Chapter Fifteen
"Hey, Jodi." Tess had already been able to spot her sister from far away, bent over the fence with a wire cutter in her hands, her hat pulled deeply into her face to shield it from the blazing sun. "Let me give you a hand."
"No thanks, right now, I'm just removing the old wire anyway…there's not much you can do" she answered without looking up.
"Careful, it might snatch back." She watched Jodi with concern, as she kept pressing the cutter forcefully, tugging at the filament. "Jodi!"
The younger woman turned around, wiping her forehead with her elbow. "Look, I may not know a lot of stuff about a lot of things, but I do know how to cut a wire" she snapped aggressively.
Tess was bemused by Jodi's reaction, but grabbed a pincer nonetheless and took hold of the filament, pulling it into her sister's direction to take some of the fixture out of it. When the wire had been cut, Jodi crouched down to remove the rest, which had been attached to the pole in an incautious, hurried manner.
Tess picked up the coil and waited, leaning against the bonnet of the Ute. It could be so difficult to find the right words. "Jodi, about yesterday…I said some things that I really shouldn't have said. I was worried about Charlotte and I felt responsible because it was my job to take care of her, which I didn't do; and I know it's no excuse, but I was tired from the cattle drive, the storm, the search and all that, all of us were…I shouldn't have let it out on you, though. I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"Oh yes, Tess, you did." She stopped working and stood up straight, facing her with a deadpan expression. "You meant every word of it."
Suddenly, the lively little sister didn't seem so jovial anymore. She was a serious, confident adult, who was calmly stating her point of view. And it was precisely this, which tripped Tess up. "Well…I exaggerated, clearly." She was still looking for words, words which would show Jodi that she saw her as an equal partner, not as "funny little Jodi". "It wasn't your fault that Charlotte ran away, and no, you couldn't have known that she was listening, I admit it. I was mad at everyone and everything, and I did let it out on you. But…"
"But?" Jodi asked curiously, when no reply came.
"I think it would be helpful if you actually started acting –and feeling, probably- not just like a part-owner of Drover's Run, but also like a member of the family" she remarked carefully.
Jodi's confidence had already begun to crumble visibly. "And...what exactly am I supposed to do about that?"
Tess took one step towards her. "Look, I know you and I never really had much time to be…sisterly. You didn't get to spend a lot of time with your nieces either, what with Argentina, the rift between Peter and Alex, and so on. But, you know, there's one thing that I've always been…jealous of…"
"What?"
Tess smiled. "Is it that hard to guess? You grew up here, Jodi, and in many ways, this is much more a part of you because of that. I knew our father from some faint childhood memories and a picture that my mother had, you were his 'princess', although you may not have had a father-daughter relationship. When I first came here, I was so jealous of the relationship you and Claire had…although she did boss you around quite a lot."
"Yeah, but I deserved it…" Jodi smiled at the memory, but a deeper pain was reflected in her eyes. "I wish I could've talked to her after…I wish I'd known sooner."
"Me too. But, you see, we still have each other…and Nick, Emily, Charlotte, Meg and the rest of the crowd. So what do you say? Sisters?"
"Sure. I mean it's kinda hard to get out of it" she joked.
They shook hands, and Tess embraced her. "And please, get that 'illegitimate child', 'half-sister' stuff out of your head. It doesn't make a difference. And who can keep track of all of those complicated relations in our family anyway?"
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"Tell me again, why are we doing this?" Nick asked, about to put an old cup into the cardboard box, when Alex snatched it from him.
"To make room for Stevie's things – and that stays!"
"Alex, that's a sports award from 7th grade! Do you honestly want to keep that in your bedroom? It's pretty wimpy, you know…"
"Don't you remember? That was the first award I ever got, mate! Dad took us out to Fisher to celebrate it."
"Alright, but believe me…if Stevie sees this, she's gonna laugh….how much stuff can she have anyway?"
"Oh, women got loads of stuff. I mean you think they're done unpacking, but then they tell you that that was just their clothes. They have an extra bag for their cosmetics. And then they start taking out all of those little flasks with labels on them that me and you couldn't even pronounce!"
Nick shook his head doubtfully. "Stevie doesn't seem like that kind of woman."
"Well, you never know…and with women, it's always better to be prepared for anything. Besides, I want the room to look nice, you know, so everything leaves a good first impression on her."
"But Stevie's seen your bedroom a thousand times before! Well, that's what I thought, at least…but I guess I was wrong" he remarked with a unambiguous grin.
"Oh right, stop it, will ya?" He threw a pillow at his annoying little brother. Although he had to admit that he had missed those conversations with him – even the little rivalries and the mocking part. Actually, it was precisely these parts he had missed the most.
"Hey, why are you so nervous?"
"I'm not, I just…I really want things to work out this time." Alex took the cup, and put it into the box with a heavy heart.
"Don't worry, with Stevie, they will. I mean you've known each other for so long…" Nick took the prize out again and handed it back to his brother. "And if something goes wrong, it won't be because of a school award."
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"Emily! Charlotte!"
They didn't react to her call, too lost in their play to listen. Tess walked over to the stables, where they were sitting on the ground. "Come on, girls, it's time for dinner. Wash your hands and help Aunt Meg set the table, please."
"But the caves aren't done yet, Mummy."
"Which caves?"
"The ones for the animals" Charlotte elaborated, pointing at small heaps of grass and twigs. Apparently, they had bent a few sticks and stuck them into the earth to create several cupolas, which had then been covered in herbage. "When they're finished, mice and other little animals can come live in them."
"That's lovely" Tess replied. She couldn't help noticing the dirt stains on the girls' clothes, but forced herself to see the retreats from a child's point of view: they were a nice idea – and, fortunately, completely ineffective. If there was one thing she didn't want on Drover's, it was more mice. "But you can finish them tomorrow."
"Please, just a little longer…I'm not hungry!" Emily affirmed.
Charlotte looked up at her aunt enquiringly, not daring to object to her orders. She had become more hesitant with these matters after running away, probing whether the adults were mad at her.
Tess shook her head sternly. "Not this time, Meg cooked something complicated tonight, she spent a really long time in the kitchen, and you can at least try it. Besides, I have a surprise for you that I was gonna tell you about after dinner…"
"What is it?"
"After dinner, Em" she repeated with a smile. "Unless of course you wash your hands really quickly and start setting the table, then we'll have some time left."
Emily jumped up and started running towards the house. "I'm faster!"
"Nuh-uh!" Charlotte raced after her cousin. "Hey, you cheated…that's so unfair!"
Tess took her time to walk back to the house, enjoying the softer sun of the evening. The kids were getting too good at this whole negotiation-thing, especially Emily. They always managed to talk her in or out of things. She would have to be careful not to lose her credibility, and with it, her authority. On the other hand, it really was difficult to refuse something to them…
In the kitchen, Meg was busy doing the first dishes, occasionally walking back to the pots to stir. She looked a little stressed out, but seemed to be enjoying herself overall.
"Smells good" Tess commented, taking off her hat. "What's it called again?"
"Chicken Kozhambu; Jodi persuaded me to make it. You know how interested she is in India. But I doubt that the kids will like it."
"Oh, I think they will."
Meg smirked. "Tess, children and foreign looking, foreign sounding, smelling and tasting foods just don't mix."
"Maybe" she sighed. "Don't be offended if they're…reluctant to try it."
"I won't be."
She could hear the clanking of plates in the dining room, which reminded her to hurry up. "But anyway, I'd like to give you something –I carried it with me all day long, probably not a good idea- here." She pulled an envelope out of the pocket of her trousers and handed it to Meg, who accepted it hesitantly after wiping her hands on a dishtowel.
"What's that?"
"Open it."
Meg took out the small slip of paper and stared at it in disbelief. "That's a cheque. And…a lot of money."
Tess nodded. "You know how I co-managed that little restaurant in Argentina, after Nick's promotion? This is your share of the profit."
"My share?"
"Yeah, I passed some of your recipes on to our kitchen, and your dishes were really, really popular."
"Tess…thank you, that's a very generous gift, but no thank you. I can't possibly accept this."
"But it's not a gift, you earned this money!"
"…and I don't want it. That's way too much, and I'm not going to take money from you for a couple of recipes I was more than happy to share." She tried to hand the cheque back to Tess, but the latter refused it with a declining gesture.
"Please, I want you to have it" she stated desperately. Why was Meg being so stubborn? It was her money, she should rightfully have it. "You're a part of the family, you've helped us so much over the years…you deserve it, and I know you and Terry are going to use it well."
"But that's the point, Terry and I don't need it! We've got our self-made house, we're in no debt anywhere - we're happy. You and Nick could use this money far better, for yourselves, your daughter, Drover's Run, Wilgul…or whatever it is you want to use it for. It's only sensible that you should have it. Here…" She took Tess's hand and laid the paper back into it, closing it to a fist. "…I appreciate the gesture, but I won't cash this cheque."
Tess took it hesitantly, studied it for a moment, and ripped it to pieces afterwards. "Alright, but this money will be used for Drover's and nothing else."
"That's your choice to make."
At that moment, the children entered the kitchen, beaming at her. "We're done!" Charlotte announced.
"That was fast" Meg replied, full of wonder at their enthusiasm.
"So what's the surprise?" Emily asked curiously.
"Right, I almost forgot…there's a small fair in Gungellan this Sunday, with a few booths, a carousel and a dance in the evening. And since it's after the auction, I thought we could go."
"Yay!"
"Cool! Do they have those swing-things there?"
"I don't know, but we'll find out."
Tess smiled, the children's excitement had begun to rub off on her. She couldn't wait to finally be able to spend more time with them.