It was a clear morning and the winter sun was doing its best to warm the air. Not that Berry needed any help keeping warm because she was already hot, flustered and about to lose it. For what seemed like the tenth time, she attempted to back the trailer close to the shed.
Andrea had been kind enough to lend her the ute and trailer so she could finish the job of cleaning out the sheds, but so far it had been more or less a disaster. Berry wrinkled her nose and frowned; she should have known this was going to be more problematic than she’d imagined.
Winding down the window, she stuck her head out and glared back at the almost jack-knifed trailer. She let out a loud and exasperated sigh, then drove forwards in an attempt to straighten the trailer. Once in position she inched the ute backwards until she finally got the damn thing where she wanted it, almost—sometimes close enough is good enough.
She got out of the car to survey her handiwork—well, it would have to do. She gave the trailer one last dirty look and suppressed the urge to kick it. She grabbed her phone and pulled up one of her favourite playlists, then popped her earphones in. It was going to take several trips to the local tip to clear everything out, and maybe the music would make it go faster. She hit play, shoved on her work gloves and headed to the first shed, walking in time to the thumping beat.
The morning passed quickly but Berry barely noticed as she was intent on clearing out the shed. As she dumped the last stack of mouldering papers, she turned to the sound of a vehicle, then broke into a grin as she saw her uncle’s sleek black car. She ran to meet it, and as she got closer she could make out her sister waving from the passenger seat. Waving back, she picked up her pace.
Her uncle was just getting out of the car when she launched herself into his arms and hugged him tight. For a moment she was overcome and just needed to feel the safety of his embrace.
‘Hey kid, are you okay?’ he asked before he bent to kiss the top of her head.
Berry nodded but couldn’t seem to form any words thanks to the lump in her throat. They stood in silence for a moment as Berry tried to get a hold of herself. As she heard the other car doors open, Berry took a step back and wiped her filling eyes with the back of her hand.
‘Sorry, it’s just I didn’t expect you and … and I didn’t realise how much I missed you all.’
‘Geez, Berry, don’t cry,’ Tom said as he walked over and gave her a brief, almost awkward hug. ‘You’re meant to be glad to see us.’
‘I am,’ she said as she took a step back and studied him for a moment. The family resemblance was strong. She, Jess and Tom shared the same chocolatey brown hair and grey–blue eyes. ‘Have you grown?’
Tom rolled his eyes as he stepped out of Jessica’s way. ‘Don’t be ridiculous—you haven’t been gone that long,’ he quipped.
Before she could reply, Jess barrelled into her arms, causing her to stagger back.
‘I’ve missed you!’
Berry grinned and squeezed her sister tightly. ‘I’ve missed you too.’
‘Oh, come on, Jess, let her breathe,’ Uncle Dave said with a laugh.
Jess loosened her grip and looked into Berry’s eyes. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
‘Of course I am,’ she nodded with a smile. ‘Even better now that you’re all here.’
Jess stared at her for another moment until she was convinced she was telling the truth. ‘All right then, good.’
Uncle Dave took a look around the place, seeing it for the first time in a very long while. ‘So, are you going to show us what you’ve been up to?’ Uncle Dave asked.
‘Yeah,’ Berry said with a bright smile. ‘Although most of the credit has to go to the contractors. Follow me—I’ll give you the grand tour.’
Berry linked arms with her sister and they all walked towards the house.
When they reached the front door, Jess paused for a moment. Berry frowned as she turned her head and looked at her sister.
‘Are you okay?’
Jess looked at Berry. ‘I’m not sure. Stupid, isn’t it?’
She shook her head. ‘Of course it’s not stupid. I had the same reaction when I first came here. Just take your time. And if you don’t want to go in … don’t.’
‘No, no, I want to. It’s just that it feels weird,’ Jess answered. She looked over at her brother and uncle. ‘Is it just me?’
‘No,’ Uncle Dave said. ‘It’s not just you.’
She glanced back to Berry. ‘It feels familiar but at the same time it doesn’t—like I recognise it from a dream, or maybe a nightmare.’
‘You were only eight the last time you were here. That’s a long time ago,’ Uncle Dave said gently. ‘You don’t have to go in.’
‘No, I want to,’ Jess repeated before taking a deep breath and looking to Berry for reassurance.
Berry took her by the hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘You’ll be fine.’ And with that they both walked through the door.
A small smile flickered across Berry’s face as she breathed in the scent of new wood and paint. The house smelled so different from when she had first arrived. It was clean and fresh, the renovation giving the house a new start.
Berry and Jess walked into the lounge room, which was now bright, the old curtains long gone. The windows were opened wide and fresh air filled the room. The heaviness of the past was beginning to lift, at least that’s how Berry felt.
‘It’s funny, you know,’ Jessica said as she looked about the room. ‘I don’t remember this room at all and yet there’s something familiar about it.’
Berry wrinkled her nose. ‘I know what you mean. It looks very different from when I arrived. Transformed.’
Uncle Dave walked up behind her and laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘It looks great, Berry. I hardly recognise the place—and that’s a good thing.’
Berry turned her head towards her uncle. ‘I know,’ she said.
Tom wandered into the room. ‘It’s bright, and if you look that way, it has a nice view of the paddocks.’
Berry gave her brother a smile. ‘It does, doesn’t it? Come on, I’ll show you the rest.’
After a tour around the house, Berry led everyone down the steps and into the back yard. There was an awful lot she still didn’t remember from when she was a child, but the memory of her riding her brand new bike around the old clothesline had never dimmed. Sometimes when she lay in bed and closed her eyes, desperately trying to recall her mum’s voice, that was the image which always surfaced. This spot was still one of the hardest places to face. But now, looking at her family, she pushed the memory aside.
‘So, Uncle Dave, are you staying tonight or going back home?’ she asked.
‘We’re going to stay,’ he answered with a nod. ‘I rang the lady at the Cumquat B&B and she said she’d be happy to have us.’
‘Andrea’s the best. I don’t know what I would have done without her,’ Berry said as she pointed down towards the sheds. ‘She even lent me her ute so I could drag all that rubbish to the tip.’
‘You know, I don’t want to sound whiney,’ Tom said as he sidled up next to his sister, ‘but is there anywhere we can get something to eat? I’m starving.’
Uncle Dave let out something that sounded like a cross between a chuckle and a snort. ‘Tommy, you had breakfast and we stopped for food on the way—how can you possibly be that hungry already?’
‘Starving,’ Tom said with a grin.
‘Well, I’m sure I can find you something,’ Berry said. ‘Although, it’s probably going to have to be a snack—the general store’s the only option. The Queen’s Arms does counter meals but only at night.’
Tom looked a little disappointed. ‘There’s really nothing here, is there?’
Jessica gave his shoulder a nudge. ‘Yeah, let’s condemn the entire place because Tommy can’t get a drive thru,’ she said and rolled her eyes.
‘Geez, Jess, can you get any more salty?’ Tom asked as he wrinkled his nose. ‘Besides, you’ve been through the place, there really isn’t anything there. We’re out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do.’
Uncle Dave let out a low chuckle. ‘Sounds like someone has a touch of culture shock. You’d better give your brother a moment. I guess it’s my fault anyway; it’s not like we’ve ventured into the country often.’
‘But there really isn’t anything here except for one half-empty shop, a handful of houses and a shitload of trees.’
‘Hey, watch your language,’ Uncle Dave said with a shake of his head. ‘You’re not with your mates now.’
Berry slung her arm around Tom. ‘It’s not as convenient as where we live but I’m sure there are pretty much the same things here, you might just have to travel a bit to reach them. Besides, I bet there’s a whole lot of stuff you can do here that you can’t do in Melbourne.’
‘Yeah, like what?’
Berry opened her mouth to answer but got distracted by a ute turning into the drive.
‘Who’s that?’ Jessica asked.
Berry raised her hand and shielded her eyes from the sunlight. ‘I do believe it’s our neighbour, Nate Tarant.’
The ute swung in and parked next to Uncle Dave’s car. As soon as the door opened, Berry saw Nate’s sandy blond hair as he stood up.
Jess gave her a gentle nudge in the ribs. ‘No wonder you’re lingering in Harlington.’
‘Oh, shut up,’ Berry whispered back. ‘I hardly know him.’
‘Sure,’ Jess said with a smile. ‘You just keep telling yourself that.’
Nate walked over, his two sisters following in his wake.
‘Hi Berry. I guess we should have given you a ring earlier,’ he said.
Berry shook her head. ‘It’s fine. Uncle Dave, this is Nate Tarant and his sisters Lia and Em. They live up the road from here.’
Uncle Dave shook Nate’s outstretched hand. ‘Ah, yes, I remember. It’s a horse stud, Tarant … um, Tarantale Downs, is that right?’
‘Yes, I’m amazed that you’d remember.’
‘I met your dad a few times, back in the day,’ Uncle Dave explained.
‘Nate, this is my sister, Jess, and my baby brother, Tom,’ Berry said as she gestured to her siblings.
‘Berry,’ Tom hissed under his breath before reaching out and shaking Nate’s hand, while his gaze was drawn to Lia and Em, who were both staring back at him with interest. ‘Hi, I’m Berenice’s younger brother.’
‘Nice to meet you all,’ Nate said. ‘Look, Berry, I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt. We’ll take off.’
‘It’s okay, you’re not interrupting. My family decided to surprise me but that doesn’t mean you have to leave.’
Nate seemed to relax a little. ‘Um, well, the girls and I just thought we’d drop by to see if you were up for a picnic? Last time we were here we talked about going over to the island in the dam.’
Berry smiled. ‘We did, didn’t we?’
‘We’ve packed plenty of food—there’s enough for everyone,’ Lia chimed in.
‘That would be lovely but I have to go to the tip,’ Berry said. ‘I’ve borrowed Andrea’s ute and I have to get it back to her.’
‘I can do that,’ Uncle Dave said before adding, ‘but you’ll have to tell me where to go.’
‘Are you sure?’ Berry asked.
‘Of course. I think I’m capable enough to drag a load of rubbish to the tip,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Besides, afterwards I’ll swing by the Cumquat, return the ute and get everything set for the night.’
‘That would be great, if you don’t mind.’
‘Good, it’s settled, then.’ He reached into his pocket, grabbed his car keys and handed them to Berry. ‘Here, swap keys and I’ll see you later.’
‘But don’t you want to stay and eat with us?’ Berry asked.
Uncle Dave gave her a wink. ‘Oh, I think you’ll have much more fun without me,’ he said before he gave a wave and walked towards the old sheds.
Berry turned to Jess. ‘What’s got into him? I mean, he seems almost relaxed.’
‘Weird. Maybe it’s the country air.’