The Sunnyvale Girls (28 page)

MAGGIE
had just finished putting away the dishes from breakfast. She'd treated them all with hearty bacon and egg toasties full of caramelised onions. She took great delight in feeding them well. That's how she showed her love for them, through their bellies. And if she didn't keep busy doing things like cooking, or keeping the garden going or running around in the ute, then she knew she'd probably shrivel up and die. Her body was built for work, and if she kept it busy, then there was less chance it would deteriorate. Well, that was her plan and she was sticking to it. Hopefully the girls would look after her if she got too bad later on in life. Sunnyvale was her home and she'd be more than happy to die here. She wanted to be interned in its earth, just like the many loved pets she'd had over her lifetime.

‘Are you there, Flick?' came Stefano's voice over the two-way.

‘Yep. What's up?'

‘Needing fuel soon. You free?'

‘Sure am, see you in five.'

Maggie smiled. Flick was absolutely smitten with Stefano and she could see why. The young man was lovely. He'd comp­limented her on her papadelle ragu last night, high praise considering his family was in the restaurant business. Maggie had been trying new recipes after Flick showed her how to find them on the internet. Most were Italy-inspired.

Maggie had told Jimmy he could learn a thing or two from Stefano's manners, and he'd replied by sweeping her up into a hug and kissing her on the cheek. ‘How will that do?' he'd said. Such a cheeky lout, but she loved him. And so did Toni. Maggie had never seen her daughter so deliriously happy before, except when Felicity was born.

Maggie started humming an old tune and realised it was one she'd heard Rocco and Giulio sing many times. Strange that she would remember it now. Stefano had certainly triggered certain memories. Just hearing his Italian accent made her feel happy and sad all at once. Good memories, heartbreaking memories. It seemed so long ago, those two years with Rocco. Yet they still haunted her dreams and crept into her thoughts; they had all her life. For years she'd looked at the photos of him, sneaking glances while Arthur was out working. She'd hold the snake he made her close to her heart and remember their shared dreams.

‘Time you cooked something new,' she muttered to herself, trying to steer her mind to more practical thoughts. Opening the drawer, she pulled out her favourite CWA cookbook and thought about dinner.

But something caught her eye out the window.

Who would be stopping by to visit during harvest? Did they have sheep out? she wondered.

Taking off her apron, she placed it over the back of a chair and headed outside. The sun was bright, the day warm already, and her blue cotton dress was perfect for the rising heat. She looked at the strange ute by the house. Not one she recognised.
Please don't let it be a salesman.

Maggie stepped to the edge of the verandah as an older man in a hat walked closer. He looked like your average farmer in work clothes.

‘Hello,' she said politely. She saw the man's face and something about his eyes took her breath away. Her hand went to her chest, her heart started pounding.

‘
Ciao
, Maggie. You look as beautiful as ever.'

He stepped up, joining her on the verandah, giving her a full view of his face.
It couldn't be?

‘Rocco?' she whispered.

He dropped his wide shoulders, relaxing. ‘I wasn't sure if you'd recognise me. I'd know you in a crowd though, same blue eyes. Like the sky.'

‘Oh my.' A quivering hand went to her mouth. It was her Rocco. She could see the young man he used to be. The same face, only more lines. The same full hair, only now grey. But his eyes had never changed. In them she saw the handsome man she'd loved. Without realising it, her arms went around him and she sank against his chest. It still felt like she belonged here. Her body was alive as it remembered his embrace. A flood of feelings rushed forward, she felt dizzy and her legs threatened to give way.

‘Rocco.'

Rocco kissed the top of her head before pulling away slightly. ‘Here, let's sit down.' He helped her to the chair.

Maggie couldn't take her eyes off him; she couldn't believe it was him, even though his touch was real. He'd lived in her memories for so long. Some days she'd tried to picture how he would have aged, but the 1946 version always won.

‘Is it really you?'

He took both her hands, holding them while his thumbs rubbed gentle circles. ‘It's me. You look good, Maggie. Life has treated you well.' She smiled and reached out. He closed his eyes as she caressed his face. ‘I'm sorry to hear about the passing of Arthur,' he murmured.

Maggie dropped her hand. ‘How did you know about Arthur?'

‘I saw it in the paper a few years back.'

She nodded, but her mind was racing. What did he think about her being married to Arthur? Why didn't he ever try to make contact, even just to say hello, or would his wife disapprove?

‘I hope you don't mind, but I had to come and see you. All my life I've carried you in my heart.'

It had never for one moment occurred to Maggie that Rocco might come after all these years. ‘Does your wife know you're here?' she asked. ‘Francesca told the girls you were married.' Maggie held her breath.

‘I was married. She left me fifteen years ago. Carol lives in Perth, not far from our daughter, Susan. I'm on the farm with my son, Mark, and his family.'

Listening to Rocco mention his kids caused her chest to ache. They were supposed to have been together, making their own family. Tears started welling in Maggie's eyes. It should have been her alongside Rocco all those years.

‘Why didn't you come back for me?' she said as tears fell to her lips.

‘Oh, Maggie.' Rocco's face twisted in pain as he scooted her into his arms, his lids blinking away his own tears. ‘I did come for you. Didn't you get my letters? I sent you many while I was in Italy, asking you to wait for me and telling you how much I still loved you.'

Maggie laughed and cried at the same time. ‘Oh, I got them eventually, fifty-three years later.' Confusion etched across his face. ‘My granddaughter found them when she was renovating the house you built. I think my mother hid them from me. None of them were opened.'

‘Oh my lord.' He shook his head. ‘I told myself many reasons why you never replied over those years, but I never gave up hope.'

‘I went to write you but no one could find your address. I'm starting to wonder if that was my mother's doing also.'

Rocco shook his head. ‘I'm starting to think you were right not to name our child Phyllis.'

Maggie chuckled through her tears. ‘I did warn you.' She pulled out a hankie and dabbed at her eyes. ‘You said you came for me? I never saw you. Did my mother stop you?'

He took a deep breath. ‘I'll start at the beginning, shall I?'

Maggie nodded. ‘That sounds good. Do you want to walk while we talk?'

‘Can we see the cottage?'

‘What's left of it, sure.' Together they stood but Rocco held her hand in his tightly.

‘I'm not letting you go again, Maggie, so you'd better get used to it.'

A fresh wave of tears spilled out and she threw herself into his arms. Years of frustration, regret, hopes and dreams melded together as she clung to Rocco. How could life have been so cruel to them? How could Phyllis?

‘I've missed you so much, Rocco. I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for this moment.'

‘I too have been waiting. Life has not felt complete until now.'

They began their journey to where the old cottage used to stand, and Rocco commenced his story.

‘The boat took me to Naples, I went back to my family. I tried to find work until I could get back to Australia and to you. Even though I didn't hear from you it never stopped me. As soon as immigration for Australia reopened I did not hesitate to find a farmer willing to nominate me. The Williamsons took me on and I worked with them and many others, saving money to buy my own farm.'

‘Which you did,' said Maggie with a proud smile. ‘Maggie Downs.'

‘Yes, after you,
bella
. I came to see you the moment I could get a break and the Williamsons let me take their ute. I arrived back on Sunnyvale nearly four years after I had left. It was too long, but it was the best that I could do.'

Maggie nodded, listening intently. ‘Of course. It was a miracle you made it back here at all.'

‘I thought Phyllis wouldn't be so happy to see me. For all I knew you might have moved. I had no idea what I was walking into. And I hadn't sent you a letter since arriving in Australia, I was trying to keep it a surprise.' He shrugged. ‘But upon seeing Sunnyvale and the house, it was as if I'd never left. A great wave of happiness ran through me. Finally I would have you back in my arms.'

‘Until my mother did something, right?'

Maggie stopped. They were just by the old cottage. All that remained was some dry wood and the old stove in a mound of dirt. It was hard to believe they had been together in that cottage, which was now collapsing back down into the earth. Even the stables were gone, but in her mind Maggie saw them clearly. The Clydesdales as they had been, and Contractor.

‘No,' said Rocco.

‘No? What do you mean?' She turned to face him. Was it her father? Surely not.

‘Arthur came to the ute. He recognised me straightaway.'

‘Arthur?' Maggie's mouth dropped open. What had Arthur done?

‘I said I wanted to see you and he said that his wife was unavailable. God, Maggie, his words shocked me. I couldn't believe it. You never had feelings for Arthur, even though it's what everyone else seemed to want. I couldn't believe it but then you came running outside, chasing a little girl. You took my breath away as you laughed. Finally here you were, like a dream come true. So beautiful. But you belonged to another man and you seemed happy. You scooped up your child and went back inside. That was the last time I ever saw you.'

He ran his hand over his face and sighed. ‘Arthur said he didn't want me around. That you had moved on and had started a family and you were happy. As I drove away all I could think about was how that was supposed to have been our family growing up in this home together.'

Maggie gripped Rocco's arms, her heart breaking as she swallowed back the sobs of despair. ‘No, Rocco. Oh no.' She put her hands on his face, looked deep into his hurting brown eyes. ‘That little girl was Antonia and she was your baby.'

His face went blurry and she tried frantically to blink away the tears.

Rocco's face twisted in pain. ‘I know that now. When Antonia and her daughter came by and told me, it was such a shock. At first I wouldn't let myself believe it but when I finally let myself see her . . . my God, she was me . . . and so much of my sister, Francesca. Nothing about her looked like Arthur and I knew it was the truth.' Rocco sniffed back his tears. ‘I lost it, Maggie. All the years, our dreams, our hopes, all wasted. We had a daughter and I hadn't been there.' Tears dropped from his cheeks like rain. ‘I fell to pieces. I'm not proud of how selfish I was and I regret not stopping them from leaving. I needed some time. It was just so much to take in. I had my own family to consider.'

‘I know. I felt the same when I finally got your letters. It was so overwhelming knowing that you'd intended to come for me. I'd held onto hope for so long, I was so sure our future was together.' Maggie wished she could take away the pain, take back time and change things. If only she'd seen that ute that day. If only her mother hadn't hid her letters. If only Arthur had told Rocco the truth.

She gestured for him to sit on the ground. ‘Let me tell you my story now.' Maggie sat in the dirt beside him. Nothing else seemed to register, not the uncomfortable stones or the little ants crawling about. She only had concern for Rocco. ‘After you left I struggled to get by. Each day was as painful as the last but Charlie tried hard to help. Although with him marrying Valerie he was preoccupied. He knew how much I loved you. But a few weeks later I realised I was pregnant. I was so happy, I was carrying your baby, our baby. It gave me the courage to continue. But I realised that if mother found out she'd send me away or give our baby away. Arthur found me sobbing one day when I was getting the cows in. He held me tight and listened to my story. He said he'd marry me and pretend the baby was his.'

Maggie paused, remembering it like yesterday. The smell of the cows and Arthur's musty scent. ‘It seemed like the only option, one where I could stay and keep our baby. I kept waiting for your letters, hoping you'd come back for me, but the days went on. I married Arthur and Antonia came along. Even though life went on, you were still in my heart. And Toni had your eyes. How could I forget you when every time I looked at her I saw you?'

Rocco smiled. ‘You called her Antonia, after my mother?'

‘That's what we'd decided, right? It wasn't going to be Phyllis.' They both chuckled and wiped away tears. ‘It just seems like a waste,' she said eventually.

‘No, don't think of it like that, Maggie. I have two children I love, Mark and Susan, and grandchildren who are wonderful. We can't go back in time and make life how we wanted it, but we can start now. I'd like to get to know you again, and my daughter. If she'd have me?'

Maggie smiled. ‘I'm sure she would. She had a difficult time with Arthur, mostly after his accident. Don't get me wrong, Arthur was a wonderful father and he loved us dearly. I eventually grew to love and respect him, Rocco. I can't say my life was horrible either, but you were never far from my thoughts. Arthur gave us a great life, and I guess I can see why he did what he did. He loved me and in those years he loved Toni like his own. As it transpired, Arthur couldn't have any children, so she was the light of his life.'