Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [196]
Olivia looked up from her diary and smiled as she dipped her pen in the inkpot. She loved the way her husband always bridled whenever reference was made to his age. ‘No darling, of course not. It wouldn’t suit you at all.’
The only shadow over their life was the rebellious Georgiana. Years ago, after long and often tearful discussions, they had capitulated and agreed to send her to high school in Perth where she boarded with old friends of Olivia’s. Georgiana had never settled into Broome life, nor taken to its people. It saddened Maya deeply that her daughter seemed so determined to turn her back on their Aboriginal heritage.
‘You can’t force it on her, Maya dear,’ said Olivia sympathetically. ‘She may come to it in her own time but that has to be her decision. It must be very difficult for her.’
It had been Olivia, not Maya, that Georgiana had turned to for help when she graduated from high school. Olivia had gone to Perth specifically to help her get settled in a secretarial school and now she was working in the office of one of the coastal shipping companies. Georgiana no longer came back to Broome for holidays, and her letters were becoming less frequent.
It came as quite a shock to them all when a letter arrived from Georgiana announcing that she had been offered a job in the head office of the company in Sydney and she was sailing east in a couple of weeks.
Maya immediately went to the post office and sent a telegram to her daughter. Good luck God bless you love Mother.
As she walked slowly and sadly back home, Maya knew in her heart that the move east was designed to put even more distance between her daughter and a heritage that she couldn’t live with.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Maya glanced up as the MacRobertson Miller de Havilland mail plane circled over Broome before landing. She must have had a premonition, for the following morning Olivia handed her a letter. It was from Georgie in Sydney.
Dear Mother,
I’m well settled here in Sydney, I just didn’t think there were enough opportunities in Perth—and how right I was! I have a wonderful job with David Jones department store in Elizabeth Street. I’m secretary to the fashion buyer—all those boring practise sessions on the old Remington have paid off—and I’m enjoying it. Through friends at work I have found a teeny flat in Kings Cross, a very bohemian sort of area where a lot of artists, writers and musicians and ‘characters’ live—right up my street! I really feel I’m in the hub of things here and have a proper career path lined up. Those years as an office junior, then secretary, in the shipping company in Perth have proved valuable even though I found it so deadly dull at the time. When I was boarding with Olivia and Gilbert’s friends there, they thought I was such an independent modern woman to be out in the world supporting myself. I think they’d be quite shocked if they could see the career girls about in Sydney. Everyone dresses so nicely and the social life is outstanding. I’m glad I get my fashions at a discount! I am considering saving what money I can to travel abroad in a year or so. I’ve met a lot of sophisticated foreigners here and I can’t wait to see London. Give my love to Olivia and Tyndall.
Love,
Georgie
Maya folded the letter. It was written in Georgie’s large flowing hand and had the same breathless quality as the way she spoke. Probably dashed the letter off on the tram on the way to work, thought Maya. She was pleased at her daughter’s capacity to look after herself and get on in the world. Georgie was a survivor and an adventurer, she certainly wasn’t looking over her shoulder towards Broome. Georgie had shown her independence from a very early age but it made Maya sad that in so doing she had turned away from the family. Georgie had never felt connected to her