Monsoon (55 page)

Phil gave her a fond smile. ‘There'll be plenty of time, love.'

‘I can't wait to go back,' said Meryl. ‘And Anna, where's your wedding to be held?'

‘Oh, Carlo had this idea of everyone going back to Italy to a church in a village where his grandparents were married. And then I mentioned the little church in the village outside Dalat. In the end we decided to stay here.' She smiled at Kevin. ‘I'm being married in the church where Mum and Dad were married – in Maroubra.'

‘How lovely,' said Patricia.

As the platters were passed around again, a brilliant eastern rosella landed on the railing looking for titbits. Tom leaned back and thought what a typical Australian Saturday it was. But the food and the presence of Sandy and Anna brought back wonderful memories of Vietnam. The women began talking wedding plans and Kevin insisted on clearing the table and stacking the dishwasher.

Tom refilled Phil's glass. ‘Let's take a stroll and inspect my roses.'

They admired Tom's garden and stood in silence for a few minutes.

Then Phil shifted his weight and said quietly, ‘I s'pose you'd like to know about my trip north?'

‘Only if you want to tell me,' answered Tom, who'd been wondering about Phil's trip to the Vietnam vets' retreat in Queensland.

‘The best bloody thing is just to know it's there,' said Phil. He shook his head. ‘Wish I'd been able to go to such a place when I got back after the war.'

‘I imagine a lot of men felt like that, but it's taken decades for people to recognise how many blokes were so badly affected by their Vietnam experiences,' said Tom. ‘So how was it? Was it structured in any way?'

‘Nah. Blokes just turned up. You can stay a week for a token payment. There are rules about food, cleaning up, that kind of stuff. It's the peace and beauty of the bush and the fact you can just hang out and chill with men who've been through the same thing. You have an instant connection.'

‘And that helped you?'

‘Being able to talk through things and find out other blokes feel the same. Had the same shit. When I told one chap how I'd tried to join the RSL way back and was told by an old member to “Come back when you've been in a real war, sonny,” he said it happened to him too.'

Tom shook his head. ‘There's a lot of repairing to do.'

‘We're doing it ourselves. Vets helping vets. Some of them are starting to age, mellowing, I guess. Or years of being on medication for depression and anxiety and stuff has calmed them down. Tell you one thing, though.' Phil glanced back towards the verandah. ‘It's made me appreciate Pat a hell of a lot more. So many wives shot through. Couldn't take the moods, the angry outbursts, the drinking, all the rest of it. Several of them said that if they had a woman like Pat they'd be hanging on to her.'

‘Have you told her?' said Tom quietly.

‘In my own way.' He looked down at a rose bush. ‘It's been harder talking to Sandy. She and her brother had a hard time with me. Going to Long Tan was good. Hard, but good for me.'

‘You'll go back?'

‘Maybe. I've kept in touch with my platoon mates. But Sandy is determined to drag me round the country. Pat's looking forward to it.'

‘How do you feel about her getting married to a Frenchman she hasn't known very long and living in Vietnam for a bit?'

Phil lifted his shoulders. ‘It's her life. I want her to be happy. He sounds a nice enough bloke. We talk on the phone.'

‘A lot's come out of going to Vietnam,' said Tom. ‘For all of us. You, me, Anna, Sandy . . . Even Carlo seems to have found his feet after a bit of a fall.'

‘What'd you get out of it, Tom?' asked Phil. ‘I figured it was a job for you. Once a journo always one.'

Tom thought for a moment. ‘I had a few ghosts to lay to rest from the war too. I was sad at what I saw happening to a nation of people with such a wonderful heritage. It's opened my eyes to how a country can survive such devastation. It also makes you realise the bloody futility of all that fighting.'

‘Yeah. I guess I need to spend a bit of time there,' said Phil and grinned. ‘I might have grandkids there one day.'

‘Ah, they tend to come home when the babies arrive. But who's to know, eh?'

The two men strolled back to join the group on the verandah.

Sandy watched her father chatting amiably to Tom. She nudged Anna and nodded towards the two men who'd seen so much and were now looking forward to the calmer years to come.

‘What a gift Tom's been to us,' she said.

‘For sure.' Anna sighed. ‘I wish my mother was here to share all this.'

‘She might be. Remember what the nun told you . . . that she'll always be around in spirit. I think Aunty Thu is here, too, and that she is very happy you made the journey.'

Anna touched the chain around her neck with the tiny cross. ‘You're a good friend, Sands. I'm so glad you dragged me over there. It was a special time.'

Sandy smiled. ‘It's not over, Anna. The adventure is just beginning.'

The End