Jess smiled, looking at the piece of bread in his hand. ‘Bit hungry, huh? Not surprised. Come on,’ she said, cocking her head toward the house. She headed to the veranda. ‘Think we can do better than that.’.
Finn looked at the piece of bread, shrugging his good shoulder. ‘Sounds good to me,’ he replied, following her back to the house.
For the rest of the day Finn caught up on the news on the radio and rested, feeling infinitely better for being up and eating and drinking. He felt alive again, like he had been waking up slowly from a bad dream.
That night, after the three had dinner, they sat in the lounge, sipping red wine and talking. Finn was slouched back in a large comfy chair. The room was dim and warm, a light breeze billowing the muslin cloth hanging over the open windows. Finn noticed old family pictures on the walls and in photo frames on the mantle of the big fireplace.
‘So, I know you said we’re a long way from town, but exactly how far?’ asked Finn.
‘We’re not that far in distance from Winton. Probably 80 kilometres, but it’s a hard road. It takes a good three hours each way, and that’s when the road’s in good nick,’ replied John.
‘Do you mind if I take your truck to town tomorrow?’ Finn asked, feeling bad for imposing but unable to spend another day without knowing if his parents were all right. ‘I need to make a few calls, tell people that I’m okay.’
‘I’ll take you in tomorrow,’ John replied, without hesitation. ‘The road in places isn’t that obvious and you wouldn’t want to run into a Chinese patrol. If I drive and we get pulled up, you can hide or make a run for it.’
‘You really don’t need to do that, John,’ said Finn, suddenly worried. ‘You have both taken a huge risk already, having me here. I don’t want to be responsible for getting you into trouble,’ he finished earnestly.
‘Finn, it’s fine. We’re happy to help, and the risk is acceptable,’ replied Jess with a smile. ‘It’s great just to have a new face around here — believe me.’
‘Thanks, but I’d still rather go alone tomorrow, if it’s all the same.’
‘Well, we’ll see in the morning,’ said John, pushing himself out of the chair. ‘I’m off to bed. I’ll see you both in the morning.’
‘’Night, Dad,’ said Jess.
‘Good night, John. And thanks again,’ said Finn.
‘Yep, ’night, both. And you can stop saying thanks now, Finn,’ John said reassuringly.
‘Fair enough,’ replied Finn with a smile as John left the room.
‘Another glass?’ asked Jess, lifting her wine glass in his direction.
‘Sure, why not,’ Finn said, settling back in his chair. ‘I haven’t had wine in months. Think it’s already going to my head.’
‘That’s a point. You probably shouldn’t have any more, given how dehydrated you were,’ Jess said, looking over her shoulder from the table where she was pouring her wine.
‘Yeah, but one more can’t hurt,’ Finn said, holding out his glass.
Jess poured him a glass and placed her own back on the side table as she curled her long legs up underneath her, sitting back down on the deep couch.
‘So, how long have you lived here for?’ asked Finn.
‘I grew up here as a kid until I was about 12. Then Mum and Dad shipped me off to boarding school in Brisbane. I used to come back every holiday. My brother and I used to have a brilliant time playing around on the farm.’ She looked a little sad and was silent for a few seconds, then resumed her story. ‘After school I went to uni in Melbourne and I spent less and less time back here. I finished uni, went travelling, as you do, and then settled back in Melbourne, working in finance for Lampton Construction.’
‘So when did you come back here, then?’ Finn asked, wondering how she could reconcile a finance career with this outback Queensland location.
‘A couple of years ago. My mum passed away and Dad was alone out here. I took extended leave and came back to help out. After a while I realised that I didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to go back to city living,’ she looked around the comfortable room with clear affection. ‘I love it out here, being on the farm.’
‘Don’t blame you. It’s a stunning place,’ said Finn, finding himself staring at Jess, noticing her long slim fingers wrapped around the wine glass. Her short but perfectly groomed fingernails seemed far too manicured for someone who lived on a farm.
‘Yeah, it’s a very special place,’ she said softly, nodding.
‘Still, must have been a hard transition from city life to being back on the farm, and in such a remote place?’
‘No, not really. I never actually sat down and thought about it too much. It just felt like the right thing to do. In my heart I felt that this was where I belonged, not in some grimy city. It’s funny. It was only after I’d left the city that I thought perhaps it wasn’t for me. Guess I didn’t really know any better,’ she said, raising her glass and taking a sip. She turned to Finn, changing the subject. ‘So how did you end up in the army? Got to say, you don’t come across like a testosterone-fuelled army boy,’ she said with a smile.
‘Hmmm, no,’ Finn said, laughing, ‘I grew up in Sydney on the Northern Beaches. Lived a pretty charmed life, worked in finance, cruised along. Then, when all this happened, something kicked in and I decided I wanted to do something, to fight for something, rather than keep living what was really a pretty vacuous life.’
‘A “vacuous life,” huh?’ Jess said, raising her eyebrows. ‘That sounds pretty harsh. Was it really that bad?’
‘Well no, it wasn’t bad as such,’ Finn said, trying to express his feelings. ‘But it was devoid of meaning. Looking back, I think I was pretty lazy, selfish, and didn’t really do anything useful. I mean, I was very good at my job, but I was never challenged by it, and that job did nothing to better people’s lives. I just made rich people richer. It was like this war — as bad as it is — was my chance to prove to myself I wasn’t a complete waste of space.’
‘So you had an epiphany and just came out here to fight a war — that’s a pretty extreme change. Why didn’t you just go work for a charity or do something else in the city that gave you more of a sense of meaning?’ said Jess, brow furrowed, looking curious.
‘I can’t explain it. I just knew, I didn’t really decide, it just happened.’ Finn trailed off and shrugged at Jess helplessly.
‘Kind of like me staying here,’ she said, nodding. ‘I didn’t decide to stay. It just happened.’
‘Yeah, I think that’s when you know you’re on the right path, when it just happens,’ said Finn thoughtfully.
‘That’s very poignant, I like it,’ said Jess, lifting her head high with a slight smile. ‘The warrior philosopher.’
‘Well, I guess that’s what red wine does when you haven’t drunk in over six months,’ Finn said, embarrassed.
‘Ah, the miracle of red wine,’ she said laughing, holding her glass up to the light.
‘So, you mentioned your brother earlier — where’s he based?’ asked Finn, wanting to change the subject.
Jess shifted on the couch. ‘He died a few years ago in a car crash,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘It was pretty tough on the family, Mum especially. She didn’t deal with it at all really. It was strange. Growing up, Mum always seemed so strong — she was the one who pushed us to challenge ourselves, to step outside of our comfort zones, to go with our hearts. Then when Aaron died, she became completely reclusive. Overnight, she just cut herself off from everyone, including Dad. It really broke Dad’s heart. He ended up losing a son and a wife at the same time.’
‘God, I’m so sorry. That must have been tough,’ Finn said softly.
‘It was. But you know,’ she said, turning the wine glass in her hand, ‘some good came of it all. I came back home and Dad and I have never been closer.’