16

Kaydon stood at the mirror and flipped one end of his bow tie over the other. He hadn’t found time to get a red one. He finished tying it and pulled on his dinner jacket. After three long, hot days on the ’dozer pushing scrub in the back paddocks, it felt weird to be dressed in this stiff gear. With luck Chrissy wouldn’t be too worried about the tie. Black still went with red, right?

He buttoned his shirt cuffs and then stood combing his fingers through his hair, leaving it damp and messy. He quickly brushed his teeth, then grabbed his wallet and walked out to the kitchen. It was abuzz with voices and laughter.

Mum’s mates had taken over the kitchen. Auntie Bev, with an apron tied around her waists, arranged food onto platters and pulled trays of goodies out of the oven. The entire house smelled of buttery pastry and frying onions.

The lounge room was also full of people. Some he recognised as mum’s fundraising committee friends, others were neighbours and livestock agents and old schoolteachers. Dad, Aaron and Uncle Maurie sat on the lounge closest to the fireplace, drinking beer and talking to Hugh Parker. Chrissy must be here somewhere too. He glanced out the window and saw her on the front lawn, drinking champagne with her mother.

She wore a red flowing dress with shoestring shoulder-straps. Her hair was swept up and she wore dangly, sparkling earrings. She looked amazing. From her animated gestures he could see that she was totally in her element.

Kaydon felt a sudden rush of apprehension. Girls like that didn’t just hang out with the boys and drink beer. She was a princess, not the type to give away kisses easily. Suddenly he wished he could just sit in a quiet corner with a few friends, sneak a couple of beers and watch from the sidelines.

But tonight he had to bring his A-game, or Dan would have him in a balaclava by midnight. For the first time in his life he felt grateful that his mother had made him go to all those dancing lessons.

Beyond Chrissy, he could see the marquee set up on the polocrosse field. Utes and four-wheel drives were filling the grassy space beside it. Stepping out of them were blokes wearing black tie on top and stubby shorts and thongs from the waist down, girls in flowing gowns and work boots, a reed-thin bloke wearing a top hat arm-in-arm with a hairy-chested fella in a pink tutu. Others wore jeans and a T-shirt with a screenprinted black tie on the front.

‘Shall we head over?’ His mother appeared behind him in an emerald-green dress.

Chrissy came towards them. ‘Kay-don! Why are you in here?’

‘What do you mean?’ He reached over and stole a vol-au-vent from a passing tray.

‘We’re supposed to be over at the marquee having pre-dinner drinks.’

‘Sorry.’ He smiled and tried to be conciliatory. ‘You’re here now. Want a pastry thingy?’

‘No, I want you to find my corsage and put it on my wrist. Where is your boutonniere?’

Kaydon stopped chewing. Was she kidding? He looked at her glancing about the room. Nope. She wasn’t kidding. She was going to be a high-maintenance date.

‘Mum put them on the sideboard in the hallway,’ he said. ‘Want me to get them?’

‘Thank you,’ she said in a composed voice.

Moments later, Chrissy pinned the boutonniere to his lapel. ‘White roses, perfect.’

‘Hey, babe!’ Aaron called across the room.

Stacey stood in the doorway in a short black dress and gumboots, a case of beer on her shoulder. ‘You know your boyfriend’s got you well trained when not only do you buy him a slab of beer, but also make sure it’s the first thing out of the car so it doesn’t go warm and flat.’

Aaron loped across the room in a few easy strides. ‘Definitely a top girlfriend,’ he smiled, planting a long kiss on her mouth.

Kaydon watched them and wondered how the heck he was ever going to do that to Chrissy. He’d been nuts to make this bet. Maybe he’d ask Aaron for some pointers later.

Chrissy barely disguised her disgust. ‘I can’t wait to go and live in civilisation.’

As the room emptied and people began to file out the front door towards the marquee, Bron pulled Kaydon aside. ‘Where’s your wallet?’

He pulled it out and his mother inserted a thick wad of notes. ‘Two hundred dollars. Why don’t you have a bid on the first dance?’ She tilted her head towards Chrissy. ‘Put all those expensive ballroom dance lessons to good use.’ She gave him a wink.

He made his way back to Chrissy, who stood with her parents. ‘Ready?’

‘I’m so nervous, can you tell? The photographer from The Land newspaper is here. This is how models get discovered, especially out in the bush. I really need to stand out.’

‘All you need to do is stay sober and behave and you’ll stand out,’ he grinned. He took her arm. ‘Let’s go.’

He was about to lead her to the marquee when her father called him back. ‘Wait a minute, Kaydon.’ Hugh Parker pulled his wallet from his back pocket. ‘How much does the first dance usually go for?’ He flipped the wallet open and Kaydon couldn’t help noticing an unusually fat wad of cash.

‘Ummm . . .’

‘Well?’ Mr Parker fingered the notes. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Kaydon shrugged, uncertain. ‘A few hundred?’

‘What? Like three, four hundred? How many hundred?’

‘It’s different every time.’

Mr Parker counted out five one-hundred-dollar notes and passed them to Kaydon. ‘If it goes higher than that, just keep bidding. I’ll fix it up.’ He pointed a finger at Chrissy, who was standing by the entrance to the drinks area with her mother. ‘See that girl?’

Kaydon nodded.

‘She’s beautiful, isn’t she?’

‘Very,’ agreed Kaydon.

‘She’s the most beautiful girl here tonight, don’t you think?’

Kaydon stalled. Mr Parker raised his eyebrows another notch.

‘Yes. Of course.’

Hugh Parker pointed to the notes in Kaydon’s hand. ‘Make sure you take good care of her. See she gets the first dance.’