Sealed with a Kiss

Peta sat watching from the safety of her car as the rain fell steadily, saturating the surrounding landscape. The heavens had opened up, putting on a spectacular display which showed not a sign of abating in the near future. ‘Great,’ she muttered somberly to herself, ‘just what am I supposed to do now.’ There was no way she was going to get out of her warm, dry car to fix a puncture in this torrential downpour. Biting her lower lip indecisively she considered her limited options, knowing there was really only one course of action for her to take, but she didn’t relish the drenching that option gave her. She realised if she stayed in her car and waited for the rain to stop before fixing the puncture she ran the risk of being stuck here on the side of the highway until well after dark. With several hours of her journey still left to drive, the thought of spending the night alone in her car on the now semideserted Capricorn Highway didn’t fill her with enthusiasm. A cold shiver assaulted her senses as she realised she really only had one course of action open to her. Looking out at the bleak terrain through a mist shrouded windscreen, Peta could see the rain was coming down even harder than before. The sky was a deep leaden 2 carolyn j. pollack grey, letting her know in no uncertain terms the rain wasn’t going to stop any time soon. If anything, there seemed to be the added promise of more rain to come. Peta’s mind returned to a conversation she’d overheard while getting petrol at her last rest stop. Two locals had been conversing about the approaching dark clouds and had been speculating on the amount of rain which would be dropped over the district. They’d been in total agreement that they were due for some good earth soaking rain, and both men had seemed confident that these storm clouds would break the dry spell which had held the land captive for the past few months. Peta was now forced to agree with them, for it seemed that the wet weather had definitely set in with a vengeance. She didn’t begrudge the local landowners the rain, but she wished that she’d been able to outrun the downpour before her car had blown a tyre, leaving her stranded by the side of the road. Next time she saw Nelson she vowed she was going to give him the ear bashing of his life. One he richly deserved, she added for good measure. She blamed him completely for the predicament in which she found herself. Dear sweet Nelson. He was probably her best friend in the whole world, but if she was to set eyes on him at the moment, his life wouldn’t be worth a grain of salt. And, she remonstrated to herself, I’m also going to insist that he starts to carry a mobile phone. This disaster could have been fixed in a jiffy if only he’d relent and agree to that one small demand. Smiling ruefully to herself, Peta’s thoughts returned to the chain of events surrounding the last twenty four hours. She’d been on a whirlwind buying trip to Brisbane purchasing stock for her Arts and Craft shop in Rockhampton. An eight hour sealed wi th a kiss 3 leisurely drive north on the Bruce Highway would have seen her safely home, but that was before she’d contacted her life long friend, Nelson Young, telling him that she was calling in for a quick cup of coffee before starting her journey home. A trip to Brisbane wouldn’t be complete without a stop-over at Nelson’s place. They’d been friends forever, since kindergarten, in fact. Nelson and Helen had been delighted to see her and had ushered her into the lounge room of their spacious Mt. Coot-tha home. ‘Jupiter, how wonderful to see you. Come in, come in,’ Nelson had told her warmly. Peta gritted her teeth at Nelson’s full use of her name, but she said nothing. He insisted on using it and she’d grown used to it over the years, but she still didn’t have to like it. ‘So how did the buying trip for the shop go?’ Helen asked and the two women launched into a conversation of how the shop was going. Nelson interrupted them a short time later by asking, ‘How would you like some company on your long, lonely drive back to Rockhampton?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Peta responded jauntily, ‘How would I like it?’ ‘You’d love it.’ he told her just as sprightly, ‘especially since we’d be taking an alternative route.’ ‘An alternative route … and just where is this alternative route going to take us?’ she wanted to know. Falling in with one of Nelson’s plans could see her going anywhere and she really had to get home. She’d closed the shop for two days to come on this trip. She didn’t want to be away any longer than she could help it. Nelson was a trouble shooter for a large firm that was based in Brisbane. The company manufactured farming equipment. It was his job to settle disputes and to soothe away any complaints that 4 carolyn j. pollack might arise between the customer and the firm. His flamboyant personality made him perfect for this type of employment. He had a knack for being able to diffuse even the most adverse situation whereby all parties were satisfied with the final outcome. ‘I have to go to Tambo … ,’ ‘Where,’ Peta interrupted, knowing if she didn’t do so now she wouldn’t get the chance to inquire later, for some of Nelson’s explanations could go on forever. ‘Tambo,’ Nelson repeated, ‘It’s north-west of here, about a ten hour drive.’ ‘Oh,’ Peta mouthed silently, not wanting to interrupt again, but her mind was reeling. Ten hours, and how long after she dropped him off would she be on the road before she arrived back in Rockhampton. Nelson continued, ‘I’ve been given the task of trying to appease a local landowner who recently purchased a piece of equipment from us that appears to be faulty.’ ‘But why can’t you drive out there yourself, or better still fly?’ Peta wanted to know. She didn’t know why she was bothering to remonstrate with him because he always won any verbal battle in which the two of them participated. ‘No reason. I’ll probably fly home. Don’t you want my company, Jupiter? You’re always complaining that we don’t see enough of each other any more. Here’s your chance to spend the day with me,’ he teased throwing her one of his most winning smiles before adding, ‘It will give us time to catch up. If we leave bright and early tomorrow morning we can be in Tambo by late afternoon. There’s a nice motel in town where we can spend the night and then you can be on your way back to Rocky.’ ‘You make it sound so simple. How much more driving do I sealed wi th a kiss 5 have to do after dropping you off?’ she’d wanted to know. ‘About another eight or nine hours.’ ‘Wonderful,’ Peta was sorry she’d asked for she already knew that she was going to accompany Nelson on this harebrained trip. It really didn’t help knowing that she had two full days of driving ahead of her.