Maggie persevered with her mother over many years trying to find the reason why she had rejected her, but time after time the answer was never forthcoming. Perhaps there had never been a specific reason in the first place? Only Iris could answer that. All Maggie had ever wanted to know was why?
For such a small word, it presented the largest question that dominated her thoughts.
Just a few days prior to setting sail, Maggie had felt somewhat duty bound to bid her mother farewell. The visit had turned into an almighty argument when her mother accused her of being responsible for her father’s death. Maggie left the house vowing she wouldn’t waste any more tears over this woman ever again.
She thought back to her last week in England. It had been highly emotional and she was determined not to dwell too much on the spiteful things that her mother had said. But, it was easier said than done as she replayed the awful scene in her mind over and over wishing for a different outcome that she knew would never happen.
She switched her thoughts to the magnificient party held in her honour at Primrose Manor. The Squire had brought Christmas forward as the Great Hall was decorated in its finest festive glory as Maggie bade everyone a fond farewell.
Time had been against her and before she knew it, she was carrying her suitcases and walking down towards the village train station fully aware that Sally was watching her every move from her window. How Maggie had wanted to turn around, to see her best friend one last time, but she didn’t trust herself to do so. Maggie knew that if she turned around, then she would stay and her dream would be lost forever.
She had a chance at a fresh start and she was going to grab it with both hands.
Chapter Two
Maggie had been too excited to sleep and wanted to savour her last night at sea. She ventured up to the top deck and found several of her fellow passengers were doing the same. On the whole, the journey hadn’t been too kind to her as she had wrestled with severe seasickness, and it was only recently that she had begun to feel a whole lot better.
She watched as the ship slowly approached land just prior to sunrise. The dock itself was a bustling hive of activity and she marvelled at the ship’s crew as they dropped anchor and the dockers smoothly secured the ship to the wharf. When the unloading began with the steady barrage of all types of cargo, she returned to her cabin to select her outfit for disembarkation.
Maggie had met some lovely people onboard and had bid fond farewells to her fellow shipmates the previous evening. Quite a few of them were ready to begin a new life in Australia without knowing where they would end up; prepared to start out in whatever migrant hostel was allocated to them. She had counted her blessings on the voyage for already having secured a job and accommodation.
She glanced around her cabin to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind and wondered if she would ever walk in a straight line again after the rocking and rolling of the sea. She felt like a coiled spring and ready to continue her adventure.
With the final disembarkation checks completed and documents verified via the authorities, Maggie hoisted up her suitcases and proudly stepped through the huge dockside building and straight into a blaze of sunshine.
“Maggie?” a voice called.
She turned and a woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties stood smiling.
“Mrs Heppler?” she asked.
“I knew it was you the second I saw you,” the woman exclaimed, as she warmly embraced Maggie as if she was a long lost relative.
“Mrs Heppler, lovely to finally meet you after all this time.” Maggie returned the embrace. Any doubts she had had at that point disappeared instantly. She knew she had made the right decision. Mrs Heppler then picked up Maggie’s suitcases and walked off in the direction of the McKinnley Station vehicle. Maggie followed, while studying the woman who was more or less as she had pictured from their correspondence over the years.
They were the same height at five-feet two, half pint, her father had called her, and Maggie smiled at the memory. Mrs Heppler had a robust stature and a gentle but weathered face. She wore a huge wide brimmed hat, a flowery summer dress and enclosed sturdy shoes.
Maggie had changed her outfit more times than she cared to remember before she left her cabin, finally choosing a plain, light blue summer dress and sandals. Looking at Mrs Heppler, she chastised herself for not wearing a hat. Everywhere she looked she saw people wearing hats and knew that had to be one of the first purchases she would make. In the meantime, she was thankful for her sunglasses, as the sun was piercingly bright.
“Righto Maggie,” said Mrs Heppler, as she loaded and secured the suitcases in the back of the truck. “Let’s get us back to the city where we can check into the bed and breakfast, then we’ll go for a little walkabout to stretch those sea legs of yours.”
“Sounds perfect Mrs Heppler, thank you.” Maggie climbed up into the truck. It was like an oven inside the cab, despite the windows being down and she bolted upright from the stinging heat of the seat against the back of her legs.
“You’ll get used to that, love.” Mrs Heppler couldn’t help but chuckle. “Mostly we’ll wear long pants, so it won’t be a problem. Righto, here we go. Wonder how long it will take us to get out of here? Damn busy today.”
An hour after Maggie had disembarked, they were driving out of the port and then twenty minutes later they were in the heart of Fremantle heading towards their accommodation.
“It is so good to see land again, after all that time at sea,” said Maggie, thoroughly enthralled by the shops and the architecture. She was looking forward to staying in the city for another few days before they ventured out to McKinnley Station.
“Yes, dare say it is. Can’t imagine it out there with nothing but water. The heat will take a while to get used to,” said Mrs Heppler, as she quickly glanced at Maggie who was fanning herself and swatting at a few flies to no avail. “There’s plenty of water in the basket by your feet. You need to keep hydrated, always remember that.”
“Yes, I think I’ll have some now.” Maggie reached for a bottle. “Do you do this trip into the city often?” she asked, after taking a few gulps of warm water.
“Every few months or so, give or take. My daughter, Emily lives here with Slimeball…”
“Pardon?” said Maggie, replacing the screw cap on the bottle.
“Do you know… I’ve forgotten his name? It’ll come to me. Ha, that’s funny! I call him Slimeball and when you meet him Maggie, you will know why. It breaks my heart seeing my Emily with him, and while I don’t condone living in sin, they aren’t married you see, that gives me hope that she will come to her senses. I’d do anything to get her away. But, it is her life and choice. She prefers city life to the outback, so when I come into the city to get supplies, I like to spend some time with her.”
“That must be quite a worry for you.” Maggie looked at her new friend with concern.
“It bloody well is. Sorry, pardon me. I swear on the odd occasion, it’s just my way. So, I’ll say sorry now for all future ones and be done with it, alright with you Maggie?”
Maggie smiled in acknowledgement. “Fine by me Mrs Heppler,” she said, beginning to love Mrs Heppler’s up-front character.
“So, I pray that one day she will change her mind and come and live on the Station…” Mrs Heppler paused to get her emotions under control, then said brightly, “righto, from here in Fremantle we’ll drive to Burston, which is about a day’s drive away. Then we’ll load up on supplies before heading out on a two day drive to McKinnley Station, depending on how many breaks we take.