Chapter 2

MANGROVE DREAMING
By Kerrie Bygrave

Chapter 2:

Sam sliced the knife through the sticky tape on the bottom of the packing box. She felt like she’d been living amongst boxes for months, even though it had only been a couple of weeks. Today she was determined to tackle the remaining boxes that hadn’t been opened. Most of them had been stacked up near the doors in each room that led out to the wrap around veranda, which surrounded the house. The house it self was in the old Pearling master style with French doors in almost every room.
Sam decided to start with the boxes in the lounge room. As she finished each box, she flattened it and took it out to the veranda. Later it would be easy for her husband Matt to walk around the veranda and collect them all. It seemed like an eternity since she had packed up their house in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. They had packed up almost a month before they left, and had stayed with Matt’s parents for the last few weeks. Then when they got to Broome, there hadn’t been any housing immediately available and Matt’s work had put them up at Ocean Lodge.
It had taken another five weeks for this house to become available, but the wait had been truly worth it. The location and proximity to China Town was ideal, and Matt was able to walk to work every day. Sam had also fallen in love with the house itself the first time the real estate agent had shown it to them. Apart from the wide enclosed wrap around veranda, and French doors, the house had an old world charm, with it’s wooden floorboard, and bright colours, it was if the person who had decorated it had intended for the colours of the Kimberley region to be recreated on the inside. It had just the right combination of the reddish colours of the deserts that characterised the interior of this part of the country, with the brilliant colours of the vegetation that was so common around Broome. The garden was also an absolute source of delight to Sam. There was a selection of Frangipanis, palm trees, and other tropical plants, and it was surrounded by a white waist high picket fence, which allowed Sam and Matt to sit outside on their veranda and watch the world go by.
Every now and again, Sam pulled one of her possessions out of a box that she seemed to temporarily forgotten about. Like the crystal glass vase that her friends from work had given her as a wedding present. She had it packed away in Melbourne, as their small unit had not had a lot of room to display trinkets and such. But here, in this large rambling home, all that would change. She looked forward to having the vase on display and picking some of the beautiful exotic flowers in her garden to decorate her new home with.
After a while, when she’d finished unpacking the boxes in the lounge room, kitchen and dining room, she walked into the spare bedroom, and sliced open the top of the first box, she lifted up the flaps of the box and peered inside. For a few seconds she couldn’t work out what was in the box, but then it dawned on her. Matt had packed these boxes, as she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do so. In fact at first she had told Matt that she was going to give the content of these boxes to charity, but Matt had insisted that down the track she would regret it. She closed the box back up again and walked outside. It was Matt who insisted on bringing these boxes, so he could deal with them.
The weather was hot and humid, which wasn’t helped by the heavy storm clouds that were hanging around. People she had met had warned her that this time of year could be quite uncomfortable. The house was fully air-conditioned, but most afternoons, a slight breeze would bring some relief, and Sam would open up the doors and put the fans on. There were also fans built into the veranda, making it quite pleasant to sit outside once the breeze came in.
Sam grabbed a glass of ice water and went and settled on the cane outdoor settee that she and Matt had bought for the veranda as a house warming present to themselves. She loved sitting on the veranda this time of day. The children would walk past on their way home from school. There were normally a few backpackers walking to town, speaking various languages and looking very relaxed in the infamous Broome Time fashion. Interestingly enough, every few days, she would see an older woman going past with an old backpack. She would have a greyish mud on her sandals. Sam always wondered where she had been to get that colour mud on her. The beaches in Broome were well known for their white pristine sands. Sam had seen the lady a few times in her own yard a couple of blocks further down the road. She always smiled at Sam if they walked past each other.
On this day, there were no backpackers about, and the children who normally meandered slowly home, rushed past quickly. It seems everyone was conscious of the looming clouds that held the promise of a good down pour for once. It wasn’t uncommon to see clouds nearby, but for there to be no rain forthcoming in town. It was more common for the rain to fall just out of Broome.
Just as the last of the children disappeared down the road, there was a large clap of thunder and the heavens opened up. No where had Sam ever experienced the cliché that ‘it never rains but it pours’. At that same moment, Sam saw the lady from down the road hurrying past. Sam ran to the gate and flung it open. ‘Quick come on in’ she yelled. ‘You’ll be saturated if you try to get home in this rain’. With a grateful look, the woman followed Sam up onto her veranda.
‘Thankyou very much dear.’ she said once she was out of the wet. ‘That’s very thoughtful of you.’
‘No worries.’ said Sam. ‘Please feel free to wait until the rain passes. Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee, or perhaps a glass of water?’
‘A cup of tea would be lovely, thankyou. But first, can I wash my feet? I don’t want to walk mud over your veranda.’ she said with a smile.
‘Oh, of course.’ said Sam. ‘There’s a tap and hose by the stairs’, and she went to get the hose. But the lady was closer and shooed her away.
‘I can do that.’ she said, ‘I’ll just rinse them off the side of the steps.’
‘Alright,’ Sam replied, ‘I’ll just pop the kettle on’. She walked inside but stuck her head back out. ‘By the way, my name is Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam’.
The lady smiled. ‘Nice to meet you Sam. I’m Tara.’
When Sam had boiled the kettle and poured a cup of tea for herself and Tara, she put the cups and saucers on a tray along with the sugar and milk pots and carried them back out on the veranda and put them on the cane coffee table that matched the settee. She set the tray down and passed one of the cups to Tara. Tara helped herself to the sugar and milk, stirred her tea and took a sip. ‘Ah, now that’s a nice cup of tea.’ she said. ‘I notice the packing boxes laying around the veranda. Have you just arrived in Broome, or did you move from another part of town?’
‘Yes to both in a way, I guess.’ replied Sam. ‘My husband and I just moved here about seven weeks ago. But we stayed at the Ocean Lodge for about five weeks before we moved in here.’
‘And what brings you to Broome?’ said Tara.
‘My husband Matt got a job with the Broome Council. He’s the new engineer there.’
‘So then, what do you think of Broome so far then?’ inquired Tara.
‘I absolutely love it.’ said Sam. ‘I’ve never lived in a small town before, but this town just feels so vibrant. Sometimes I miss being able to shop in a city, but the feeling quickly passes. We lived in an inner city suburb in Melbourne when we were there. And even at night there was the distant din of city traffic. I love how it is so peaceful here. And besides, there are still some great shops here. I found a couple of great things for the house in that home ware shop near the butcher in China Town.’
‘Oh you mean Monsoonal Blues’ laughed Tara. ‘Yes, that is a nice shop’.
‘The only thing is that every now and then, I like to buy some specialty foods to cook with, and the supermarkets here don’t carry them’ continued Tara ‘or when I’m looking for a certain knick knack for the kitchen, and I can’t find it, but that’s a small price to pay, considering I feel like I’ve moved to paradise.’
‘Yes, I agree’ said Tara, as she took another sip of her tea. ‘I’ve lived her for most of my life, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I’ll give you one tip though. If there’s ever anything you can’t find in the other shops, try the Yuen Wing Store on Carnarvon Street near the bakery. Most thing’s you want will be in that place.’
‘Oh, I know the one you’re talking about, I haven’t been in there, but I’ve seen it. It looks so small from the front though. Surely there’s not that much in there? It looks like they’ve just got some gimmicky tourist stuff’ said Sam.
‘You’d be surprised.’ said Tara. ‘Looks can be deceptive, have a look next time you go past.’
‘Mmm, I might just do that.’ commented Sam.
The two women fell into an easy silence as they both enjoyed the sound of the rain on the tin roof, while they sipped on their tea. Every now and again, lightening would light up the sky, which was growing slightly dim, with the passing of the late afternoon.
Tara glanced out at the sky. ‘It looks like the rain has nearly stopped. I better get going soon’ she said, before downing the last of her tea. ‘But thankyou so much for allowing me to take shelter in your veranda. It was lovely to meet you’.
‘It was nice to meet you too.’ smiled Sam. ‘Please feel free to come over for a cuppa any time’.
‘I’ll take you up on that offer.’ said Tara
Sam hesitated before she spoke again. ‘Do you mind me asking where it is you go with your backpack? I’ve noticed you come past a few times with it, and well… I guess it’s just got me curious. I hope you don’t think I’m being too nosey or anything.’
‘No, that’s alright.’ Tara chuckled. ‘I actually have a little fishing spot I like to go to. I only go every now and again, but it’s one of my favourite spots’.
‘There’s a fishing spot this close to town?’ marvelled Sam. ‘I thought you had to get out of town a bit to find any decent places to fish, not that I know anything about fishing.’
‘Not at all.’ said Tara. ‘Although not many people go to this spot, it is a bit of a hike, not distance wise, it just takes a bit to get there, and it is a bit of a muddy track, but I don’t mind. The exercise does me good. I like to think it keeps me young. I tell you what, would you like to come with me. I’m planning to go again in another few days.’
‘I’d love to. I mean, are you sure you wouldn’t mind. I don’t want to intrude, if you like to fish alone’.
‘I don’t mind at all.’ replied Tara. ‘I wouldn’t have asked you it I minded. If you don’t know much about fishing, it would be my pleasure to show you how to fish’.
‘Well, then I’ll come.’ said Tara. ‘What do I need to bring?’
‘I’ve got all the fishing gear you need, you can use my spare line, so just bring some sun block, mozzie repellent, a broad brim hat and a couple of litres of drinking water. Oh, and don’t forget to wear some comfortable walking shoes or sandals, but make sure they are old, they will get rather muddy. I’ll call in for you on my way past on Thursday, say around 11.00?’ With that, Tara stood up to leave
‘That would be great. I’m looking forward to it to.’ Sam said, and she also rose to see Tara to the gate.
When they got to the gate, Tara turned around. ‘Thankyou once again. I’ll see you on Thursday’. And with that, she went out the gate and walked down the road.
Sam returned to the veranda, collected the cups and sauces along with the sugar and tea pots and took them inside.
She put the dishes in the sink and the other things away. Then she wondered to herself what she would have for dinner. Matt had called her at lunchtime, and told her that he had a late meeting at work and that they would be eating dinner at the Mangrove Hotel, whilst the meeting was in progress. Matt had apologised that the dinner was ‘purely business’ so it would be too boring for her to join him, but he promised to take her out for dinner the following night.
Matt was working late quite a bit and Sam couldn’t help wondering whether he was that busy at work, or whether he was just avoiding spending time with her. Not that she blamed him. She still wasn’t over what had happened. She was fine when she was around other people. Her upbringing had taught her how to put on a social face that was appropriate for almost any given situation. But when they were alone, she could be pretty anti-social. She couldn’t help but withdraw into herself. Not that she blamed Matt in any way. And she did love him deeply. But the pain was still raw, and every time she looked at Matt, she was reminded of what had happened.
Dinner could wait a while she decided. She grabbed herself a glass of white wine from the fridge, and went back to the chair on the veranda, and stared at the sky. The clouds had cleared away and the remnants of the sunset left a beautiful orange haze across the horizon down the street.