Rebecca made it to the mill in twenty-five minutes. Nashy had already left, and Tate met her in the car park with a note.
“He said give you this, or he’ll kick my arse.”
“Umm okay. Can’t have you getting your arse kicked now can we.”
Tate did not hang around to chat. He disappeared back into the mill and was soon lost to Rebecca’s view amongst the sawdust and noise. She wandered into the mill and headed straight upstairs to the office, took a seat, and folded the note open.
‘Sorry to make you come in on short notice. All I need is someone to handle the phone in case it rings. Not expecting any calls but just take a message if there is any. Also, please double check the lock up. 4 o’clock is knock off. The senior boys Karl and Tom can take care of it, but they don’t have the code for the security system. Could you please turn it on? It’s your dad’s birth date, just the six numbers. You know without the 1900 bit. Will talk tomorrow.’
Dads’ birthday. Nashy knew Rebecca had a steel trap memory for birth dates, number plates and things like phone numbers, so he knew he did not have to write it down. She folded the note and threw it into the small garbage bin at the end of the desk and then lent back in the chair and waited for something to happen. Nothing did and without the distraction her mind went back to the Diary. She had left it sitting on the kitchen table and now cursed herself for not bringing it with her. Thoughts crossed her mind of opening those first pages or flipping it open somewhere random, and losing herself in her mother’s thoughts, but now she was here in the mill. On duty and she would not let Nashy down.
She began to pace the length of the small office, looking down onto the mill floor through the big window. Small piles of sawdust sat along the outside of the windowsill, and it frustrated her that she could not clean them away. Everything was frustrating her at the moment. The slow passage of time, the smell of the saw engine running and the monotonous sound of metal clanging.
Down below she could see the work team. Tate looked like he was wasting time off in the corner, and she scanned the other heads scattered throughout the space. She spotted Matt and found herself staring, which she thought he must have sensed when he turned and looked straight up at her. He turned to one of the other workers, seemed to yell something and pointed up toward the office. The other man nodded, and Matt began to walk toward the stairs that headed up to where Rebecca was standing.
She felt her pulse quicken and started breathing in short sharp bursts. “A panic attack. Now. Seriously.”, she muttered.
She turned away from the window and went to flick her hair with her fingers but smacked the back of her hand against the corner of the desk. Hard.
“Shit. Damn. Shit.”
Matt stepped into the office just as the last expletive flew from her mouth.
“Sorry. Am I interrupting something?”
“No. I’m sorry. Just smashed my hand.” She flicked her wrist, trying to shake away the pain and then clenched it and finally squeezed it between her arm and chest, “and it bloody hurt.”
“You okay? For a moment there I thought you were taking the role of Nashy just a bit too seriously. He’s got a bit of a mouth on him.”
“It’s okay. Nothing broken. No blood.”
“Good, because I don’t know where the accident report forms are.”
Rebecca sat back down. Still clutching her hand in her armpit.
“Listen I wanted to apologise about disappearing the other night after dinner.”
“I guessed something was wrong. You took that phone call, then got all serious.”
“Yeah. My…mum. Just some issues had to shoot home for.”
“Back to Queensland?”
“Yeah. All sorted now. You know what families can be like. My mum is a panic junkie, any little thing can turn into a big thing with her.”
“Lucky she’s got you to sort things out then.”
“Yeah. Sorry…I…I heard about what happened to your parents.”
“Oh...that was a long time ago.” Rebecca caught her breath and swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Still can’t be easy when a dope like me talks about their own mum or dad. That accident would’ve…well, would’ve messed me up for a long time.”
“Like I said, it was a long time ago. Think I’ve dealt with all the pain now and come through it a bit stronger.”
“Yeah. I reckon you have. Anyways I owe you dinner, so we’ll work that one out sometime.”
“Sounds good to me. Now time for you to get back to work. I’m part boss you know.”
Matt did not know whether to take her seriously or not, but he knew there was work to be done. “Yeah. Sorry. I’ll get back to it then.” And he turned and headed back down the stairs.
Rebecca caught him with a yell that turned him around at the top of the stairs, “Matt…Thanks for the apology.”
Matt just nodded and went on his way. Rebecca took a deep breath ‘Whoa’, she thought ‘That could have been awkward. Not sure what all the parents thing was about, but it wasn’t as hard to hear someone else mention them as I had thought it would be.”
She sat, staring idly at the desk in front of her. Thinking random thoughts, trying to eat up the last hour of time before she had to ensure the mill was locked up. She doodled on a bit of paper, aimlessly drawing little flowers and balloons, and then stood up and began to examine the jumble of yellowed sheets of paper stuck to a small cork notice board beside the door. A calendar from 2016 was half covered by an Emergency Exit poster and several more Health and Safety posters. A receipt for Tim Tams and Tea bags with the total circled in yellow high lighter and the words ‘Owe Karl’ scribbled at the bottom. Pinned next to it was the cover from a mobile phone box and a note printed in big black letters. ‘Missing Phone. Property of Nashy. No Reward.’ The phone looked ancient to Rebecca, an old candy bar style and the date that Nashy had typed at the bottom of the note confirmed its age. The note had been printed fourteen years ago.
“Your bloody hopeful Nashy. Not likely to find that now.” Regardless, she found herself looking under and behind the office furniture just in case they had only had a ’boy’ look.
Then the landline rang. It startled her, and she closed her eyes for a second before she answered.
“Hello. Ford’s Timber Mill.”
“Well done. You got the name right.” It was Nashy.
“Haven’t you got better things to do?”
“Just checking things are okay.”
“Things are okay. Are you two finished with the Doctor already?”
“Nah. Just waiting. Liz is in there.”
“You should be with her you know.”
“Bloody hell. No. Women’s issues.”
“You’re a charmer, but seriously you should…”
“Love to chat but here she comes. Thanks for coming over again.”
“Nashy before you go. You mind if I ring home from here?”
“Course not. Say hi to ‘em from me. Now bye.”
The phone went dead, and Rebecca wasted no time in making the call.
It seemed to ring for an eternity, and she had decided to hang up and call back another time, when finally, it was picked up. The voice on the other end sounded hesitant but Rebecca knew instantly that it was Grandma.
“Hello. Who is this?”
“Grandma. It’s me. Rebecca.”
“Oh, thank god Beccie.” She was the only person that had ever called her that, and the only person she could ever imagine saying it, and she loved hearing from her…but not anyone else.
“You sound all flustered. Something wrong?”
“Oh. I was just reading in the paper about the scammie people. The ones pretending to be from the Tax office and trying to get our money…and then the phone rings…and my heart…well it just jumped a beat. I didn’t know what I was going to say to them. I didn’t want to be rude but …anyway it’s not them. It’s my Beccie.”
“You are a classic Grandma. I miss your strange little ways.”
“Strange?”
“Good strange. My kind of strange.”
“Ok…I think. I miss your strange ways too young lady. Really. I really, really miss you. Just the boys around the house now. It’s all motors, beers, farts and jokes that go over my head.”
“You should come up soon. We can have a good old chat in front of the fire…Oh, and guess what. I got a dog, or Uncle Paul got me a dog. Said I needed security.”
“Security? Is there something I should know?”
“No, No. It’s okay. Just he didn’t like me being alone, and he had to find a home for an old police dog, well not old, just…out of the force.”
“He’s a good guy to have on your side.”
“He is. So, how are you?” Rebecca knew that asking that was sometimes asking for trouble, because sometimes Grandma would tell you. Tell you every little thing.
“It would be a long phone call if I told you, but mainly I’m fine. Few aches and pains but my hearts strong and I still got my wits. Grandad, well he’s another story. Had to threaten him with no footy on Sunday afternoon TV to get him to got to the doctors and after all that it’s just gout. Too much beer in his early days. Catching up with him now.”
“Trust me I know what he’s like, but he’s my rock.”
“Mine too Beccie. Mine too.”
“What about Jake?”
“Nothing wrong with him. Bit of attitude sometimes that I wish there was a pill for, but he’s a softie, and he’d do anything for you, you know. He misses you the most I think.”
“All the more reason to get the lot of you up here for a visit.”
“Soon. Jake and Grandad are changing the brakes on the car this weekend and weekend after that we should get up there.”
“Really? You just gave me the biggest reason to smile since I’ve been up here.”
“Well can’t talk all day Beccie, and you probably got a bunch of things to do.”
“Yeah. Locking up the mill today. Guess I best start finishing up. Love you Gran.”
“Love you too Beccie.”
“Tell the boys I miss them.”
“Bye my girl.”
‘Bye Gran.”
Rebecca checked the time. Three forty-five. Fifteen minutes till lockup, and she could hear the machines winding down on the mill floor. She looked down and saw Tate pushing a big old broom down the aisle between the saw benches. Benches were being dusted off and old, stained sheets of what Rebecca knew was calico were being thrown over the top of machinery. The team seemed to have a system for clean-up and lockup because right on four everything was done, and Karl was walking up the stairs to the office.
“Hey Miss Ford.”
“It’s okay Karl, you can call me Rebecca.”
“Well…maybe. Have to see about that…So, the boys are all done, and they’ll be out of here quick. All the doors are locked up, so all we need to do is shut down the lights and the mains power to the machine bay, then you can set the alarm.”
“The switches up here?”
“Yep. Beside the window is the machine bay switches. Just that big switch will turn ‘em all off and lights are just below that. I’ll show you.”
Karl stepped past Rebecca and flipped the big yellow switch and quickly followed that by running his hand up over the line of light switches. They all turned off except the office light and one above the stairs. Through the window the machines were now doused in shadows.
“Office lights at the door and the stairs light is by the front door, next to the alarm panel.”
“Well, that was easier than I thought. Let’s go then.”
“Right you are Miss Ford…Sorry. Rebecca.”
They made their way out of the office, turning the lights out as they went and stopped at the alarm. Rebecca punched in the six digits on the worn key panel. The numbers that she needed to hit were almost worn away, compared to the seemingly untouched other numbers. It beeped three times as she pushed the ‘SET’ button, and she looked at Karl for confirmation she had gotten it right.
“Yep. That means you got about two minutes to exit the building or it’ll start blaring. Nashy…sorry Mr Nash does that every now again.”
The two of them stepped outside and Rebecca watched as Karl locked the door and then placed a big old padlock on a chain across it as well.
“That seems like a lot of security.”
“We got broke into about five months back and since then Nashy has stepped things up a notch…Ok that’s all done. So, if your good I’ll be on my way. Got soccer training for the kids.”
“Oh yeah sure. How old are they?”
“My boys are twins. Eleven.”
“Ok. Hope they have fun. I’ll have to catch a game sometime.”
“Only junior soccer team in town. Saturday mornings, every second one down at the oval. Other than that, we could be anywhere. Gunnedah, Tamworth, Quirindi. You name it. See you Miss Ford.”
Rebecca laughed to herself as Karl climbed into his Ute and drove away. He just could not call her Rebecca without stumbling through the Miss Ford.