced around. ‘Where’s Dale? You look upset.’ He sat opposite her. ‘A small disagreement?’
‘Maybe not so small.’
‘It’s not my business, but do you want to talk about it?’
‘Not really. I’m not sure what happened. Maybe there’s not a lot to talk about. I’d better get back to the others and wrap up this celebration. I feel badly it’s taking up so much time.’
‘C’mon, Lily, you’ve been going full speed. You needed today’s break. It puts things in perspective.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Think about it. This environment, the work you’re doing, the plans you’re making. Your life in Sydney, your life in Broome, your daughter – it’s long end of the telescope stuff. Flopping across Red Rock Bay under full sail . . . can you think of anywhere else you’d rather have been?’
A slight smile curved at Lily’s mouth. ‘Not really. It’s my Protestant work ethic coming to the surface. And if I’m honest, the relationship with Dale has hit the wall. I think it’s up to me to retrieve it or let it go.’
‘So there you are. That’s pretty straightforward. This is probably a good place to think about those things. But not right now. C’mon, I was about to grab me pipes.’
‘Well that might break up the party.’ Lily couldn’t help laughing.
He smiled. ‘In that case I’d better have another drop of the good oil.’ He went to the fridge.
She watched him take out a bottle of wine then asked, ‘Ted, do you ever get depressed? Down in the dumps, wonder what you’re doing with your life? You seem so casual and together. You’re always smiling. How do you do that?’
‘Do you know something, your daughter asked me the same question. And what I told her was, of course I have down times. I hide behind jokes and poetry and music.’
‘The bagpipes count as music?’ asked Lily, tongue in cheek.
‘Actually I play the piano even better than the bagpipes. But I can’t carry round a piano.’
‘You’re full of surprises, Ted. A man with no regrets it seems.’
‘Ah, I wouldn’t say that. We all wish some things could be different.’
‘Care to share what they might be?’ Lily had never delved into his personal life. Their pleasant time together in Perth had been one of talking about everything but their own stories. He’d been amusing, interesting and stimulating company.
‘Oh, the usual. I wish my marriage had worked out, we were too young, grew into different people. I wish I’d had kids.’
‘Sami tells me you inspire lots of young people.’
His face softened. ‘Yes, that’s rewarding. Turning on those bright minds. I enjoy what I’m doing, so I feel lucky I get students who are motivated and share my passions. I love this part of the country, it’s important.’ He handed her a glass of wine. ‘Each time I come to the Kimberley it seems I find something new and special, as well as being hit by the realisation of just how precious it is.’
‘You mean the rock art, the scenery?’ said Lily.
‘That’s part of it, but it goes much deeper. The Kimberley is a vast storehouse of energy – artistic, spiritual, metaphysical, cultural, you name it. Not to mention one of the best preserved pre-Cambrian landscapes, a treasure chest of riches.’
‘Like, minerals, diamonds, irrigated farms, cattle properties.’
‘For sure. That’s the bottom line, like your farm. But it’s much more than that, as I said. There’s a life essence coming out of the land. After a while, if you’re switched on, you learn how to feel its strength and beauty, and then have some idea of the power and significance it holds for the Indigenous people. It’s awesome. Sometimes I look at rock formations, the spectacular terrain, waterfalls and gorges, or just a pool filled with waterlilies, and can’t believe it’s real. No wonder the Dreamtime is so alive in the Kimberley. Out there, among people like those Sami visited, the dialogue with the earth is still happening.’ He stopped and sipped his wine, then when Lily didn’t respond he added, ‘I suppose all that sounds a bit like the warm-up for a lecture.’
‘No, Ted. I can see where you’re coming from. There have been times, quite a few really, when I have sensed what you’re talking about. Whenever I go away with the Aboriginal family for some women’s business I glimpse that world. But I have to confess I’m more of a coastal person,’ she said. ‘That big inland, those huge empty spaces . . . I’m intimidated by them.’
‘You haven’t tramped around the Mitchell Plateau, hiked through the Cockburn Range, Tunnel Creek . . .’ he held up his hand. ‘Spellbinding. So often I wish I could capture it.’
‘Photograph it?’
‘Too far removed from the senses. Painting or carving works better, it seems. Music as well, the Dreamtime songs and dances. You want to get your hands in it. I confess I’ve got down and rubbed my hands in the dust, put my cheek against a rockface, my ears to a tree trunk.’ He gave an awkward smile. ‘It’s that kind of country.’
‘I’ll have to go out there.’ Lily imagined seeing the Kimberley through Palmer’s eyes. He would be an ideal guide, knowing so much about so many aspects of the area. But it was his unbridled joy, his openness, that made him enthralling company. ‘I’m surprised Sami hasn’t shared her feelings about the Kimberley wilderness with me.’
‘Ah, your mind and heart are open to embrace all of this. Sami has found it confronting. For lots of reasons.’
‘S
he’s told you about our family?’
‘She’s shared some things,’ said Palmer cautiously. He didn’t want to encroach on any of Sami’s confidences. ‘She’s still trying to work some things out for herself. She’ll open up when she’s ready.’
A swift thought stabbed at Lily. Would she open up with her? Or Palmer? She turned the conversation back to him. ‘So what’s the deal that will keep you around these parts?’
‘Among other things, I’ve applied to spend time researching the dinosaur fossil find.’
‘Does Sami know?’
‘Not yet.’ He spoke gently. ‘Would you mind if I told her?’
‘Of course not. You’ll explain it much better.’ But she sensed Palmer was being diplomatic. Sami probably wouldn’t like hearing Palmer’s news from her mother.
Palmer touched her arm. ‘It’s been a great day, Lily. Thanks.’
‘It has been, hasn’t it? And we’ve got the sunset yet to come.’ But as she turned to go back onto the verandah, her ebullient mood was jolted as she recalled the argument with Dale. Talking with Palmer had put it out of her mind. How bizarre! Oh well, she’d deal with Dale, the arrival of Sami and Biddy . . . the rest of her life, tomorrow. Meanwhile, she’d enjoy the sunset, bagpipes and all.
The car was crammed with her mother’s clothes but Sami had made a comfortable bed on the back seat for Biddy, and she hoped the old woman would not find the trip over the dirt road too jarring. Biddy had been up at first light, ready to leave then and there, and now it was close to 8 am and she was asleep on her favourite chair on the verandah.
Rosie came out to the car holding the portable phone. ‘It’s the farm, Tim is wondering if he should come down.’
‘What for?’ asked Sami, puzzled. She took the phone. ‘Hi.’
‘Hello, Sami,’ he said brightly. ‘I’ve been thinking about you driving up with Biddy, are you sure you don’t want me to come down and get you both? You won’t need your vehicle up here.’
‘Oh. No thanks. I’ve just spent an hour packing up anyway.’
‘I can imagine what’s involved. How is the old lady?’
‘Yeah. Well thanks. Biddy is pretty excited. She sleeps a lot so I’m hoping she’ll doze for much of the trip.’
‘Give her a knockout drop.’
‘I hope it doesn’t come to that.’
‘I’ll help you this end. Your mum has vacated her cabin for you guys. You get the sofa.’
‘That’s nice of her.’
‘Safe driving.’
Sami handed the phone back to Rosie with a shrug.
‘Thoughtful of him,’ said Rosie.
‘I can manage,’ said Sami. But inside she had mixed feelings. Did he think she was incompetent, was he really so concerned, or had her mother put him up to it?
As they drove out of Broome, Rakka kept peering over the passenger seat to check on Biddy who was comfortably stretched out on the back seat and mumbling in a mixture of Bardi and English. Sami didn’t understand everything she said, but Biddy appeared to be reliving events in her life as though they’d happened yesterday. She finally dozed off and slept for an hour, but as they approached the turnoff to the old mission she suddenly sat bolt upright and alert. ‘I know dis place.’
‘It’s your old mission. How long since you’ve been up here, Biddy?’
‘Longa me bin up dis way. We see father. Go to church, okay?’
‘Biddy, we’re going further on, to the farm, Lily’s farm. Remember?’
‘Tyndall farm.’ She leaned over and tapped Sami’s shoulder, quite agitated. ‘No, we gotta go to the church. See everyone.’
‘No, Biddy, we’re going to the Star Two farm. See Lily and then we get on the boat and go to your country . . . see all the old people.’
Bony fingers grabbed at Sami’s shoulder. ‘Church. Church yard. We gotta see Niah.’
Sami wanted to get to the farm as soon as possible, and a detour to the church could cause a long delay. But at the mention of Niah’s name she wavered. ‘You remember Niah?’
‘Pretty one. Niah naughty one. Bad ting happen. I tell Niah take Maya to see her people. Niah die. Maya get sent away.’
‘It wasn’t your fault, Biddy.’
‘You go in there, dat way.’ Biddy was insistent, waving, pointing at the turnoff. Sami swung the car onto the track and headed towards the old mission.
She helped Biddy out of the car and, leaning on Sami, Biddy walked into the old church. She stood in the vestibule and tears ran down her face. ‘My, my. Oh dis be beautiful. Good place just like I ’member.’
A priest, Father Stoddart, walked out of the sacristry when he heard Biddy’s voice. ‘It’s lovely to hear you say that, dear,’ he said. ‘We work hard to keep it in original condition. There’s no other church in Australia like this one, and people of all faiths come here to admire it.’
The sunlight streamed through the newly repaired window, smashed when the old tower had collapsed in the Wet, and a soft yellow gleam from the pearlshell altar danced in the cool dimness. The colourful religious decorations done by the early Pallotine monks shone in their blue and gold surrounds.
‘Good, good,’ nodded Biddy. ‘I bin school here. Biddy can sew and wash and cook. Big place. Big garden.’
‘In the early days the mission here used to grow all the vegetables for Broome,’ Father Stoddart explained.
‘Cattle too,’ added Biddy firmly, then started to shuffle back down the aisle. ‘Biddy talk to Niah now.’
She had to stop and rest, leaning on Sami, but she made her way to the far end of the little graveyard. Sami stood back as Biddy tottered forward and bent over, touching the weathered headstone with the carved pearlshell embedded in it.
‘So, girl. Dis be Biddy talkin’ to you. Longa time we talk, eh?’ She gave a cracked laugh. ‘Big mob round here now. Lots of family, girl. Your Maya babies an’ babies be back here. See, dat girl, she come home. See her family.’ She waved vaguely in Sami’s direction as she addressed the headstone.
Sami was shaken but tried not to show it. The sight of the old woman who must have once been strong and muscular now looking like a small, bright-eyed child, was touching. But the knowledge that she was connected to Biddy, and to the spirit of the young Macassan beauty buried there, rattled her. Instantly, scenes of her life in Sydney flashed incongruously to mind, as if her subconscious was trying to give her a greater sense of reality, a stability to help her cope with the flood of emotion. Cafes in Double Bay, meeting friends in wine bars, going to clubs, the Great Hall of Sydney University . . . but the simplicity of the grave and her personal link with it overwhelmed everything.
Biddy was now chanting and stroking the headstone. It was no mournful lament, but sounded more like a cheerful call to a loved one. When she’d finished she straightened up and reached towards Sami to help her back to the car. She’d done what she wanted and was ready to move on.
While Biddy was at peace Sami still felt disturbed and the old woman caught her mood. ‘Wassup, girl? Why you so . . . nervy? Don’ you fret. You be on your country.’
‘It’s not so easy for me, Biddy. You know all this stuff. I’m having trouble adjusting to where I’m supposed to be.’
Biddy gave her an intense look. ‘You c’n be anywhere so long you carry your country inside you. In your head, in your heart. And den, you got to come back finish all your family business. Tidy him up. Like Biddy doin’.’
Sami wasn’t sure what finishing business meant, but she got the general sense of what the old woman was saying. ‘Okay. Well let’s get on. Mum will be worried about us.’
Biddy leaned on Sami. ‘Yeah, yeah. I’m doin’ good.’
Biddy was asleep when Sami reached the farm and opened the gate. She let Rakka out of the car to chase along the track behind them. The first person she saw was Tim. He hurried to meet them as Biddy sleepily opened her eyes. ‘So, John Tyndall . . . you be meeting old Biddy, eh?’
‘It’s Tim, Biddy. Tim,’ co
rrected Sami loudly, giving him a quick handshake. ‘We’ve taken a bit longer than expected, we had to call at the mission.’
‘I understand. C’mon Biddy, a mob here want to meet you, and we’ve got a cuppa ready.’ He reached in and lifted her out of the car.
‘Okay. I can walk ya know,’ announced Biddy. She looked around, nodded as if greeting someone. ‘Yeah, me belong this country.’
They settled her in the bedroom with a cup of tea and some biscuits, then went onto the verandah with their mugs. ‘She’s right for a while now,’ Sami said to Tim. ‘You were obviously hanging around to help me. Thanks. Where’s Mum?’
‘Over at Dave’s quarters. They’re having a bit of a talk about the harvest and one thing and another. So, you ready for our trip?’
‘Biddy certainly is. She was great today, though she talks a lot about unfinished business and occasionally lapses into the past.’
‘She is very old. Remarkable really. I’ll show you on the map where we’re taking her, up One Arm Point way. Oh, can you scuba dive?’
‘I’ve dived once or twice. I hadn’t planned on it. Why?’
He shrugged. ‘Thought you might enjoy it.’
‘Who else is going with us?’
‘Not sure. Every hand is being readied for the pearl harvest. Can you sail?’
‘Oh, God. This is going to be fun.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Trust me. Georgiana has a motor and high-tech gear, we’ll be right. A lugger is pretty basic sailing. Or we’ll just motor. By the time we get back and pick up Biddy from her sojourn you’ll be a very capable deckhand.’
Sami frowned. ‘I thought I should stay with Biddy at their camp. Can you manage and pick me up on the way back? You’ll only be a couple of days, right?’
‘You do what you think best. I’ll find someone to come with us. Maybe we can persuade Bobby and his girlfriend to help out.’
‘His girlfriend?’
‘Mika. She’s doing some work for us. She’s taking a lot of interest in the seeding side of things. Vivi has been showing her how it’s done.’
