Intensive Care: Escape to the Country (5 page)

It seemed so different from Sydney. Although it was busy, no one was walking head down, intent on getting to their destination as quickly as possible. Here, it seemed like no one was in a hurry. People of all ages mingled in front of shops and stood on corners chatting with one another. There were no angry car horns tooting their annoyance at other drivers cutting in front of them. The only loud sound that caused Kate to jump was the excited bark of a working dog, its front legs balanced high on the top of a dirty four-wheel drive as the car drove past her.

The sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue, clear of any clouds. On the outskirts of town a haze hung over the mountain, but it was wood smoke, not the fumes and smog she was used to in the city.

When she found the Courthouse Café she chose a small table outside in the full sunshine and took a seat. While she waited for her lunch to arrive she called her mum.

“Katie! How did you go? Did you get there okay? Of course you did! I had hoped you would call. What’s the hospital like? What’s Birrangulla like? Where are you now?”

“Mum,” Kate laughed, accustomed to the way Elizabeth always asked questions without waiting for an answer, “one question at a time okay? The drive was fine. It took me just over five hours.”

“What’s the town like?” Elizabeth asked.

“Oh Mum, it’s so pretty. You would
love
it,” Kate gushed.

“Now don’t go judging a book by its cover, Kathryn. Just because it seems faultless at first glance, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.”

Kate rolled her eyes, glad her mum couldn’t see her.

“And the hospital? What was that like?” Elizabeth asked.

“Much bigger than I expected. You can see how great it will be when all the renovations are finished. I didn’t get a tour so I don’t know what the ICU looks like but the director of nursing told me it’s brand new and only been opened a few weeks.”

“So, when will she let you know?” Elizabeth’s voice reflected Kate’s enthusiasm.

“She didn’t say, but I got the impression they haven’t interviewed anyone else. I know this will sound strange, Mum, but I have a feeling the job is mine. And if it is, I’m going to accept.”

“Now Kathryn, don’t go getting your hopes up. This has all happened very quickly you know.” Ever practical, Elizabeth was once again trying to be Kate’s voice of reason.

Kate’s meal arrived and she mouthed her thanks to the young girl who served her. “Mum, my food is here now so I’ll talk to you later, okay? I’ll have a look around after lunch and head back later this afternoon. I’ll text you before I leave here …and yes, tell Dad I’ll make sure I take plenty of driving breaks.”

Kate had only taken a few bites of her lunch when her phone rang again. Glancing at the caller ID, Kate saw Melissa’s number. With food in her mouth she slid her finger across the screen of the phone and answered the call.

“Hi! Are you eating?” Melissa asked.

Swallowing, Kate replied, “Yes, sorry! I’m sitting in the Courthouse Café, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I’m feeling better than I’ve felt for a long time. I haven’t even thought about Marcus once today.”

Okay, so that was a lie. She’d thought about him once when she’d received yet another text message from him. Again, she’d deleted it without reading it.

“Sounds rather perfect. Either that or you’re being sarcastic!” Melissa laughed.

Kate joined in. “I’m being serious, I really like it here. I could see myself fitting in and starting a new life here.”

“Good on you, Kate. So, how do you think the interview went?”

Kate gave Melissa a longer version of the interview process than she had given her mum and Melissa made appropriate comments about Kate’s answers to the questions she had been asked.

“Well, let me just say I’m very proud of you. I didn’t actually expect you to take my advice and be spontaneous, but you have and I think it’s about to pay off.”

“Why do you say that?” Kate took another mouthful of her sandwich.

“I’ve just gotten off the phone with Belinda Grills and I have given you an incredible reference!”

“Really? She called you so soon? Mel, that’s awesome. What did she say? What did
you
say?”

“I told her I didn’t want to lose you but I thought a move would be just what you needed right now.”

“You didn’t mention Marcus did you?” Kate asked, worried.

“No, I didn’t. They don’t need to know why you need a change of scenery. Anyway, I suggest you get off the phone and wait for a call from Belinda, because I’d say the job is about to be yours. And if you want my opinion, which I know you do,” Kate heard Melissa’s familiar laugh down the phone line, “I think you should accept the job and put Marcus and city living behind you forever.”

Thanking her friend profusely, Kate hung up the phone and finished her lunch. She drummed her fingers on the table and checked her phone every few minutes to make sure she had cell phone coverage. She was trying to remain positive. After half an hour and no call, a slight heaviness settled in her stomach and she knew she couldn’t delay any longer. Kate paid for her meal and got up to leave, ready to wander slowly back in the direction of her car to face the long drive back to Sydney.

As she walked out of the café, Kate saw a brightly lit real estate agent’s window on the opposite side of the road. Acting on impulse, she crossed the road and pushed open the door. A small bell tinkled behind her and a smartly dressed young woman came through a doorway from a room out the back of the small office space. Smiling, she greeted Kate warmly.

“How can I help you?”

“Do you have a list of rental properties?” The words were out of Kate’s mouth before she had even thought about what she intended to ask.

“Are you looking for residential or rural?”

Slightly confused, Kate asked, “What do you mean by rural?”

“Well we have normal residential properties, you know, like you’d be used to in the city
–
three bedroom brick veneer on a standard suburban block
–
and then we have rural properties. Lots of people like you are looking for a few acres just outside of town. You know, to do the whole white-picket-fence-tree-change-escape-to-the-country thing.” The young woman giggled and Kate couldn’t help smiling in return.

“I’m not even going to ask how you pegged me for a city girl looking for a country lifestyle. But you know what, the idea of a rural property sounds kind of appealing,” Kate said.

“What’s your budget?”

Kate named a figure. “Do you have anything available for that price?”

“We do! The perfect place for you just became available today.”

Of course it did!
Kate laughed to herself. She could see the young woman took her job very seriously
–
she was quite the salesperson.

“The owners want to rent it out for a few years because their kids have all grown up and moved to Sydney. One of their daughters just had a baby and he’s got some special needs so they’re moving closer to be able to help out. They don’t know whether or not to sell the property in case they want to come back one day.”

Surprised that the other woman knew so many personal details about the family but reminding herself that’s what living in a small country town would be like, Kate asked, “When is it available?”

“Oh, it’s available now. They moved all their stuff out yesterday and dropped the key off this morning. I think it’s just meant to be yours!” She smiled broadly at Kate, confident that she was about to say yes without even having seen the house. “I can show you through now if you like. It’s only ten minutes out of town. Do you have a car? You could follow me there.”

“Oh. This is all very sudden. Yes, I do have my car but it’s parked down at the hospital. I’d have to walk back there and get it. Why don’t you just give me the address to the house and I’ll meet you there in say half an hour?” Kate suggested.

“Okay, that sounds good.” The girl smiled cheerfully at Kate. “Anyway, my name’s April. I know you’re going to love it here.”

Kate smiled at April. “I’m Kate.”

She debated whether to tell April she didn’t even know if she had a job yet. In the end she decided to continue on the course of her newfound spontaneity and go with the flow.

Melissa would be so proud of me.

Kate followed April’s neat handwritten directions:

Drive out of town and once you go
over Fish River Bridge go approximately three kilometers then turn right onto Eagles Ridge Road. About two kilometers along you will go past a set of double gates opposite the old Anglican church. Just past these gates you’ll see the turnoff to Robertsons Road. About half a k on your right is the gate to your place.

Kate made her way back up the hill under the Avenue of Honor and across the bridge April had said to look out for. Just before reaching the large sign that thanked her for visiting Birrangulla, she almost missed the turnoff to Eagles Ridge Road. Her attention was taken by a solitary white cross on the side of the road. Kate instinctively slowed down to look, assuming someone local had died there. No doubt someone trying to get home too quickly. She sighed heavily. Some poor family had lost a husband or a mother. Or a child. Her hidden memories grabbed at her and she shivered involuntarily.

She slowed down further and was glad she had when the loose stones caused her tires to spin as she negotiated the turn off the asphalt and onto a yellow gravel road. Her instant thought was what Marcus would have to say about the damage the stones were causing to the metallic paint on her car. Cream-colored dust rose in a cloud behind her as she drove slowly, watching for any signs of a property or house number. She saw none. She passed the old red-brick church and saw the cemetery, the gravestones surrounded by weeds, and then she found the road she was looking for. She checked her watch. Less than fifteen minutes from the hospital – it would be a quicker commute than she was used to.

She turned in to the road and didn’t have to go far before she saw April standing in her high heels and mini skirt beside a little red vehicle emblazoned with the Birrangulla Real Estate logo on the side doors. April waved enthusiastically when she saw Kate approaching and hopped back into her car. Kate followed her as she turned in to the gravel driveway through an open farm gate. Her entire body vibrated as she drove over the cattle grid. She looked ahead and pulled up, stopping and staring openmouthed at the sight before her. She knew immediately that April was right. She
was
going to love the property. It was beyond her expectations and truly lived up to April’s enthusiastic sales pitch. She felt a tingle of excitement in her belly. If she got offered the job, she only hoped she could afford the house.

The long driveway was lined with massive lemon-scented gum trees, their white trunks in stark contrast to their green leaves. Beneath the eucalypts were hundreds of agapanthuses, the tips of their long dark leaves brushing the sandy-colored gravel. No one had taken the time to prune them and many retained their dead flower heads, the color faded from them long ago. Kate wondered what colors they would throw in summer: blue, purple or white. The sun reflected off the hills in the background as clouds danced their way across the sky, creating shadows on the landscape. She knew she’d never get tired of the scenery that surrounded her if she was lucky enough to live here.

At the end of the driveway, Kate spied a small farmhouse surrounded by a wire fence. It wasn’t the proverbial white picket fence she had imagined in her daydreams, but even from this distance her pulse raced in anticipation. Two red-brick chimneys poked out of a silver iron roof that reflected the late afternoon sun, and Kate smiled in delight at the potential of roaring wood fires she could enjoy as the weather turned colder.

She pulled to a stop in front of the house and sat for a moment, taking everything in. The farmhouse was, in reality, little more than a rundown weatherboard cottage surrounded by overgrown gardens. The gunmetal gray boards and white trim around the windows were desperately crying out for a fresh coat of paint. The front door was faded black and the paint had cracked and peeled in places.
It needs to be painted bright red
.
She realized her first impression had been slightly tainted, but her disappointment didn’t last long. The whole house had the appearance of being well treasured and well lived in, and Kate loved it instantly. It would be just perfect for her
Escape to the Country
dream.
If I get the job
, she quickly reminded herself.

She turned off the ignition and as she stepped out of the car her senses were immediately overwhelmed again. Her nose wrinkled slightly at the unfamiliar smells of manure, farm animals and freshly dug soil, and her ears took a moment to adjust to the silence that enveloped her like a glove. She looked up, suddenly startled by the sound of galahs squawking loudly and she caught flashes of pink, gray and white as they flew overhead. Other than the birds and the distant bellowing of a lonely cow, the silence was almost deafening. It was the sound of peace. She swept a hand through her hair and held it back from her face, allowing the pale sunshine to warm the back of her neck. Yes, she could live here.

“Sorry about the gravel road and potholes.” April looked behind Kate at her car. “It’s a nice car you’ve got there but it won’t stay clean when you live out here. All this dirt just gets into everything.” Kate followed April as she minced her way across the gravel in her high heels and pushed open the rusty metal gate, which was in need of a good oiling. April clipped up the uneven path, trying to avoid the weeds that poked through the gaps in the concrete, and tottered up the two bluestone steps that led to a weathered timber veranda. “Anyway, this is it!” April stuck the key in the lock and flung the front door open with a flourish. “Your new house!”

Kate stepped inside and looked around. April was spot-on again. The house was adorable. The ceilings were high and the decorative cornices were painted in a different color from the walls. The timber floorboards were made of pine and Kate loved the sound they made underfoot – so different from the plastic sound of the laminated floating timber floors in her apartment. She shook her head to clear the unpleasant memory.

The bathroom and kitchen were both outdated, but perfectly usable. The bath was deep and the showerhead above it looked brand new. Kate hoped the water pressure was good. No dishwasher in the kitchen was a surprise, but then Kate reminded herself that she was living on her own and wouldn’t be generating much in the way of dirty dishes. It might be a nice change to wash by hand. The kitchen sink was beneath a window that overlooked the backyard and Kate knew the first thing she would do would be to remove the fussy floral curtains that covered much of the window, blocking the light.

She took her time inspecting every room and was already imagining where she would place furniture when her phone rang. She couldn’t see where April had disappeared to, but Kate could see her car was still parked in the driveway. She walked through the kitchen, unlocked the back door and stepped out onto the veranda to take the call.

“Hello, Kate Kennedy speaking.”

“Kate! Hi! It’s Belinda Grills. Thought I’d give you a call and let you know the job is yours.” Belinda’s cheerful voice came across the phone line.

Taken aback with the lack of formality in the offer, Kate wasn’t sure how to respond. “Oh wow. Um. That’s great. When do you want me to start?”

“So, is that a yes then?” Belinda asked.

“I suppose it is!” Kate was still not familiar with making quick decisions without first consulting Marcus, and when she found herself agreeing to the new job without even thinking, it surprised her. “Yes. I’d love to accept the position.”

“When can you start?”

“Does a month sound reasonable?” Kate asked. “I have to give a month’s notice but I’ve got plenty of annual leave I can use and I’m sure Melissa would be happy to approve it so I can finish up earlier. Once I find somewhere to live it won’t take me long to get unpacked and settled in.”

“That sounds great. If you need longer just let me know.”

“I will,” Kate replied. “And if there’s any changes to the timing after I’ve spoken to Mel, I’ll let you know.”

“Great! Too easy. I’ll get onto HR now and they’ll email you some contracts later today. You’ll be started on the standard level one unit manager award rate. Just get everything signed and sent back to us at your convenience. I’ll be in touch to discuss an orientation day and any other things that are relevant closer to your start date. How does that sound?”

“Terrific,” Kate answered.

“Are you still in town or have you already headed back?” Belinda asked.

“Oh, I’m still here. I’m just having a look around.” Kate didn’t want to lie but wasn’t sure she wanted to admit to Belinda that she was already looking at rental properties.

“Great. Why don’t you check out some rental properties while you’re here?” Belinda suggested.

Glancing around her, Kate felt like Belinda knew she was already doing that. Was the town that small that everyone knew what everyone else was doing?

“Okay. Sure. Yes. I’ll do that. Well anyway, thank you again, Belinda. I really appreciate the opportunity you have given me and I look forward to working with you and the team at Birrangulla Base.” Kate hoped her answer contained some semblance of formality and professionalism.

“That’s great, Kate. Now please feel free to give me a call anytime if you have any questions. And good luck with finding somewhere to live. I’m sure you’ll find the perfect property. Talk to you soon. Bye!”

Kate hit the end button and looked around her, unable to wipe the grin from her face. She felt like the cat that had just swallowed the canary. She spotted April at the end of the garden near some sheds. April was smiling back at her. Clearly she’d overheard the whole conversation.

“So, I guess you’ve got the job! Now all you need is the house,” April said.

“Yes, I
have
got the job and if you’ll show me where I need to sign, I’ll take the house too.” Kate smiled.

“Perfect. Just perfect.”

Kate heard the “I told you so” note in April’s voice and found herself grinning in return. It looked like everything was falling into place.