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Big love to Ipsita for pre reading and to Sarcastic Bimbo for her beta work.
Chapter 3
December 26, 2019 (Boxing Day) - Melbourne, Australia
Masen
The best flight I could find was Melbourne/Singapore/Helsinki, so I was taking the opportunity to fly in from Sydney a few days early to catch up with family and friends. Aunty Sue was renowned for over-catering Christmas lunch, and her Boxing Day parties were famous for mowing through leftovers, only allowing a brief interruption in the coverage of the cricket test for the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. When we were younger, there were always a few innings bowled in their backyard.
I was looking forward to seeing my cousin, Rose, who was still on her honeymoon the last time we spent Christmas in Melbourne. Her husband, Emmett, was good value, an easygoing country boy who had somehow tamed and married the tall blonde who used to turn up with a new boyfriend every Christmas. It was going to be interesting to see if she'd mellowed even more now they'd bought a place over in East Gippsland.
The first thing I notice when the Uber pulls up outside the house is the amount of work they've done since I was last here.
"Masen!" Uncle Harry sings out as I lift my bag from the boot. Hauling a case of beer onto my shoulder, I recoil from what I'm seeing. He's watering the garden. With a hose. I haven't seen anyone use a hose like that in months.
"The neighbours would report you if they saw you doing that in Sydney."
He lifts the trigger and shoots a spray of water at me. "I keep telling you to move back here. We have plenty of water."
Except you also have that cold fog that seeps into your bones in winter.
"This week has been cooler in Sydney, but we still desperately need rain. The air is certainly fresher here."
"Well, apparently, we're going to fry this weekend. They're predicting forty-three for Monday.
Jesus, it's relentless. I thought I was escaping the heat, but here we go again.
"The place is looking sharp, Uncle Harry," I offer with a nod toward the house.
Justifiably, he looks proud as he stares at his work. "For the first time in years it's been quiet leading up to Christmas, so I put a couple of the boys to work here. Hopefully, Sue will give me some peace now. That woman can nag like nobody's business."
I can't help the smile spreading across my face. With the grey hairs taking over, he and Dad are more alike than ever. As a builder, Harry is a little rougher around the edges than my father, but their mannerisms are strikingly similar. Harry takes the case of Coopers, and I'm happy I haven't come empty-handed. The Uber driver had no problem stopping at Dan Murphy's. He even came in with me and bought a couple of bottles of wine for himself.
Rose bursts out the front door with her arms in the air. "Macy Mace!" She is the only person who's ever given me a nickname, but I don't mind it coming from her. After enveloping me in a hug, she tucks her arm through mine as we walk to the porch, and I get to appreciate the new stonework and timber portico. God, they are like pieces of art. Just as Dad has excelled in the medical field, Uncle Harry is truly a master craftsman.
Once I'm inside, Emmett offers a firm handshake, then Aunty Sue squeals and drags me into her arms, rocking me from side to side and holding me at arm's length to look at me. She's colourful in a yellow apron dotted with red waratahs, bright red lipstick, and gecko earrings. Sue has always gone overboard at Christmas with the monster tree and decorations, and I smile when I see all the reindeer paraphernalia. They're everywhere I look, and I can honestly say I have no idea if Bella would love this or hate them, so I'll take a few photos while I'm here and ask her in Helsinki. Sue and Harry must have received hundreds of cards this year because they're all on display, strung up around the walls.
It's so different from the house I left in Sydney. None of us was interested in decorating, and we didn't exchange gifts this year. We really only came together for a couple of hours over lunch before Dad had to go to the hospital. The food was delicious, but it was ordered instead of prepared at home. Mum did make the pudding, but that was weeks ago. Once we finished cleaning up, I retreated to my room to FaceTime with a very sexy Bella while Mum had an afternoon nap.
Bella and I have switched the time we talk to each other now. When she calls me at three in the afternoon, it's six in the morning in Johannesburg, and she's natural and rumpled and kinda delicious waking up, teasing me with promises I'm gonna hold her to soon. As it gets closer to our meeting in Helsinki, the tension is rising, and there has been more than one occasion when we've both got off on the phone. While my thoughts wander away to our reunion, my dick starts to harden, and I'm suddenly reminded of where I am and who I'm with.
A Christmas pudding sits on the counter alongside a pavlova ready to be topped from a tray of sliced strawberries, kiwi fruit, and mango.
"Didn't you have dessert yesterday?" I ask, wondering how this could have survived Christmas Day. Even though I ate more than my share at lunch, I still managed two servings of Mum's Christmas pudding.
"Couldn't fit it in." Rose puffs out her cheeks and rubs her tummy. "I'm still not sure I can face it today."
"Wait till you see all the ham we have leftover," Emmett announces with a pop of his eyebrows. Rose's mouth gapes open as she shakes her head.
"Excellent," I reply with a grin. I am hungry.
"This is for you, Masen." Sue hands me a gift so beautifully wrapped that I don't want to ruin it. Rose crouches by the tree and retrieves another, chuckling when she comes back. Sue has given me a knitted winter hat with a woolly interior, the kind that extends over the ears with hanging pom poms. I'm impressed she's bought me a gift for my arctic vacation until I take a closer look at the knitted pattern, and they both start giggling. There are three reindeer on the hat—one standing and two … mounting.
"It's a threesome!" Sue's enthusiasm makes me cringe.
"This is perfect for Lapland!" I lie as I hug her, praying she won't utter another word about threesomes. Rose gives me the matching scarf, so I'm either going to generate a whole lot of laughter or embarrassment if I wear them in public.
My presents for them are not nearly as thoughtful or interesting. I've given each couple a meal voucher for a restaurant in Richmond called Kekou. I figured they're Melbournians, so I couldn't go wrong with the plethora of craft beers and Asian fusion food on the menu. Lucky for me, Emmett says a friend of his has been there and recommended it. It did have great reviews.
Harry hands me a beer, and he and Emmett recline in front of the TV. New Zealand has won the toss, and Warner and Labuschagne are opening for Australia.
I do like to watch the cricket, but I only have a few days to see my family, so I hang around the kitchen counter. While Rose finishes off the pavlova, Sue gives me the task of carving the rest of the ham, and Emmett wasn't kidding about the amount they have left.
"Have you settled into the new place now?" I ask Rose.
"Yeah, and I'm happy. It's completely different to living in Melbourne. We walk into town, attend local meetings, and we're becoming good friends with our neighbours. It feels like a community. How's Sydney?"
"It's okay, but Dad told Bella I'm too old to be living with my parents. I'm out of work because of the fires in case you didn't know."
"I'm sorry, Mace. I didn't know. What's it really been like?"
I sigh and try to keep my voice down. "There's no end to it, Rose. The fires have been burning for so long, it's like the new normal, and I've reached the point where I don't want to see the news anymore. Just when you think it can't get any worse, a helicopter goes missing at three o'clock and there's wreckage and bodies being recovered at seven. Two volunteer firefighters died last week when their tanker overturned after hitting a fallen tree.
"They ran out of water trying to save the town of Balmoral, and I heard an interview with one of the firefighters who said the Premier's comments insinuated they'd failed at their job. This poor bastard was crying, saying they had managed to save houses and were deeply hurt when she implied the whole town was gone.
"I watched another old bloke describing what happened when the fire overtook them, breaking down as he described his chooks literally cooking when he couldn't get close enough to release them from their cage. Isn't there enough news to go around without showing the gruesome reality of survivors trying to deal with the aftermath?"
When Rose asks Emmett to take the pavlova to the back fridge, I realise I've been waving the knife around in the air, and I need to chill. It's Christmas, and I've sounded off enough for one day.
Rose leans on the counter and smiles. "So, why Finland? You do realise Santa has knocked off for the year?"
She pops a piece of ham in her mouth, and I chuckle. "Bella celebrates Christmas on the 7th of January."
Her eyebrows jump in surprise. "I thought the whole world celebrated on the same day."
"No, the Orthodox Christians celebrate on the 7th, so it's common in Russia and other parts of Europe, and Bella's father was stationed in Belarus for a while when he worked for the US Foreign Service. They visited him for Christmas one year and stayed at a resort in Lapland where Bella made friends with the daughter of one of the staff. The two girls were both nine at the time, and they had the run of the place, even allowed to sleep in the first ever glass igloo built in Lapland. Bella has romantic and lingering memories from the holiday and a deep sadness that she never returned to see her friend again."
"So, are you finally going to visit her?"
"No, she died in a fire when she was still a child, and Bella holds on tight to the promise she made to honour the date of her friend's Christmas."
"Oh ... that is really sad."
"We're taking this trip in the hope that she can deal with the loss once and for all. She needs a chance to mourn so she can finally accept."
Rose gives my wrist a tiny squeeze. "You're a good boyfriend, Masen."
"I can be a real shit."
We both laugh, and the heavy moment is over. I'm surprised I told her this thing I would never normally share.
Sue's cousin, Leah, arrives with her husband, Sam, and their teenage boys, Jacob and Seth, who look like they'd rather be anywhere but here after Sue squeezes the life out of them. As soon as they've opened their gifts, they retreat to the table on the deck with their phones, a bowl of chips, and two cans of Fanta.
Leah asks me why Carlisle and Esme didn't come to Melbourne this year. The easy answer is that Dad can't take time off at the moment, and she accepts it without me having to mention the effect the smoke is having on Mum's wellbeing. She tells me we've met before, but I don't remember her. Eventually, she works out I must have been Seth's age when we last saw each other.
We've laid the table with enough food for twice the number of people when Warner is out for 41, caught at second slip by Southee. He's replaced by David Smith who's already off the mark with a quick single when they call lunch. The men stand immediately, switching to the coverage of Sydney Harbour showing its best under perfect conditions. There had been fears they'd be cancelling the race this year, but the weather is nothing short of spectacular.
Leah lingers over the pageant filling the screen. "I thought they were worried about the smoke, but it's beautiful."
"Every day is different, Leah. Some days it has been so bad they shut down the ferry services."
We all have to raise a glass of something so Sue can take a photo. She then makes Harry take one from the other end of the table. When I look at the spread in front of me, it's hard to know where to begin.
"Do you live near the harbour?" Sam asks, passing the salad to Seth.
"Yeah, not far."
He picks over the pieces of chicken on offer and states, "You must be doing all right, then. I hear it's big money around there."
"It's my parents' house, not mine, and I won't be living in Sydney next year."
Rose locks eyes with me and frowns. I bet she thinks I'm about to repeat what Dad said about me living there, but I wanted to leave my announcement until we were all together.
"I've just scored a full-time job with National Geographic, so I'm headed for the outback."
"You've done that before, Masen?" Harry confirms.
"Yeah, a few assignments, but only freelance."
"I don't know how you stand the flies out there," Sue adds.
"I'll take a can of insect repellent any day over the traffic in Sydney. There are apartment blocks going up everywhere, so it'll only get worse."
This leads into the conversation on why Melbourne is superior to Sydney. I heard it all a hundred times when I lived here, and I know it's best to stay out of it. In my mind, they're too different to compare.
Gradually, people start leaving the table, and Sue tells me to sit when I offer to clear. She runs a tight ship at Christmas time, and Harry and Sam don't argue when she instructs them to get their asses into gear or they'll miss the cricket. With Sue and Leah packing away the food, and the teenagers outside again, it's just Rose and Emmett and me.
"I'm having lunch at the Portsea Pub with friends on Saturday. Do you want to come?"
Rose gives Emmett a weird look. "We're actually going home tomorrow."
My shoulders sag when I hear the news. "I thought you were staying for a few days."
"Not with this heat coming," Emmett responds, and another look passes between them. "I prefer to be home."
"Are you worried?" I ask him, keeping my voice low.
"Not really, but we came through thick smoke driving here on Christmas Eve, and if they close the highway, we'll get cut off."
I've come to associate thick smoke with big fires, but it's their decision. As a forester, and someone who's fought fires before, Emmett is well aware of the dangers, and this gathering is not the place for me to question them further.
Anyway, he changes the subject to Rose's success in her new job staging properties for sale. I wondered what she was doing selling real estate, but now I see she had a plan, and I'm glad she's finally getting some use from her art degree.
Emmett is interested in my assignment, saying he's always wanted to visit the Northern Territory and see Uluru, and we talk a little about the closure of the Uluru climb for good. I love to see people's faces when I rattle off facts about the rock being higher than the Eiffel Tower, how much of it is underground, and how many people have been killed or injured trying to climb it. So far, there hasn't been a single person who wasn't amazed to learn it's five hundred million years old.
When I say we will probably be based in Alice Springs for a while, he asks Rose if she'd like to visit us, and I tell them I'll give them some dates when we know what we're doing. I really hope they do make it because I want them to meet my girl.
Without offering, Sue places a slab of pavlova in front of each of us and asks if anyone wants coffee or tea. She gets no takers, and I imagine it must seem strange to outsiders that we Aussies will consume such a sugary desert and then wash it down with a beer.
At stumps, Australia is 257 for 4, and Smith has contributed a decent 77 runs to stay in since lunch. The news bulletin immediately following is full of the crowds at the Boxing Day sales and highlights of what we've been watching all day. We wake Rose so we can get up to stretch and then resume outside with a round of beers in the fresh air. It makes me wish I had pushed Mom to come with me now, because I fear she's more depressed than actually sick, and even without Dad, I think she would have enjoyed the company and a chilled glass of wine at this table. I have so many memories of being here with them at Christmas, and nothing about this particular gathering has ever really changed.
There's a knock on the front door, and Jacob jumps to attention. He says a brief goodbye to his mother and Sue, barely waving at the rest of us before Sam and Seth escort him out. Before long, we hear Seth whining and Sam pulling him into line, and I have a memory of the year I tried to get out of going to Melbourne for Christmas when I had invitations to parties and days at the beach. Neither of my parents would allow me to stay behind, so I was surly, but at least I joined in once I got here. We're not their immediate family, but those two boys have not shown a speck of interest in talking to us today.
Sue deals with the Seth situation by bringing out the food again, and I'm surprised to find I have an appetite. It could have something to do with the amount of alcohol I've consumed today, but I'm not driving, so ...
The dishwasher is whirring and the leftovers are packed in the fridge when Rose asks who wants pudding. Emmett and I are first with our fingers in the air, but Sam chooses that moment to announce it's time they went home, and I recognise it's him who's passed his lack of manners onto his sons. I may have an unhealthy attachment to this one tradition, but I think it's the height of rudeness to leave without at least trying something that takes so much effort to make.
Leah apologises but like the trooper she is, Sue is all smiles as she carves into the pudding, loading slices into a plastic container to send them off, and we all follow them out the front. It's not a long drawn-out farewell, either. In a couple of minutes, we're waving them goodbye.
With sunset approaching, I want photos of my family and the new porch. Harry slips his arm around Sue's waist, and she leans against him while Rose and Emmett sit in front on the steps. Then Emmett comes and grabs hold of me, his arm long enough to fit us all in a selfie.
-0-
"So, pudding?" Rose asks again as we walk inside. We each get a thick slice microwaved that we cover in custard and cream, but none of us return to the dining table. Rose, Sue and Harry get comfortable in front of the television, and Emmett and I decide to go back outside. I take out our pudding and he joins me with two glasses and a bottle of whisky.
"Christmas present," he states, checking out the label. "Bakery Hill. They make it in Bayswater." He opens the bottle and pours us two fingers each. We clink glasses and he watches me try it, an easy smile taking over his face.
I'm no expert on whisky, but this is a great drop. "Bloody hell, Emmett, it's smooth."
"You'll feel the warmth in a minute."
It doesn't take long to radiate out from my throat through my chest, and I know this is proper booze. He slides a spoon into his pudding, and closes his eyes when he puts it in his mouth.
The pudding is full of the taste of Christmas, and yet it's not like Mum's. She soaks the sultanas and raisins in sherry, and I know she adds breadcrumbs, spices, jam, and golden syrup, but this one has layers of flavour. There's cinnamon, dates, cranberries, orange, and roasted nuts. Sue has surpassed herself this year.
Emmett smiles. "It's the perfect accompaniment for my wife's Christmas pudding."
"Rose made this?"
He nods with the smug expression of a man who's proud to admit it, and I raise my glass to him.
"How the hell did you marry a woman who can create something like this?"
"She's had her fair share of failures, believe me."
I grin at him. "And you got to try them all, you lucky bastard."
He dissolves into a fit of laughter, nodding his head.
"You want more?" I ask, and he scrapes his bowl before handing it over.
Helping myself to the pudding, I could make a big deal of Rose's triumph, but that would diminish Sue's. It's like accepting Sydney and Melbourne are not better than each other, just different. I'll send my compliments to Rose after they leave to go home.
Emmett has already refilled our glasses when I return, and he asks, "Does Bella cook?"
That's a question I can't answer yet. "Uh ... we've spent a lot of time apart and only really stayed together in hotels."
"Oh, then you're at the bottom of the learning curve, mate."
I eat a mouthful of pudding and wait for whatever guidance he'll give me, because he's doing something right. Rose is clearly happy, more confident in her own skin, trading genuine interest for the mouthy sarcasm that once defined her. Emmett himself is like a son in this house.
"You move in together and life couldn't be better. Every day you're learning something new. Then you plateau for a while when the rose-coloured glasses come off. Pun intended, seriously. The annoying habits and differences have to become part of the relationship, so if it's real love, you'll find they don't bug you so much anymore. If you continue to focus on them and argue, then you'll know you've picked the wrong partner."
It's a simple way to define something that's probably very tricky when you're in the middle of it, but that may be part of his charm. As the guy who thought Bella and I were breaking up a week ago, I'm undoubtedly more complicated and less sure of myself.
"The reason I know is that after two years of marriage, I wouldn't want anyone else as the mother of my kids."
"Are you trying for kids?" I ask.
Rose comes outside and answers for him. "Not yet. We're going to put a dent in the mortgage first. Are you two drinking whisky?"
"Would you like a glass?" he asks, running his hand over her back.
With a yawn, she answers, "No, I'm too tired. I'm going to crash." After a peck on his lips, he smiles as he watches her go.
"Did Rose tell you I've been to Helsinki?" he asks.
"No." I sit forward, enthusiastically. Bella has only fleeting memories of the place, so he's the first person I've met who's been there.
"It was our last port of call before we came back to Australia, and I was going through the end of a relationship with one of those 'wrong partners.' God, she was a trial, but it left me unattached when I came home and met Rose."
I like the way this man with his big arms and rough hands visibly softens when he talks about his woman.
"What did you think of it?"
"Helsinki? Oh, well it was summer then, so … I guess it's a bit like Hobart with the trams and all the big sailing vessels moored in the harbour, but it's as flat as a tack. It looks historic, but it's really very modern because most of it was destroyed in the war. You must go and see their seafood markets, and I'll murder you if you don't try the salmon soup. I remember there was a tiny shack on the water where you could buy incredible sausages and cook them yourself outside over a fire pit, but I don't know how that works when it's snowing."
"Bella wants to experience a Finnish sauna and then plunge into freezing water."
"Shit, that wouldn't turn me on."
"Me either, actually. I'm planning on taking photos."
"You should definitely get out of the city and visit Turku, over in the west. That's where you'll see history and get a sense of the archipelago."
"We are. We're catching a train to Turku and then a bus to a place called Naantali. After that, we come back and fly up north to stay in a glass igloo for a thousand bucks a night."
"Okay," he says with the same expression I must have had when I found out what that excursion was going to cost.
"And there's no guarantee we'll see the northern lights at that time of the year." With a smile, I add, "However, I'm sure we'll find ways to spend our spare time."
"Yeah, about that, there's one thing I must tell you. The Finns are … a very reserved people, so expect dirty looks if you kiss your girlfriend in public. That worked out quite well for me, actually," he says with a chuckle.
"Do you two really have to go home tomorrow?" I'm going to miss them being here.
He swirls the whisky in his glass and drinks it. Then he pours another. "We have fires to the north that have already threatened friends' properties, Masen. If Monday is as hot as they're predicting, we could be facing catastrophic conditions."
The hairs on the back of my head stand to attention. "Is there bush near your house?"
"No, mate. It's more likely they'll need me to join the fight."
While I'm trying to grapple what it must take to fight a fire on a day like that, I won't ask him to describe it. If it really does get that hot, it's all I'll be able to think about when I'm on the plane.
"Do you have an opinion on the current state of fire management?"
"An opinion?" He laughs. "There needs to be change in many areas."
"What about cultural burning?"
Sighing, he seems to consider his answer carefully. "In theory it sounds good but in reality, it's not something just mysteriously gifted to Aboriginal people. Most of them don't know how it's done, and those who have been taught the skill have never practiced in a large, fuel-filled forest. Giving something a green light because it has the word indigenous attached can be very dangerous."
I agree with that. "We saw a cultural burn this year, and what you say ties in with my experience. It wasn't a risky environment, and I asked if they'd done the burn in a forest. One of them said it would have to be cleared out first."
"Well, there's a lot of merit in what they said. When we have so little rain, the leaves and debris on the forest floor can't break down, so there's kindling everywhere. There are also too many trees close together with branches and canopies ready to spread the fire from one to another. Backburning is only a temporary solution in my opinion, but to weed out and thin the forests properly, you have to remove limbs and sacrifice trees, and they've stopped all logging in East Gippsland now."
"Will that affect your job?"
"I dunno yet."
"Do you think what's happening will change policy?"
He snorts. "I've given up trying to anticipate the Australian Government, but they should have seen this coming. We took a trip to Merimbula a few weeks ago, and driving up around Cobargo and Tilba, everything was bone dry. There wasn't a single river, creek, or stream holding water, while a vast ocean was nearby with an endless supply that could be treated so it's not toxic to plants. Huh? There are obviously some things I'm not meant to understand."
He must realise his volume has increased with each sentence, because he stops and shakes his head.
"You know, it was the first time I didn't hear a single cicada." He's shifted the tone of his voice, and he sounds melancholy, as if he's been beaten down by something he can't fix.
It makes me remember something. "There weren't any Christmas beetles this year, either."
"My brother has already been evacuated once from Bateman's Bay, and two of our best friends live at Mallacoota, where there's only one road in from the highway."
"How far are you from there?"
"Two hundred clicks, but it'll be the same weather conditions. If we're not affected, we may need to help them."
Holding my fingers to my eyes, I've just about reached my limit. While I'm grateful he's felt comfortable enough to be honest with me, I can't help being concerned for them. The sound of china clinking together makes me look, and he's picked up the bowls with his glass.
"I'm gonna hit the hay before my wife gets cross with me. You want me to leave the bottle?"
"No, but thanks for the drinks." I finish the last of my whisky. "I need to find out where I'm sleeping. I'll see you in the morning."
Even though I'm with family, there's another person I need right now. I'm sitting on a bed with a towel from Sue when I text Bella and ask if we can FaceTime. As soon as I see her sweet smile and know she's safe, I ask about her day so I can forget this godforsaken place.
December 30, 2019 - Tullamarine Airport - Melbourne, Australia
It's searing outside, shimmering like the Northern Territory desert, and I know what it feels like to be a deserter, leaving my family and country in crisis. I wouldn't be here except for Mum and Sue telling me fifty times there was no point in my staying.
A trip that was supposed to be a leisurely few days of pleasant reunions is ending at the worst possible time for me to go.
On Friday, Tyler offered me a spare bike, and we spent the afternoon riding along the bay. The sky was blue, and it was great to relive something we used to do together a decade ago. His wife, Gianna, was working until five, so we met her in the city and had drinks at the Arbory, then crossed the river for dinner at the Atlantic, sharing split grilled prawns and an enormous roasted fish with mussels. It was nice hearing what they'd been doing, and I enjoyed talking about Bella and our plans for 2020. I even texted her and sent a few photos from the restaurant.
Apparently, I was a little drunk trying to FaceTime from the tram going back to their place, because Bella was laughing at me when I tried to introduce them on my phone.
Emily and Randall came over on Saturday morning and we all squeezed into Tyler's car for the trip down to the Mornington Peninsula. We bought vanilla slices and coffee to eat at the beach at Sorrento, and then drove to the Portsea Pub. It was so packed, we had to park at the other end of town. At least Gianna had the foresight to book us a table, because I was cruising without a care in the world when I came from the bar with two bottles of wine and saw Garrett and Tia at our table.
"I thought you were going away," I declared, hugging them both.
"Didn't you hear?" Tia asked, and I knew right away it had been a bad time to take my eye off the news, even for a day. "They're telling people to stay away from the coast unless they need to be there."
I sat down as Garrett continued. "With the heatwave coming, we didn't want to take the chance."
"Where were you going?" I asked, opening the app on my phone and seeing all the fire warnings and alerts in the eastern part of the state.
"Lakes Entrance."
That was somewhere near Rose, but I didn't actually know the name of the town where they lived, and there were too many fires to distinguish which could be classed as north of their place. Two hundred clicks west of Mallacoota could be anywhere, but they were definitely in the thick of it.
Trying to sip my wine, I couldn't concentrate on the conversation, so I walked outside to call Sue. She had spoken to Rose, who said it was smoky, but the fires were still a long way away. As Emmett predicted, they had called him in to help fight. I didn't get a sense that Sue was worried, and I was certain Emmett would not have left Rose on her own and in danger, so I went back to the table and enjoyed the rest of the day with my friends.
Yesterday, Rose called to say she received a notification for everyone in East Gippsland to evacuate, and she and Emmett had decided to get out early, so she was already packing the car, expecting him home soon. They were picking up his grandfather from a nursing home on the way.
Twenty-four hours later, it's forty-six degrees and we haven't been able to contact them. We've hardly spoken to each other, either, preoccupied with where they've gone or if they're alive. There are messages on the telco's website saying services are down, and the whole area is under extreme fire alert.
I haven't shared this with Bella, praying we'd hear from Rose before I left, and instead of jumping out of my skin to board this flight, I'm numb, ashamed I let Sue and Harry talk me into being here. They keep saying we would have been informed if anything had happened to Rose.
When they call the flight, I send another text to Rose and call Sue again. She makes me promise to stop worrying because it won't change anything. I don't know if Sue is the strongest woman I've ever met, or if she bursts into tears when she hangs up.
There's still no word from Rose when I reach Singapore, and no amount of Sue's confidence will convince me that no news is good news, because it's now been a whole day and a half. I haven't slept, and I know this fear will only get worse during the flight to Helsinki. Bella sent a text a few hours ago as she was boarding her flight, so I can't even talk to her.
I'm both wired and exhausted for our arrival in Helsinki, and we're three hours late, so I get to see a unique arctic sunrise. The sight of this picture-perfect city from the air feels like a sign that everything's going to be all right. I do love the look of snow dusting the buildings and trees, but they quickly lose their charm when I have to go outside in the icy wind and freeze my ass off.
When I turn on my phone, Bella has sent a couple of pics of our Airbnb. She's obviously excited, giving me directions, train and tram numbers, the pin number for the elevator. As I'm leaving the aircraft, I want to be the Masen who imagined arriving like this, dying to see her, appreciating the architecture of this magnificent airport.
I think I'm doing okay until I check the news while I'm waiting for my bag, and the scenes I'm seeing are right out of an apocalypse. Overnight, blazes ripped through East Gippsland and Mallacoota, the place Emmett mentioned, was completely cut off. I think I'm watching the sun setting through smoke as the sky turns orange, red, and then black, until I read it was happening during daylight on the morning of New Year's Eve. There are currently 4,000 people and their pets stranded on the beach, wearing face masks and tea towels, and the report says they spent the worst of it in the ocean. Mallacoota didn't stand a chance when the fire came at them on two fronts, and people are posting that they received no warnings to evacuate.
There is footage from above, showing roadblocks and endless lines of traffic on the Pacific and Princes Highways as people try to flee the area. Emmett and Rose were right to consider the roads because everyone is trapped now, one way or another.
Once I exit immigration, I have to find a place to sit and process what I've seen. When there is still nothing from Sue, I drop my face into my hands, too afraid to call them.
Thanks for reading xo
That's the last of the previously posted chapters. As of next weekend, it will all be new.
