The Silent Country (56 page)

‘No. I’ve looked at your footage of Marta. Lake Como is quite a contrast to what you’ve shot in the Territory. She’s very glamorous. Be good for publicity when we get this whole thing together.’

‘I just hope it does come together,’ sighed Veronica. ‘I don’t know what we’re going to find.’

‘Do what you can. I’m sure you don’t mind getting back out in the long grass with that handsome Jamie bloke.’

‘Andy, that’s not an appropriate thing for a boss to say! Though I have to admit it’s been one of the best jobs I’ve ever had to do. Apart from sticking my face in front of the camera all the time.’

Andy chuckled. ‘The big boss cruised through the other morning. Asked how our new star is doing.’

‘Oh, God, no. Why is he asking about me and not the story? I just hope he doesn’t cut our budget – before we tie this one up.’

‘Seems okay so far. He’s looking forward to the story, even though he doesn’t know much about it, as we’ll be breaking new ground with this program. I have to say that Rowe grows on me. I think he’s a great nominee for Australian of the Year. He certainly seems to be more hands on since being nominated,’ said Andy.

‘Well, I’ll know more in a few days, I guess. Jamie is taking me to one of his favourite spots today. I’m really loving it up here.’

‘Don’t get too attached, Veronica,’ said Andy. ‘I’d hate to lose you to the wilds of the north. Keep in touch.’

‘Will do, though I don’t know what the mobile reception’s like once we get out of Darwin.’

She dressed carefully even though she was only wearing shorts, shirt and sandals and a floppy straw hat. While Jamie said he’d bring their picnic, Doris suggested that Veronica could pick some bananas from a bunch hanging in the back garden.

‘Enjoy Howard Springs, it’s lovely. Nice swimming hole, big barra in there, too. Some good walking trails and there’s a lovely orchid farm,’ she said as she kissed Veronica goodbye. ‘Sorry I can’t chat, but I have to dash off to work.’

Alistair had gone into town to do some work and have lunch with a friend from the university so Veronica sat on a cane chair in the front garden waiting for Jamie. These last few days had been different from anything
she’d experienced before. Doris and Alistair had ignored her comings and goings between Jamie’s house and theirs. Because she and Jamie had agreed that it was better if she was not at Jamie’s place when Billy got up at breakfast time, she was madly looking forward to being with Jamie all night out in the bush at the Crossing.

She was still in wonder at the feelings Jamie’s lovemaking had aroused in her. His ardent and passionate nature emerged without overwhelming her, and his sweetness and gentleness made her ache with longing. She couldn’t wait to be with him.

Veronica glanced at her watch. In her romantic musings she hadn’t noticed the time pass. Jamie was running late. She checked her phone but there were no messages. She hoped everything was all right. Then her phone rang and she started to smile as she saw it was Jamie. ‘Hi. I’m all ready . . .’

‘I know you’ve been waiting. I have a bit of a drama. An emergency has come up. Sorry, Veronica, I can’t go today. I’m really sorry, but this is a family thing . . .’

‘Billy? Is he all right?’ she asked anxiously.

‘Fine. It’s my cousin, Travis. You met him, remember, at Mum and Dad’s anniversary party? I have to sort things out for him. Look, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Sorry, but this is how it is.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘He’s been arrested. Again. We’ve helped him before. It’s been such a long haul and I guess there’s still a long way to go. Will you be okay?’

‘Sure, no problem. I’ll fill in the day. When will I see you?’

‘No idea, but I’ll be thinking about you. Thanks, Veronica. Sorry.’

‘Okay. Take care.’ He hung up and Veronica was surprised at how disappointed she was. She’d so been looking
forward to having this day alone with him. Between Billy, his parents, his friends from Melbourne and his work, Jamie always seemed to have someone making demands on his time. And this trouble with Travis sounded very stressful. She was tempted to rent a car and drive to Howard Springs herself but decided against it and went inside to make herself a cup of coffee when Doris rang.

‘I just heard. Sorry, Veronica. Travis has been arrested over a punch-up in a bar last night. Jamie will have to step up and try and sort it out and spend some time with him. Travis has a chip on his shoulder and drinks too much. A bad combination.’

‘A lot of young men fall off the rails for a bit,’ said Veronica, feeling inadequate, wishing she had something constructive to say.

‘I wish it were just that,’ sighed Doris. ‘I’m afraid Travis is like many of our young people. His parents were both institutionalised and didn’t really have much idea about raising children. Actually, his father died a few years ago. He was quite young, too. Anyway, Travis has had very little formal education. Neither he, nor his parents cared about school. As much as we try to help him, he remains adrift.’

‘And Travis won’t listen to Jamie? Or you?’

‘Oh, he’ll listen. Be contrite, plead and promise – all to avoid going up before the court or the police. But it’s likely that he’ll slip back.’

‘Travis seemed a lovely guy. Good fun, charming, good looking,’ said Veronica.

‘Often the way. Travis hides under a gregarious exterior but he has very low self-esteem. But we are very fond of him and of course he’s family so we try to give him hope. Anyway, I’ve finished my meeting and I thought you might like to come out with me for a while.’

‘Oh, Doris, you don’t have to entertain me. I’m fine. I’ll do some work.’

‘But I’d like to take you somewhere. And perhaps you’d like to talk about your story, sometimes that helps clarify things.’

‘I just hope we can fit the last pieces of the jigsaw together,’ said Veronica. ‘But I have to wait and see what we find out past the Crossing.’

‘Veronica, would you like to come with me to a community school? It’s the initiative of a government agency and the local indigenous TV station. One of the things I’m supposed to be is their media communication advisor, though my job is more to do with fundraising. But you know far more about this area than I do, perhaps we could pick your brains a bit?’

Veronica was intrigued with the Indigitel Media School and its students who ranged in age from their late teens to their mid-thirties. Glen Weyburn, the head of the school, an Irishman with a faint brogue, had worked as a teacher and an actor. He seemed cheerful and very amusing. But he was quick to admit that he had limited television experience.

‘Stage is my forte. And I’ve had small roles in a couple of films. But I taught drama in media courses and now here I am trying to educate, inspire and train these students for a career in the media.’

‘And doing a remarkable job,’ said Doris. ‘We have a couple of people who are knowledgeable in technology, computers, radio gear, cameras, that sort of thing, who are training the students, but I’m sure they’d love to hear from a professional like you who works on a national TV show. Give the students a few tips. Would that be all right?’

‘I’ve never done anything like this before, but sure, I’m happy to chat to them,’ said Veronica.

‘I’ll go and rustle them up after the break. There’s a tea room, if you want to help yourself,’ said Glen.

‘Where are the students from? What’s their background?’ asked Veronica.

‘Quite varied. All are indigenous, some come from outstations, some from remote communities, some from the islands and some are from Darwin. Some come from troubled homes, others from very stable homes,’ answered Doris.

‘Anyway, all our students take a keen interest in media and most of them hope to work in the field,’ said Glen. ‘I think this is a terrific initiative. It’s based on a similar school in the Alice which has been very successful.’

‘I think it’s a great project, too, and I love being involved,’ said Doris.

‘What sort of opportunities are there for the students?’ asked Veronica.

‘We’re working on that,’ said Doris. ‘There are plans for more local stations and community networks, that sort of thing. But Glen’s dream is for his students to be good enough to get work at any media outlet anywhere in the country.’

What started as a half-hour chat to the forty students became more than an hour as the students continued to ask questions. Veronica found them all highly motivated and she enjoyed the discussion.

Over a late lunch with Doris, she began to outline suggestions and ideas for the school.

‘You should be telling Glen all this,’ said Doris. ‘We should make you a consultant.’

‘I enjoy their enthusiasm and their fresh approach and their ways of looking at things so differently from many of the people I know down south,’ said Veronica. She told Doris about how she entered television and how important mentoring and guidance had been to her career. ‘And still is. My boss Andy is such an old hand. Technology might have changed but certain things never do. Sensing and shaping a story, for example.’

Doris glanced at her watch. ‘I’m going home to change and head out to the farm. Why don’t you come and see my horses. Do you like riding?’

‘Oh, I’d love to see the farm, but I’m not sure about riding.’

‘Do it another day with Jamie. I have a foal and a few other things to check on. It’s only forty minutes out of town.’

It amused Veronica to see Doris change from her businesswoman’s attire of tailored skirt and blouse into old jeans, boots and a sleeveless shirt. Her hair was curly and tinged with grey but her brown arms were muscled and strong and her figure youthful.

Veronica had assumed that what Doris called ‘the farm’ would be a couple of paddocks and stables where she kept her horses. So she was surprised to see a neatly graded road, good fences and a small ranch-style bungalow. The stables were well kept. There was a small training ring and several fit horses were standing in the shade of trees by a dam.

‘This is amazing! I thought you just had horses in a couple of paddocks.’

Doris smiled as she got out of the car. ‘It’s my little retreat. Well, it’s for all of us, but I seem to be the one who uses it most. When I have a lot of thinking or reading to do I come and stay overnight. I have a friend who comes by most days to feed, water and check the horses as I don’t get out here every day. I bring Billy out here too. He’s developing into quite a good little rider.’

‘Have you always had horses? After you left Brolga Springs and went to Melbourne, how long before you started riding again?’ asked Veronica as she followed Doris to where a mare and foal were standing in the corral waiting for them.

‘Not till I was a young teenager.’ She clicked her tongue and the mare trotted towards her. ‘But I’ve always wanted my own horses to breed and train and when Alistair and
I moved to the Territory, I got my chance. I believe that Lord Vesty and some others let a few English thoroughbred stallions loose in the north and that accounts for the good brumby stock we have now. It would be great to develop some really excellent breeding lines. I’d like to get into it more seriously when I stop work.’

‘And when might that be? You don’t seem the type to retire, Doris.’

Doris leaned on the railing, one hand caressing the mare, then looked at Veronica. ‘No. I feel I owe it to my people to keep fighting for better circumstances for us all. I was lucky in many ways. I lost my mother and nothing can change that, but I also got an education and a wonderful husband and Jamie has had advantages too. So that makes us feel obligated to help our people.’

‘Do you ever think back to your childhood, to Brolga Springs?’ asked Veronica.

‘Occasionally. Even now those early memories can be very sad because while I had lots of the opportunities the white world offers, I’ve lost most of my own family. I sometimes wish I’d made the move back up here earlier and become involved with my own people sooner.’ Doris drew a long breath. ‘Because there is still shameful inequality in this country, you know. Half the people in gaols across the country are Aboriginal and yet they make up only two per cent of the population. Our people have shorter life spans and suffer dreadful health problems. Time isn’t fixing it. We are losing the next generation, like Travis, to despair. Old people haven’t been able to fit in and young people don’t respect them. Traditional knowledge and lore is being lost.’

Veronica looked at Doris’s earnest face and asked, ‘But there must be something that can be done to improve this.’

‘There are no easy answers. It is true that education,
better health and housing are part of the solution, but it’s a very complex problem. I just want to be able to help constructively where I can and I know that Jamie feels the same way.’

‘You’ve given me a lot to think about, Doris,’ said Veronica quietly.

Doris relaxed. ‘Let’s go and see the other horses. I want to see how the foal responds to the touch of a human hand.’

Veronica was fascinated watching Doris work with the horses and it was almost dark when they drove back into Darwin.

‘Will Jamie be back?’ asked Veronica.

‘Who knows. He’ll call us.’

‘Did he ask you to take care of me today?’ asked Veronica suddenly.

‘No. It was my idea. I liked spending the day with you.’