‘This simply isn’t good enough. Do none of you understand the gravity of what’s at stake?’
‘Yes, Miss Hattie, but . . .’
‘Uh-uh, Joseph.’ Hattie tapped the stick. ‘No interruptions. I will make this a success.’
Joey looked at Alice helplessly, but she had no answer. They all understood exactly what was at stake and they were doing their best. She just wasn’t sure their best was enough. They weren’t actors, clearly, and this kind of pressure wasn’t going to help. If she could get out of this ridiculous show she would. But no other brilliant ideas had fallen into her lap and, with the Hargraves only giving them another four weeks to come up with the money, there was nothing else she could do.
‘Hattie, everyone is really trying.’ She glared at her old friend, hoping she would see she was overstepping the line.
‘I know, I know.’ Hattie nodded. ‘I understand I’ve placed most of you in positions well beyond your comfort zone, but back when I trod the boards we were constantly pushing to do things we didn’t think we could and the results were always spectacular. Trust me, petals. We can do this. For the café, for our friends, for our town.’
There were a few murmurs of agreement.
‘I see potential in each of you and, if you follow me, I’ll lead you to theatrical greatness.’
‘I’d settle for not embarrassing myself,’ Clive muttered.
‘What was that?’ Hattie stepped forward, leaning on the walking stick.
‘Nothing.’
‘I thought not. Right, then. Let’s sort this debacle out and make some magic.’ She spun around, making sure her scarf floated behind her.
‘Clive, I need you to imagine you are back commanding your regiment.’ Clive looked instantly taller.
‘Claudine . . .’
Joey stepped up beside Alice. ‘Do you think we can do it?’ he asked.
‘The fundraising? I hope so. The performance is another matter. I think if we don’t give it our best, though, Hattie will use that stick for something other than emphasis.’
Joey nodded. ‘You know, we could always squeeze some extra rehearsals in.’
Alice tilted her head slightly.
‘I’m only thinking of our physical safety.’ He nodded towards Hattie waving the walking stick in front of Sergeant Carson, who wasn’t standing quite where he was supposed to be.
Alice liked it when Joey’s crooked mouth turned up like that. ‘We should probably concentrate on what our director wants us to do for now.’
‘For now.’ He winked and Fiona called him over.
He was a good man. The best. He deserved better than her. He deserved absolutely everything. Maybe Fiona could give him that.
‘I said from the top, Alice. Are you paying attention?’
Alice refocused. ‘Sorry, Hattie.’
Joey wagged his finger at Alice behind Hattie’s back in mock chastisement and Alice struggled to supress the laughter she could feel rising in her throat. But then he focused his attention back onto Fiona as they began to run lines, and Alice sighed.
Kookaburra Creek, 2004
y the end of two months’ running the cafe, Alice was serving around twenty people a day. Hattie took care of getting in supplies and popped in every lunchtime to make sure things were running smoothly. Alice had finally mastered the tuna burger and was slowly coming to terms with the spinach pie. But what gave her the most pleasure, what surprised her most, was how she felt whenever she got the patty tins out. Every morning the brass bell would clang as Alice entered the café and she would go straight to the kitchen and look up at Sylvia. Sylvia would tell Alice what flavour cupcake to bake and she’d get going. Before long she would enter The Silence. For those few blissful minutes each day as she mixed her cupcakes, Alice was carefree. No stress about how well or not she was doing in the café. No worry that Hattie would discover her secret. No pressure to decide what to do before it was too late to make a decision.
At the end of each day her feet were swollen to the point of not even resembling feet anymore. Hattie would often run her a much-needed bath. The guestroom at Hattie’s was small but comfortable, and every night Alice thanked the stars for Hattie’s kindness.
‘Today was busy,’ Hattie said as they walked along the creek path on their way home.
‘Yeah. Felt good, though.’ Out of the fifteen lunches she’d served, she’d only burned two.
‘You’re doing a fine job, I have to say.’ Hattie linked her arm with Alice’s as they approached the white wooden bridge that led back into town. ‘But how are you feeling?’
‘Why?’
‘I’ve noticed.’
‘Noticed what?’
‘How tired you get. And I heard you throwing up this morning. Again.’
‘Must have been the leftover fish pie.’ Panic filled Alice. Hattie knew.
Hattie stopped and took Alice’s hands. ‘Are you seriously trying to tell me you don’t know what’s going on?’
Alice shook her head. What would Hattie do? Throw her out?
‘Is there any chance, petal, that you might be . . . well, that you might be pregnant?’
‘What? No.’ Alice shook her head. ‘No. I’m not . . . I . . .’ She looked into Hattie’s grey eyes and found warmth. ‘Yes.’ She looked down. ‘I am.’
She burst into tears.
Later that night Alice sat on the end of her bed, her thoughts messy and incoherent. Hattie hadn’t said anything, just hugged her tightly a while and then gave her some space. Alice had been waiting all evening for the woman to come back and tell her to pack her things.
‘May I come in?’ Hattie pushed the door open, carrying a cup of tea. ‘I thought you could do with this.’
Why did people think tea cured everything? A broken heart? Have some tea. Failed your exams? Have some tea. Fall off a ladder? Have some tea. You’re eighteen, alone and pregnant? Have some tea. Alice shook her head.
‘There’s no delicate way to ask this, but do you, well, do you know who the father is?’
Alice nodded. It was a fair enough question, she supposed. Hattie knew nothing of Alice’s life before Kookaburra Creek.
‘Do you think you should tell him?’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m not even sure I’m going to . . .’ Alice couldn’t say the words out loud and in that moment she knew what her decision was.
‘Actually, I am. Do you want me to leave? Taking me on is one thing. Taking on a baby isn’t what you bargained for.’
Now that she knew she was keeping the baby, Hattie’s answer meant so much more.
‘Not what I bargained for? I’d hazard a guess it isn’t what you bargained for, either.’ Hattie looked down at Alice and smiled. ‘I’ve suspected for some time this might be the case. If I was going to throw you out, I’d have done so already. You can stay here till the baby’s born and then we’ll figure out what happens next.’
Alice smiled and threw her arms around Hattie’s neck. ‘Thank you.’
*
Alice was grateful Hattie hadn’t pressed the issue of the baby’s father at any point in the last month. Grateful the woman was giving her space to think. That’s all Alice had done for four weeks straight. She thought about the tiny life growing inside her, making her fatter and fatter. About how that tiny little thing would change everything.
She thought about Dean.
Alice sat by the creek under the little white bridge that crossed its width, watching the autumn leaves float on tiny ripples. It had been a long day in the café and she was exhausted. Her growing belly itched and she scratched it lightly. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the idea she was having a baby – four and a half months along and she still struggled with the concept. The news was out now. Everyone knew. So she needed to get used to it and quick.
‘Hey, Alice. How’s it going?’ Joey strolled up beside her.
‘Hey, Joey. Evening walk?’
He sat down next to her. ‘Yep. You?’
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‘Just taking some time out.’
‘Oh.’ He got up to leave. ‘Should I go?’
‘No.’ Alice smiled. ‘The change in company will be nice.’
Joey sat back down. ‘Hard day at the office?’
‘Let’s just say, as long as you’re not planning on quoting Bible verses to me about my sins,’ she rubbed her belly, ‘then you’ll be the best company I’ve had all day.’
‘Mrs Harris giving you grief?’
Alice sighed. ‘I get it. I’m an affront to her religious sensibilities. But if I upset her so much, can’t she just not come in to the café?’
‘What? And deprive herself the chance to prove her moral superiority? You’ve a lot to learn about the characters in this town.’ He laughed and so did Alice.
‘I guess so.’
‘Don’t let that meddling old biddy get to you. We’ve all been subject to her moral outrage at some point. Consider it a rite of passage.’
‘Okay, I will. How long is this rite going to last?’
‘Hmm.’ He scratched his chin. ‘Probably until the next time someone makes a moral blunder.’
‘Don’t suppose I can convince you to rob a bank or something? Take the heat off me?’
‘Sorry, Alice. While I like to think of myself as someone who’d do just about anything for a mate, I draw the line at getting on Mrs Harris’s bad side.’
Alice smiled. ‘Well, then maybe you can help me with something else?’
‘Anything.’
‘I’ve heard whispers in the café that Hattie is on some sort of drive for the dramatic society?’
‘Do you mean the recruitment drive?’
‘Yes. That’s it.’
Joey jumped up and held out his hands. ‘Run, Alice.’ A crooked smile spread across his face.
Alice took his hands and let him pull her up.
‘Save yourself and your unborn child while you still can.’
‘Surely it isn’t that bad.’
‘You haven’t met Hurricane Hattie yet. If she’s looking for new blood, no one is safe. I’ll have to get in first and put my name down for props.’
‘Really? There’s not a hidden Hugh Jackman in there somewhere?’ She poked him in the chest. ‘A shorter, Italian Hugh Jackman?’
Joey dropped to one knee and sang something really loud and really fast in Italian. It was hard to tell, with him making such a joke of it, but his voice wasn’t actually that bad.
‘Fine! You’re off the hook. What about me?’
‘Well, I’ve told you to run and you refuse to. So now you’re on your own.’
‘So, you won’t rob a bank for me, and you won’t save me from Hattie. What kind of a friend are you, then?’
‘The type that will walk you home?’ His eyes danced, his crooked smile quivered. He put his hand on his hip, inviting Alice to link her arm with his.
Together they crossed the bridge and headed into town.
‘I’m glad you’re not going to run,’ Joey said as they walked up High Street. ‘You make a pretty mean cupcake.’
‘Well, seeing as this is where I ran to, I’m not sure where else I’d go.’ Alice’s cheeks burned as she realised what she’d said.
‘What were you running from?’ Joey kept his eyes forward, his voice soft and calm, and Alice felt a sudden urge to open up to him.
‘My life. My dad . . . well, he was a drunk.’ She’d never said those words before. ‘He took off a little while back. Mum died when I was twelve. And there aren’t a lot of options for a pregnant teenager where I’m from.’
‘So you got the hell out of Dodge?’
‘Something like that.’
‘Well,’ Joey stopped and turned to face her, ‘in the interests of ensuring you don’t have to run again, and my own selfish cupcake addiction, I’ll see if I can run interference for you with Hattie and her recruitment drive. At least for this performance season, anyway.’
Alice laughed. ‘See. I knew there was a chivalrous soul in there somewhere. Now, about that bank heist . . .’
‘Will you bring me cupcakes when I’m locked up in the slammer?’
‘Of course.’
Joey put his arm around her shoulder and they continued up the road. ‘Then you might just have a deal.’
Balmain, 2004
fter three hours on the road Alice drove into Sydney. This wasn’t how she’d always imagined her first trip to the city would be, but little about her life right now was as she’d imagined. She still wasn’t convinced it was a good idea, but Hattie hadn’t exactly given her a choice.
‘Morning, petal.’ She’d given Alice a hug. ‘Should be a slow day today.’
Alice had nodded. The Glensdale Winter Show meant most of her regulars wouldn’t be in.
‘I believe I can handle things here. If you had something else to attend to.’ Hattie let the words linger a moment. ‘It’s a lovely day for a long drive, don’t you think?’
‘Hattie, no. I can’t go to Sydney.’
‘Why not? If you leave by lunch, you’ll make it before rush hour. It’s time.’ Hattie had handed her an envelope of money. ‘For petrol. If you decide to go, that is.’
Alice pulled into the narrow street and manoeuvred her car into a park a few doors down from his address. She waited, trying to summon the courage to step out of the car.
The door to Dean’s house opened.
She lifted the lock on the driver’s door and pulled the handle just as Dean wheeled out of his house. His hair was long, tucked behind his ears. His cheeks were plump, his eyes hard. Her heart started racing. There it was, right in front of her. Her future.
But she couldn’t get out of the car. She couldn’t move.
Dean’s eyes softened, ever so slightly, as a girl stepped out on the landing beside him, pushing the chair. Louise? What was she doing there?
Alice watched in shock as Louise bent down and kissed Dean. Not on his cheek, but on his lips. A long and slow kiss.
Together they moved down the path, Louise’s hand gently resting on Dean’s shoulder. Alice couldn’t believe what she saw. Eventually they vanished from sight, disappearing into the long afternoon shadows.
Alice opened the door just in time to vomit into the street. She wiped her mouth and stared ahead, tears soaking her cheeks. How could he do this to her? With Louise? How could he not know she’d find her way back to him?
Alice’s head was a mess of confusion. She knew she should drive after him. Demand an explanation. But who was she to make demands? She was six months pregnant with his baby and she’d never told him. She was in no position to make a claim. But, a little voice inside suggested, if she told him surely he’d come back to her. Or would he be furious? He was with someone else now, after all. He had moved on so quickly. Maybe he never really loved her in the first place. Maybe he would reject both Alice and his baby.
She sat, one hand on the steering wheel, one across her stomach, her eyes looking ahead but not seeing.
‘You okay, love?’ An old man tapped on her window and Alice turned to look at him. ‘Do you need help?’ he shouted.
Alice blinked. She nodded and started the engine. And then she pulled away from the curb. She pressed down on the accelerator and drove.
The traffic on the main roads was thick and she surrendered to the pulse of the cars around her, following whichever vehicle was in front of her. The blue hatchback turned left, so she turned left. The red sedan merged right, so she merged right. The roads straightened and the traffic thinned. Street lights flashed by her windscreen less frequently.
In the distance a low rolling rumble. Alice pushed her foot deeper onto the accelerator, following the sound of thunder.
Kookaburra Creek, 2018
oey? I’m surprised to see you here,’ Alice said as Joey entered the café at lunchtime. No Fiona. She smiled, but Joey didn’t smile back.
‘What’s wrong?’ Her heart start beating faster, and not in a good way.
�
�It’s Hattie. She’s had a fall.’
Alice dropped the coffee cups she was holding and they smashed as they hit the floor.
‘She’s been taken to Glensdale. I’ll help out here with Becca. You go.’
Alice looked at Becca, who’d just taken an order from Betty and her crew.
‘We’ll be fine,’ said Becca.
Alice made for the door, but Joey grabbed her wrist. ‘She’s a fighter – try not to worry.’
She nodded and ran out, the bell to the Kookaburra Creek Café ringing loudly as she left.
When she got to the hospital reception desk she asked the nurse where Hattie was and let out an audible sigh when the young woman told her Hattie was in room 203. If she had been seriously hurt they would’ve flown her to Sydney.
Even before she saw the number on the door, she knew she’d reached Hattie’s room. The doctor was cowering outside the door, pale-faced and hands shaking. A smile spread across her face as she approached.
‘Are you sure you want to go in there?’ the doctor asked.
Alice glanced at his name tag. ‘Don’t worry, Dr Kumar. She’s a softie underneath,’ she said, still grinning, but Dr Kumar didn’t look the least bit convinced. Alice leaned in and whispered, ‘Peanut brittle is her weakness.’
‘Right, then.’
‘How’s she doing?’
‘For a woman her age, well, she’s lucky she didn’t do more damage. I’d say, given how bossy she’s being, she’s in more pain than she’s letting on.’
‘Maybe.’ Alice smiled. ‘Though bossy is her natural state.’
‘What about rude? Is she normally rude?’
Alice frowned. ‘No.’
‘I’ve tried to give her something stronger for the pain, but she’s insisting she doesn’t need it. Maybe you can talk to her.’
‘I’ll try.’
Dr Kumar nodded and headed off in the direction of the Pink Lady gift shop at the entrance, which sold newspapers, crossword books, stuffed toys and delicious homemade peanut brittle.
The Kookaburra Creek Café Page 18
