Drowning in Her Eyes (21 page)

“Perhaps we can spend a little time with him,
” sugges
t
ed Jack
.
“
T
ake him to the movies or something
—
things his Dad might have done for him. I will be playing rugby this term. You could bring him with you.
”

“Oh, Jack you are so kind. I will see what I can arrange. Mom wants you to come to supper tonight. I think she might be
warming to you at last. She
'
s very grateful for all you
r
help.
”

That night Jack and Jimbo had a father
/
s
on type conve
r
sation over barbecued
spare ribs. Jack always delighted in the wonderful food Marci produced, so different to the m
o
notonous diet of mutton at home. He vowed he would make some changes to the menu once he was home for good.

They agreed to meet with Bernadette for coffee in the Union the next day. Jack kissed Susan in the presence of the family, earning a round of applause from Jimbo and a kno
w
ing smile from Sarah
before taking
his leave. Marci followed him to the car.
“Jack, Jimmy told me
about
your convers
a
tion. I know you love Susan, but I cannot go home without her. Thank you for all you have done, especially with James Junior. Just know I will never agree to you marrying Susan, not here
,
at least.
”

“I know that. We
'
ll just have to wait and see what ha
p
pens, won
't we? Thank you for supper and thank you for S
u
san
. I
'
ll never stop loving her.
”

Meanwhile, in a small o
f
fice in a five-
sided building in Washington DC, two four
-
star Generals and two Col
o
nels were making plans to place four more US
Combat Regiments on code yellow
and arrange transport to Clarke Field in the Phili
p
pines, not far from a small country in Indochina.

Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia
—1964

Paddy Riordan had decided to have a day in town. He felt it was time to catch up with old friends and his two brothers who also had properties nearby. He waved goodbye to Helen and drove off. In town, he met his brothers and se
v
eral friends around a lunch table in the Club Hotel. Talk soon turned to their properties. Most of them were approac
h
ing retirement age and they talked about what they were g
o
ing to do when the time came to relinquish control. Most had sons, mostly expected to inherit the land and carry on the business.
“They
'll need a good wife,
” said Reg Stevens,
“someone who knows the country and the business.
”

“How about your boy, Paddy?
” said Bob Turner.
“I heard he wanted to join the army.
”

“He did, but he isn
't going to now. I think he will be home in a year or two. He
's at uni in Armidale.
”

Reg said.
“He
's got a Yankee shelia, I heard.
”

“Yep,
” said Paddy,
“a real beauty.
”

“But will she be any good in the bush? Can she milk a cow or drive a Land Rover, or one of them new Jap ones, what are they?
”

“Land Cruisers.
”

“Yeah, that
's them, Land Cruisers.
”

“I suppose time will tell,
” said Paddy,
“I
'm off. See you, boys.
” Paddy went to the stores and picked up some prov
i
sions, a drum of oil, and a few bales of hay for the horses. He set off for home. As he rounded
a bend, he came face-
to-
face with a car on the wrong side of the road. Its driver wrenched the steering wheel to the left. The car started to slide in the loose gravel. The driver tried to counter the slide, but over corrected. The steering locked and the car slid into the drainage ditch alongside the road, rolled over a couple of times, and crashed into a towering box tree.

Paddy struggled to bring his Land Rover to an emerge
n
cy stop. The crashed car was smoking and one wheel was still spinning. He looked at the driver
's seat and saw a young woman, bleeding and apparently unconscious. He ran t
o
wards the wreck. The girl, for she could not have been more than sixteen, was out to it. There was a large gash on her right temple and she was bleeding profusely. He bent down and tried to open the door. It was jammed. He tugged at it ineffectually, straining against the lock. He could not budge it. He was beginning to breathe heavily from his exertions, and his chest began to hurt. Then he remember
ed the tools in the Land Rover.

He ran, stumbling now, back to the vehicle and retrieved a crow bar. He set off again in a shambling run. His chest was on fire, he could hardly breathe. Then he saw a lick of fire run from the engine compartment. He struggled on; the fire was gaining hold. Panting, feeling his legs begin to give out on him, Paddy summoned his dwindling strength and drove the chisel end of the crow bar into the space between frame and door, and levered with all his might.

The door gave, and then opened about half way. Paddy grabbed the girl
's arm and dragged her from the car. He kept dragging until they were well clear. He fell to his knees, clutching his left arm. The pain grew worse. It felt as if there was an enormous weight on his chest, forcing him into the ground. His vision blurred, and then there was nothing but a black silence. Unheard, the petrol tank of the car erupted with a dull thud. Twenty minutes later, one of their neig
h
bours found them.

Meanwhile, not far to the north, commandos of a small country in Indochina landed on two islands belonging to another small country in I
n
dochina to its north, destro
y
ing communication and mil
i
tary equipment. A destroyer of the US Navy provided su
p
port. About the same time, six de Havilland Caribou ai
r
craft of the Royal Australian Air Force touched down in a small country in Indochina
.

Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
—1964

Jack, Bob, and Mike had become firm friends,
‘good mates
'. Each Saturday they played rugby with varying levels of success. Jack was definitely not a star. He played in the second or third grade, his friends in the top grade. Neverth
e
less, he enjoyed it. Each weekend, Susan came along to watch. Mostly, she b
r
ought James Junior, now known un
i
versally as
‘Jimbo
'. The other members of the club treated him with remarkable kindness. Most of them had younger brothers at home who they missed. The girlfriends of the players adopted him and displayed a motherly attitude to him. They outfitted him with a rugby jersey, a knitted scarf, and a beanie, all in the green and white colours of Robb Co
l
lege. On the back of his je
rsey
they had embroidere
d
Mascot
.

After the games, there was usually a social held in one of the pubs for the visiting team. Many of their opponents were also friends, mates in the same classes, so there was a friendly rivalry between them. Jack had discovered his f
a
ther
's love of beer and enjoyed these functions. Always, S
u
san was at his side. This afternoon, he was surprised to see his Uncle Bill drive up in Lil
's green VW. As he walked over to greet him, he noted a serious look on his face. Bill said to Susan,
“Hello, Susan, can you give me a moment with Jack?
” He turned to Jack.
“I think we
'll sit in the car.
”

Bill gently broke the news of Paddy
's death. Susan, watching Jack, saw his face adopt a stunned look before it dissolved in grief. She rushed to the car and wrenched the door open. Jack turned a disbelieving, crumpled face to her and whispered,
“It
's Dad. He
's dead. Oh
,
God
,
Susan, what do I do now?
” He stumbled from the car into her arms. She cradled his head as he sobbed uncontrollably. She stared into the distance, seeing nothing, silent tears running down her cheeks, dripping down to the lush green grass of the rugby field.

Goondiwindi, Qld, Australia
—1964

St. Mary
's church filled to overflowing. Patrick Michael Riordan had been a well-
known and well-
loved member of his community. Hundreds had turned out to pay their r
e
spects. Helen looked around. The August sky wept a persi
s
tent drizzle, as though the heavens were mourning his pas
s
ing.
Oh, Paddy
, she thought,
if only you could see how many people loved you
. She had never seen so many men crying openly at a funeral. She watched as the casket began its journey from the church. His best friends carried him, his brothers, and Mick, and Ollie, tears streaming; al
l of them he would have called
good mates
.

She led her children out of the church, sobbing quietly, Jack stoic, his arm around Susan
's shoulders, and Denni cr
y
ing inconsolably. By the time they reached the cemetery, the rain had stopped. A few golden rays shone from the western sky, seemingly on to his grave.
How appropriate
, she thought.
All your life you lived by the weather, now at the end, after showing its grief, it is laying out for you a golden pathway to heaven. Go in peace, my darling
.
Thank you for your love, for my life, for Denni, for Jack. I know you will be looking down on us and
on Jack
's
little Yankee sheila
. I know how much you loved her
,
too, despite your brief a
c
quaintance
.