Drowning in Her Eyes (25 page)

“Hey
,
mate,
” said someone in the front row
.
“What
's this bloody
defaulters
caper?
”

The officer swelled up like a bullfrog and went purple in the face.
“Sergeant, take that man
's name. You, soldier, are to address me only when spoken to. You will always address me as
Sir
.
Do I make myself clear
?
”

“
'I s
'pose so. Anyway, what
's defaulters?
”

“You are about to find out
,
p
rivate, in a most unpleasant way. Corporal Rodgers, take defaulters
' parade!
”

The
c
orporal saluted,
“Yes sir! On my command, defaulters fall in here on my mark. Move it!
” The sleepers and the unfortunate man who had asked the question were marched away at double time. The fat officer turned over the parade to his
l
ieutenant and waddled away towards the
o
fficers
'
m
ess.

While the defaulters were marched away to their fate, the
c
orporals split them into four groups and allocated each group to a hut. The hut commanders were the
c
orporals. Jack was in hut C under the command of Corporal Brennan. Brennan, away from the attention of officers and
s
ergeant, relaxed. He addressed them in an informal group.
“That fat
c
aptain is a pompous arsehole. The
s
econd
l
ooey doesn
't have a clue. The Sergeant is
okay
, but
do
not
fuck with him. I will be here to instruct you and monitor you. You will be clean and attentive at all times, you will work hard, and you will keep this hut and your equipment in first class order. You will depend on me. I hope I can depend on you. Now fall in outside for
q
uartermaster
's parade!
”

They were marched to a large building a few hundred yards away, and issued with bedding, field equipment, steel helmets, bayonets, webbing and ammunition pouches, and an SLR.
“Your weapon is your new girlfriend now,
” said the
c
orporal.
“Treat her better than all the others. You must remember the serial number and repeat it whenever an NCO or officer asks for it, or you will
be on defaulters
.
” Thus encumbered, they were marched back to their hut and dismissed. They found the mess hall and had a meal, then went to their rooms to unpack, make beds, and clean up their equipment. Jack looked around him.
I don
't think all these blokes will make it
, he thought
.
Some of them look buggered already
.

* *
*
*

The next day the hard work beg
an. At 0500, a bugle called
reveille, rudely awakening the whole camp. The
c
orporals dashed through their huts, beating against the walls with cries of
“Wakey, wakey, hands off cocks and on to socks!
” Fifteen minutes is not much time when you are jostling with twenty others for space in the ablutions block. They double marched to the mess hall. To their surprise, a very good breakfast was available, gulped down in fifteen minutes. Almost before they knew it, they lined up outside their huts, bullied by the
c
orporals into some semblance of order. They formed up in three rows.

The
s
ergeant appeared from the
s
ergeants
' mess. He looked relaxed and well fed. Apparently,
he
had had more than fifteen minutes to have
his
breakfast. The
s
ergeant called them to attention. The fat
c
aptain waddled across from his accommodation
,
returned the
s
ergeant
's salute and began to inspect the parade. At every soldier, he stopped and subjected him to close scrutiny.
He found a litany of faults,
a button undone, a poor shave
—
“We don
't have beards in the army, soldier!
”
—
dirty boots, chinstrap buckle in the wrong position, incomplete clothing, inattention, dirty rifle, etc. etc. Any transgressions resulted in an addition to the
Defaulters
'
Parade. This punishment consisted of running around the camp perimeter with full battle equipment, steel helmet, and rifle at the high port. The camp, built in 1940 to house a Division of
fifteen thousand
had a long perimeter.

Drill, and drill, and drill took up the first day. Without rifles, they learned how to form up, how to march in step, how to dress by the right, how to stand at attention, stand at ease, and to stand easy. Drill took up most of the week, with or without rifles. Jack was getting tired of it, and even more tired of some of his fellows who just did not seem to get it.

Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
—1964

Sus
an still felt wonderful. She was not showing yet, but she was aware of the growing child.
Grow away little one, your mommy and your daddy love you so. Soon you will be with us. We will see our new home and meet our new family. She thought constantly of Jack. My love, be careful and come back to us. I love you and we need you.

She had told no one. She wanted to confide in Sarah, but was not confident she would keep it from Marci. Jack had said they would tell her as soon as he came back from the army. There were only a couple of weeks to go now.

* *
*
*

Marci was on the verge of a breakdown, but she had laid her plans well. It was all in train. She knew she had to remain strong to keep her family together. In her anxiety, she did not realise that her actions would drive her daughters away and expose her son to a bloody, vicious, guerrilla war. Her plan was to drive straight to Sydney and catch the Honolulu flight. She had told Sarah they were going home. Sarah protested that John wanted to marry her. Marci was adamant.
“You will come with me. You are still a minor. If John still wants you, after six months, he can come to America and marry you, but you won
't come back to Australia.
”

“Oh Momma,
” cried Sarah,
“That is too much to ask of him.
”

“Well, it will be a good test of how much he wants you, won
't it? If he doesn
't come, the answer is obvious, isn
't it?
”

Sarah could not argue the logic of this, but she was heartbroken. As for Jimbo, Marci was now the only constant in his life; he had nowhere else to go.

* *
*
*

A week after Jack had set off for Wallgrove
,
Marci set her plans in action. She produced a typewritten letter she said had come from Helen. She thrust it at Susan.
“Here, read this,
” she cried angrily. Susan took it from her:

Dear Mrs. Baker

I am sorry to have to send this letter, but I must set things straight. I will never agree to Susan marrying Jack. After due consideration, I feel that she will not fit in here at
Ballinrobe
. I would prefer that Jack remain single until he has completed his studies, and then marry an Australian girl, a local, who will know what is expected of a farmer
's wife. Jack has accepted this and has promised me that he will abide by my wishes. He does not want to see Susan again.

Helen Riordan

Susan read the letter with dread filling the pit of her stomach.
“Momma,
” she said,
“This cannot be true.
It
'
s a lie
. Helen doesn
'
t
have
a typewriter. Helen loves me, she
wants
me to marry Jack; she has spoken of nothing else
.
Jack loves me. Wait until he comes back and
he
'll
tell you. We will get married even if you forbid it
;
we will live together and as soon as I am twenty-
one we will be married. Jack loves me
…Jack loves me
…Jack loves me
…Her voice trailed off and she began to weep bitterly.

“I
'm afraid there will be no time for that. We are leaving here tomorrow, and we will be home in Worcester in a week. I have told Sarah and I will tell you. Jack Riordan will not marry you unless he is prepared to come to America to do so.
” Susan looked at her mother with disbelief and revulsion.
“You can
't, you can
't; it
's my life, not yours.
”

“I can and I will. You are not of legal age and you must obey me. Tomorrow we leave.
”

“Oh, Momma, I can
't leave Jack. I am having his baby!
”

Marci was not surprised.
“You little tramp! What did I say would happen? Why have you defied me all this time? You most certainly cannot have anything to do with that boy again; he has used you; he has despoiled you; you can never see him again.
”

“I must, I must. He loves me and he loves our baby. Oh, Momma, can you not see? Can you not see how happy we have been?
”

“You cannot. I forbid you to contact him. There is no longer a phone in this house and we are leaving first thing in the morning. I have packed your bags and I have thrown away all those revealing clothes and that disgusting underwear. Now go to bed. We have an early start.
” In her room, Susan and Sarah lay sobbing together. How could their mother treat them this way? How could she be so cruel? They sobbed for hours, finally drifting into an uneasy sleep.

In the morning, Marci bundled the two weeping girls and a very confused Jimbo into the car and drove away, away from the city that had brought her such grief. On the journey, she did not leave the girls alone for a moment, even accompanying them to the restrooms. Next day, as their flight lifted off, Susan felt her baby move. Oh
,
my baby, she thought, are you sad at leaving your country, is your spirit being torn away from that magical place, our thinking place? She made a vow to herself and her unborn child and
to Jack that she would return.