The House That Jack Built

by Patrick Ford

  As far as Jack was concerned, she would never know about those moments of terror as he searched the explosives for the firing mechanism. He took her in his arms, and kissed her. She responded with all her old passion, although it was hard getting close to him because of the baby. Jack hugged and kissed her for long minutes before he realised Jacqui was not there. “Where’s Jacqui?” he asked anxiously.

  “She’s with Duncan and Denni,” said Susan. We have something to do before we go there. She smiled her gorgeous smile, the one she kept for only him. “Come on, follow me, Major!”

  Jack was puzzled. What was going on here? Susan drove the long drive from the airport to the city, finally coming to a halt in the car park at the Mayfair Hotel.

  “You little minx!” he cried, “What a wonderful idea.”

  “Now,” she said, “before dinner we should treat ourselves to a wonderful hot bath.”

  Jack followed her to the room. He was feeling travel worn. He had not slept in a proper bed for almost four weeks. She turned to him. “Off with your clothes, Major. That’s an order.” He complied. She began to disrobe, smiling at him. “You’re going to think I have swallowed a watermelon.” she said, “Look.”

  He stood there gazing at her beautiful face, her elegant neck, and her perfect breasts, swollen now with impending motherhood. She was sensational. He moved to her and knelt before her, placing his head against her stomach. He could hear a tiny heartbeat, and feel a tiny movement. She placed her hands against his head. “That’s our baby boy,” she said, “he can’t wait to see his father.”

  They stood in the shower stall, soaping each other, kissing each other, washing away the dust and dirt of the Kimberley, and the ache of separation. He could not stop stroking her stomach. “I missed all this with Jacqui,” he said.

  “Come along, Major,” she said, “I have brought your best uniform with me. Let me show you off to the toffs of Brisbane, and, after dinner we will make love. It has been far too long.”

  “Are you sure? I mean…err…it won’t be very comfortable for you.”

  “Just you wait,” she said. She was true to her word. She caressed him, kissed him, and fondled him. He lay behind her and carefully entered her. It was wonderful. He tried to be very gentle with her, frightened he might harm the child. She said, “I am not made of glass, darling, you can do better than that.” He did. Afterwards, she said, “See, that wasn’t too hard, was it?” He laughed. “You should be pregnant all the time.”

  * * * *

  Jack and Susan arrived at the McGregor’s for breakfast. Jacqui ran to him. “Daddy,” she cried, “You are in the newspaper. They said you were very brave.” He picked her up and kissed her. “I was just lucky, darling. I had lots of good men to help me.”

  The talk moved to domestic issues. Duncan had taken up his new position; he was very happy so far. Denni broke the news that she was pregnant as well. “How lovely,” cried Susan, “an Easter baby. You must be very happy.”

  “Not as much as you,” said Denni. “You were positively dripping with happiness when you came through that door!”

  * * * *

  Jack and Susan jumped into the old Land Rover as usual and went for an inspection of Ballinrobe. The property looked magnificent. The wheat crop stretched for miles, tall and ripening. The heads were filling four and five grains wide, a sure sign of a bumper crop. The little wheels in Jack’s head were calculating yield, price and the needs for the forthcoming harvest, men, machines, trucks. The weaners looked in good shape. In a week or so most of them would be sold. Some of the heifers would be retained as replacement breeders, but the rest would bring a good price. It looked like a bumper year.

  They stopped at the thinking place. Jack had been away almost a month. He sat in silence as the wind in the trees washed over him. There was an extraordinary feeling of peace here.

  Susan snuggled up to him, took his hand and placed it on her belly. He could feel the baby kick, as if sending a signal that he knew this place to which his spirit was bound. He kissed her there, where they had made love, where their spirits communed with the land. She responded, kissing him fiercely. “My little bush kid,” she said, “I love you so. I will never find another like you. We will love each other until we die.” The mynahs came, great crowds of them, calling in joy and triumph. ‘Welcome,’ they seemed to say, ‘welcome to our home. The world seemed such a wonderful place.

  Four weeks later, the harvest commenced. This was a time of frantic activity. As the harvesters reaped the grain, it was loaded into trucks and bins, and then transported to the farm silos or to the large silos of the marketing agency in town. While ever the weather held, they worked day and night to bring in the crop. Rain on ripe wheat could cause a sharp drop in grain quality. While the harvest was in progress, Helen and Susan produced endless mounds of sandwiches and gallons of tea and coffee. Susan worked on the two way radios that were now common, coordinating the trucks needed to carry away the grain.

  In two weeks, the harvest was completed. As Jack had thought, this was the best crop he had ever grown, more than exceeding his expectations. Now they would have a good cash reserve to help in the bad years. There were some of those to come. Nothing is more certain in agriculture than uncertainty. After the harvest, it was the usual practice to hold a party in the garden for all those who had helped and their families. It was a great party this year!

  * * * *

  The farm grew quiet and activity ceased. They had worked hard, night and day to complete the harvest. Now they all took a week to rest. Jack took the opportunity to spend time with Jacqui. He followed her on her animal rounds, admiring the ‘chooks’, helping her search for eggs. They spent some time with the dogs. Helen had presented Jacqui with a red kelpie puppy. She called him ‘Tom’. She would learn how to care for him and train him, with help from all the adults. Finally, he took her to the stockyards and began to teach her how to ride a horse.

  Susan was growing bigger by the hour. Jack loved to listen to the little heartbeat, stronger now. Susan proclaimed that she had a football player, the way he could kick. One morning early, towards the end of October, Susan woke Jack. It was just daylight. “He’s coming,” she said, gripping his hand as a contraction rolled through her belly. They were well prepared for this moment, bags packed and plans put in place. While Jack loaded her into the car, Helen phoned the hospital and doctor. In thirty minutes, she was in the maternity ward. Now all they had to do was wait. The hard work was up to Susan.

  It took three hours, and then a nurse came to them and said, “Well done Mister Riordan, you have a healthy son!” Patrick James Riordan came into the world on the last day of October 1968. Jack, Helen and Jacqui looked down at the tiny red-faced bundle suckling at Susan’s breast with great gusto. “Look, Helen,” said Jacqui. “He’s very hungry.”

  Jack looked at his son. Now he knew how Paddy had felt when he was born. Now he had a son to carry on the farm and the family. He felt exalted, fulfilled. He looked at Susan, the producer of this little miracle, and he thought his heart would burst with love.

  Patrick James was still feeding hungrily. Helen said to Jacqui, “We should go now. Mummy will have to sleep soon. It is very tiring having a baby.” Jacqui kissed her mother, her little brother and Jack. “See you tomorrow, Patrick.”

  Susan switched Patrick to the other breast. “Well. My darling husband, what do you think of this little fellow? He has your dark hair and it seems he will have green eyes too. You have left your mark, Mister Riordan.”

  “He is the best thing to happen to me since Jacqui. Now I will have the good fortune to see him grow from the first day. I love you so much, Susan.” He sat with her for a while until a nurse came in to take the baby back to the nursery. Susan’s eyes kept closing. Jack kissed her, watched her drift away to sleep, then he settled down beside her and waited for the dawn.

  Christmas Day

  Ballinrobe

  Susan held two month-old Patrick while Jacqui pl
ayed with Grace, now crawling everywhere. Denni was in the bloom of her pregnancy. Jack looked at them all, then at his mother. “Helen,” he said, “You are the glue that holds us together. How fortunate we are to have our whole family here. What a pity Susan’s family could not be here. Let us raise a glass for them.”

  * * * *

  It had been a better year for the Baker family. Sarah had been as good as her word. She had stopped drinking. It had been difficult, but she persisted, using the help of Alcoholics Anonymous when she needed to. Now she was free of her addiction, and feeling much better for it. She had completed Business School and had a good job as administrator of the Kindergarten attended by her boys. Sarah’s twins were now age two. They were lively little dark-haired boys and proved to be quite a handful for her on her own. Their Uncle Jimbo visited from time to time. He was still at Fort Benning, Georgia—a long way to travel.

  Her mother Marci had been in care for her mental condition, but now pronounced healed despite still battling depression. Christmas was going to be better this year. Marci would be coming home to stay. Jimbo had a month’s furlough and was planning on a white Christmas in Worcester. Sarah had met a nice man through AA, a divorcee with a child of his own, and they had been moving towards a permanent relationship. It was not certain yet, but it looked promising for her. Marci had regained much of her old cheerful self as she had been in Australia before her husband died. She missed Susan, but was in constant communication with her. Susan kept her up to date with Jacqui’s progress and she was thrilled to hear about Patrick James.

  However, the best news was yet to come. Upon her husband’s death she had inherited a large block of stock in Worcester Electronic, the company that had employed her husband. Two years ago, Worcester Electronic had entered Chapter Eleven bankruptcy proceedings, and Marci’s stock, valued at $400,000, fell to almost nothing. Marci had struggled financially, but yesterday in the mail had come a letter advising her that Worcester Electronic, now released from bankruptcy, had been trading profitably for some months. Marci’s stock was worth something again! She had recovered about half her losses.

  At last, the family could forget about money worries. Sarah was pleased. Perhaps she could go back to Australia after all!

  * * * *

  The season had turned at Ballinrobe. After good summer rains, the normal fine, clear autumn weather appeared. Jack sold his five-year-old cows and had been planning to purchase some steers. Each winter he planted oats to fatten cattle.

  It was time to kill two birds with one stone. The previously discussed land and buildings for the Bushmen’s Rifles had become available in Roma. Jack would travel there to meet with his RSM, now WO First Class McGuire, to discuss the setup of their headquarters. At the same time, he could attend the cattle sale and join Andy McGuire for dinner with his wife. Helen offered to look after Jacqui and Patrick. “Have a couple of days to yourself,” she had said to Susan. “You deserve a break.”

  Susan had weaned Patrick a few weeks ago, and while she was reluctant to leave him, could not resist a chance to have Jack entirely to herself for a few days. They left early on a Tuesday morning. Andy had arranged to have a day off on Wednesday. His wife Elizabeth would meet them at the sale yards and take Susan into town for a look at the shops and other sights. They would all meet for lunch when the sale concluded. By the time Jack had arranged trucks for his purchases and notified Ballinrobe of their arrival later that evening, it was time for lunch.

  Lunch was a steak and salad at one of the pubs. Andy arrived a little late. “I’m sorry. The exploration business is ramping up out here.” he said, "I’m as busy as a one armed paper hanger.”

  Elizabeth was a small, pretty blonde. She was a nurse at the local hospital and was between shifts. She was a likeable young woman, but if she had a fault, it was her desire to talk non-stop. Paddy would have said, “She likes a yarn.”

  Andy said, “I’ve teed it up with the Shire Council. They own the land, but will lease it to the army long term. If you go to their offices across the street, someone will give you the keys and you can have a dekko this arvo. Then tomorrow we can give it the once over.”

  Jack had booked a motel for the night. “Do you want to come with me tomorrow, darling?”

  “Sure,” said Susan. “Since the army vies with me for your affection, it might be nice to get to know the enemy a little better.” She gave him his exclusive smile. She was joking; she knew how much he loved her.

  The proposed depot was about half a mile from the town’s boundary, situated on a flat area of land, about three acres in all. There was plenty of room for a parade ground and even an obstacle course. There were two buildings. One was a large old aircraft hangar left over from World War Two; the other was a smaller office building. There was a strong, high, Cyclone fence around the whole perimeter.

  They opened the gate and drove to the buildings. Jack pushed open one of the large hangar doors. It resisted a little and shrieked in protest. He looked up at the tracks for the runners. Nothing a liberal application of grease won’t fix, he thought.

  The interior was cavernous. The concrete floor was still level, although oil-stained and cracked in places. Glass panels high in the walls and roof let in plenty of light. Couldn’t be better, he thought. I’ll bet the Yanks built this. The American engineers had a bulletproof reputation when it came to construction.

  The smaller building had at one time been some kind of watchman’s accommodation. There was a bedroom and bathroom in the back, two offices, and a lobby with space for a desk and filing cabinets and a reception counter. Again, it was a well-built structure, and it would give good service for years to come. Jack had seen enough. He would delve into the details with Andy tomorrow.

  “Susan, my love, we have the rest of the day. What would you like to do?”

  “Let’s go for a drive around town. I’m sure there is plenty to see. Then we can go to our motel. I will need a rest before dinner tonight. Besides, one should never accept a room before trying out the bed.” She had a wicked gleam in her eye.

  Later, in the warm afterglow of their loving, they lay together, Susan against Jack’s side, her head on his shoulder. From time to time, she nuzzled into his neck, nibbling his ear and delivering light kisses. It was most distracting. Jack said, “Do you think we will ever get sick of this?”

  “Sure,” she replied, “but we will be dead by then.”

  “What about more babies? Do you want to go through another pregnancy?”

  “Both mine have been not so bad, unlike Sarah,” she said. “She had a bad time with the twins. Mom was in a bad state then. I don’t think that helped.”

  “Well,” he said, “you wouldn’t have to worry about Helen. She’ll take all the grandkids she can get.”

  “We will just have to see what happens, my little bush kid, but I think I could stand one more little Riordan…or two…or…”

  He kissed her, stroking her back and buttocks. “Do you know you have the most beautiful bottom in the whole world?” he said.

  “You can play with it later. Now we have to get ready to go, and we will shower separately, thank you. If we get into that shower together we may not make dinner.”

  Andy and Liz were waiting. With them was a red-headed boy of about eight years old. “This is my boy, Timmy,” said Andy. Jack had not known Andy had children. Andy expanded on the subject. “I got married when I was very young,” he said, “But my wife, Timmy’s mother, got involved with the anti-war movement. As soon as I shipped out for Vietnam, she left Timmy with my mother, emptied our bank account and shot through. I haven’t seen her since.”

  Susan knew something about the life of a single parent. “Oh, Andy, that is awful!”

  Liz said, “No. It was the best thing that could have happened to me and Timmy. I don’t have her phone number, but if I did, I’d call her twice a day to thank her.”

  “Amen to that!” Andy said.

  Dinner was a cheerful affair. Jack ha
d no qualms about socialising with the other ranks. His father had taught him that money and status had no value when judging another man’s character. “There are rich pricks and poor pricks,” Paddy had said. “They’re not pricks because they are rich or poor; they’re pricks because they’re pricks!” Besides, these men had served in Vietnam. They were brothers and always would be. Jack had no concerns that Andy would take advantage of their friendship. On the parade ground, it would always be CO and RSM.

  They made it an early night. Susan and Jack had a long drive on the morrow. Jack and Andy arranged to meet at the depot at nine o’clock. As they entered the motel room, Susan said, “I’m not so sure about that bed. I think we should test it again.” She disappeared into the bathroom. When she reappeared, she was wearing only a negligee, a vision of beauty, all white satin and lace. He stood and looked at her. God, he thought, she is so beautiful. I have loved her from the moment I first saw her, when I first became lost in her eyes. How lucky I am.

  She moved to him and began to remove his clothes. She kissed him all the way down his chest. He drew her to him and they embraced, moulded to each other, drawing in the scent of each other, breathing away the years of separation and sadness, inhaling the now, the blissful times that would last forever. Their lovemaking was slow, delicious and satisfying. For hours, they pleasured each other, never able to get enough of each other.

  Sleep came to them, deep and refreshing. At seven in the morning, Jack woke with a start. There was a naked woman in his bed, kissing his eyes. “I’m still not sure about this bed,” she said. “Maybe we should try it again.” He managed to talk her out of it.

  Jack left Susan to enjoy her breakfast and exclusive use of the luxury bathroom while he met Andy at the depot. They looked it over with professional eyes, an objective opinion needed.

  “We will have to get some barbed wire on the top of that fence,” Andy said. “The local vandals will have no trouble with it as it is.”