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After the meeting several of the locals who supported Kylena stayed made themselves known to John and Fiona while Julie retreated to the swimming pool to find Helen. John was about to head back home when Kylena approached him.
"John," she said in a quite voice. "How can I ever thank you? Without your three votes we would have lost and I'd be out of a job."
"I didn't like the hypocrisy of the whole meeting." He grinned and wiped a hand across his sunburned brow.
" I also had ulterior motives."
"You did?"
"Yes. The thought of carting the kids ten miles over a windy road every day when they could just walk down the road was enough to motivate anyone. I reckon I would have been the one doing the trip twice a day. Fiona flatly refuses to drive on these narrow gravel roads."
"You could have joined Linda's car pool." Kylena said with a laugh.
"And end up taking her screaming little brats every alternate week. No thanks."
"Oh John." Kylena brushed his arm with her hand and her blue eyes twinkled. "They are a bit spoilt, aren't they? Mind you, away from their mother they're quite nice kids."
John coughed and glanced down at her. My God, she was a good looker. "Well, I'd better get back to the hay," he muttered. "There's another field with the bales waiting to be brought in."
"Yes," Kylena replied and glanced to the northwest where dark clouds were building up. "It'll be raining by six."
"So you know the local weather?"
"I do. Do you need a hand?"
"You mean with the hay? It's heavy work, you know."
"I was brought up on a farm. I could drive a truck or tractor for you."
"Haven't you enough work here at school?" John gave a half-hearted protest.
"There's always school work but if a thundershower arrives on your hay..." Kylena fixed John with a wide gaze. "Look, I'll get into some old clothes."
John watched her walk away and grinned to himself. It had been an unusual day that had shown the type of people his neighbours were. Half way across the world and they were the same as at home. He could imagine a similar situation happening at the elementary school Helen attended the previous year. He remembered one major controversy when a parent had complained about her children being mistreated. She was a pain in the butt, too. It was ironical how the worse parents were the ones so quick to condemn others.
"I told you she was a honey," Fiona interrupted. "There's more to that girl than a pretty face. I'd say she's got a streak of determination that will take her a long way."
"Could be, Fiona," John replied. “Give the girls a yell, will you? We'd better head home."
They were back in the Land Rover when Kylena, now dressed in a light sweater and jeans came running out, opened the rear door and jumped in beside Julie.
*
If anything, Kylena was better at driving the old truck than John and with both men at the back stacking the bales her presence sped everything up considerably. The spiky grass smelt that unique hot dry aroma of the outdoors while the sun still shone below a bank of black thunderclouds. Helen sat in the truck cab with Kylena and talked incessantly as they crawled around the paddock. After talking about their old home, the journey out, what she thought of New Zealand and all the other items six year olds are interested in, the conversation turned to Helen's family.
"And why isn't your mummy with you?" the teacher asked in a casual voice as she sped up and headed for the farm track with the tray loaded with swaying bales.
"Mommy got a lump and died," Helen replied in a frank but sad voice. “Poor Mommy got real skinny at the end. Daddy cried when she died and so did Julie and me."
"I'm sorry, Helen," Kylena replied. "I didn't realize your mummy had died."
"That's okay," Helen chirped up. "We promised Mommy we'd still come here and Grandma came too. " She pouted. "I love Grandma. Mommy got grumpy when she was sick but Daddy said it was the pain that made her that way, not the real mommy inside."
"I think your daddy was right" Kylena replied. Her eyes caught a view of John following the truck on his farm bike and she nodded in compassion. "Your Daddy's a good man."
John came up to the window and grinned into her eyes. “So you still have Helen with you?" He chuckled. "Talking her head off, as usual?"
"She's great company," Kylena responded. "Julie went off to help her grandma cook some muffins for afternoon tea but Helen stayed with me."
"I don't talk too much, Daddy," Helen retorted. "Anyhow, Miss Delton likes talking. She wouldn't be a teacher, otherwise."
John's eyes meet Kylena's and they both laughed.
"Two more loads should do it," John added. "And you were right. That rain is not far away." He wiped a sweaty handkerchief over his brow. "We're twice as fast with your help."
"Yes but without that stupid meeting you would have had it done by now."
"I guess it’s good to have it behind you, though."
"It is," Kylena admitted. "I worried about it all holidays and almost never came back to the valley. When one's health is affected by the job it's not really worth the effort."
"Well, you did return and I'm glad." John's voice turned serious. "It would have been a damn shame if they'd closed our wonderful little school. It happened at home. They closed all the small schools and consolidated onto the towns. Once the schools were gone many little districts just disappeared, all absorbed into bigger impersonal conglomerates. That's one reason we came here. The farms around us were not viable any more and only the land was valuable. Our ranch was sold to a developer and will be filled with houses and shopping malls within a year."
"It's hard to imagine from out here," Kylena replied. "I love the country, too. Two years at city schools was enough for me. I thought it would be like the country school I attended at primary school but..." She shrugged. "I guess you can't change people. They can be so conservative out here in the country. As a child, you don't realize."
"I know, but don't worry. I reckon you're better off without those rednecks around."
"Yeah, and a big American riding in to the rescue." Kylena laughed. "God, I'll never forget everyone's faces when you three walked in the door. They'd added their figures up and knew they had the numbers then, not one, but three of you arrived."
"Like John Wayne," John laughed. He pulled his hat down over his eyes and stared straight ahead. "We'll head 'em off at the pass," he drawled in a perfect imitation of the actor.
"Oh Daddy," Helen cut in. "You're so funny."
*
By six-thirty, the clouds had blotted out the sun, drips landed on the parched landscape and a pungent fragrance of hot damp grass filled the air. Almost to the minute the teacher predicted the storm arrived. Fork lightning flashed against the inky sky, thunder rumbled through the hills and within seconds, the plopping drops changed to torrential rainfall that swept across Top Oasis from the northwest.
But the hay was in. Kylena helped John and Reid cover the exposed side of the hay shed with a massive tarpaulin before the three, followed by a bubbly Helen, dashed through the downpour into a different aroma, that of cooking.
"We've got scones and muffins," Julie called out from the huge oven. "Grandma got the recipes from the ladies at the Country Women's Institute.” She placed her hands on her hips and glowered at the workers. "And don't you wet people come in here getting water everywhere. I'll go and get you some towels."
"Bossy bit, isn't she?" John said after Julie disappeared through the door.
"But that food smells delicious," Reid added.
"And the coffee, too." Kylena added. She swished back her wet hair and smiled at John, a full smile that showed a row of white teeth and reached her blue eyes.
John grinned as a whiff of perfume reached his nostrils. He felt strange inside as an emotion, not felt for years, surged through his body; that feeling of hope and joy all rolled into one.
"Don't worry about Julie." His voice came out as a hoarse grunt. " Come in and sit yourselves down."
His eyes, though, were firmly fixed on the young schoolteacher a few steps away. It had been a fateful day in more ways than one.
*
"Grandma," screamed Julie as she ran down the stairs for the second time. "Shall I wear my shorts or a skirt?"
It was seven-thirty on the first morning of the term. Helen wandered out of the upstairs bathroom with a smirk on her face. "I'm wearing my pink shorts. Everyone wears shorts to school, here."
"And how do you know, Miss Know-it-all?"
It was now Helen's turn to scream, "Daddy, Julie's being mean to me."
John sat at the kitchen table and grinned at his mother-in-law. "You deal with them before a civil war begins. They've been like this for two days now. I swear if school didn't start today, I'd go and open it myself, throw the kids in and leave them there."
"Grandma!"
"Coming Sweetheart."
"What shall I wear?" Julie moaned. "Do my clothes look funny? They're different than the New Zealand ones. I wish I'd bought some more when we were in town."
"You look just fine Sweetheart. It's going to be a hot day so I'd just wear shorts if I was you," Fiona said.
"But Grandma, what if the other girls wear skirts?"
"Well wear both. Wrap your skirt around your shorts and later you can take your skirt off if you want to."
"That's a good idea. Can I do it, Grandma?" Helen joined in.
"Copy cat," retorted Julie and disappeared into her room.
After shoving in breakfast the pair headed out the door a little after eight and insisted on being driven in the Fairmont, not the old Land Rover. John shrugged at Fiona and headed out.
A couple of cars were already at the school and a handful of children were playing around when they arrived.
Julie stared nervously out the windshield and back to her father. "I'm nervous, Dad," she whispered. "It's so different."
"You'll be fine, Julie. You know Miss Delton and half the children already."
"I guess," Julie said and glowered at her little sister who sat between them, cool and confident. John grinned again. He'd expected Helen to be the timid one. "They'll say I talk funny... Are you sure my clothes are okay?"
"Look at it this way Sweetheart," John said as swung the car onto the grass verged. "You'll be the biggest one here. Everyone will be worried about what you are like."
Julie broke into a grin. "You're right, Dad. I never thought of that."
She grabbed her new backpack and disappeared with a quick wave. Helen cuddled into her father, kissed him and followed.
*
Just inside the gate Julie heard her name being called and turned to see a chubby, dark haired girl about her own age standing by the hedge.
"Hi Julie, I'm Melanie Blackburn. When we heard you were coming to school, Mum said I could come back here instead of going to Junction Road." the girl said. " I'm in Year 7. Say, I love your top and skirt. Did you bring them from America with you?"
"These old things," Julie replied and brushed her skirt down. "I think they were."
"I love your accent," Melanie added. "You sound just like those stars on T.V. "
"Do I? Thanks, Melanie. I'm sure glad you're here. I thought I'd be the only senior."
"Miss Denton's a great teacher," Melanie continued as they continued up the path. "I didn't want to change schools but Mum reckoned I needed other people my own age.” She turned to the six year old tagging on. "Hi, you must be Helen," she said." My little brother Brad is in your class. He's over there on the climbing frames."
"Hi Melanie," Helen responded and smiled up at the older girl.
*
At nine the bell rang, the sixteen children welcomed the two new pupils into their clan and the school year began. Julie relaxed and stared around. There was no flag in the room; no formal declaration of allegiance and the only announcements was a brief welcome to the newcomers.
"Come on," Melanie said after everyone settled down to work. "Miss Delton always takes reading with the little ones, first thing. We usually have three projects going. It's all set out on these charts. "
"Three?" Julie responded.
"Yes, language, math and theme. Theme is science, social studies or technology. Every three weeks it changes." She giggled. "Last year, I did most of my work at home. Poor Miss Delton had these horrible Year 7 and 8 boys to deal with all the time. They did what she said, though, especially after she stopped them participating in the interschool sports as a punishment. I remember the time when ..."
"Melanie," Miss Delton's quiet voice came across the room. "I asked you to show Julie our program."
"Sorry, Miss Delton." The girl flushed and grinned at Julie. "We have work set for us and can do it in any order. I usually do math first. At quarter to ten, Miss Delton spends time with us so if you don't understand anything..." Her voice drifted on.
Across the room, Helen was reading to her teacher.
"Goodness, you are a good reader, Helen," the teacher said after listening to three extracts from an informal reading test. "I was going to put you on the blue books but you can go in the purple group with Gary, Len and Susan."
"Can I, Miss Delton?" Helen's eyes lit up. The others were Year 3 children.
*
"Fiona," John shouted in the kitchen door. "I'm taking the truck down to Marton to pick up the fence posts and gates, I ordered. Do you want to come?" Marton was a small service town an hour's drive away.
"No thanks," the voice came back. "I'm tidying the girls' rooms. There's a list of food I need on the bench. Could you drop into a market?"
"Sure," John replied, grabbed the note and wandered out to the truck.
The faded red Bedford was thirty or more years old, covered in grim and cobwebs and had a dent along the passenger door. The wooden tray, though, was tidy after being swept down after the haymaking. John opened the door, realized he'd walked to the passenger's side and slid across behind the steering wheel.
"I'll never get used to it being on the wrong side," he muttered to himself as he used his left hand to change gears and headed down the drive.
*
The incident happened on one of the narrowest sections of the road and even though John was travelling in low gear he was still caught unaware. A couple of dozen large black beef cattle blocked the road.
John braked, there was a violent bang and one of the cattle lurched away. John sat shaken but was sure the beast had crashed into his truck, not the other way around.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"
Angry words filled the air and John saw a red-faced man in black singlet, shorts and gumboots, as locals called the tall rubber boots New Zealand farmers wore, standing beside a four-wheeled farm bike. He frowned when he recognized the farmer. It was that Kelvin guy who'd walked out when the motion to close the school was lost.
The man swore at two black dogs sitting in a box tied to the carrier of the bike. "Get the hell back, you mangy mutts," he screamed and swung an arm out. They leaped out and ran off to try to catch the animals that had run in every direction. He whistled and cursed a few moments while the dogs did their work, before turning his attention back to the driver who had wound the cab window down and was peering out.
"You just about killed one of my beasts you stupid bugger," the man roared and banged a fist on the truck's side.
John stared in amazement. It was only a slight accident, as far as he could tell the beast was not hurt and the others were, at that moment, being gathered up by the dogs. “There’s no harm done buddy," he retorted. Normally he would have apologized but the irate guy annoyed him.
"Oh, it's you," the man growled. An unshaven face and watery eyes glared in the cab. "If you can't drive properly, stay off the bloody road. You're lucky you didn't kill my beast."
"Calm down," John retorted. "There was no harm done. Anyhow, you could have had your farm bike at the front to warn me cattle were coming"
This seemed to infuriate the man more. "Don't you bloody tell me what to do! I've been driving cattle through here for twenty years now and you bastards with the big money come in and think you own the place."
"I do," John replied in a quiet voice.
"What?"
"Own the place.” John replied. "At least the property beyond that fence your cattle are trying to jump."
"Real smart arse aren't you?" the man swore without any relapse in his temper. "I advise you..."
But John had had enough of this foul-mouthed farmer. With his own eyes blazing, he shoved the truck door open, swung himself out of the cab and landed on the grass verge beside the man. He towered above the irate farmer and one muscular arm was clenched in a fist almost as large as a plate. "What do you advice, Kelvin?" he hissed through his teeth.
The man swallowed and stepped back with his hand held up. "Okay, mate," he whispered. "As you said, there was no harm done. It doesn't pay to frighten these beasts, that's all."
John glared at the man. "We're neighbours and it has always been my philosophy to get on with my neighbours but it's a two way street, pal," His eyes bore down at the man. “I did not purposely frighten your animals and do not appreciate your foul-mouthed language. Get it?" he gave the man a rough push on the shoulder.
"Right, mate. No harm done." Kelvin cowered back.
"Then think twice before you go off the deep end, next time,"
The American swung himself back into the Bedford, crunched into gear and drove off. He'd calmed down by the time he'd reached the top of the hill and thoughts, for no apparent reason, turned to Kylena. My God, if that guy's son was as bad tempered as he was it would have been no fun trying to teach the kid. From what he'd heard, the son was a Year 8 like Julie. Thank God he’d been shifted to the other school. They were welcome to him.
*
School finished for the day at three and by three thirty, Julie and Helen who'd walked home, bounded in to where Fiona had some cookies and two cans of coke waiting.
"Grandma," screamed Helen with her eyes like saucers. You know what? I'm in the purple reading group, we went swimming, I got my spelling almost all right," She screwed her nose up. "Except for colour that they stick a "u" in and ..."
"Whoa, slow down, Sweetheart. So it was a nice day?"
"There's another senior girl called Melanie," Julie interrupted with her voice as excited as her sister's. "I thought the work would be too easy but the math was real hard, something about graphing algebraic equations. I've never done it before but Miss Delton explained it all and there was a CD-Rom with it all on that I went though. I've got oodles of homework. We're doing a theme on United States history." She grinned. "I'm pretty sure Miss Delton purposely picked it for me but she had stacks of library books on the topic and even gave me a web site to look up."
"So you like your new school?"
"Love it," Helen almost shouted. "You know, we had two swims, a school one with lessons and a fun one at lunch time?"
"And I've come home for my tennis racket," Julie continued. " Melanie's coming back at four. We're having a game of tennis then a swim. I met her mom and she invited me up sometime."
"And did you meet any friends, Helen?"
"Lots, Grandma. There are six in my class. It's the biggest in the school. Four girls and two boys."
"Where's Dad?" Julie just realized her grandmother had been alone when they had arrived.
"He went to pick up a load of fence posts and gates from Marton. He'll be back soon."
"Great," Julie laughed, grabbed a cookie and tore upstairs to find her tennis racket.
There was a sound of a vehicle outside and the Bedford, piled high with fencing gear, rumbled in. The girls rushed outside to repeat their news with John.
"I bought you both something," John said after patiently listening to the reports on their day.
He handed them a plastic bag each that they opened to find massive beach towels. Julie's showed a youth riding a surf board while Helen's had a massive smiling fish. Julie held her one out and gazed at her father.
"I love you Dad," she said in a serious voice and slipped her arms around him.
"Me too," bubbled Helen and waited to be lifted, one handed, up onto her father's shoulders.
*