Mary's Gold

It was a cold, wet night. A harsh wind blew from the East, pelting the windows on the side of the Holden Rodeo. Torrents flowed across the front windshield , the wipers straining under the water's weight. Joe pressed his chest against the steering wheel, eyes focused on what he could barely make out of the road ahead. Earlier in the afternoon as light was fading into glowing oranges and dusty browns, a wallaby had sprung out of nowhere catching the right headlamp before landing with a horrible thump. Joe had pulled to a stop on the roadside and walked back to the injured animal. He looked around for a large rock in order to do the humane thing, but there were none, so he moved the shaking animal to the roadside curb and left it. Again he felt overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness and anger at himself. 'You useless, old man. All you ever do is wreck things.'

Now it was almost pitch dark. The one headlight barely reaching more than two meters through the rain. 'We should have been in Eucla by now ! I hate driving at night ! I can't see a bloody thing ! Why do I keep making such a mess of things ?' A gentle hand reached past the gear stick and rested on his left thigh. 'We're going to be alright. You're a good man. There will be work for builders when we get to Perth.' Hers was the only voice he needed to hear to calm his raging temper. The lockdown and pandemic had all but destroyed his carpentry business. Forced to sell their two bedroom flat in Leichardt, they packed all they owned into the back of the ute, waited for the borders to come down and made a run for it; the long haul, to hopefully brighter horizons on the West Coast. A new life. New beginnings, new family. Joe reached over and touched his wife's swollen belly. A tear rolled down his cheek. He clenched his teeth and winced hard to hold back the flood gates. 'I just want us to be safe. Safe and happy, you know ?' he strained through the sniffles. 'Why can't I catch a break ? Just one ? For once ?' 'These are hard times for everyone my love.' reassured Mary 'and people pull together in hard times. Help each other. You'll see.' She had a gift for defusing his angst and making sense from his worry.

A light from a farm house appeared from over a slow rise. 'I think we should stop.' Joe appealed to his wife. 'I've got no idea where we are.' Mary nodded in agreement. A big man in country overalls and a checkered blue flannel shirt came to the fly screen door at the front of the house. He was still chewing and a lone strand of spaghetti hung from the stubble on his chin. 'What can I do for ya folks ? Whaddya doing all the way out here on a night like this ?' 'We're on our way to Eucla. I think we're lost. A roo took out one of our headlights.' answered Joe trying not to shake from the cold and intimidation. 'Well you'd better come in then. It's not real safe to drive out there at night, unless you're in convoy behind a truck or somethin'.'

Arthur led the couple down a dimly lit hallway into a warm dining room, embers from the fireplace casting a glow across the oak wood floorboards. 'Oh you poor things ! You're drenched !'' exclaimed Cheryl. 'Let me get you a nice warm cuppa !' she offered before scolding the dog for being curious. 'Down Blue ! Go on! Git !' The dog cowered behind the couch. Cheryl doled out two generous bowls of spaghetti bolognaise as Arthur proudly raised his eyebrows in approval. 'That'll put curls on his whiskers ! er, her hair ? ah I mean...um, boy or girl ?' Mary softly responded 'We are pretty sure it's a boy.' Joe gazed over at his wife, blushing as the weight of impending fatherhood and responsibility again dawned on him. Where would they live ? How would he support them ? What was he going to do ? He let out a brief sigh. Arthur reached over the table extending his massive paw. 'Welcome to the club ! We've got three. Three potential cowboys. Yes sir. Three.' The friendly banter continued into the night. Cheryl retreated into the hallway and returned with some blankets and pillows. 'I'm afraid we sleep with our boys in the bedroom. It's a small house, but there's a bed and table in the barn. It's quite warm beside the hay. You're welcome to stay till the morning.'

Mary and Joe readily accepted the farm couple's kind offer and Arthur led them to the barn. The storm outside had passed and thick clouds were parting to reveal thousands upon thousands of stars stretching across the magnificent Milky Way. A particularly bright star seemed to cast a light over beyond the barn. 'We don't have much you know.' said Arthur as he bade his guests goodnight. 'We're a humble family. Not real rich, but we've got each other and that's what counts.'

Joe took those words to sleep with him and awoke feeling confident and fresher than he had in a long time. He swung open the windows on the side of the barn and gazed in wonder as the early morning sun of a new day ricochet off a long row of marigolds lining both sides of the path back to the farm house. 'Life is after all, a beautiful thing.' he thought to himself. Behind him, Mary called out quietly 'Honey. I think the baby is coming.'