Sipping thirstily from the long glass of iced tea, she licked her lips. ‘This is great. Just what I needed.’
‘Goodo.’
‘But tell me about work.’
‘Sure.’ She gestured for Merryn to sit on one of the stools by the table. ‘Well, as you know, Barty Harman runs the place. He used to be in the Department of Civil Aviation before he started BOPAIR about six years ago. We’ve eight planes, some Hertz hire cars, and an aerial mapping section’
‘How many staff?’
‘Five in the office in town and then...at the airport...well... two office staff and six pilots. Seven now you’re here. Imagine you being a pilot,’ she said wondrously. ‘We’ve never had a female pilot flying commercially in New Guinea before, not that I know of ... not even at PATAIR.’
Merryn put her glass on the table. ‘I know of at least one.
Pat Graham flew with Gibbes Sepik Airways in the fifties.’ She paused. ‘I suppose in a way she was my inspiration to come here—apart from the fact I’ve got to get my hours up before I can fly commercially in Australia.’
‘You will—before you know it. Old Barty will have you in the sky day in day out. We’ve taken on a bit of army work lately so it’s all go.’
Great! Merryn thought. Perhaps it will be harder to steer clear of Jake after all.
‘Anyway,’ Tori continued, ‘in the city we look after the paper work, bookings, hire car, and aerial mapping. At the airport they do baggage, some aerials, and maintenance. Barty’s a bit of a tyrant at times, but on the whole he’s okay.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘He’s got a mistress. Had her for years. She helps with the aerial mapping. You’ll like her. Her husband’s a machinery salesman with Burns Philip and’s away most of the time so doesn’t know what’s going on. Barty’s wife does, however, and she’s a bit of a pain.’ She squashed a mosquito with the palm of her hand and then went to the sink to wash it off. ‘Probably can’t blame her.’ She swung around, wiping her hands on a tea towel. ‘She lives in a unit in town with their two kids. Barty stays between them and Virginia, but everyone calls her Ginny.’
‘Sounds interesting,’ Merryn said. ‘And what about you, Tori? What do you do?’
‘I’m the receptionist and Barty’s secretary. He’s not a bad boss—a bit demanding. Refuses to use shorthand and insists on doing all his dictation into a tape recorder, even when he’s flying.’ Tori cast her eyes to heaven. ‘It’s impossible to hear what he’s saying, which drives me nuts, and he gets furious if you ask. But really he’s okay...you’ll like him. I do, despite his faults.’ She reached out her hand. ‘More tea?’
‘No thanks, this is plenty.’
‘Well, there’s heaps more if you change your mind.’ Sitting down, she curled her feet around the leg of the stool. ‘Anyway, tell me—what made you decide to come here? Couldn’t you get your hours up in Australia?’
Merryn stood up, stretching her arms in the air. ‘No, Papua New Guinea’s the only place I could find to take me.’ A pause. ‘But what about you?’
‘The oldies were here for years with Burns Philip. I used to come on school holidays and fell in love with a fellow. When they went home, I stayed. Eugene and I were to be married.’ Her eyes ceased darting and settled on the top of her glass of iced tea. ‘Then didn’t the silly bugger up and die on me. He was a government patrol officer...got a really bad case of malaria...in the highlands.’
Merryn gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘I’m sorry. How long ago was that?’
‘Three years. We buried him in the southern highlands, which he adored. He loved the sea too, so do I. It’s good here being close to the water.’ She took a sip of tea, and then ran a finger over her lips. ‘But it’s not all bad. I’ve met someone else. As a matter of fact, he’s from Karu Barracks. Matthew Upton. We’ve been going out for a year now. He’s even popped the question. I haven’t said yes...not yet anyway...but you never know—maybe there’ll be wedding bells around the corner! We agreed to wait and talk about it when he comes back from the army exercise he’s on.’ She wrinkled her forehead. ‘Perhaps I’ve met your friend through him?’
Crossing her knees, Merryn tapped the sole of her foot on the ground. ‘You may well have. He’s a captain...Jake Hawkins.’
‘Hawkins? Ah yes, I’ve heard of him. Isn’t he taking the colonel’s daughter out? Aren’t they getting married soon? All seems very quick.’ She chuckled. ‘Mind you, that’s the tropics for you. If the wedding’s in the sac sac chapel at Karu Barracks, it’ll be divine. No doubt you’ll be going?’
As a family friend, Merryn would be expected to go. She’d be hard put to come up with an excuse not to. But there was no way in the world, if she could help it, that she was going to put herself through that.
Fortunately Tori rushed on before she had a chance to answer. ‘There’s a rumour she’s pregnant. And that’s why the colonel’s insisted on them getting hitched so soon. You heard anything?’
Merryn took her glass to the sink and ran it under the tap. Moving to the window, her fingers fiddled absently with the gold cross around her neck, a gift from Jake. ‘No, I haven’t,’ she said, ‘but I wouldn’t put it past him. He was pretty fast as a kid...and well...’ She didn’t finish her sentence, too overcome with the ridiculousness of the absurd things she was saying. Why didn’t she just blurt the truth out?
For a moment she stood mulling this over. Idly, she watched a grey tabby cat climb onto the seat of one of the bulldozers in the yard below. Then she turned around, leaning against the sink. ‘If it’s okay by you, I think I’ll unpack. I haven’t much, but I might as well put it away and get ready for work tomorrow.’
Tori looked at her watch. ‘Crikey, is it that time already? I’ve gotta head into the office for a while. Barty left me a tape to transcribe. He needs it for a meeting tomorrow, so I said I’d type it up today. I’ll stop at the market on the way back and get some vegies. Why don’t you have a snooze this afternoon? You must be jet lagged. Those planes are the pits...so bloody hot and humid, and the useless cooling system never seems to work.’
Merryn grimaced. ‘You’re right there. It seemed to take an age, but I’m okay. I had a good sleep last night,’ she lied. ‘What about dinner? Can I do anything?’
Tori’s smile was bright. ‘Nope. I’ve got some mince, and with the vegies I’ll get at Koki Market, we can have a chop sui. Hope you like spicy things. I adore them and as I’m always a bit thingy about the meat up here adding loads of chillies helps.’
‘Anything does me. I’m not fussy.’
‘Just as well. Anyway make yourself at home. I’ll see you when I get back.’
With that Tori drained her glass of iced tea, grabbed her purse off the bench, and headed for the front steps. ‘Have a cool bath if you get too hot. The bathroom’s under the house. Just watch for snakes though. Wear shoes. I keep it locked. The key’s behind the stove. Lock it when you’re inside. Sometimes the kids from next door wander over.’ She laughed a wonderful free laugh. ‘And the parents!’
‘Thanks,’ Merryn said, imagining it was going to be some time before she worked up the courage to have a bath.
‘The loo’s down there too,’ Tori called back up the steps.
That’d be right.
With that Tori took the stairs two at a time and hopped into her Mini, shutting the door with a slam. Shortly Merryn heard the tyres swivelling on the hard ground, and when she went to the door and stood on the landing, a gigantic whirlpool of pallid dust rose in the air above the yard as the Mini sped out of the gates onto the road.
Back in the bedroom, Merryn