Rilee felt unusually nervous as she watched the school hall fill up with high school students. She’d been keeping going on strong coffee after her sleepless night. She was really only here for moral support. Lisa was the one giving the presentation, along with Teal who would be talking about the centre and the services they were offering, so Rilee wasn’t exactly sure why she was feeling so nervous.
The school’s vice-principal, who had taken over while the principal was on long service leave and who had become a strong advocate for the program, took the stage to make introductions and then handed over to Teal. Rilee was impressed with the amount of information the young man was able to give the kids. Dressed in jeans and a faded T-shirt, with shaggy hair and dirty old sneakers, he didn’t inspire a great deal of confidence at first glance. However, as soon as he started talking about the program, his eyes lit up and his face became animated in a way only true passion could create. After listening to him talk, Rilee was positive that the community centre and its services would be critical in helping young people in town reach their full potential. There were plenty of resources available; the only obstacle was access. They needed to get the community centre up and running sooner rather than later.
And then it was Lisa’s turn. Rilee was in awe of the way she spoke to the teenagers. She began telling them how difficult it had been for her growing up gay in a small town and how isolated she’d felt. She told them about the pharmacy’s private consulting room and then launched into a sexual health talk. Typically there were nervous giggles and a few unsavoury comments that had teachers frowning silent warnings to the instigators, but Lisa took it all in her stride.
‘The morning-after pill,’ Lisa said, bringing up the next slide. ‘You’ve probably heard of it, and until now it’s not been readily available in Pallaburra. I wanted to talk to you all about what it is and what it isn’t.’
Rilee noticed a few of the older girls in the hall seemed interested, even if a lot of the others, particularly the boys, weren’t.
‘It’s a form of emergency contraception that can be taken up to seventy-two hours after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. The sooner it is taken the more effective it is. It’s used after unprotected sex, or when the condom has broken or fallen off during sex, or a girl has missed taking the pill.’ Lisa pressed the keyboard to show the next slide.
‘The morning-after pill is basically a very high dose of hormones. It is not an abortion pill. The hormones help prevent the girl’s egg being fertilised by delaying ovulation or preventing a fertilised egg from implanting in the womb. The morning-after pill can be given by a doctor or a pharmacist. Here in Pallaburra, because we have no doctor in town at present, you’ll need to come in and see me. I’ll take you into the consulting room and ask you some questions about your general health and tell you how to use the pill. I’ll let you know about any side effects and what to do next. It will be all completely private, so anything that you tell me will stay between you and I.’
Rilee felt her throat tighten a little at Lisa’s words. She thought about Shaz’s friend and how she was humiliated when she asked for help. She wasn’t sure if Lisa understood the extent of what she was offering here today. For these young girls to know they had someone who cared running a place in town that they could go to in times of need was an enormous support.
‘While the morning-after pill is a relatively safe backup for an emergency, it should never be used as the only way of preventing pregnancy. It’s designed for short-term use only. So let’s talk about what other kinds of contraception are available.’
Rilee gave Lisa a thumbs-up after she finished her talk and for the rest of the day couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.
The next morning as she walked towards the clinic, Rilee glanced up and stopped in her tracks. A large spiderweb of cracked glass covered the lower section of her office window. She looked around and spotted a rock a few metres away on the footpath, her heart thudding painfully against her ribs as she tried to process the damage.
‘You got yourself a broken window.’ The slow drawl came from behind her and Rilee spun around to find an older man leaning out of his car window.
‘Yes, looks like it,’ she said despondently.
‘Young kids up to no good, if you ask me,’ the man put in. ‘You need to give the coppers a call, I reckon.’
‘Yes, well, I better go inside and find someone to fix it,’ she said, politely trying to escape. She was shaken by the unexpected vandalism and needed a moment or two to process it all.
Her fingers fumbled with the key as she unlocked the door, but eventually she got it open and hurried inside, closing it firmly behind her. Before she had time to think, the phone began to ring and she moved across the room to answer it. She was too shaken to give the usual greeting, barely managing a breathless, ‘Hello.’
‘Good morning, Rilee. It’s Priscilla Montgomery.’
‘Priscilla,’ there was no way she could hide the surprise in her voice, and she didn’t bother trying.
‘You haven’t wasted any time stirring up trouble, I hear.’
‘I’m not sure what you’re talking about.’
‘I think you should brace yourself for some backlash over your little sex ed campaign. I wanted to let you know that I’m taking a personal interest and intend to assist disgruntled parents in taking it up with the school.’
‘I don’t see what it has to do with you—you don’t have children there.’ She knew she sounded blunt, but this woman’s sugary tone grated on her nerves.
‘My family are long-standing members of the community and anything that affects the town affects me.’
‘Really? So now you and your family are interested in helping out the local community? I seem to remember you weren’t overly keen on the idea when I brought it up with the ladies’ church committee.’
‘I’m born and bred in this community. You’ll always be an outsider. I think you should remember that.’
‘And I think you should stop wasting my time. I have work to do.’
‘I was just trying to give you a heads-up, but if that’s the way you feel…’ She let her voice trail off and Rilee could only imagine the sly smile on her face as she hung up.
Rilee glanced down, noticing the messages light flashing on her phone.
‘How dare you talk to our kids without our permission? Parents should have been informed about this,’ a woman said briskly before the phone call disconnected.
Rilee hung up but pressed the message recall button, a feeling of dread pooling in her stomach.
‘Who gave you the right to tell our kids about contraception?’ was the next message, and the following three were in the same vein. Her mobile began to ring and she reluctantly dug through her handbag to locate it, breathing a small sigh of relief when Lisa’s name came up on the screen.
‘You won’t believe what’s been happening all morning,’ she started.
‘Abusive phone calls?’ Rilee asked.
‘How’d you…Are you getting them too?’
‘Yes, I just walked into the clinic and I’ve got about half a dozen voicemail messages and a broken window. I’m pretty sure I know who’s behind it too.’
‘A broken window? Have you called the police?’
‘Not yet. I’m not sure there’s anything they can do about it.’
‘You have to report it, Rilee. This is serious.’
‘We can’t be sure it’s even connected to the phone calls,’ although she found that a little hard to believe.
‘It might not be worth opening today,’ Lisa said with a weary sigh.
‘I can’t afford not to open. I’ll just mute the phone and hope they get tired of leaving messages. I’m sure it’ll all blow over.’
Lisa hadn’t sounded very confident, but they hung up and Rilee felt her shoulders slump as her gaze drifted to the smashed front window. While she didn’t think Priscilla would actually stoop to vandalism, she was sure that it was a consequence of the woman inciting outrage amongst high school parents. Insurance would take care of her broken window, but bringing the police into the situation and throwing around accusations was probably only going to make things worse. She couldn’t afford to become any more alienated from the community than she already was.
The day dragged by, the phone ominously silent. No bookings, no enquiries, nothing. By the time she locked up for the day and drove home, Rilee’s energy levels were flagging badly. The last thing she felt like doing was having a discussion with Ellen, but it seemed she had little choice as she parked her car and saw the woman heading across the yard towards her. There was no need to wonder what it was about. Rilee gave a small groan at the furious expression on her mother-in-law’s face and braced herself. ‘Let me guess, you had a call from Priscilla?’
‘And just about everyone else from the church committee. What on earth were you thinking?’
‘Oh, I don’t know…maybe that with a bit of education we can stop a few kids becoming teenage parents?’
‘You being part of all this nonsense is reflecting upon us all. How dare you decide to do something like this without consulting us first?’
‘Consulting you?’ Rilee stared at the woman. ‘I beg your pardon?’
A ute pulled up behind them and Rilee absently noted Dan’s arrival, but she was too furious to bother with a greeting.
‘Daniel, were you aware of what your wife has been up to lately? Have you heard about the uproar she’s caused?’
‘Mum, why don’t we come over later after everyone’s had time to calm down—’
‘We are not going to go over there,’ Rilee snapped, turning to face her husband. ‘This is none of your business, Ellen.’
‘Are you going to stand there and let her speak to me like that, Daniel?’
‘Oh for goodness sake!’ Rilee threw her hands in the air and walked towards her house. She needed to get away before she said something she would regret forever.
The door banged a few moments later as Dan came inside and slammed his hat on the hook. ‘What the hell is going on?’
‘Apparently I’m corrupting the innocent children of Pallaburra.’
‘Mum said she’s been getting phone calls from people all day about you attending some meeting and telling kids where to get abortions.’
‘Oh for the love of God,’ Rilee said shaking her head. ‘Do you honestly think I’d do something like that? Seriously, Dan, sometimes I think you’re just as bad as she is.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Did it ever occur to you to ask me what she was talking about instead of coming in here and accusing me of something so ridiculous? I’m your wife, surely I deserve the benefit of the doubt?’
‘I did ask you!’
‘You accused me. There’s a difference.’
Dan pinched the bridge of his nose and hung his head. ‘Can you please just tell me what is going on?’
‘I attended an information session at the school yesterday, which I told you about but you were obviously too preoccupied to bother listening to.’
‘What kind of information session?’
‘To tell the kids about the Tamworth youth service, and the fact they’ve decided to go ahead and rent a room from me once a fortnight for appointments, until we get a community centre up and running.’
‘Then where did all the abortion talk come in?’
‘Lisa talked to them about accessing the morning-after pill and contraception. There was nothing about abortions.’
She saw Dan flinch and his hands clench. ‘And you didn’t think that some parents might have concerns about their kids being given that kind of information?’
‘It’s only what they’re supposed to be learning in health education anyway.’
‘This is not the city, Rilee.’
‘When are you going to stop using that stupid argument, Dan? No, it’s not the city and, yes, things are different out here, but we’re all living in the same times and, like it or not, Pallaburra needs to get its head out of the sand and wake up to reality.’
‘You’re stirring up trouble. You just can’t go rushing at it like a bull at the gate. You’re only going to get everyone off side.’
‘Well, it’s going to take more than a few abusive messages and a broken window to stop me.’
‘Wait. What? Broken window? What are you talking about?’ He frowned at her.
‘I don’t know, it was probably some kids mucking around or something.’
He stared at her open-mouthed for a moment, setting both his hands on his hips. ‘Why the hell didn’t you call me?’
‘Because I fixed it.’
‘Someone smashed a window. They were sending you a message, Rilee. This is serious. What did the coppers say?’
‘I didn’t call them.’ She saw his look of disbelief and didn’t give him a chance to protest. ‘There was no point, Dan. It was easier just to get the damn thing fixed. It’s over and done with.’
‘Easier?’ he said with an incredulous laugh. ‘It would be easier just to let this thing go now, before it gets any worse.’
‘I’m not going to stand by and watch one more girl have to give up on her future because she didn’t have access to good information and adequate contraception. This may not be the city but the kids here deserve the same choices.’
‘So your advice to them is to go get an abortion?’
‘I’m not talking about abortion. What aren’t you understanding about this?’
‘Any of it. I never thought you’d be this irresponsible, Rilee,’ Dan said, his voice raised.
‘Irresponsible?’ Rilee searched her husband’s furious expression, suddenly realising that his outrage was completely out of proportion to the argument. ‘I can’t believe you’re so ready to take your mother’s side on all of this.’
‘She’s actually right, though. You’re stirring up trouble and it has to stop.’
‘It has to stop?’ Rilee repeated in disbelief.
She saw Dan straighten his shoulders as he levelled a serious look at her. ‘It ends now, Rilee. All of it. I don’t want you involved in any of this damn crusade you and Lisa have started in town.’
Rilee stared at her husband, desperately trying to force some kind of coherent sentence from her mouth, but she was consumed by shock and outrage. He was forbidding her?
‘I’m serious, Rilee. This is getting out of hand. The phone calls, the threats. It’s over.’
‘Oh,’ Rilee shook her head adamantly as she glared at her husband, ‘this is far from over. It’s only just begun. If this town thinks it can shut me up by bullying me then it’s seriously underestimating me.’
‘I said, no more!’ Dan yelled and Rilee’s heart lunged in fright. The fact that he sounded exactly like his father was the bucket of cold water Rilee needed to snap her out of shock.
‘I am not your mother, Dan. And you are not your father. If you think for one moment you can raise your voice and bully me into something, you’re setting yourself up for a big disappointment. I will continue to fight for the kids in this town and I’ll continue to say whatever needs to be said to get the message through to those narrow-minded, self-righteous locals who refuse to admit the town has got a problem. If that makes you and your parents uncomfortable then I’d suggest you turn a blind eye to it…Shouldn’t be hard—after all, that’s what everyone seems to do out here.’
Dan’s face was a mask of unyielding anger. ‘It wasn’t a request.’
‘You’re assuming I was ever asking for your permission to start with,’ she shot back.
He glared at her, fists clenched by his sides, shoulders rigid with tension, then turned away, snatching his hat from the hook.
The door slammed and Rilee winced as the nearby window rattled in its frame.
She sunk into the closest chair and let out a breath. Her hands were shaking. Who was that man? He sure as hell wasn’t the Dan she thought she knew. You married him after three months, what did you expect? a little voice reminded her piously, but she pushed it away. No, she hadn’t made a mistake marrying him. She did know Dan; this was not who he was. But for one moment he’d sounded exactly like Jacob, and that thought horrified her. She felt ill. Confrontation had always made her uneasy, but there was no way she was backing down from this. Disappointment rose inside her. How could Dan demand she give up this fight when she knew with every fibre of her being that this was the right thing to do? These kids needed help. She couldn’t turn her back on them. She wouldn’t.
She pushed away the sadness that lingered after their fight. She couldn’t dwell on that, she needed to hold on to the outrage. Anger could fuel her determination far more effectively than sadness, and she was going to need every ounce of determination if she was going to continue this fight without any support from her husband.