Chapter Ten – A Private Moment

Emma couldn't help but to smile as she neared the old stable. The little adorable Kangaroo watched her suspiciously with its puppy eyes. "Hey you," she said softly. "You look much better now that the doctor has been to see you."

The young mechanic gently reached forward with her hand to pat the animal.

"Emma!" Violet hollered, eliciting a wry look on her face.

"Emma! I'm so glad I've finally found you," Violet said happily.

The young mechanic froze for a moment thinking something had happened but as she turned around to face the older woman she relaxed at the bright and sweet smile Violet was giving the Kangaroo.

"Kids," she said sweetly. "They're so adorable no matter the shape and form."

"Is there something I can do for you, Violet?" Emma asked wearily.

"As the matter of fact," Violet began. "I've been trying to get your uncle to do something about that awful front façade of the garage. It's in dire need of some paint."

"With all due respect Violet we have a lot of things to do at the moment and they won't fix themselves," she explained neutrally.

"It can't be that much, dear, or else you wouldn't have time to hang around here and Hurtle certainly wouldn't have time to sit in a chair at the backyard doing nothing," Violet reasoned.

Emma made a face and smirked. "Even mechanics needs a break or two," she replied.

Violet gave her a sweet smile. "Just have a chat with him," she pressed lightly and then frowned as she studied the young woman before her for a moment. "Are you all right, Emma?"

"Yes, Violet," she let on politely as she turned back to the Kangaroo.

The older woman walked up to stand next to her and gently placed an arm around her shoulders. "Why the long face then?" she asked in concern.

Emma remained quiet at the question, leaving Violet even more concerned.

"Are you thinking of Sam?" she asked jovially.

"No," Emma lied, her voice short as she absentmindedly reached forward to pat the baby animal again.

"It's about time," Violet admitted. "When I was in your age I'd been married for several years."

Emma stopped patting the animal and carefully turned around to fully face the shop owner in astonishment.

"I saw you before," Violet hinted smugly. "I didn't want to intrude on your private moment."

Emma sighed inwardly in exasperation. "I don't know what you thought you saw but Sam and I are just good friends," she replied in annoyance.

"Emma," Violet admonished. "Friends don't kiss each other like that."

"When are you going to get it through your head that there is nothing going on between me and Sam?!" Emma exploded. "I'm old enough to make my own choices. I don't need help from everyone in town."

Violet frowned as the mechanic promptly stormed off.

OOOOOO

Chris angrily strode over the main street on her way toward the pub. Her pace so brisk that Sgt. Carruthers had to jog a few steps to catch up.

"Wait up!" he hollered after her.

Chris stopped and sighed, waiting for him to fall into steps with her.

"Bad day?" he guessed.

"I wish they'd stop meddling into other people's business," she said sourly.

Jack frowned at her curiously.

"George and Violet," she filled in for him.

"I see," he returned carefully. "Can I buy you lunch? I mean you do have to eat."

Chris softened a bit. "Thanks Jack," she said. "I'm sorry for being such a miserable company at the moment."

"I think I can put up with it," he offered with a smirk. "If you tell me the reason behind it."

She smiled and nodded toward the Majestic. Jack quickly went ahead and held up the door for her. Within five minutes they were seated at a table for two in the open bistro section.

"What can I get the two of you today?" Nancy asked sweetly as she walked up to them with the menu.

"I don't know Nancy, what do you recommend?" Jack asked.

"I would go for the steak with mashed potatoes and the Majestic special sauce," she said. "I love how it turned out."

Chris nodded at Jack.

"Well then, let's have two steaks," he ordered.

"I'll come along shortly," Nancy promised as she hurried into the kitchen.

Jack returned his focus on the doctor sitting opposite him. "What have they been up to?" he asked carefully.

Chris sighed. "I don't know where to start, Jack," she let on.

A cautious wry grin played on the policeman's lips. "That bad, huh?" he replied.

"I'm sorry. I guess everything is a little crazy around here nowadays. With Sam being hospitalized and all the clinics and transfers we had scheduled-"

Jack raised a curious eyebrow. "Head office isn't sending a relief pilot to help out?" he asked.

She sighed again. "That's just it. Geoff phoned this morning and wondered about the delay. It turned out that George Baxter had an acquaintance at the recruiting office and he'd told her that it wouldn't be appropriate to send a young female pilot from Point Cook to the middle of nowhere."

"The cunning little-" Jack muttered under his breath. "So he tried to manipulate the department into sending someone he'd get along with and then what? Was he about to try and replace Sam the way he tried to replace DJ not too long ago?"

"Broken Hill have a pilot available but he's not certified for our airplane type and we can't afford having the Nomad grounded," Chris explained. "After reasoning back and forth head office confirmed that it would be possible to get the young pilot from Point Cook here in four days. However, as newly certified she doesn't have that many flight hours or the bush landing training. Geoff explained we couldn't wait that long anyway and it was agreed that we were to look for a pilot elsewhere. It was suggested that we tried at one of the aeromedical units flying around the country."

"That's outrageous," Jack let on.

Chris smiled. "That's exactly how I reacted but as it turns out DJ has already been in contact with Debbie O'Brien who happens to be certified for the Nomad. She's also an aeromedical pilot and she knows the area well, having been here on several occasions as a stand in for Dave."

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "George is going to love that," he said amusedly.

"And as if that wasn't enough, he snatched the veterinarian right in front of our noses so our poor little Kangaroo had to wait another day for a house call. And because of it he's now concerned that we are wasting valuable resources and time on an animal instead of people," she explained angrily as the food arrived.

"Here you go," Nancy said with a smile. "I hope you enjoy the food."

"I'm sure we will, Nancy," Chris assured her with a smile of her own.

"So, will you stand up for our town in the bicycle race?" she asked curiously.

Jack almost choked on his juice. "Excuse me?" he said.

"Haven't you heard?" Nancy said jovially. "If the race gets here Violet thought it would be a good idea to have representatives of the town compete in a race of their own and use the same goal as the real race. The committee thought it was a great idea." She nodded at Chris. "You or Geoff could represent the RFDS and I'm sure the police can use some good publicity as well."

Chris refrained from rolling her eyes. "Violet. The other meddling party," she muttered under her breath.

"It's a good thought, Nancy but as the only police officer around I'm probably going to have my hands full with all the people from out of town. That is if the race will come here at all," Jack said diplomatically.

"Where else would they place it?" Nancy said and turned her head slightly as she heard Vic calling for her. She nodded at him and turned to leave the couple alone but before she did she added; "Violet is waiting for news as we speak."

"Looks like Hurtle is going to have to paint his façade," Jack mused and blinked at Chris.

"I wonder if Geoff knows about his probable participation in the race," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Jack nodded. "I'm sure he's going to love that surprise. Anyway, I didn't think George had time to meddle in the affairs of the RFDS. I thought he had enough on his plate trying to buy the Jensen Property," he let on.

Chris frowned. "I talked to Viola and Jan a few days ago. It didn't seem like they were about to leave," she said in concern. "Viola is not well."

"I was out there yesterday and caught them loading their car. George was nagging me about the Jensen's trying to steal his cattle, cutting through his fences and so on. I told him they wouldn't do that but he was persistent. Jan then told me that the bank had given them an ultimatum and they'd been forced to sell but he wouldn't want to sell to the lowest bidder around here so he went to some broker he knew over at the Hill," Jack explained.

Silence settled over the table and its occupants for a moment.

"It doesn't seem to be possible to live on the land these days," Jack added.

"It's this drought, the prices of cattle and unfriendly neighbors," Chris replied darkly. "Do you think he'll get it?"

"Unfortunately, knowing George. Yes, I'd say so. He'll get it in the end," Jack returned.

A sharp whistle caused them to turn toward the counter. "Listen up everyone!" Vic hollered and nodded toward a beaming Mrs. Carnegie. "Violet has got something to say."

"The bicycle competition's fourth leg is going to end here!" she announced proudly.

A cheer and excited murmurs could be heard among the small crowd.

"That means that we have a lot to do," Violet added. "I'll need a lot of volunteers."

OOOOOO

Hanna glanced up from the newspaper in her lap as she spotted Zoe coming her way.

"I was looking for you inside," the teen said.

Hanna smiled softly. "I managed to persuade Kate to take me out for a while. I had forgotten how the wind feels while tousling my hair," she said happily.

"Have you been here long?" Zoe asked in concern. "You might get a sunstroke without a hat."

"Listen young lady," Hanna said. "I'm not made of glass. I come from a long line of farmers. A little sun will not hurt me. Now, you can wheel me to the table over there and sit down on the chair next to me."

Zoe chuckled at being ordered around and threw the old woman a mock salute.

"You look troubled again," Hanna noted as she glanced at her young friend.

"I'm curious," Zoe let on. "But I can't ask Chris about it."

Hanna eyed her suspiciously as Zoe parked the wheelchair at the table and sat down next to her. "I'm sure Chris doesn't bite," she offered lightly.

"Remember when I told you about the letter to my dad?" Zoe asked.

Hanna nodded.

"Ever since I haven't been able to get the pictures I saw in the album out of my head," she let on. "When Sam was injured and we didn't know if he would make it I recall Violet mentioning that the RFDS had had its share of tragedies-" she trailed off.

Hanna sighed and bit her lower lip as she glanced out over the tranquil hospital garden. "In the picture; was it a lanky somewhat mischievous man with a dog smiling at the camera?"

"Yeah, he was dressed in a pilot uniform," Zoe said.

"That would be David Gibson, the former RFDS pilot. Dave or Gibbo as he was called died in a plane crash after having rescued Chris, George Baxter and the real pilot of the aircraft he was flying," Hanna explained darkly, looking distant as if recalling the event.

Zoe waited for her to continue.

"Gibbo was a cheeky bugger with a heart of gold," Hanna said fondly. "He disliked George Baxter from day one and loved to tease Violet. He arrived in an old American Pontiac, having no more luggage than a suitcase, his dog and a few golf clubs. He always looked at life on the bright side, he started a romance with Vic and Nancy's adopted daughter Sharon to Vic's despair and was thrown out of the Hotel."

"Why would Vic do such a thing?" Zoe asked in bewilderment.

"Sharon was- it's complicated, let's leave it like that, Zoe," Hanna replied. "Anyway, he ended up living with Dr. Standish's predecessor, Tom Callaghan. A tall, dark and handsome man which I'm sure you saw in the album as well."

"Yes, that would be the other one," Zoe confirmed. "Did he die as well?"

Hanna shook her head sadly. "No, everyone thought the two of them would get married – Tom and Chris that is. One day he just walked away from her, applying for a job in Africa, claiming he needed a change."

"Didn't he love her?" Zoe wondered aloud.

"Sometimes love and life are complicated things, Zoe," Hanna offered softly. "His leave made Chris distant and withdrawn. Dave did everything to cheer her up of course, it was in his nature, but then one day he got a job offer he couldn't resist-"

"But you said he died," Zoe spoke up in confusion.

"Yes," Hanna nodded. "As a friend of Emma he took time off to go to Windoona and cheer on her while she competed in the 'Queen of the Outback' competition. When it was time to go home again the pilot that George had chartered was too drunk to pilot his aircraft. Now, George Baxter is quite capable of piloting an aircraft but for some reason he persuaded Dave to take over the aircraft and together with Chris they left the airfield. Unfortunately Frank, the real pilot and owner of the aircraft, had neglected maintenance and halfway to Cooper's Crossing they suffered engine failure. Dave managed to put the aircraft safely on the ground, a lesser pilot would not have made it in the rough terrain," Hanna said sadly and shuddered "I remember that day clearly, I remember overhearing over the radio, the calm mayday call, the moment they lost contact with them-"

Zoe gently placed an arm on the older woman's shoulder.

Hanna smiled at her and continued. "Dave died the day after the rescue in the Nomad while he was being transferred to Broken Hill for further treatment. There was nothing anyone could do, his injuries were too severe. That is the tragedy Violet was indirectly telling you about," Hanna finished sadly.

"Poor Chris," Zoe mumbled. "She lost both her friend and her lover within months."

"Yes but as you very well know, having the experience of losing people close to you, life goes on whether it's with or without you," Hanna said wisely.

"I'm glad I didn't ask her," Zoe said.

"Now, would you please take me inside?" Hanna asked.

OOOOOO

To be continued