“There’s some sort of talk up at the Fisheries camp this afternoon. You should come, too,” Skipper told me one morning as we walked down the jetty, away from the Dolphin.
“Why?” I asked.
“Some changes to the fishing rules out here or something. Fisheries Head Office bureaucrats bringing in some new rules, to justify why they have a job.” Skipper shrugged. He evidently didn’t like the bureaucrats. “They put on food and tell us what the changes are, so we fish by the rules. That leaves them free to go after the tourists who come out here, ignore the rules and catch too many fish.”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Head over there around two,” he called as he tinkled off down the shingle path.
I had lunch and took the path over to the Fisheries camp. Their camp looked like one of the mining camps I’d helped assemble and rarely got to stay in. A bunch of big dongas, with decking in between. And the new uplink, sticking up where I’d installed it.
I followed the other guys up the decking between two of the buildings and into a room that was obviously the common room of the camp. I saw it all now in daylight. Couches, a huge TV, a commercial-grade kitchen full of gleaming stainless steel and a bunch of dining tables. The tables were pushed up against the wall today, the dining chairs set out in rows behind the sofas. A screen was suspended from the ceiling, next to the TV.
I took one of the dining chairs next to Skipper, who was deep in conversation with the bloke on his other side. The seats were only half full, with plenty of empty chairs. I let my mind drift, hoping I could stay awake through what looked to be a really boring talk.
I was jolted out of my reverie by Vanessa sliding into the chair beside me. “Ooh, have I missed anything?” she asked me with an eager smile.
I smiled in response almost automatically. “They haven’t started yet.”
“It looks like a big change today – researchers and Head Office staff,” Vanessa murmured in my ear.
“Do you know them?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “No, I know some of the senior staff from the Geraldton office. That’s Glen, he fancies himself the Lord Mayor of the Abrolhos. I guess he sort of is, in a way. That one’s Nick. He’s quieter, doesn’t say much. That one’s Rob, the Geraldton manager. He’s not out here much, he can’t handle a boat. He is a good cook, though.” She pointed at each as she spoke. “Then there’s two from Head Office in Perth, plus two from their research office.”
“How can you tell which is which?” I asked her.
She pointed at the floor. “From their shoes. All of us are in thongs and sandals, except the office people. They wear closed-in shoes, because they don’t like getting their feet wet.”
I laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
She put her hand on my shoulder and leaned closer to point at the offending shoes. “Look. They’re the only people in the room who aren’t showing their toes. Office staff, of course.”
I looked around. Thongs, sandals...and three pairs of closed-in shoes. “What about that one?” I asked, pointing at a third pair of shoes that weren’t on the feet of a Head Office person. I looked more closely at the owner of the shoes.
“That’s Rob. He’s an office person, too.”
“Oh.” I felt stupid.
She kept her hand on my shoulder for the whole of the talk, her leg brushing mine every time she shifted, occasionally murmuring comments in my ear. My heart beat faster than usual, probably because she was so close.
After the talk finished, Skipper noticed Vanessa next to me. “Are you trying to steal my new lucky deckie, Vanessa? Now I’ve finally got a deckie who can tell one end of a cray from the other you’re going to entice him away to the Siren?” He sounded annoyed, but only half serious. He wasn’t immune to her smile.
One end of a cray from the other? Yeah, one end’ll snap my fingers and toes off and the other end has beady eyes, watching to see if I’m stupid enough to get my fingers or toes within reach. But if she wants to entice me anywhere, all she has to do is ask.
Vanessa laughed. “I wouldn’t dare steal your deckie, Skipper, even if he does have a thorough knowledge of anatomy.” God, what I’d give for a more thorough knowledge of her anatomy. “But I might want to borrow him when the girls go over to Geraldton to do the shopping, if you can spare him.”
“For you, Vanessa, anything,” Skipper replied. “Just as long as you bring him back in one piece.”
Great. Now he’s loaning me out like I’m a wheelbarrow. Do I have any say here?
I glanced at Vanessa. To my surprise, she was smiling at me.
“Excuse me, gentlemen, but I want to ask a question.” She pressed my shoulder as she stood up, her eyes focused on someone across the room. She took something from the table where the food was and popped it in her mouth as she went past, not breaking stride.
My eyes weren’t the only ones watching her cross the room. Heads turned to follow her, all of the faces carefully expressionless. As she stopped beside the Fisheries staff, the same heads snapped back to where they’d been before she moved.
You don’t have a hope in hell. None of us do, and deep down we all know it. But we all wish we’re wrong.
She greeted a Fisheries researcher with her eager smile and the two were soon in earnest discussion. The researcher pulled up a slide that showed a map of the Western Australian coast, with shifting colours across the ocean. I’d seen it during the talk, but not been interested enough to tune in to the commentary that went with it. Evidently Vanessa had paid more attention than I had.
I turned to the food and piled some up on a plate. I took it to a seat where I had a good view of both her and the rest of the room. The other fishers and deckies descended on the food, too. I heard the door bang and looked out the window to see who’d left without eating. Vanessa’s deckies were walking stiffly down the decking toward her boat, as equally deep in conversation as their skipper.
I looked at Vanessa again. She’d finished talking to the researcher and she’d moved on to the Geraldton Fisheries staff. She said a few words and collected smiles from all of them. One of them mentioned the food, pointing at the table. She laughed and walked with Rob, the one with the shoes, to the tables where the food was laid out. She accepted a plate from him and selected a few items from different platters, as he pointed to them.
She moved away from the table, still talking to him. He offered her a drink, which she accepted, balancing the cup and plate somewhat awkwardly. He made some comment that she found funny. When she laughed, she tipped the drink and spilled some on the floor. Rob jumped back quickly, so he didn’t get his feet wet.
Trying hard not to laugh, she looked away from him. Her eye caught mine and she flashed me a brilliant smile.
My head went hazy. Sure I have a say in whether she gets to borrow me. And what I’ll say will be, “For you, Vanessa, anything.” Joe the wheelbarrow, at your service.