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‘Safe as houses. I used to climb up here when I was a lad and daydream. I used to sit on this very branch and now it’s supporting both of us – it’s as strong as ever.’
‘And what did you daydream about?’
‘About the world out there, how big it was and how much I wanted to see it. But now, as I sit here, I realise life was simple and good here.’
She sighed happily. ‘I can see why.’
‘Can you?’
She smiled. ‘Listen.’
He did, waiting for her to explain.
‘I can’t hear much above the rustle of the leaves, that bird over there making a racket and the soft breeze.’ She frowned. ‘If I really concentrate, I can hear something clanging gently on metal.’
‘That’s at the railway track.’ He grinned. ‘Probably some ties come loose at the siding; nothing to worry about.’
‘My point is, everything is so still and quiet that I can hear a single bird’s song. I grew up around constant noise, I now realise. The port was always heaving with people and ships, trucks and animals, machinery that lifted things or pushed things or moved things. I’ve never really thought about it until now. Men were always shouting or whistling to get each other’s attention and then there were the ships themselves; their foghorns announcing their arrival or farewelling Adelaide. The sound of the sea, the sound of the traffic, the sound of people going about their lives. I have never, ever known such tranquil surrounds as I do right at this moment. I can hear myself breathe.’
‘You’re right, but it was lonely growing up in this. You have to get lost in your own imagination.’
‘But that’s why you can think things through so clearly. You know how to disappear into your thoughts and weigh everything up swiftly.’ She smiled. ‘Plus, the scenery is breathtaking,’ she said and it wasn’t the desert before her that she was referring to. Her mind was still swollen with vivid images of the grand range of mountains that the train had cut through to bring her here. The Flinders, as Tom referred to them, had mesmerised her and John had sensed that she didn’t wish to talk while they watched their majesty, even as dark shadows in the night.
Out here with this big sky, the horizon seemed to burn golden while the weight of darkness still hung heavy above. Then the sky behind the shadowy clouds began to lighten, like heaven was waking up, stretching and switching on the lights. And with each yawn and stretch of the souls she liked to believe lived there, areas of the sky flashed white, their luminosity breaking through the cloudy blanket. In the east she watched the horizon’s cauldron begin to simmer with copper light that continued to change as it broadened its reach into a fresh golden promise of a new day. Mild warmth chased away the night clouds and cleared the sky for morning’s sun to make its ascent. In awe, Fleur watched as daylight stippled the craggy summits of the ranges with a golden burnish that soon became long sweeps of colour, picking out the faces of the rocks against their still purple and brooding depths. The rocks turned red and then bronze until they finally gave way as the Ghan snaked from the clasp of the mountains’ jagged peaks to emerge fully into the great outback of South Australia, where the rusted earth stretched for as far as she could see.
She threw out her arms and repeated her word. ‘Breathtaking!’
Tom caught one of her arms. ‘Be careful.’
‘Oh, don’t fret. My body knows how to carry a child like every pregnant woman who has gone before me.’
‘Yes, but none of them were carrying our child,’ Tom pointed out in an arch tone.
Fleur leaned into him. ‘It is exciting, when I’m not feeling nauseated. I told Claire Wren I was having a baby.’
He gave her a look of surprise. ‘Before me?’
She grinned sadly. ‘I had to tell someone and you’d run out on me.’ Before he could object, she kissed him. ‘You know I don’t mean that, but I was bursting and there’s just something about her. She has a wisdom that I appreciate.’
‘She’s a nurse; she’s seen a lot.’
‘Yes, but it’s more than that. I think Claire celebrates life. Losing Alfie must have been so hard and yet, in all that sorrow, she somehow found time for her other children, time for Jamie . . . time to feel pleasure in my news. A kind of balance, so I felt joyous, not hesitant in sharing it.
‘I’ve learned that she was stationed in the Middle East during the war and then she volunteered to go to the frontline in France with artillery dropping all around her. She didn’t care – she’d lost faith in life for a while because she’d believed Jamie dead. She told me she found her way back through the friendship of a former enemy, believe it or not – I can’t wait to hear the whole story. Something to do with a Turkish scholar in Istanbul, who was very kind to her at a time when she felt so alone and without a compass. His compassion and companionship brought her back from a dark place, and then she found Jamie again. Theirs is a magnificently romantic tale, and I think Claire just knows to look for and hold on tight to all the good bits.’
Tom nudged her. ‘I think our story is romantic too, given we first kissed when you were eight and then we were separated for two decades.’
She gave him a soft, playful shove in return. ‘Ours is, you’re right, especially in spite of people trying to keep us apart.’
‘And now you’re Mrs Catchlove.’
She nodded. ‘Never been happier either. I decided as I woke up to this beautiful morning that I’m going to call the new business Appleby & Catchlove.’
‘Catchy,’ he admitted, his dry tone making her laugh.
‘Seriously, though, it has a rhythmic elegance and it keeps the memory of my father strong, all the way back through the Appleby men who pioneered the funeral business. But it starts the new era.’ She placed a hand on her belly. ‘Maybe this little Catchlove in here might follow and take on a role in the company.’
‘Fleur, I think it’s perfect, and I’m proud to be part of it.’
