The Golden Land (14 page)

‘He loves it. He enjoys the company of your little ones. I do hope you'll be able to help us with our information day. I'll email you the details.'

‘Please do that, Thi, but I'd better go now. The children will be ready for lunch. It's been a very emotional morning. Mi Mi's so brave. What a life she's led! I suppose she couldn't be more than ten years older than me,' said Natalie.

‘Yes. She's one of many Burmese who have led extraordinary lives. You know, we are thankful and happy to live in Australia but it's hard to enjoy such a privileged life when you know how those back home are suffering. We all try to do our bit. So we'll see you at the information day?'

‘What will happen there?'

‘We want the rest of the world to understand the courageous fight that the people of Burma are quietly putting up under a cruel regime. We will talk to people and hand out brochures. We are trying to show our support for Burma and for The Lady, Aung San Suu Kyi. She will know about our work, and be grateful that we are trying to raise awareness of the plight of her country and its people. She has set an example that we all should follow.'

‘Where are we meeting?'

‘The main booth is at Pacific Fair shopping centre but there'll be stands at other places. I'll let you know the final details. Thank you so much for popping in. See you soon.'

The children skipped beside Natalie as she walked back to the car.

‘When are we going to see Uncle Thomas again?' asked Charlotte.

‘Soon. Why did you like him so much?' Natalie said smiling.

‘He's funny. And he has a smiley face,' declared Charlotte.

‘Yes, he has, hasn't he,' said Natalie as she lifted Adam into his car seat. She wondered what Thomas's story might be. All the Burmese people she'd met so far seemed so warm-hearted and yet having met Mi Mi, she was beginning to realise that many had suffered and they lived with the pain that they might never see their families again.

Natalie dragged the wet hand towel off her forehead and groaned as she slid her legs off the bed and onto the floor. She'd heard a crash followed by a despairing wail from Charlotte and a frustrated scream from Adam. She propelled herself from where she had been resting, and she staggered into the living room.

‘What's going on here? You're supposed to be playing in your room, Charlotte. Adam, you were having a nap. What's all this?' Natalie surveyed the crayons, paint box, paper and spilled water.

‘He's spoiled my painting!' cried Charlotte in dismay as she tried to grab her painting away from Adam's destructive grip.

‘Meee,' wailed Adam and lunged for the paintbrush.

‘Stop that,' said Natalie firmly. ‘Mummy isn't well. You promised me you'd both be good and play quietly.'

‘I was good, Mummy. But Adam got up and took my picture for Daddy!'

Natalie wrenched Charlotte's picture from Adam's grasp and admonished him as Charlotte broke into fresh sobs. When peace was finally restored, Natalie poured herself a glass of water and picked up the phone.

‘Hi, it's me. Jodie, I'm at my wits' end with these two,' said Natalie. ‘It's not their fault. They're bored and I'm feeling sick as a dog. I know it's Saturday and your day off, but could they go to your place and play with your two for an hour or so? If I don't get some sleep, I'm going to fall over. I was up half the night with Adam because he's got a tooth coming through.'

Ten minutes later Natalie opened the door and Jodie bustled in.

‘You look awful, Nat. So pale. Have you seen a doctor?'

‘No, Jodie, I'm just feeling a bit queasy. I never felt like this when I was pregnant with the other two. I haven't had much sleep, either. The kids are on different schedules now so I don't get that break in the day when they used to nap at the same time. And Adam is becoming so naughty. Teases and torments Charlotte like crazy.'

‘You monkey,' said Jodie, as Adam gave her a beatific smile. ‘C'mon, grab your things, kids, let's go. We're all going to the aquarium.'

‘Yay!' cried Charlotte as Adam looked dubious.

‘Can you manage them all?' asked Natalie.

‘Nat, I can manage four children. Mum is with us. She'll help. See you in a couple of hours. Have a rest. I'll feed them with my lot, so you don't have to worry. See you later and take it easy, Nat.'

‘You're such a good friend, Jodie,' Natalie said sighing. ‘I hope I get over this nausea soon.'

‘Promise me you'll rest. No fiddling with odd jobs.'

‘Believe me, I'm going to crash,' said Natalie as the kids headed for the door with Jodie, who had them outside before Adam realised that Natalie wasn't going with them.

That evening, feeling refreshed after her break, the children in bed, she called Mark.

‘They were pooped, Mark, I couldn't keep them up until you'd finished work, but they can't wait to tell you about their visit to the aquarium. Jodie is such a trouper.'

‘Are you feeling any better?'

‘Yes. But this baby is tiring me out more than my other pregnancies did.'

‘You didn't have two toddlers during the other pregnancies,' said Mark logically.

Natalie didn't add that she hadn't had to manage on her own, either.

After saying goodnight to Mark, Natalie sat in what she hoped would be the new nursery and took out her notebook. She sketched where she wanted the new partition and window to be, as well as the play area. She hesitated over the colour scheme of the nursery, wondering if she should wait until she knew the sex of the baby. She and Mark had never asked about the other two, preferring to be surprised, and caring only that they were healthy. Maybe this time it would be nice to know in advance so that she could prepare the nursery accordingly.

She and Mark would definitely have to sit down and work out a schedule for the renovations on his next trip home. She was adjusting to the idea of a new baby and, despite the initial morning sickness, she was feeling warm and fuzzy about its impending arrival. They had to finish the nursery before it came and the extra expense of fixing the bathroom concerned her.

Natalie decided to ask their friend Geoff to draw up the plans as soon as possible. That would be one positive step. Why wait? she thought. She knew exactly what she wanted. They'd have to figure out if they could do the work in stages or all at once.

Feeling slighter better, Natalie headed to bed. She was getting used to having the bed all to herself, she had to admit. Spreading across it on a comfortable diagonal, listening to the radio, reading, falling asleep sometimes with the light and music on – these treats were not available to her when Mark was home.

The following evening after the kids went to bed, Natalie was tidying the clutter on her desk when her eye fell on the kammavaca box. Why not ask the expert, Peter Michaelson, whom Adele Simpson had recommended? She rescued the piece of paper Adele had given her, spread out a plain dark cloth on the kitchen table, and unrolled the kammavaca. She took a couple of photos and uploaded them to her computer. She composed an accompanying email explaining the story of her great-great-uncle Andrew and how she wished to know more about this piece, and, in passing, what its value might be, stressing that she was not trying to sell it but was simply curious. She sent off the email and packed up the kammavaca and headed off to bed.

N
ATALIE WAS CURLED UP
on her beautifully renovated armchair watching TV and thinking she should do some ironing, but with Mark away it didn't seem so urgent. The phone rang and she was surprised to hear Mark's loving voice.

‘I know it's late and I'm sorry I missed saying goodnight to the kids, but there was a safety meeting on. I've been speaking to Brad, he's new to the mine and a bit of a mate, and he's dead keen to come back home with me for the week.'

‘Oh, Mark, I don't know that we're ready to cope with visitors,' said Natalie. ‘The house is so disorganised. The biggest problem is not having the big bathroom working. Your friend would have to share our ensuite!'

‘It's not that bad, sweetie. Brad's used to roughing it. Before he came to Queensland he was mining out in the Pilbara. You should hear what he's told me about work out there!'

‘Didn't he like it?'

‘He'll tell you. Got fed up with the mining town where he was working even though he was a FIFO. We'll get in about two tomorrow. Don't worry about dinner. We can get takeaway. Brad's pretty easygoing.'

‘It'll be good to meet him. But have you told him about the mess our house is in?' asked Natalie.

‘He doesn't care. He's never been to Surfers. He just wants me to show him around the Gold Coast. I promise, you'll enjoy his company. What have you been up to? How's that little bub coming along?'

‘Fine, I guess. I made a doctor's appointment for this week, so you can come along.'

‘That'll be something to look forward to. Everything else okay?'

She could tell that Mark was tired, so she didn't want to go into the details of what the children had been up to. That could wait until he came home.

‘Yes, thanks. But god I'm tired. Your children keep me busy! I'm off to bed. The kids are so anxious to see you. They have a pile of things to show you; they're looking forward to you coming home. They miss you heaps when you go. They just get used to having you around and you're gone again. I'm sure Brad will understand how they want to spend time with you,' said Natalie.

‘Of course. I miss them, too. But they'll get a kick out of Brad, he's a livewire,' said Mark.

‘I'm glad you've got a friend up there and I'm looking forward to meeting him. Sleep tight, darling.'

Brad radiated energy, if somewhat frenetically. He had ginger hair, fair eyebrows and reddish-gold stubble on his sunburnt face. He bounced into the family room to join Natalie and Mark. Charlotte had already shown him to his bedroom and then had invited him to have a look at her dolls' house.

‘I've checked out the accommodation for the prince and the fairy,' he laughed. ‘My room is great. Really terrific place you got here. Great to be right on the water. Fantastic position. Just look at that view! I love seeing water. You can't believe the dust in the Pilbara. The red dirt is like fine powder and if it ever rains it gets as thick as glue. Stains your gear, too. You never get it out of your clothes. You seen pictures of the joint?'

‘The photos Mark showed me had gardens and some nice buildings—' began Natalie but Brad interjected.

‘Not that plush watering hole they call a camp where I work now! I was talking about the Pilbara!'

‘Oh, right, well yes. I have seen photos of the Pilbara . . . Wasn't there Aboriginal rock art over there that got moved for the mining?'

‘Yeah. Though that all happened before I got there. But, look, if you find a picture of a lizard scratched on a boulder when you're driving a bloody big excavator, you're not going to stop and move the thing. You're flat out chewing through what you can in your shift, without stopping all the time for some old art.'

Natalie changed the subject. ‘Were you living in a camp out there, too?'

‘I started out at the mine site but it was pretty rough, so I moved into a house in town with some other blokes. But the cost of living there was through the roof. The locals might complain about the way their town is changing, so many blokes living there or flying in and out, but they take advantage of the conditions, too. Rents are sky high. A hamburger is double what you'd pay in Broome or Perth. But a lot of the shops are closing down.'

‘Why is that, if there's all that money sloshing around?' asked Natalie.

‘A lot of people move away. People can sell their house for triple or even quadruple what they originally paid. They'll never see gains like that again. Can you blame them? Still, a lot of them moan that mining has trashed their community! You just can't please everyone!'

‘Why did you decide to come to Queensland?' asked Natalie.

‘You can only take that climate for so long. And I wanted a change. See what things are like this side of the country.' He shrugged. ‘Money's just as good and I reckon that the conditions are better, too, at least out where Mark and I are. And I reckon I'd better do something with me money, so I'm thinking of buying a unit in one of the high-rises here. Mark is going to show me around.'

‘Tomorrow. If you haven't got anything planned, Nat?' said Mark, coming from the kitchen with two fresh beers.

‘I was thinking of a picnic at the beach with the kids. There's that spot with that lovely kids' pool. And you two could surf,' said Natalie quickly.

‘Not me, mate! I'm no surfer dude. Don't worry, I'll check out some other things, you hang with the kids,' said Brad cheerfully.

‘I'll drop you down at Main Beach and point out where we'll be. You can join us later, if you want,' offered Mark.

‘Yeah, that would be great, thanks.'

Mark and Natalie held hands, watching their children run along the water's edge in the dribbling wavelets. Everywhere there seemed to be people, walking, jogging, throwing a ball for a dog or playing in the water.

‘It's so nice and safe for the kids here. If you don't look behind us, we could be on a tropical island,' said Natalie.

‘Except that the swaying coconut palms are highrise apartments,' said Mark.

‘I know. And it's a shame they cast long shadows across the beaches in the afternoon but there are so many pretty places like this. I think we're lucky to live here. I love the little park at the end of our street that faces the water. When the tide's out, people let their dogs race around on the sandflats. The big kids sail model boats and even little boys can fish there. We've found all these spots where we can go for picnics. People pay to come here on holidays, and we get to enjoy it every day. Well, I do at least. And you will, too, eventually.'

‘Yes. I appreciate it more every time I come home,' said Mark. ‘Especially after the boring landscape near work, and the dirt and noise of the mine site. No wonder Brad wants to buy a piece of paradise here.'

‘I think it must have been more of a paradise before all this development,' said Natalie. ‘Years back, Brisbane people used to come down here by boat for holidays. Jodie was telling me that when her grandfather came here in the thirties there were still sandy bush tracks down to the beach. It all really started to develop in the 1950s. Honey-mooners came from everywhere in the sixties and that big Japanese boom in the seventies pushed things along, too.'

‘I suppose it's had its ups and downs over the years, like lots of places. When I was first working here, the Barrier Reef islands were a popular holiday spot for international tourists. But Australians still come here for holidays and lots decide that they'd like to live here permanently. It used to be the retirees and now it's people like us. We're very lucky to have the place we have on the canal. Even with the midges,' Mark said laughing.

‘They're not that bad! Haven't you heard of insect repellent? Anyway, we're putting in screens and if you'd cut back some of those overhanging trees there'd be less of a problem, I think,' said Natalie. ‘I love our house. It's going to be fabulous when it's all renovated.'

Mark sighed. ‘It's a hard one. The bathroom has turned into a big job, it's blown out the budget no end. And the baby's thrown a bit of a spanner in the works re the timetable. Not that you're not welcome, kiddo.' He patted Natalie's growing tummy.

‘I talked to Geoff and gave him some of my scribbles,' said Natalie.

‘You did! Why didn't you wait till I was home? We need to look at those pretty carefully – together,' he added.

‘Mark, we've talked about it. I've told you what I was thinking and you always said it sounded fine.'

‘I guess so. But you're right about needing to decide how we do it. Let's see what Geoff comes up with. He's good at his job and he won't charge us an arm and a leg.'

‘That's what I'm hoping.'

Mark looked amused. ‘Okay, boss. Keep me in the loop. Hiya, Brad.' Mark waved to his friend. ‘Did you see anything you fancy buying? We're going over to the Ferry Road Markets for ice-cream. Want to join us?'

As the car stopped outside their house, there was a call from further up the road. Natalie looked up and saw a woman walking her dog. She gave a wave.

‘Who's that?' said Mark.

‘A neighbour I've just met. Vicki Fletcher.'

‘I'll take the kids in if you want to chat. Adam is nearly asleep. Brad, can you give me a hand with all the stuff that needs to come inside?'

‘I want to see the puppy,' said Charlotte when she spotted the spaniel straining on its leash, tail wagging.

‘Hi Vicki. I knew that once we met, we'd start running into each other,' Natalie said laughing.

‘Isn't it the way! I walk past your place every day, and I think I've only seen you once before. I was going to drop a note into your letterbox. About the information day.'

Charlotte bent down to greet the dog, who licked her effusively.

‘This is Ipoh. He'll lick you to pieces if you let him. Here, give him a scratch behind his ears.' Vicki bent down and showed Charlotte where to rub the curls behind his droopy ears. ‘He loves that.'

‘You mean something about the Friends of Burma information day? You said you would email me,' said Natalie.

‘Yes. I'm sorry that this is very short notice to ask you, because it's tomorrow, but it's pretty low-key. We want to have a big rally in support of Burmese democracy fairly soon, so tomorrow we want to give people information about what's happening in Burma so they'll understand what the rally is all about, and hopefully join it. We'll have booths around town. I'm on the Pacific Fair stand. Could you come and help hand out leaflets? I'd love you to come, any time. We're there most of the day.'

‘Actually, my husband is home at the moment and he'll be happy to look after the kids. I'm sure I can come for a while,' said Natalie.

‘You won't miss us. Look for the flags and bunting. I sewed the bunting, so it's pretty big!' Vicki said laughing. ‘I'm supposed to be the media liaison person, but I also got stuck with the decorations. You have to be versatile.'

‘You seem very active. Being on the committee,' said Natalie.

‘Yes.' Vicki looked thoughtful. ‘I'm very committed for reasons I'll tell you when we have more time. Ipoh is anxious to get going so I'll see you tomorrow. And thanks. Bye bye, Charlotte.'

‘Can we have our own puppy, Mummy?' asked Charlotte as Natalie locked the car.

‘One day, but not at the moment. I'm sure that we can go walking with Ipoh sometimes, darling. He seems a very nice dog.' With a partly renovated house, two littlies and another one on the way, this was definitely not the time for another complication Natalie thought.

The next day, as she prepared to go and help at the information booth, Natalie still felt a little tired from the previous night out with Mark and Brad. Mark had suggested that they go for cocktails in Cavill Avenue in the heart of Surfers Paradise and Brad had been captivated by the buzz of the tourist strip. Brad had then insisted on taking them both out for dinner at Main Beach. It was a beautiful evening sitting out under the stars eating fresh crab and prawns, even if Natalie couldn't drink anything other than sparkling water. It hadn't been a particularly late night, as Natalie didn't want to keep the babysitter up, but since they'd been saving for their renovations they hadn't been out for an evening like that for some time. She had enjoyed every minute of it and when they got home couldn't thank Brad enough.

‘No worries. It's been my pleasure. After all, you guys are putting me up and showing me around. It's the least I can do.'

‘I'll take you to Jupiter's Casino another night,' promised Mark.

‘Yes,' said Natalie. ‘You two should enjoy that, but you can leave me out. I'm not really into losing what little money we have at the gaming tables.'

‘You never know. We might win,' said Brad.

Natalie said nothing, but gave both men a withering look.