Sarah sat in the reception room of Radio Longreach, a small space with two chairs and a framed aerial picture of the great expanse of the outback. Lydia Forsyth had been true to her word and contacted her friend, Ashley Reeves, to see if she had space to interview Sarah.
Ashley did.
She’d invited Sarah to come and chat on her afternoon radio show, hoping to generate the kind of conversation that would give her decent ratings and Sarah some great leads.
A short, powerhouse of a woman dressed in jeans and a t-shirt shot through the door. ‘Hello,’ she said, hand outstretched. ‘I’m Ashley and you’re Sarah.’
‘Yes, I am.’ Sarah stood and shook the proffered hand. ‘Thank you so much for having me on.’
Ashley batted Sarah’s gratitude away with one hand. ‘I should be the one thanking you. I’ve been racking my brains to come up with something fresh that isn’t the same old gripes about what needs to be addressed out here like bad internet, wild dogs and mental health. We’ve got enough problems to tackle, we need some fun.’
‘I hope I can help. Lead on.’ Sarah smiled. Ashley appeared to be of a similar age to Sarah. She was compact and buzzing with energy. Sarah felt immediately drawn to her.
Ashley pushed open the glass door and ushered Sarah into the heart of the station. A small staff worked away in an open-plan office looking rather like any office anywhere in Australia with half-drunk coffee perched on the corners of desks and pictures of loved ones stuck on the walls.
‘Everyone, this is Sarah Lewis. As you know, she’s from Seriously Sydney so if any of you are planning a major career move you might want to talk to her before she leaves.’ There were some polite chuckles and Sarah couldn’t be sure if Ashley was serious or not.
She gave Sarah a wink, which confirmed nothing.
‘Come on through to my office.’
Ashley’s office turned out to be the studio itself. The engineer and producer, both sitting on one side of a glass partition, gave them a wave as Ashley indicated for Sarah to take a seat. ‘That’s Tom and John. They’ll take care of all the technical stuff and keep us on track.’
‘Are we starting now?’ Sarah asked, startled. She’d been hoping for a few minutes to prepare herself, although she couldn’t say how she intended to do that.
‘Strike while the iron is hot,’ said Ashley, handing her a set of headphones. ‘You ever done this before?’
Sarah shook her head. ‘I’ve been strictly a print woman.’
Ashley took her seat and placed her own headphones on her head.
‘Nothing to it,’ she said. ‘You talk into that microphone. That light there,’ she pointed to a red globe, ‘shows us when we’re live, although it will be pretty obvious what’s going on. Follow my lead.’
Sarah nodded as she adjusted the headphones, which felt heavy and unfamiliar.
‘Good to go?’ Ashley gave her a thumbs up.
‘I guess.’ She returned the gesture, trying to catch up. She’d expected Ashley to want to chat a bit first, get the lie of the land. Maybe things turned out punchier this way.
‘And we’re live,’ said a voice in her ear. The producer.
‘Welcome to Radio Longreach: the voice of the West, your outback connection. I’m Ashley Reeves and this afternoon we have the delightful Sarah Lewis with us all the way from Sydney.’
Sarah stared at Ashley, mesmerised by her transformation from regular person to radio host. She nodded at Sarah, encouraging her to speak.
‘Oh, hello, everyone.’ Her voice sounded breathy, like she’d come in from a run.
‘Sarah, you work as a journalist for Seriously Sydney, is that right?’
‘Yes, Ashley. I’ve been with the magazine for several years now.’ She leaned in close to the microphone, perching on the edge of her seat.
‘Tell me, what brings you to Longreach?’ By comparison Ashley sat back in her chair, arms crossed, looking relaxed and at ease. The complete polar opposite to Sarah.
‘I’m researching love in the outback. Finding love in the city is so hard I wondered how people in the outback managed to find someone. I mean, you’re all such a long way from each other and the towns are small.’
‘Ah, yes, Sarah.’ Ashley leaned in. ‘We like to say that while the goods might be odd, the odds are good. You’d be surprised at how people fall in love out here. Not so many to choose from so less confusion.’
Sarah laughed and began to relax. ‘I hadn’t thought about it like that.’
‘Tell you what,’ Ashley became all business, ‘how about we get some callers on who’d like to share their stories with our guest today. Let’s show Sarah what love in the outback really looks like right after a word from our sponsor.’
Ashley pushed a button and let the ads roll. She slipped off her headphones. ‘How are you doing over there?’
‘I think I’m fine.’ Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slow.
‘You’re doing great. You wait, in a minute or so you’ll lose the nerves and it’ll feel as if you’ve done this sort of thing forever.’ Ashley shifted her attention to the booth behind Sarah. ‘Okay,’ she nodded and gave the producer a thumbs up. ‘We’ve got a switchboard full of callers,’ she said to Sarah. ‘After we take the call, you let me know with a gesture if you want to ask them to interview. My producer will make sure we get their contact details for you if you do. Are you ready?’
‘I have no idea but I guess we’re going to find out.’ Shaky nerves and a kind of bubbly excitement vied for the upper hand in her stomach.
‘First caller is Monica, who is visiting her sister from Maryborough.’ Ashley pushed another button and they were back on air. ‘Do you have a story for us, Monica?’
‘Hello and welcome, Sarah, to the outback,’ said the voice of an older woman.
‘Thank you,’ said Sarah. ‘Tell us how you found love out here. I’m struggling to find it in the city and I need some tips.’
Monica’s laugh gave Sarah the impression of a lighthearted woman with a sense of humour. ‘I’m a widow and I’ll confess, I’d pretty well given up on meeting anyone. I wasn’t even looking to be honest. I mean, what’s the point when you’re in your sixties and living in a small town where you know almost everyone. You know what I mean?’
Sarah didn’t but she was happy to chat about it, and they did for the next few minutes. Monica proved to be as delightful as she first sounded and Sarah gave her the thumbs up for an interview.
Several callers later, Sarah had a great list of interviewees to go with the contacts the McRaes had given her. She’d always loved interviewing people and not all her articles for Seriously Sydney required this kind of research. The next week or so would be crammed with the work she loved best and the thought killed the last vestiges of nerves, replacing it with nothing but pure happiness.
Her allotted thirty minutes seemed to fly by.
‘I’d like to thank Sarah Lewis for joining us today to chat about true love and how to find it. I hope we gave you a few pointers, Sarah.’
‘I’ve had a wonderful time, thank you, Ashley. The people out here are super generous and warm. I’m only sorry we had such a short time to chat. I’m sure there are many more stories out there. Thank you, Longreach.’ She’d begun to get the hang of this radio thing.
Ashley wrapped up the show with long-practised, polished flair. ‘And we’re done.’ She took off her headphones and smiled at Sarah. ‘How do you feel about a cuppa?’
‘I’d love one.’ Sarah slipped her headphones off and placed them gently on the desk in front of her. ‘Did I do okay?’
‘You did fine,’ said Ashley.
‘More than fine.’ Tom stuck his head in the room. ‘We had more calls for that piece than we’ve had for anything since we did the interview with the Simpson Desert ultramarathon people.’
Sarah glowed with pleasure. ‘I’m so pleased to hear that. I had a wonderful time and it generated some terrific leads for me. Thank you both for having me.’
Ashley regarded her, head cocked to one side and bright blue eyes sparkling with the intelligence that lay behind them. ‘How long are you in town?’
Sarah shrugged. ‘I’ve got a week’s worth of work at least. Then, who knows?’
Things depended on the quality of the interviews she managed to get … and Sam. While Bella had given her leave to go chase this story, she also had an expectation that Sarah would submit a weekly piece on other interesting things she’d found out here. That gave her enough time to explore … everything. But she didn’t have forever.
‘Come get that drink. I’ve got an idea I’d like to run past you.’ Ashley held the door open for her. ‘You know something, I’ve got a feeling you and I are going to be great friends.’
He didn’t remember how to do this.
Sam lay on his back staring at the ceiling, his bed fast becoming his thinking place. Meditating on the lazy rotations of the ceiling fan calmed him. Things had moved very fast in the last few days. Way quicker than he was used to. Nothing at all happened around here most of the time. Then Sarah turned up.
Their date on the river had a dream-like quality about it. The way he’d known what she’d been thinking before she’d said it kind of spooked him out at the same time it thrilled him. He didn’t know what to think.
One thing he knew for sure, he hadn’t felt this way about anyone since his wife. Even then, this was different. With Michelle, he’d had a slow dawning that had begun when he’d met her. He’d been too young and wrapped up in his own world to realise what he’d been feeling was love. Bit like Levi.
He let his thoughts settle on his son for a moment. No one prepared you for how much you worried about your kid. Watching him get hurt wrenched at Sam’s gut and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He wondered if his dad had felt the same way about him.
Levi had to work this out on his own. Sam would let him know he could talk whenever he wanted to. In the meantime he’d stand by and keep an eye on the situation as best he could.
He had his own business to worry about.
Sarah couldn’t stay in Longreach forever. She’d go back to Sydney and her job. He didn’t want her getting caught up in the high octane excitement of romance in the country, only to get home and realise all the affair had amounted to was a bit of a distraction. She shared the same feelings, he knew that now. Didn’t protect him from the possibility of getting hurt.
He sighed and closed his eyes. Images of Sarah standing behind the podium at the high school earlier today filled his vision. She’d looked amazing. To hear her speak about her life as a journalist made him realise Longreach might be too small for a girl like her. Most ambitious people made a beeline for the coast as soon as they could. Why would she want to swap the city for a country town on the edge of nowhere? Literally nowhere.
Opening his eyes again, he went back to watching the fan. Easier.
Did he give in to fear and stop seeing her before he got in so deep he couldn’t get out again? Or did he carry on regardless of his reservations? It had been such a long time since he’d sat on a fence he’d forgotten how uncomfortable it could be.
‘Dad?’ Levi appeared in the doorway, slouching against the lintel like he’d grown there.
‘Yeah, mate.’ Here it comes, the big chat about girls and relationships. They’d had the sex talk. In some ways Sam thought that might be easier, all technical medical and physical stuff. Biology. Emotions, however, were a different kettle of fish.
‘I was wondering if we could afford me going to boarding school on the coast.’ He made his pitch so casually, Sam had to take a moment to make sure he’d understood what the boy had said.
‘Boarding school?’ He struggled to sit up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
‘Yeah, I reckon they’d offer a higher level of educational standard which would help me get into a good uni when the time comes.’
Sounded reasonable enough on the surface, if only Sam wasn’t aware of the trouble between Levi and Maddie.
‘I see,’ he said, rubbing the back of his neck. A tension headache threatened. He hadn’t had this much to contend with for years. ‘You’ve given this some thought then?’
‘I think it’s time to spread my wings, you know, grow up a bit.’
‘You do, huh?’ Blindsided, Sam stalled for time to think.
‘Only if we can afford it of course. Hey, I could apply for a scholarship.’ Levi lit up like the scholarship idea had just come to him. Sam didn’t respond for a minute.
‘Interesting idea.’ He stood up. ‘Want to discuss it over ice cream?’
‘There’s only vanilla left.’
‘You’re kidding me. I only bought the tub three days ago.’
Levi shrugged as if the ice cream must have eaten itself.
‘Come on, vanilla will have to do.’
They moved to the kitchen and went about the automatic habit of taking out bowls and spoons. Sam made short work of the hard ice cream with a spoon he ran under hot water first.
‘Cool idea,’ said Levi, clearly impressed.
‘Life skills, buddy. Now tell me what you’re thinking with this whole boarding school deal.’ He’d try to stay open to the idea even if his first instinct was to shut the proposal down.
Levi took a deep breath. ‘I feel I need to grow up a little bit, you know, mature emotionally, and I think boarding school would force me to do that. Being away from everything that’s familiar, making new friends, living in a dorm, and being challenged would be good for me.’ He stabbed at the ice cream with his spoon while he spoke, not meeting Sam’s eyes.
Definitely trouble with Miss Maddie. ‘Won’t you miss your mates?’ He’d ease around the subject. They had plenty of time.
Levi shrugged. ‘They’d still be my mates. I need to grow and that’s not going to happen here in Longreach.’
‘It’s not?’ Sam scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and ate it.
Levi shook his head. ‘I think I’ve maxed out my growth possibilities in this environment.’
‘Right.’ Sam couldn’t remember ever being concerned about growth possibilities at the same age. ‘What about Miss Maddie?’
Levi thrust his spoon into the ice cream with particularly vicious force. ‘What about her?’
‘Didn’t the two of you have major plans of graduating high school and going to university in Sydney?’
‘They’re her plans, not mine.’
‘I see. When did that change?’
‘Nothing changed. I never said I wanted to do that. She assumed I’d be along for the ride. Well, I’m not her wing-man. She wants to go to Sydney, she can go by herself. I’ve got my own future to look after.’
‘Okay.’ Sam nodded and concerned himself with the contents of his bowl. What had Maddie done to hurt Levi? Had to be the senior formal. How was Sam going to handle this? He ate his ice cream in silence while contemplating his next move.
‘You two had a falling out?’ Okay, not a brilliant response. He was completely out of ideas in the clever parenting department.
‘We’ve grown apart, Dad. We want different things. I guess that happens, right?’
Who was this boy and what had he done with Levi? It was like having a conversation with a forty-two-year-old man instead of a fifteen-year-old boy.
‘I get it,’ he said. He got that his son had fallen in love with his best friend who did not love him back. Not that he’d point that out to Levi any time soon.
‘So, boarding school?’ Levi brightened up, clearly relieved Sam had no intention of pursuing the issue between him and Maddie.
‘Let me think about it, work out the finances and stuff. Did you have somewhere in mind?’ He’d let this notion of Levi’s play out for a bit.
‘I was thinking Brisbane Grammar. They take boarders and it’s got a great academic reputation. It’s not that far from Nan and Pop’s. I can always visit them on the weekends.’
‘Right. I see you’ve done your research. Leave it with me and we’ll revisit the topic later.’ What else could he say? He doubted very much he could afford to board Levi anywhere. The farm made enough money to keep afloat and ensure he had a tiny buffer in the bank. Not enough to stump five figure school fees.
‘Are you sure this sudden desire to move to boarding school doesn’t have anything to do with Maddie and her date to the formal?’ He swore he never meant to say anything. The words slipped out before he could stop them. Prior to his mouth’s rebellion, he’d been priding himself on his restraint. Then, whammy! Out came the one thing guaranteed to drive Levi underground.
The boy scowled, his face a picture of hurt fury. Sam had hit a nerve.
‘I told you, Dad. Maddie and I have grown apart. We want different things and besides, I think it’s time I manned up. Can’t have a girl as a best friend forever.’
‘Really?’ He struggled to suppress the smile threatening to unfold across his face. ‘And what’s wrong with having a girl for a friend?’
Levi shrugged. ‘Nothing by itself. I think I need to spend more time with guys doing guy things instead of sitting on a kitten pillow watching dumb romantic movies.’
‘Fair enough.’ Sam couldn’t argue with his logic. Not something he’d enjoy doing himself. ‘The senior formal is tomorrow, isn’t it?’
Levi’s shoulders hunched to his ears. ‘Whatever.’
‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ It went a long way to explaining Levi’s sudden desire to move to boarding school. Young Maddison would be dressed to the nines and out with her older boy. The thought must be killing Levi.
‘Let’s talk about you for a change.’ Levi picked an apple out of the fruit bowl on the kitchen bench and took a bite. The crisp snap of the apple resounded in the small space. If Levi was voluntarily eating fruit then Sam was in big trouble.
‘Nothing to tell.’ Never a bigger lie spoken.
‘I don’t believe you.’ Clearly, Sam was a very bad liar.
‘What do you want to know?’ Always best to be frank if he couldn’t be anything else.
‘What’s going on with Sarah?’
‘Whatever. Don’t avoid the question.’
‘I wasn’t avoiding the question, purely correcting your manners.’ He stalled for time. Talking about Sarah, bringing the subject into the house, took her out of his romantic fantasy and into a reality he wasn’t sure he was ready for yet.
‘You went out on a date with her and …’ Another crunchy bite of the apple.
‘And none of your business.’
‘If she’s going to be my stepmum I reckon it’s plenty my business.’
‘Who said anything about Sarah becoming your stepmother? We’ve been on one date.’ A sweat broke out on the back of Sam’s neck.
‘Okay, let’s start with some basic facts. Do you like her?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Does she like you?’
‘I believe she does.’ She’d said as much and he was confident about this statement. Levi nodded as he nibbled the last few bites surrounding the apple core.
‘Are you going to see her again?’
‘Yes.’ He had every intention of seeing her as often as he could until she left or … he had no idea what might come next.
‘Have you made arrangements to see her?’
‘Is there a limit on the number of questions you can ask me?’ He ought to have put some parameters around this interview from the get-go.
‘Nope. I get to ask as many as I need to until I feel a sense of safety about the issue.’
‘Excuse me?’ Sam shook his head in disbelief.
‘I haven’t made arrangements to see her. I’d been thinking about what we might do for our next date when you and I started this conversation.’
‘Sounds like you need some help.’
Sam doubted that. Levi’s own emotional life appeared to be a tangled hormonal mess. What guidance could he offer his dad? ‘Help away,’ he said, curious to see what gems of wisdom Levi had on hand.
Levi strolled to the pantry and opened the doors. He retrieved the pack of assorted cream biscuits and returned to sit on a stool at the kitchen bench.
‘Right,’ he said as he opened the pack and slid the plastic tray all the way out. Sam knew the task of putting the wrapper back on the tray to be a near impossible one. He held his tongue.
Levi selected an orange cream and bit into it with surprising delicacy. ‘You could take her to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame,’ he said through a mouthful of biscuit. ‘She’s here to research the outback and they offer a dinner and a show package.’
‘We did the paddle boat thing. I want her to feel as if she’s on a date, not a cultural tour.’
‘Fair enough.’ Levi devoured the rest of his biscuit, selecting another flavour from the tray. ‘Want one?’
‘No thank you.’
‘There’s dinner at Harry’s,’ Levi said after giving his second biscuit a good chew.
‘Good suggestion.’ Harry’s always delivered quality. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Possibly because he’d been off the dating scene for decades and his imagination had only ever stretched to the pub. ‘Sarah heard all about Captain Starlight on the cruise which makes a restaurant named in honour of Harry Redford perfect.’
‘See, and you thought I didn’t know what I was talking about.’ Sam didn’t want to admit Levi had a point. ‘The restaurant is nice and close to where Sarah is staying too.’ Levi gave him a sly look. ‘I’m old enough to stay by myself overnight. Good practice for boarding school.’
‘Except at boarding school you’re surrounded by responsible adults and a bunch of other boys.’ Sam wanted to keep his distance from Levi’s implications. Not because he didn’t want Sarah, because he did. He wasn’t interested in talking about his sex life with his fifteen-year-old son. The concept weirded him out.
Levi shrugged. ‘The principle remains the same.’ He slid off the stool and dusted biscuit crumbs off his shirt. ‘Seriously, Dad, I want you to be happy. She seems like a decent person, but be careful okay?’
He sauntered out of the room before Sam could form a response, leaving the biscuits where they lay.
‘Hey, Levi, come back and put the biscuits away,’ he called after him, only to be answered with the sound of the bedroom door closing. ‘Damn teenagers,’ he muttered as he fished a plastic container out of the cupboard and put the biscuits into it.
How did Levi know if Sarah happened to be a decent person? He’d spent next to no time with her. Sam rearranged the top layer of biscuits, trying to fit the last one into the container.
Warning him to be careful rankled too. He was long past being careful. This woman had already breached his defences. If this thing ended badly, he’d be crushed and there would be nothing he could do about it. He’d cast his lot whatever the outcome.
He gave up and ate the biscuit, jamming the lid on the container with unnecessary force.
If his fate was truly sealed, then what was he waiting for? He chewed the Monte Carlo thoughtfully. Best to make his move and see how Sarah felt about things. See how far they could take this, whatever it might become. Boots and all.
The revelation he had nothing to lose settled on him. Levi would leave at some point and he’d be on his own. Who knew when he’d feel this way about someone again? Maybe never. Longreach was a small town. The odds weren’t good.
He picked up his phone to call Sarah and invite her to dinner. While Sam had no idea what the next step in their budding relationship should be, he did know he wanted Sarah in his life. All he had to do was go and get her.
Notes for ‘Finding Love in the Outback’
Interview #6
Bruce (65) and Monica (63). Met six months ago at a CWA event in Maryborough.
Monica: My husband passed away ten years ago. Cancer. I didn’t expect to meet anyone, not at my age, and not out here in the country. More likely to be abducted by aliens than meet a good man.
Bruce: You’re only sixty-three! People from my planet are only considered middle-aged at sixty-three. Me, I’d been alone for the last five years. My wife died of cancer too.
Monica: One thing we had in common (she takes his hand and smiles into his eyes).
Bruce: Not the only thing (winks).
Monica: We met when I entered a cake in the Country Women’s Association district competition. I don’t usually do that sort of thing, but a friend encouraged me, and I thought why not?
Bruce: I usually avoid those events like the plague, but my sister nominated me as a judge. Said getting out of the house would be good for me and there’d be cake. How could I resist?
Monica: He liked my cake the best.
Bruce: I couldn’t award her the blue ribbon though. I was worried what people would say when we started dating. I didn’t want them to gossip and say she only won because I fancied her. To be honest I don’t even remember what kind of cake it was. I saw you and thought I’d like a slice of that to take home.
Monica: (slapping his arm playfully) I can’t believe you just said that. Don’t print that in the paper, whatever you do.