‘PLEASE have another slice, make me feel better,’ said the auburn-haired woman who had a face full of gorgeous freckles that moved with every smile. This lady with the crystal-blue eyes was fast becoming Nat’s favourite person at the meet and greet.
Natalie laughed and took the caramel slice offered. ‘If you insist, Lauren.’
‘I do. I can’t afford to have any, so I’m going to live vicariously through you. I’m going to pretend I have your figure.’
Lauren giggled and Nat found her laugh infectious. Her daughter, Mallory, had the exact same laugh; she, too, had a larger-than-life personality. Even though Nat had just met Lauren, she found her to be so down to earth and real. There was nothing fake about her.
‘And please, call me Loz. Everyone does – so much so that I sometimes don’t answer to Lauren.’ She smiled again and eyed off the last of the slice, her hand automatically going to the roll at her midriff. ‘So what do you think of our little town? Have you had a chance to see the sights?’
Lauren had been one of the first to turn up, carrying in trays of yummy food, and was the first to introduce herself. She shook Nat’s hand with the death grip of a seasoned fighter. She probably lifted cows or sheep for a living, thought Nat. Really, she was clueless about what farming people did.
‘I’m actually loving it so far,’ Nat replied – and it wasn’t a lie. She was loving the space, the quiet, the freedom to do what she wanted. Just yesterday after school she’d taken a walk and stopped in the middle of the bush track around town. All she could hear were the birds. No traffic, no parents, no pressure. It was just her, the birds, the trees and the massive sky above. It was purifying. Mind you, the first few days had been a little unnerving and it had taken a bit to get used to the quiet and the fact that she had no one to answer to.
‘I’m still settling in and getting to know the kids,’ Nat went on, ‘but that’s why I’m here. I haven’t had a chance to look around – hopefully I will in a few weeks when I’m caught up. I still have to head back to Perth because my boyfriend, Gary, is there, but I’ll try to stay here as much as I can.’ It would be a juggling act to settle into country life but also to see Gary and her family as much as she could.
‘Have you been in the country before?’ Lauren asked, and to her credit she didn’t look Nat up and down like most of the others did, as if she was stating the obvious.
‘Not this type of country. All I know about farming is what I’ve seen on McLeod’s Daughters,’ Nat admitted.
Lauren laughed again. ‘And sometimes that was stretching the truth a fair bit. Don’t worry, when you’ve settled in we’ll show you around. If you ever need anything, like you find a snake in your house or have car problems or whatever, here’s my mobile and house number,’ she said, writing on a napkin. ‘You call us if you need any help, okay?’
‘Snakes in my house?’
‘Yep, long and slithery. The ones with legs are bobtails but they won’t harm you unless you put your finger near their mouth.’ Lauren chuckled at her own little joke.
Nat didn’t find it at all funny. ‘I’ve never seen a snake before. Do you get many around here?’ Quickly she entered Lauren’s numbers into her phone. She was tempted to put them under ‘ICE’: In Case of Emergency.
‘Yeah, a few dugites, which are highly venomous. I’m sure I saw a crowned snake the other day – they’re poisonous too.’
Nat felt the blood drain from her head and she shivered. She thought she could handle spiders, like redbacks, even though she was yet to see one, or even a white-tail or a massive huntsman. But snakes? Snakes lived in her nightmares. She made a mental note to buy the biggest pair of gumboots she could find.
‘But the good old carpet snake, he’s one you don’t chop up with a shovel. You have one that lives in your car shed. Locals have called him Rodger for years. Keeps the mice down, just like having a cat.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Rodger, a carpet python. He’ll be greenish with light-coloured diamond shapes outlined in black. Don’t be afraid of him; just let him go about his business.’
‘Right,’ said Nat with more conviction than she felt. From now on, she would be parking her car outside, under the big gum tree. Rodger could have the whole car shed to himself.
‘It’s just the black ones and the dark-spotted dugite you have to watch.’
Nat was going to google pictures of them as soon as she could – maybe even print out pictures to put by the back door just so she knew which ones could kill her. She shivered again.
‘Hey, Lauren,’ said a man as he approached them. He was mid-twenties and wore boots, dirty jeans and a blue shirt with a bright yellow strip across the chest. Nat was getting used to this look. The majority of the men at the meet and greet were dressed the same way, as if they’d just come straight from the farm mid-work. For once in her life she felt overdressed.
‘Dicko, fancy seeing you here,’ said Lauren.
His face tinged pink but his big smile didn’t fade. He brushed back his unruly blond locks and gazed at Nat. ‘Just come to meet the new local lady,’ he said, dripping charm. ‘And to eat the free spread.’
‘You and all the others,’ Lauren murmured, loud enough for Nat to hear.
It had felt like a bit of a meat market. Nat had met many mums and dads but also some of the single lads in town, with names like Wazza, Donk and Pansy. And there was this tall lanky bloke who had just about hoovered all the food on the table. Nat had seen him go back six times now, filling his paper plate each time.
‘I think you’re out of your league here, Dicko. Why don’t you go do something useful and stop your brother eating all the food?’ Lauren rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘The Dixon boys: lean and lanky but they put food away like a herd of starved elephants.’
Instead of being embarrassed by this, Dicko grinned proudly, showing crooked teeth but cute dimples. ‘I haven’t introduced myself yet.’ He held out his callused hand. ‘Sean Dickson, twenty-five, single, farmer and all-round good guy,’ he said, giving her a wink.
‘And biggest flirt,’ added Lauren, which prompted Dicko to wrap her up in a hug and kiss her cheek. ‘Get out of it, you big lump.’ She pushed him off but her eyes sparkled with affection. ‘They’re harmless lads, Nat. Plenty of teachers come to the country and never leave. They end up married to farmers. We have three in our town, and I’m one of them.’
‘Really?’
‘Yep, they get me in for relief sometimes but I’m needed more on the farm and at home with the kids. Now you see why there was such a great turnout. It’s not often we get new ladies in the area.’
It was a big turnout – more people than Nat had thought lived in this area. And there were many who probably weren’t here. She didn’t see the two men from her first day at the shop, or that man with the memorable blue eyes. He could have just been passing through.
‘Nor ladies as gorgeous as you,’ stuttered Dicko.
‘Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you all but I have a boyfriend,’ said Nat softly.
‘You do realise you’ve just broken heaps of hearts.’ Loz held her hand over her mouth to hide her chuckles.
‘Too bloody right,’ said Dicko, looking forlorn. Then he showed his teeth, and a glint in his dark hazel eyes made her a little nervous. ‘Having a boyfriend is not the same thing as being married. We might be able to win your heart yet,’ he said optimistically. ‘A full-blooded man of the earth, a good country bloke, could be just what you need.’ Then he bowed, turned and scooped up a large handful of food before joining his brother.
Grace and Kath came over to see how Nat was doing. ‘Are you heading off soon?’ Kath asked. ‘It’s wrapping up now so it’d be okay if you wanted to leave.’
Nat checked her watch. ‘I’d really like to get to Perth sooner rather than later.’
‘Go on,’ said Kath as she fiddled with her packet of cigarettes. ‘You’ve met most people here and there will be plenty of time to catch up with the others later. Go on, pet. Drive safe.’
‘Thanks, Kath. Bye, Grace, see you Monday. Thanks for everything, Lauren – Loz,’ she quickly corrected.
‘Bye,’ they said as she left.
Natalie sneaked back into her classroom and grabbed her bag, then moved her way down the corridor, saying goodbyes and making her apologies. She took a deep breath when she made it outside. The day was not over.