Cairns – Saturday 1 October 2022
Finally, the former crew of HMAS Hammersley were able to all meet up again to remember and celebrate the life of their late Swain, Petty Officer Chris Blake. Their reunion was supposed to have taken place last year, on the tenth anniversary of his death, but border closures due to COVID-19 had meant that wasn't possible, so it had been postponed to this year.
Former crew had flown into Cairns from all over Australia for the reunion. The guests of honour of course were Sally and Chloe, who had flown in the day before. Of course, joining them on the flight had been the whole group of Perth friends, including the newest member of the group - Nikki and Conrad's two-year-old daughter Bethany, a cheery little girl who was much beloved by her parents, and their friends. The group had arrived on a flight that flew directly from Perth to Cairns, leaving Perth at lunch time, and arriving in Cairns in the evening. After checking into their hotel, the twelve of them had had dinner together before turning in for the night. Next morning, they split up into separate groups to renew memories of Cairns for the adults, and to show the children the places their parents had known.
Kate, Dylan, Pete and the children had a busy day. They started by driving around Cairns, showing the children the different places where their parents had lived when they had been posted to Cairns. Kate then dropped the four of them off at HMAS Cairns, which allowed the men to show the children the patrol boats that were based there. Kester and Emma hadn't seen patrol boats before, as those types of boat were only based in Cairns and Darwin. Kate didn't want to visit the base and instead renewed her acquaintance with some of her favourite Cairns shops before meeting up with the rest of the family later in the morning.
After ice creams from a shop along The Esplanade, the five went to the Cairns Aquarium, which was new to the adults as well as the children, as it had only opened in 2017. Afterwards, they had a late lunch at the restaurant attached to the aquarium before going to Muddy's children's water playground at the northern end of The Esplanade, which was a definite highlight for the two four-and-a-half-year-olds. After taking the children back to the hotel for a short nap, the family finished their day with a swim in the Esplanade Lagoon, which enabled all of them to cool down. Although not hot by Cairns standards, the October day had been warmer and more humid than the five had been used to experiencing in Perth at that time of year.
The whole dozen met up again in the early evening at their hotel and walked together to another nearby hotel where a small function room and terrace had been booked for the reunion. Kate was delayed by an untimely phone call from work just as she was about to walk into the room, so Pete and Dylan walked in together. Kester and Emma held each other's hand, with their fathers on either side of them, as they entered and joined the throng inside the room, a little behind Sally and Chloe; Nikki, Conrad and Bethany, and Charge and Lani were behind the four.
Robert Dixon, Hammersley's radio operator (RO), saw the men first and walked over. "Dutchy, and Buffer. Great to see you guys again." Robert shook hands with both men, then glanced down at the children standing between them. "Ah, and these two are?"
"Our children" responded Pete. "This is Kester and Emma."
"Your children? I, uh, um… I didn't realise… You weren't on Hammersley together. Where did you meet? How long have you two been together?" Robert looked a little embarrassed and uncomfortable, and the questions came out in a bit of a rush.
"What's that RO?" asked Billy 'Spider' Webb who had joined the group at that moment. "Hi Buffer. How're you going?"
"Hi Spider. Actually, I was wondering whether I should deck RO or not. He's just insinuated that Dutchy and I are in a relationship." Pete smiled as he said this, turning away slightly to make sure that RO didn't see the smile. "I don't think that you've met Dutchy before Spider. You left Hammersley before he joined as my replacement." Pete gestured towards Dylan, "Dylan Mulholland meet Billy Webb - Spider."
Nikki had been listening to the conversation and was trying not to laugh out loud as she waited to hear what was said next. She turned to see Kate walking into the room and beckoned her over.
"What's with the huge grin?" asked Kate "You've only been in here a few minutes. What happened so quickly that tickles your fancy?"
"RO thinks that Dutchy and Buffer are a couple," whispered Nikki. "Pete's just threatened to punch him."
"Dutchy!" exclaimed a small woman with large dark eyes and masses of long hair, who walked up and hugged the tall man.
Dutchy returned the hug "Chicken legs! You look great."
"Thanks." The young woman leaned down towards Kester, "And this must be Kester? Hi, how are you? I'm Jessica Bird." Turning towards Emma she said "Hi Emma. I used to work with your daddy and mummy on HMAS Hammersley when I first joined the navy. Well, with one of your daddys." She stood up and turned to Pete, "Hi Buffer, or do you prefer Pete? I'm Jess."
RO and Spider looked a little confused at this exchange, and even Pete looked a little taken aback at Jess's enthusiasm.
Kate chose this moment to join the group and hug Jess. "Hi Bird. How are you?"
Jess returned Kate's hug, "Hi Kate. It's so nice to see you in person rather than on-screen. The kids are so much cuter in real life than in their photos."
"Thank you. We're rather proud of them." Kate cast a fond look at her children, who were still standing with their fathers nearby, before she decided to take pity on RO and Spider, who were both looking even more confused.
"Guys. Kester and Emma are my kids. They're twins, but born to different fathers: Pete is Emma's father and Dylan is Kester's. Robert, I know you like to hear the scientific side of things – officially the children are the result of heteropaternal superfecundation. That means that they are fraternal twins born to two different fathers. It doesn't happen very often, but it's not entirely unknown. The kids are four, they'll be five in February. And before you ask, yes, Pete, Dylan and I have been in a relationship for the past seven years.
Spider was the first to recover from Kate's bombshell announcement, "Well, congratulations to all of you. I hope that you're very happy."
"I am." Kate replied, glancing over to her lovers and smiling. Deeming the subject at an end, at least for the time being, she turned once again to Bird and said, "Congratulations on getting your paramedic qualification. How are you finding life outside the Navy? Where are you working now?"
Jess smiled before responding, "Well, it's definitely different. I'm working out of the main Cairns ambulance station up on Anderson Street. I've only been there a couple of months now, but I'm really enjoying the work. It's good to do just the medical side of things, without also having to do the cooking, and boardings and everything else that's involved when we were at sea."
"I'll bet. And how's Ryan going? Is he enjoying having you at home more?"
"He's glad to see more of me. I've been away quite a bit for the last year or so. The patrol boats have been pretty busy and COVID didn't help of course. I hated to leave the Navy in a way, but we're thinking about starting a family and I really didn't want to have to go back to sea afterwards."
"Fair enough. Is Ryan here tonight?" asked Kate, looking around the room.
"Ah … well … he'll be along later … with Mike. Mike wasn't quite ready to leave, so Ryan sent me on ahead." Jess paused for a while before continuing in a quiet tone, "Look Kate. I sort of know what happened, with Mike I mean, back before. I only heard about it a couple of years ago when Mike let something slip. I've wanted to say how sorry I was for you, for what he did, but it wasn't really the sort of thing to say via Skype or Zoom or whatever. I want you to know that I've never said anything to Mike about having contact with you and Dylan, or about the children. Actually, I've not even really spoken about you with Ryan either, although he knows of course that I'm in contact with Dutchy." Jess's voice trailed away. She was obviously embarrassed by the subject.
"Thanks Jess. I appreciate that you're in a difficult position, with Mike being your father-in-law, and Maxine being Ryan's mother of course. And I realise that it's an awkward subject. But hey – I've moved on from Mike and frankly, I'm much better off. I've got two wonderful men, who I love very much, and two fantastic children. Thanks to Dylan leaving the Navy and staying at home with the kids, I've been able to go back to sea. I don't know if you heard, but I've been the XO on Arunta since the start of the year. I'm hopeful that I'll get my promotion to Commander in another year or so, and then I can look to become a CO. Possibly on Arunta, or one of the other frigates."
"That's wonderful news Kate. Are you planning to stay in Perth?"
"Absolutely. We're all settled in there and really don't want to move. Pete's been muttering about having less time away at sea. He'll be fifty next year and he wants to spend more time with Emma and Kester. Dylan's been happy being the stay-at-home dad these last few years. With the kids starting full time school next year he's enrolled to start studying at uni. I daresay he's told you?"
"Yes. Marine biology sounds like something he'll really enjoy, and there's a whole ocean right at your door for him to explore."
"Absolutely. He'd go mad just looking after the house once the kids are at school every day. He's got his disability pension because of his different injuries when he was working that have caused him permanent incapacity. It's not huge but it helps him to know that he can contribute financially to our family. I don't know if he'll want to work once he has his degree. That'll be up to him. He's only studying part-time. Maybe Pete'll be retired by the time Dylan finishes studying and then they can swap roles as the stay-at-home dad."
"Sounds like an idea. I'm sure the kids would be happy to see more of their dads. What do the kids call you all?"
"Dylan is dad and Pete is pa. I'm mum or mummy. It raised a few eyebrows at their school initially, the three of us turning up for drop-offs and pick-ups. There were a few conversations with the staff about our situation. We've never hidden anything from the kids. They tell people that they have a special family with two dads and one mum. It's working for us so far. People have been a lot more accepting than I thought they'd be. The kids have playdates with friends, and go to birthday parties, and whichever of us is around takes them."
oOoOoOoO
Conversations ebbed and flowed during the course of the evening. Old friends met up and exclaimed over the changes that had taken place in each other during the years. Hammersley members who had never met on board, now met in the convivial atmosphere of the reunion. Thankfully for all, speeches were kept to a minimum: the current CO of Hammersley briefly welcomed everyone to the night, and reminded people of the sad side to the reunion, and that was all in the way of official speeches. One wall had been dedicated to photos of Hammersley and her sailors, with a special section containing photos of Swain, and people enjoyed comparing one another as they were then to now. Some people hadn't changed much, while others had got much greyer, or had no hair, in many cases people had put on weight, some had beards. All the usual changes that happen as people grow older.
Late in the evening
"Kate." Mike's voice came from behind Kate who was sitting at one of the tables on the terrace which led out from the function room. She had been enjoying a quiet moment and the chance to think about the evening. It had been wonderful catching up with the old Hammersley people, but Kate was glad of the chance for a quiet sit down with her thoughts. Everyone she had spoken to that night had been respectful about her relationships with Pete and Dylan, and the children. No-one had said anything about their unusual situation, but she had a feeling that that might be about to change.
Kate turned slightly in her seat and glanced at Mike before saying hello. This was the first time they had spoken that evening. She hadn't actively been avoiding him but the two just hadn't crossed paths. She had seen when Mike had arrived at the function, accompanied by Ryan. From what Kate had seen, Mike had been on the outside a bit tonight; not really taking part in many conversations, just hanging around on the edges of the various groups. It was almost as if he was being given the cold shoulder by the crew. Kate was more correct in this than she knew. By some form of osmosis, possibly aided a little by Charge and his penchant for gossip, the whole crew were aware of Mike's treatment of her all those years ago and were showing their disapproval of his actions.
Kate thought to herself that Mike hadn't aged well. The middle-aged spread she remembered from their marriage had increased, and his hair, now almost totally grey, was receding. Additionally, his nose was rather red, and his face showed some broken veins. She wondered if they were signs of excessive drinking – something that seemed confirmed by the smell of whiskey which wafted towards her from him.
Uninvited, Mike sat down at the table across from Kate. "So, is it true?"
"Is what true?" Kate responded.
"That you replaced me in your bed with both of your Hammersley buffers."
Kate winced inwardly at the crudeness of Mike's statement but refused to let him see how it hurt her. She didn't respond to his question immediately, instead asking him "Remember years ago, not long after Dutchy joined Hammersley, when that little girl Mia got kidnapped by her stepfather, and the ransom payment went wrong?
Mystified by the question, Mike cast his mind back before saying "Yes. I remember. You hopped onto the kidnapper's boat with her during the ransom handover and got taken off to an island. You shot one of the kidnappers with a flare gun when you and Mia were escaping from them."
"Yes, that's it. Do you remember, after we were back in port, and the kidnappers were handed over, we had a conversation about how Dutchy was fitting in on Hammersley. I still wasn't sure of him at that stage, and you suggested that perhaps I was a little too hard to please?
Mike slowly nodded, vaguely remembering the discussion but unsure where this conversation was heading.
"And do you remember my answer?" Kate paused, waiting for Mike's response, but he said nothing. "No? Well, I said that maybe it was because I wasn't prepared to settle for second best. Mike, it turns out that you were second best. Actually, let's face it, you were less than second best. You cheated on your pregnant wife in our marriage bed with my boss, your so-called friend and because of that I lost our baby. Well, I managed to start a new life for myself, and frankly, I've never looked back. Moving to Perth was been the best thing I could ever have done. In loving Pete and Dylan and spending my life with them, I am settling – no, I am loving the two best men I know. I love both of them and our children, and Dylan and Peter both love me and our children."
Mike's mouth fell open and he showed a distinct resemblance to a stunned fish.
With those words Kate got up and left the table without giving Mike so much as a backwards glance as she walked back inside to join her lovers and their children and their friends.
And that's the end of Kate, Pete and Dylan (and Kester and Emma)'s story.
Thank you to everyone who has stayed the course and read the whole story. And especially thank you to those who have commented on the story and wondered where it was going and who cheered me on as the story continued week by week.
