Rain Music

by Di Morrissey

  ‘Will you be okay, driving your car back to the roadhouse on your own?’ asked Ned as the waiter cleared away their plates.

  ‘Absolutely. I feel a lot better now that I’ve been out and about. The police were so nice and I’ve been on that road a couple of times now, so I feel quite confident that if I follow closely behind you, I’ll be just fine. Assuming, of course, that we don’t stop at Black Mountain.’

  ‘Why would we do that?’ asked Ned grumpily.

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ said Bella, sensing that Ned was not in the mood for any quaint stories. ‘Let’s go home.’

  They drove back to Toni’s to pick up Bella’s car, which had been left there. They both hopped out of the car and Ned started towards Toni’s door, but Bella hung back.

  ‘You go in and see her, Ned. I’ll wait here for you. If she’s feeling off colour, she won’t want both of us annoying her. But please give her my thanks for letting me leave my car with her.’

  Ned was gone for only a few minutes, but when he returned, he was clearly angry about something.

  Bella was about to ask him what the matter was, but Ned just threw her keys at her and gruffly told her to follow him. A couple of hours later, after dropping Bella’s car at the roadhouse, they set off on the final leg of the journey back to the river house in silence.

  Finally Bella couldn’t stand wondering why Ned was not speaking to her and asked, ‘Ned, stop giving me the silent treatment. What’s up?’

  Ned’s face flushed. ‘Well, Bella, when I went in to see her just now, Toni announced that you told her about Ashleigh and what happened,’ he said in a tense voice. ‘And now she says she hasn’t got anything to say to me. She won’t speak to me because of what you told her.’

  Bella shrank back, but then straightened up. ‘That’s rubbish! You should have told her yourself ages ago! And besides, I really didn’t mean to tell her. It just popped out,’ Bella replied defensively.

  ‘When I choose to tell Toni about my business is my decision! It wasn’t your place to tell her, Bell!’ said Ned, his face red with anger.

  ‘Oh?’ said Bella, her own colour rising. ‘And when were you going to tell her?’

  ‘When it was the right time. You shouldn’t have said anything.’

  ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Bella said impatiently. ‘Honestly, Ned, it’s your own fault. Honesty is the best policy, Ned. It’s never a good idea to keep a secret, at least not one as important as you and Ash. It would all have had to come out in the end, and avoiding telling Toni what happened only makes things worse, in my opinion. Good grief, Ned, you are such a procrastinator! You wouldn’t tell Toni about Ash, and you won’t make a decision about what you’re going to do next! What’s wrong with you?’

  ‘Oh? And what are your plans?’ Ned spat out the words. ‘What are you going to do about Brendan? The guy is obviously in love with you. You can’t leave him dangling forever, that isn’t fair.’

  Bella glared at him. ‘That’s different. My problems aren’t quite so immediate. I have options. What are yours?’

  Ned’s mouth tightened. ‘I’m not sure.’ He paused. ‘I don’t know what I can do. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot I can do.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ said Bella quietly. ‘I know I’ve only met Toni a couple of times, but I think she’s a terrific person. Really special. If you don’t do something soon –’

  ‘Dammit, Bella!’ Ned banged the steering wheel in frustration as he turned onto the track that led past the dam and down to the river house. ‘I’m not saying that she’s not, but let me sort my own life out. Please, Bella.’

  ‘Okay, Ned,’ said Bella. ‘But please don’t leave your decision too long, or it might be too late.’

  Ned didn’t respond. He just gripped the wheel and stared into the distance, frowning. Bella felt her irritation at him subside. In her mind she could hear Ned’s mellow voice and his haunting music, which always calmed her. He was a paradox, a musician capable of belting out rock songs or writing music that could both break and heal hearts. It occurred to her that perhaps the time Ned had spent here in this wild and lonely setting had been his own healing time. This was a place where he could confront demons and come to terms with where he was in his life and where he wanted to go with the musical talents he’d been given, but now, before he had found whatever it was that he was seeking, a new chapter of his life had begun: Toni and their baby. And on top of all of this, Bella had still not been able to persuade him to come home for their father’s ceremony.

  Bella watched the sunlight begin to fade and lose its brilliance as a faint grey scum crept across the blue of the sky.

  That evening, Ned made a couple of omelettes which he served with a salad, but they barely spoke as they ate their dinner. There was a distant rumble of thunder, the threatening growl of a gathering storm. Later, as she tidied the kitchen, Bella thought to herself that Ned had judged the food supply pretty well. There was not a lot left, which was just as well, as the two of them had finally decided that they would pack up pretty well straight away. She wasn’t sure quite what Ned would do after that, but she knew she had to go to Cairns and then back to Tennyson.

  As she settled into bed, she wished they hadn’t returned the Bish’s box, as she would have loved to have finished reading all of Sister Evangelista’s letters. Instead, she put on her earphones and listened to some of Ned’s songs on her iPod. As she lay there, she closed her eyes and let Ned’s voice soothe her to sleep.

  Suddenly she was wide awake. There was a blinding flash of light. Alarmed, she wondered what was happening. An almighty crash answered her question, a boom of thunder that seemed to fall upon the roof. She sat up, pulling the earplugs from her ears and flinging off her bedsheet. But before her feet had touched the floor there was another spearing flash of light that turned everything in the room silvery white. For a wild moment, she thought the bedroom might ignite in the blaze of brilliant luminosity. She started towards her window as another massive roll of thunder boomed around her.

  And then came the rain: a pounding torrent of water, as though falling from an enormous, ceaseless waterfall. Bella stood there transfixed, staring into the darkness as the world outside was suddenly intensely illuminated for a few seconds by another flash of lightning before disappearing behind the black curtain of rain.

  The wet had arrived.

  ‘Bell, are you okay?’ Ned appeared in the doorway and then joined her at the window as they both watched the powerful storm.

  ‘Yes. Who could sleep through this? Will it stop by morning?’

  ‘Hope so,’ said Ned. ‘Think of weeks of these storms. No wonder life changes in the rainy season. Our river will probably start to rise by tomorrow.’

  ‘We won’t get flooded in, will we?’

  ‘No, not for a while, I don’t think. Let’s go and watch this display from the living room. I wonder if the chickens are freaked out?’

  ‘They’re locked up, so they’ll be fine. You can’t go and check on them in this,’ said Bella.

  They settled into chairs in the dim living area off the billiard room and bar space, one small, dim lamp casting long shadows about the strangely cluttered room, and watched the amazing light show.

  ‘What time is it?’ asked Bella.

  ‘Bit after three. Wonder if we can get a photo of this lightning show?’

  ‘I think you’d need time lapse or something to get it properly. This is crazy stuff. Do you suppose any trees might come down on us?’

  ‘They could, I suppose. This storm is pretty fierce,’ said Ned. ‘But the trees around the house have been through it all before.’

  They watched for a few more moments, Bella still jumping slightly each time the thunder crashed over them.

  ‘It’s the lightning that’s scary,’ she said.

  Ned chuckled. ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’


  ‘Why not! Yes, thanks, that would be nice.’

  Ned got up and went to the kitchen. ‘Won’t take long to boil the kettle. I reckon the storm will pass soon.’

  They quietly sipped their mugs of tea as the weather raged outside. The rain showed no signs of easing up, although the thunder and lightning were becoming fainter as the storm moved away.

  Eventually Bella said, ‘I’ve been thinking. Perhaps I dreamed it. About your show. Musical. Opera. However it comes out. And I had an idea. Don’t laugh at it, but it’s been percolating in my mind for a little while now.’

  Ned looked up warily. ‘Yeah? Okay, what’s this idea?’

  ‘The hook you wanted . . . to be able to tell the stories of the far north. I think that the central narrative has to be told through a main character, someone the audience will fall in love with, but who’s also a part of the historical tapestry. Maybe it should be a real person.’

  Ned nodded slowly. ‘I’m with you so far, but who is this real person? Do you have any ideas about that?’

  ‘I do. She’s there in the pages of Sister Evangelista’s letters. She’s the person I mentioned yesterday, the singer I was asking the curator about. And I know about her too. I know where her roots sprang from and it’s all to do with music. She’s a perfect fit!’ said Bella triumphantly.

  ‘Who? Who are you talking about?’ Ned took a breath.

  So Bella went over what they knew about Atlanta, her time with Roberta’s family and then with the Pedersens, her schooling at St Mary’s and her career as a singer, and her eventual rise to fame as a beloved Queensland daughter.

  Ned stared at her, his expression hard to read. Finally he said, ‘I think you’ve come up with a wonderful idea that might just work.’

  ‘Think of the music, Ned!’ continued Bella enthusiastically. ‘The harmonising of the South Sea Islanders, the stamping and singing of northern Aborigines, the timpani of Chinese music, the Irish sea shanties, all the people that Sister Evangelista told us about in her letters.’

  ‘And not just that period of history,’ said Ned, and Bella felt a frisson of delight at hearing the eagerness in his voice. ‘Jack told me about the blues that was sung here during the war to entertain the troops. And we haven’t even got to the Italians, Yugoslavs or Greeks who migrated to this part of the world, bringing their own music with them.’ Ned’s eyes were bright, his smile wide. ‘Bella, how can I thank you? You’ve just pushed a button and a green light has come on! A lot of the music I’ve written already can easily be adapted to fit in with this idea, although the lyrics might have to be modified. Of course, I’ll need to do more research, but this is quite simply a fantastic suggestion. I know it will work.’

  Bella grinned. ‘You should meet Roberta. I’m sure she’ll be able to tell you more about Attie. And Miz Irene, in Cairns – she interviewed you for her radio programme, remember? She knows lots about the music here, especially jazz and the blues. Of course, you’ll have to put Sister Evangelista in the storyline, but you can write a song about anything or anyone. Ned, you’re a genius!’ Bella could hardly contain her excitement.

  Ned was shaking his head in wonder. ‘Oh, Bella. You’ve opened a door and given me so many ideas. I have a lot of thinking to do now.’

  ‘I suppose you do, but even I can see how the concept would work fabulously.’

  ‘I can see it, too. I get it. And I can also see that what’s before me is huge and daunting. Actually I think we might have come up with a few too many ideas. I think that my musical should just be about Attie. Her life seems to be just perfect for what I want to do. I really think I’ll try and concentrate on her.’

  ‘You can do it, Ned.’

  ‘Yes. I think I can.’ He spoke as though he was trying to suppress his jubilation.

  ‘Well then, Ned, why don’t you jump up and down and yell or something?’ exclaimed Bella. ‘I’m excited and I haven’t a clue what’s coming, but I know you have it in you to create something wonderful. That’s the trouble with you, always trying to be Mr Cool and not show your emotions.’

  Ned shook his head. ‘Maybe I don’t want to show them. People can misinterpret them and sometimes it’s best not to give the wrong impression. Better to keep things to yourself.’

  Bella frowned. ‘What the hell are you talking about, Ned? It’s me, Bella. Your sister. There’s nothing in the world you can’t tell me. You don’t have to pretend with me.’

  Ned was silent as he gazed out at the flashing storm.

  Bella looked at him and narrowed her eyes. ‘Is there something that you haven’t told me? Is it about Toni?’

  He shrugged. ‘Yeah, Toni. And Ashleigh. My whole life. Our family.’ He turned away. ‘Dad.’

  Bella felt a chill go through her. ‘Dad? What about Dad? I don’t get it. Ned, I so want to understand you, but I’m finding it very hard. So please, once and for all, will you tell me what your problem is?’

  11

  Ned looked out of his bedroom window at the dripping trees and sodden sky. Throwing on a pair of shorts, he went outside onto the top terrace and gazed at the river in the gloomy morning light.

  The river’s mood had swiftly changed. No longer was it a quiet, placid backwater, meandering its way gently past the house. Now it was a determined surge which was already lapping at the edge of the bottom garden. As Ned watched a branch rush by, he realised just how fast-flowing the river had become.

  Back in the kitchen, Bella was already making coffee.

  ‘No more swimming,’ announced Ned as cheerfully as he could. He wondered uneasily if Bella would again raise the subject of their father as she had done the night before, an ugly moment which had ended when he had refused to take the bait and she had flounced angrily off to bed. But as he smiled at her, she smiled calmly back and put a couple of pieces of bread into the toaster.

  ‘Oh, is it flooded after all the rain we had last night?’

  ‘Running a bit of a banker. Very fast, in fact. And it’s up to the edge of the bottom terrace already. We’ll have to start moving the furniture from there before it gets swept away. At least I’ve already put the canoes back in the shed, so we don’t have to worry about those. Are you up to rearranging Carlo’s garden furniture?’

  ‘Sure. Here, have some toast while I go and have a look outside.’

  Ned was munching toast and sipping coffee when Bella returned.

  ‘Geez, Ned. That’s amazing. All that water in just one night. You’re right, we’ll have to pack away Carlo’s tables and chairs before the river rises any further.’ She paused, a concerned expression on her face.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ he said.

  ‘I think we should start right now and go as soon as possible. I’m worried about that water; yesterday when we drove back I noticed all those tracks through the scrub and it registered that not all of them have been made by vehicles, or even wandering cattle. I’m sure that some of them are waterways created by the wet season floods. Ned, this whole area must become a sea. I don’t want to be marooned!’

  Ned swallowed his last mouthful of breakfast. ‘Yes, I agree, though I think we’d be all right for a few more days. But if you want to leave tomorrow, I’m sure we can manage that.’

  ‘Well, I feel it would be the safest thing to do.’ She looked at Ned. ‘It’s the end of a chapter, leaving this place. I mean, do you suppose you’ll ever come back here?’

  ‘To this house? Maybe. I’d like to meet Carlo one day. I’d like to thank him for his hospitality, although we could have done without those appalling men,’ said Ned ruefully.

  Bella nodded emphatically. ‘I suppose Frederick and Theresa will say something to him about the intruders, but unless Carlo actually knows them, he won’t be able to do anything, just like everyone else. I don’t think we’ll ever see them again,’ said Bella, a note of finality in her voice. ‘Anyway
, we’re moving on. At least, I am.’

  She drained her coffee and poured a refill. Ned watched her and, seeing her brows knit together, he could tell she was working up to saying something.

  ‘Ned . . .’

  ‘Mmm?’ For a second Ned thought she was about to bring up the subject of Alex again, and was relieved when instead she began to talk about his musical.

  ‘Have you thought more about what I suggested . . . about your show?’

  ‘Of course I have! I haven’t stopped thinking. It’s a brilliant idea, but daunting. Huge canvas. Big story, big music.’ He shook his head. ‘And imagine mounting such a show. Yes, Bella, I love your ideas, but realistically, perhaps I should simplify things, cut it down. Make it a smaller, more intimate story, perhaps . . .’ Ned saw Bella’s expression harden.

  ‘Why? Why not think big?’ she demanded.

  ‘The logistics. I’m restricted to a stage, not a cinema screen. And consider the budget . . . let alone trying to pitch such a huge show to a producer. Imagine the cost!’ exclaimed Ned.

  ‘Ned! For God’s sake,’ cut in Bella. ‘Stop limiting your imagination! You’re your own worst enemy! Write what you want. Picture it all on a big canvas, on stage or screen. Let others work out the logistics.’ She threw her hands in the air. ‘As I say, you need to think big!’

  Ned was silent for a few minutes. ‘I’m taking a huge leap from sitting on a stool singing a few songs, telling some stories, to creating a massive musical.’

  ‘Stop underrating yourself. You’ve had a very successful album. You’ve sung to several thousand people at concerts and festivals and had them enthralled. Music promoters still chase you because they love your music, Ned. You’re a storyteller in music and that’s what people want.’

  ‘I just feel overwhelmed about where to take the whole thing,’ began Ned.

  Bella banged her hand on the table. ‘Stop right there, Ned. You’ve let your anxieties get the better of you, and it has stifled your creativity. And you’re assuming that you have to do it all by yourself. Well, you can’t. I think you should just play to your strengths. You compose the music and write the lyrics, be the creative lynchpin of the whole project, but let others do the rest. A show like this has to be collaborative. You need to involve a whole team of other people to make it work: producers, arrangers, orchestral people, staging people, designers . . . the whole box and dice.’ Bella was becoming quite animated. ‘Maybe you should even make an album first, release some of your songs so that people will know the music before they see the show. It will all need a lot of promoting. But first it will be necessary to sell the concept of this idea to someone who is prepared to go with you, back you, someone who gets your idea and is knocked out by it.’