Page 7 of Buried In Between

Loud voices and harsh words

Things that cannot be unsaid, comments absurd

Resolution and agreement never seem possible

Heading into a train wreck, unstoppable.

Chapter Four

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Ava checked, for the third time, the whereabouts of Ish. She really needed to start calling him Duke; that way they’d both get used to it.

He was supposed to be tugging out weeds from the overrun garden closest to the house. A simple task given the entire bed was an undesirable mess of dandelions, crabgrass and other unrecognizable stalks. If there were any plants remaining, they’d have to be heavy-duty natives. Had to be best to start over again. She hadn’t realised the move here would entail her learning such a broad range of new skills; she added gardening to the list.

Clearly having grown bored, her son threw a tennis ball into the air and caught it.

‘Have you had a drink, mate? It’s hot, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah, but not as hot as home,’ he replied and kept tossing the ball.

Ava paused mid-snip, lowering the secateurs that were attacking one of the trees lining the drive. ‘Home? You mean where we used to live? Where, um, Dad lives?’

He nodded.

‘Do you miss it?’ Her voice a tone too high.

‘Um, dunno. Nah, probably not. It’s pretty here.’

Ava released her breath. ‘But I left all my toys and stuff there and don’t see my cousins anymore but there are roos here.’

Yep, they’d left quickly, only taking what they could carry.

Ava kneeled and sat back on her ankles. ‘It’s going to be great here, though, isn’t it? We have this yard for starters. When you’re bigger we can think about a bike…’

That got his attention and the ball rolled away. ‘A motorbike?’ he squealed. Okay, yes, she was manipulating her son, but she desperately wanted Ish to like it here, have things to look forward to in this new life they were creating. And if all went well, they’d be here long-term. That was the plan.

Behind them the two horses who lived next door galloped along the fence line, neighing loudly as they went. Pulling up sharply, the animals tossed their heads wildly. Ava and Ish turned towards the commotion and saw a man.

Dropping the secateurs, she stood, wiped her hands down her old tee shirt and tried to ignore the fizz of fear bubbling in her tummy. For a property this secluded, there’d been too many unexpected surprises already and they’d only been here a few days! The man approached the horses who nuzzled their long necks into his body, demanding a scratch; clearly, they knew him. Ava’s shoulders lowered from being hunched around her ears.

‘Howdy!’ he shouted and waved in greeting over the fence as he continued to pet the horse’s necks with his other hand.

Ish looked to her for direction, his little jaw clenched tight. She smiled to reassure him and held out her hand indicating they’d walked over together. He clasped it tightly.

‘Welcome to the neighbourhood. I’m Clive, your closest neighbour.’

‘Hi, there,’ she tried to match his hearty greeting. ‘I’m Ava and this is my son, Duke. We haven’t seen you around yet.’

‘No, I don’t live here fulltime, it’s a bit of a weekend, holiday home. More like a retirement project but we don’t get up here as much as we’d like.’ The horses demanded his attention and he obliged. ‘Lotta work you’ve got ahead of you.’

So everyone kept telling her.

‘Yes, but one step at a time.’ She wouldn’t say she was already feeling overwhelmed and the list of tasks to do as a priority, too long. ‘It’s sort of silly being out here in the yard when I need to fix up the house so we can live comfortably, but I thought I’d just tame the mess so the house would appear more welcoming.’

He nodded. ‘Yeah, sure. Particularly the entrance, I guess, it’s spectacular, isn’t it?’

She agreed. ‘I love it. It was what attracted me to the house in the first place. This long drive with the trees lining it is a grand entrance in perfect symmetry. But yes, you’re right,’ she said, looking around, ‘I might trim the trees along the drive and worry about the rest later.’

‘You’ll want to clear some of the paddocks for the young fella to play around in, too, I’m sure.’

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