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
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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.