“I knew it was vast out here but that puts things into perspective. Bit different than me walking into the village for groceries.” Maggie tried to swat a few more flies.
“Norman! That’s Slimeball’s name. Norman. Knew it was in here somewhere.” Mrs Heppler tapped her temple. “Yes, it is vast out here, but it’s not too bad Maggie. Like all new things, you get used to it… the flies being one,” she smiled. “We are mighty lucky to have you come and work with us. It’s as if we all have known you for a very long time.”
“Thank you and likewise. I look forward to meeting Emily; it will be nice to make a new friend as I am already missing Sally… SALLY!” exclaimed Maggie.
“What?” gasped Mrs Heppler, as she rammed on the brakes thinking there was an alarm of some sort and thankful there wasn’t a car behind.
“Goodness, with all the excitement I clearly forgot that I have a handful of letters to post to her. I also promised Mr Dwyer, the village postmaster. Sorry, of course you know Mr Dwyer being Mr McKinnley’s cousin. I said to Mr Dwyer that I would post him a letter saying that I had arrived safely, and he was going to forward on all the news.”
“Crikey, love. Thought there was an emergency.” Mrs Heppler put her foot on the accelerator and they were off again. “Don’t you worry, all taken care of. Sorry, I should’ve told you before, Mr McKinnley has given me money for you to send a telegram to Mr Dwyer. So much quicker than them awaiting a letter that, God forbid, may go astray. It’s early closing today so the post office won’t be open until the morning. We’ll get your stamps and send the telegram first thing. Okay by you, Maggie?”
“Thank you, Mrs Heppler.” Maggie sighed with relief. “That’s very generous of Mr McKinnley, but it will cost a fortune. I will repay him of course.”
“No need love, Mr McKinnley insists and that’s the end of it,” she said as she swung the truck into a parking space. “Righto, let’s get you inside.”
After they had checked into the modest bed and breakfast and unpacked a few things, they met in the small reception area.
“Let’s go for a walk. Feel good with feet on the ground?” asked Mrs Heppler.
“Oh yes, I can now keep going without turning a corner or doubling back down the deck.” Maggie smiled as they walked along the green leafy residential streets.
“That must have been strange. I know I said it before, but I cannot imagine all that water around you, particularly as I’ve spent all my life inland.”
“Me as well, it took some getting used to, but you adjust to your surroundings.”
“Yes, I suppose you do.” They approached a small tea shop on the fringe of a parade of shops. “Fancy a little light refreshment?”
“Sounds perfect, Mrs Heppler.”
As they walked into the quaint shop a familiar ‘ding’ of the bell over the door reminded Maggie of Mr Dwyer’s post office. The two women sat and talked over a pot of tea, sandwiches and slices of fruit cake about the journey and various topics. To anyone observing, it would have looked as though they had known each other for years. Maggie felt it was a sure sign of a good friendship to come.
“Still cannot grasp the fact that you have travelled thousands of miles to get here. And on your own,” said Mrs Heppler, as she tucked into another sandwich.
“I know, it was definitely an experience. This will make you laugh, when I was five Mr Dwyer gave me this.” Maggie opened her pendant to show the koala four-penny stamp. “I couldn’t comprehend the distance and I asked him if Australia was near Maidstone, which was the largest town and the only far-away place I knew from where we lived in Marden. He was gracious about it and said that Maidstone was around eight miles away and that Australia was thousands of Maidstones away.”
“Aww that’s sweet. I’ve read many of his letters that we received at the Station over the years, he seems a nice man.” Mrs Heppler dabbed her lips with a cotton serviette.
“Yes, he is. And he was right about the distance.” The two women laughed. “This stamp was the start of my journey to being here,” said Maggie. “I was obsessed with it right from the start and now it has come full circle. There’s just one thing remaining though…”
“And what may that be?”
“I would love to see a real koala. Are there any around here?” she asked.
“Ah, no. Sorry Maggie. They need eucalypt to survive and we don’t have any here.”
“Pity. Perhaps one day if I have the opportunity to travel around…” she smiled as she took a sip of tea.
“Perhaps. Your accent is so lovely, my Emily will love it too and everyone on the Station.”
“I’ve never had that said to me before. Yours is pretty nice too. Where does it come from, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I don’t mind, ‘take as you find’ is my motto and don’t ever forget that Maggie. I may sometimes come across as a gruff and stern old bird at times, but I say as I see fit, no point in mucking about. Life’s too short and all that. My family emigrated from Germany in the late 1800s and even though I was born here, I have a trace of an accent due to my grandparents living with us. If you listen carefully to Emily, you may notice a slight twang too.”
Maggie was suddenly overcome by tiredness as she had a burst of yawns.
“Sorry, Mrs Heppler, must be the humidity that’s making me tired.”
“It’s alright, love. You may not love it, but you will get used to it. The journey alone out to the Station will be even more tiring and at times the weather will be too much of a bugger. That’s why we tend to get up between four-thirty and five each day to beat the sun and work before the heat strips your back.
“Sometimes in the summer months there is absolutely nowhere to escape...” She stopped abruptly when she saw the look of horror on Maggie’s face. “Sorry Maggie, was that a bit too much for the first day? You’ll take things in your stride, I’m sure. We’re not completely prehistoric,” she laughed, “we have ceiling fans, so you can keep reasonably cool. Didn’t mean to scare you, love.”
“I’m tougher than I look Mrs Heppler,” said Maggie, unconsciously fanning herself with the teashop’s menu as they broke into laughter when they realised what she was doing.
Maggie slept solidly that night, but she still felt her body swaying faintly, making her slightly nauseous. A steward from the ship had warned her that this could happen and was a normal reaction that would soon pass.
Mrs Munday, the bed and breakfast proprietor, had made up a picnic hamper as requested and also lent them a blanket. Maggie felt better after their breakfast of eggs, toast and tea and then they walked to the general store for Maggie to buy herself a sunhat. When the post office opened she purchased stamps to post all the letters that she had written to Sally onboard and also bought extra stamps for future letters. Maggie also sent her telegram to Mr Dwyer and kept it brief, knowing that it was expensive. She hadn’t ever known anyone who had sent a telegram before and felt quite important in doing so. She decided on: ‘Arrived safely. Very hot here. Letters posted. Missing you all. Love Maggie.’
Chapter Three
“I’m so looking forward to meeting Emily,” Maggie said cheerfully as they turned into the road. She hated to judge quickly but she did not get a good feeling about the house that suddenly came into view.
“You will be good friends, I can tell,” said Mrs Heppler. “Do you know that, in the beginning, I actually liked Norman when he wasn’t a Slimeball. Despite him being much older than Emily, he treated her right and they were happy. Things started to turn when he lost his job as a travelling salesman, Emily wouldn’t say why, so it was obviously bad.