You have to thank ersk4 for this he requested (Any chance that you could do an epilogue and show Chuck encountering more stuff in Australia? Like going to some stores with Sarah? Seeing some sites? And meeting Sarah's mother?)
Chapter 21: Out and About.
The first six months of living in Australia took a lot of adjusting for Charlie Dennan. Some of the little things like which side of the road to drive on took a couple of weeks to remember to drive on the left hand side.
He abandoned the idea of being a stay at home dad, Sarah wasn't keen to search for work and Chuck needed things to do to avoid boredom. Sarah had a sizeable nest-egg so money wasn't going to be an issue for quite a while. To ease himself into it Charlie applied and got a part time job at a major department store. Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based, multi-national retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. Charlie worked two days a week in the store electrical area advising customers on the latest and newest technology. It was water of a duck's back for Charlie, pre-college days when he worked to support himself he was employed by the Buy More chain. He made sure he wasn't going to fall into the trap of committing himself forever working retail.
He didn't want to work in his field of expertize, managing software development as he was wary that the long arms of Interpol may come knocking on his door one day. Charlie Dennan wanted to and needed to live his cover. He had a beautiful and potentially deadly wife at home with his "little rascal" toddler daughter.
He didn't want to venture into places that had close circuit TV because he knew the CIA had facial recognition programs that searched around the world for escaped felons like himself. Whenever he had to go into the centre of Melbourne he would always wear his Akubra hat he got from Aussie Disposals and sunglasses. When Sarah accompanied him she would do the same, large sunglasses and a variety of hairstyles that hid certain features of her face.
Charlie developed a likening to hiking, Sarah and he would go on long bushwalks as there is no surveillance in the Australian bush. They would drop their baby off with her grandmother and then go for a hike before returning to a filling meal in the evening.
And that brings up the topic of Sarah's extended family. For Charlie, Sarah worst traits were her mother's best, there was something about Emma Dean, (she had remarried) that got up the nose of Charlie Dennan, she was a busy body who had the annoying knack of asking embarrassing personal questions that had the habit of getting under Charlie's skin. Emma was delighted to have her oldest daughter living nearby. Charlie for the sake of family harmony had to tolerate the woman although he would never spend a minute longer with her if he could manage it.
Charlie hadn't met Emma's ex-husband, from what Charlie was told he was a construction worker who had hurt his back and never worked again. He was on workers compensation for years before getting the invalidity pension. He who lived up country somewhere on several acres that had heaps of old cars in various stages of disassembly. He had done time for re-birthing stolen cars.
Sarah's oldest half-brother, Robert, had joined the Navy and was currently in the Gulf on deployment, he lived with his partner and family in Townsville. They lived so far away Charlie doubted that he would ever meet them in a face to face. Emma seemed to view him through rose coloured glasses. He had moved out of home as soon as he was able. He had signed up while still at school. One day he was a schoolboy the next he was a Naval cadet.
Sarah's younger brother lived up to his name, Nick was in the 'Nick' for nicking things. Her younger half brother was a small time criminal and drug user. It was his criminal enterprise that got his father imprisoned. Nick used his father's property and large workshop to strip stolen cars of their parts for reselling. One of Nick's associates had cut a deal with Police to give state's evidence, and dobbed Nick in. Nick also confessed to the cultivating of a crop of Marijuana plants that was growing on his father's land.
And then there was Molly, she was born probably in an attempt to save her parent's marriage. She was ten years younger than her younger brother. Her father left the family home shortly after she was born so she never had much to do with him. Surprising for Charlie, he thought that Molly was alright. She didn't have the bad habits that her brother had, and she was courteous and polite. She was doing well at school but she still hadn't decided what she wanted to do with her life. Molly would occasionally babysit Chloe. If it wasn't for Molly, Charlie sometime wished he had been been hitched to a Russian mail catalogue bride.
After several months and with the worst of winter behind them Charlie booked a holiday house for a weekend down at Paradise Beach. That required a three and a half hour drive through the lush green hills of the Latrobe Valley. The small beachside town was mostly deserted, as most of the homeowners were still at their principal place of residence. They wouldn't venture down until there was a major improvement in the weather.
For Charlie the setting was perfect, they were on a near deserted beach with the little one occupied with building a sandcastle. He took Sarah by the hands and they stood practically toe to toe opposite each other. He removed his sunglasses and then did the same to his wife. Sarah knew something was up, he had been mysterious for the last couple of weeks.
"Sarah there is something I want to do because I fell it isn't right between us. The arrangement in which we live by was set up without any input from me. Well, I want to have my say."
He surprised her by suddenly dropping to one knee.
"Sarah, I never got the opportunity to ask so I'm asking now. Will you marry me?"
Sarah was stunned but she was delighted, and looking down at her man with those big brown puppy dog eyes how could she resist.
"Yes. I will marry you."
Chuck while he was still kneeling pulled her engagement ring out of his pocket and slid it onto her ring finger. Then he stood up again and out came the next part.
"I, Charles Angus Dennan, hear by take you, Sarah Maree Dennan to be my lawful wife, to have and behold, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for the rest of ours days Amen."
Sarah could feel the tears developing in the back of her eyes. A simple commitment between two people, perfect.
"I, Sarah Maree Dennan take you Charles, and even when you are Chuck, to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and behold, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for the rest of ours days Amen."
Charlie retrieved the Sarah's wedding ring from his other pocket and slid in on her finger. They moved together and their lips met in unison. Their passion was interrupted by the little one who was tugging on the hem of her dress. Their lips parted as Sarah bend down to lift her daughter up and the little one got ambushed by her parents as they both planted kisses on her rosy cheeks.
"Oh one more thing." Charlie said as he kept hold of Sarah's left hand. Out of nowhere Charlie slid another ring onto her finger. Sarah looked at it, a little confused.
"It's an eternity ring" Charlie smiled, "It's a symbol of my everlasting love to you, I had it designed to set off the other rings."
You couldn't get the smile off Sarah's face, as young Chloe was passed over to her father's arms Sarah took the opportunity to hold her rings up into the sun. She loved the way the light reflected off all the little diamonds before return to the two members of her family for another round of kisses.
It suddenly occurred to her that Sarah had been set up. Charlie had picked a fight and later when she was having a bath he had walked in on her and took the rings off the vanity basin and said he wouldn't return them until she had changed her attitude towards him. She thought it was odd, the argument was over the most trivial thing, in fact she couldn't remember what it was about. All she could remember was backing down and letting him rant until she withdrew to have a soaking bath. He had the nerve to steal the rings but she decided to let it slide. She had a little bit of dermatitis from the rings anyway so hopeful her skin would recover.
As Spring arrived in Diggers Rest, the Dennans would often take long afternoon walks to the local recreation ovals and Sarah would powerwalk around the ovals to keep fit. Charlie would take Chloe to the play equipment and entertain her.
The sound of knocking noise of willow hitting leather echoed around the ovals. Charlie could see a group of young men milled around the practice nets a fair distance away. His harmony with his daughter was interrupted by a stay leather ball that skied in his direction only to fall short by twenty metres then bounce and roll to a stop nearby. Charlie spied the ball and went over to pick it up. It was a two piece leather ball stitched together in a way that a long seam was raised above the surface of the rest of the ball.
"Can we have our ball back please?" Charlie heard a youth still in his school uniform call out.
Charlie picked up the ball and threw it back in the youth's direction. Not having thrown a cricket ball before Charlie's throw flew over the youth's head at fell towards a group of players behind him. The ball fell harmlessly into the gloves of the oldest player there.
The call of "Thank you" filled the air.
Chuck went back to giving attention to his daughter, mock chasing his little girl and hearing her squeals and giggles was simple favourite for him. Sarah had finished her power walks and was looking at getting a drink from her efforts. A loud call of "Incoming" was heard and Sarah turn to see a red ball and bounce towards her. With precision she reached out and caught the ball on its way through. Chuck was now getting annoyed that the play equipment was within firing range of renegade cricket balls.
"Give it to me" Charlie said with more force than necessary.
So Sarah obliged him by tossing to ball to him. In a smooth motion Charlie caught the ball and then threw it back in the direction of the cricketers. The ball sailed over their heads and with one bounce hit the back of the practice nets.
"Let it go" Sarah pleaded, she didn't want her husband to be full of rage. "Come on it's time to prepare dinner and bath time."
They were interrupted by the oldest of the cricketers, he had walked over from the practice nets to speak to Charlie. Charlie had to find his inner calm, this man was old enough to be his father, Charlie could fill his anger and blood pressure return to their normal levels.
"You have a very powerful arm! Would you mind if you can demonstrate your style to the team?"
Charlie looked at his wife, she gave a reconciliatory nod of her head, dinner could wait a few minutes if it meant peace was maintained.
"Um, Sure." Charlie replied to the fast approaching man.
"Don Trevillian, captain of the Diggers Rest C grade team and coach of the under sixteens. Most of the boys play Saturday morning in the juniors then double up in the afternoon for C grade."
"So what do you want from me again?"
"I just want you to throw a ball a few times and hopefully some of the boys will try to emulate your style. As I said, you have a great throwing arm."
The trio with the little one left the play equipment and moved down to the edge of one of the ovals. Don got the schoolboys to gather around and they all watched Charlie demonstrate his throwing style. Charlie threw from the boundary to where Don was standing with his keeper gloves on in the center of the oval. A cricket ball is ever so slightly smaller but a smidgeon heavier than a baseball, but with Charlie's big hands it didn't feel much different.
"So do you practice often?" Sarah chipped in wanting to know more about the goings on in her neighbourhood.
"We train two nights a week, it's only the young ones, they come straight from school, as the days get longer and daylight savings kicks it then the A and B graders will make an appearance."
The next Thursday Sarah's mum had Chloe so while Sarah did her powerwalking on the oval Charlie engaged in conversations with Don and the rest of the team. With some encouragement they got Charlie to have a go at batting in the practice nets. Charlie was shown how to put the protective gear on and into the nets he walked.
If first difference Charlie noticed that in cricket the ball bounces before you try to hit it. It wasn't that easy as some of the boys knew how to make the ball swing away from the batsman and Charlie would swing and miss. One of the boys interrupted Sarah on her walk and told her Charlie was having a bat, she should see how he went. To be honest, Charlie looked awkward, he had the tendency to swing the bat baseball style. Don gave him a few tips to sort himself out but there was little improvement.
After Charlie had his ten minutes in the nets he saw the smirk on his wife's face.
"Think you can do better?" he challenged.
"Challenge accepted!" she replied.
Sarah had some very willing helpers assist her on putting the protective pads on and other gear. After a few tips from the captain on how to use the bat she took her place in the practice nets. The young teammates bowled at a reduced pace to her. She was a picture of concentration as she endeavored to hit the ball with the bat. She enjoyed her ten minutes in the nets, even Charlie had several attempts at bowling to her but he hit the side wall of the nets on every occasion.
While Sarah was removing the protective gear Charlie had a conversation with the captain.
"I'm not very good am I?"
"Well, it's your first time. No one expects miracles on your first attempt. You have limbs going everywhere, you remind me of a frog in a blender. But if you are keen we will sort you and your style out."
"I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Always remember, cricket is a side on game, you are side on when you bat and you are side on when you bowl."
And that's how the Dennans became village cricketers.
Over the next couple of weeks, Charlie's teammates help Charlie work out a bowling style to suit his build, being tall and lanky Charlie could generate surprising pace because of his long arms and he could get extra bounce because of the height he let go of the ball. He still sprayed the ball around so he was more of a hazard to players' health.
It was during some fielding drill they discovered just how good Sarah's throwing arm was, she was extremely accurate, and she was constantly hitting the stumps when she was out at a distance and on the move. Sarah claimed she had some softball experience but Charlie thought her CIA training had something to do with it.
Once the season commenced Sarah and Charlie were the last two of the side to bat and when fielding Sarah was in the covers while Charlie was in the outfield because of his throwing. As the season progressed Charlie got the occasional bowl, the extra speed and bounce was known to cause concern to the other side.
It turned out that Don Trevillian was a contractor for a house building company. He was the one that gave Charlie the idea and the start on what became a profitable small business for him. Don and Charlie were talking one afternoon while their team was batting and Charlie mention his electrical skills.
Charlie form a business called 'Dennan Communications'. His business relied on wiring up uncompleted houses for all the modern gizmos every home must have. Charlie would come in before the plasters arrived and would lay wire through the ceiling and walls for the communication plugs. Later when the owners were ready to move in he would set up their systems. The advantage of living in expanding new estates and his connection to Harvey Norman meant he was recommended by fellow sales staff. It kept him busy and enough money rolled in so they didn't have to rely on Sarah's nest egg.
The Diggers Rest C Grade was not a strong batting side, they were often bowled all out which meant everyone got a chance to bat. Charlie was generally considered a bunny when batting, he swung his bat as if it was a golf club so when he got the occasional hit, the ball would race off to the boundary. Sarah was more thoughtful and could hit the ball into the gaps for an easy run. She would often be not out at the end of the innings. She even declined an offer to bat higher up the list because she didn't want to show up her husband.
A small article appeared in the local newspaper.
A rare event happen during the Diggers Rest – Hanging Rock C grade cricket match on Saturday. A husband and wife performed a hat-trick for Diggers Rest. Needing 17 runs to win with one over remaining, Diggers Rest captain threw the ball to Charlie Dennan to bowl the last over. Dennan who only took up the game this season had to bowl to Hanging Rock's inform batsman Nathan Hammond. With seventeen runs to win and fifteen for Hammond to bring up his century, Dennan's first ball was dispatched back over the bowler's head for six. The second ball had the same fate and Hammond moved his score to 97. The third ball was just short of a length and Hammond drove it into the covers only for Charlie's wife Sarah, to take good catch moving to her right.
With five runs to get and eight wickets down the Diggers Rest captain brought the field in with Sarah Dennan taking first slip position. Charlie's fourth ball moved enough off the seam to get an outside edge that flew to his wife to take a comfortable catch at waist height.
Now with the last batsman in, the extra bounce of Charlie's fifth ball got the gloves of the tailender and Sarah Dennan took the catch high to her left.
Diggers Rest captain and wicketkeeper Don Trevillian said," In my younger days I would have gone for it but I knew Sarah was beside me and she has a safe pair of hands!"
At the annual awards night for the Diggers Rest Cricket Club, both Charlie and Sarah won an award each, Sarah won the fielding award for C grade as she was caused more run outs that the rest of the team combined. Her accurate throws from the covers had caught 7 batsmen short of their ground. Charlie received a trophy for his hat-trick. The club had the used cricket ball mounted with a brass inscription of what happen that day.
Charlie signed up to play again the following year, but Sarah's condition wasn't going to allow it. Nathan James Dennan was born in November.
The end for now
AN: All the places mentioned are real, look them up on Google maps. The Diggers Rest sports ovals are on Houdini Way. Yes that is the Harry Houdini. He was the first man to successfully fly and safely land an airplane in Australia in 1910 at Diggers Rest. The first man to fly a plane in Australia crashed on landing three months earlier.
I wonder if President Obama is going to pardon Ted Roark? I heard Ted made large donations to the Clinton Foundation!