The Plantation - Di Morrissey [188]
‘That is very true,’ said Bill. ‘And while Roland knew the marriage was over, I believe that he never stopped loving the woman he had married, and there was never anyone else, until the day he died.’
On the drive from Goondiwindi back to Brisbane, mother and daughter reviewed Bill’s story. They felt they’d come to know and understand Margaret much better.
‘If only she’d shared what had happened with me,’ said Caroline. ‘I’d have tried to understand.’
‘Maybe in this day and age family would have been more accepting, but there’s no way Gran would ever have told anyone that her husband essentially banished her because she’d betrayed the man who’d saved Roland’s life in the war!’ said Julie.
‘But that secret deprived me of a relationship with my father and my brother,’ said Caroline sadly.
‘I wonder if Philip knew about all this?’ said Julie.
‘It’s no use speculating, because it’s all too late now, anyway.’
Julie glanced at her mother. ‘I think you’ve done pretty well with the family you’ve got, Mum. You’ve helped find Aunt Bette, you’re about to dash to Adelaide and become a granny yourself. You’ve won the battle of the bypass. Now all you have to do is to take Dad up to Malaysia, and reconnect with your family there.’
Caroline smiled. ‘Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to ring those boys at Utopia and discuss a visit, but not till next year.’
‘No! You’ll be hard to drag away from that baby in the Adelaide Hills,’ laughed Julie.
‘And what about you, Jules? Are you planning another trip? Maybe to Penang to see a certain RAAF officer?’
‘That would be nice,’ said Julie. ‘I hate this long- distance social networking. A kiss and a cuddle would be far better. But I don’t think that he’ll be at Butterworth much longer. He’s told me that the operation there is nearly finished.’
Paul had the barbecue going and a salad made when they arrived back at Bayview.
‘So are you going to tell me the story over a glass of wine?’ he asked Caroline as he gave her a kiss and then hugged Julie.
‘Dad, open a bottle. It’s quite a saga,’ said Julie.
He looked at Caroline. ‘You all right, sweetie?’
She nodded. ‘Bill was amazing, especially for his age. His memory was better than mine, I felt! What is it with these ex-colonials? They seem to go on forever. His story explains a lot about my mother. In a way I do feel sorry for her, but she did some very unjust things, and not only to Roland and Bette,’ said Caroline suddenly feeling teary.
Paul put his arms about her and held her. ‘It’s probably best to know the whole truth, darling. Tell me about it, when you’re ready.’
Julie went out onto the verandah, leaving her parents together. What good, kind, loving people they were. Suddenly, she felt lonely. She missed Christopher. She went to the car and found her phone, and sent a text message to him asking when he was available to Skype and chat. Although she wanted to share Bill’s story, what she really wanted was to hear Christopher’s voice. But when she read his reply to her message, she let out a gasp and raced inside. Her parents were sitting close together on the lounge, sipping a glass of wine.
‘You’re never going to believe this!’ shrieked Julie, dancing and waving her phone about.
‘No more surprises, please,’ begged her father.
‘Darling, what is it?’ asked her mother.
‘It’s Christopher. He asked for a transfer and it’s come through! You’ll never guess where he’s been transferred … Amberley Air Force Base.’
‘Amberley, here in Brisbane? That’s great,’ cried Caroline. ‘I’m so happy for you.’
Paul beamed at his daughter. ‘He must have had a reason to want to transfer to Amberley, and I think I can guess what it is.’
‘Now we’ll get to meet him,’ said Caroline.
Paul stood up. ‘I think it’s time to open a bottle of my best champagne.’
The End
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