Wandering Girl (12 page)

I began with the kids' bedroom. There were clothes everywhere. It took me nearly two hours to get through the room. I wondered whether I would finish the rest of the house before they got back. I looked at the time. It was twelve o'clock.

I went and looked in her fridge. There was a jam sandwich on a tin plate. I presumed she had left that for my lunch. I didn't feel like a jam sandwich, so I helped myself to cold meat and salad, then I went down to her backyard to see if she had chooks. She did.

Screwing the sandwich up, I chucked it to them. They were quite pleased to get it too, as they scrambled over one another for every bit of bread.

Feeling worn out, I went back into the house to continue on with my work. It was nearly half past three by the time I had finished cleaning. The whole house smelt fresh and clean, as I had used plenty of Dettol to freshen the place up. I looked around the house and felt something was missing.

“Oh yes, that's it. I'll go and pick some flowers and put them around the rooms.”

So I went to find some vases, which she kept in the laundry - put them on the shelf in the kitchen, then got some scissors out of the drawer, and went outside. I cast my eyes over her beautiful garden then went over and snipped some red, pink and white carnations. I held them to my nose. “Mm, they are beautiful” - and I breathed in deeply the fragrance.

I added a few other types of flowers, snapdragons, hollyhocks. Now that I had bunched up a variety of flowers in my hand, I went back into the kitchen to place them in the vases and arrange them around the house.

I felt pleased with myself, as the flowers made the rooms so much more alive, and I thought I'd take myself off on a bit of a walk, seeing I had done my jobs. I strolled down the garden path, casually taking in the scenery all around me. It sure was a pretty town. The green hills towering behind the houses reminded me of those around Wandering Mission.

While I stood there gazing around, I had the feeling I was being watched. I looked to my left and right and saw a couple of ladies out in their front garden talking together and pointing at me. When I looked over the road the same thing was happening. There were ladies everywhere over the fences in the front yards - all eyes were on me!

Being used to talking to old Bill, my shyness having worn off me, I thought I'd better go over and ask the ladies if something was wrong? I made my way over to the nearest house and when I got to the fence, glanced up. There was no-one in sight. I sang out, “Are you there?”

Then I caught a glimpse of someone peering out from a window. They reminded me of a mob of chooks in a cage.

I went back inside the daughter's house and had just sat myself down comfortably on a chair in her lounge, when I heard a car door slam. I quickly got up, ran to the kitchen and made out I was busy wiping the sink.

When the door opened, her two grandchildren came in, laughing and sniggering. They said, “Nanna wants you!”

I left them there laughing as I went out the door. As soon as the boss saw me, she told me to hurry up and take the shopping in, since she had to take me back to the farm to get tea on for the family.

Janet hardly ever spoke to me on those fortnightly working days in town. The only time she smiled was when I caught her off guard and she had no choice. It was only when I looked after her kids that she had to face me, to tell me what times to send the boys in for their washes or meals.

Mrs Bigelow and her daughter walked past me, as I quickly began unloading the shopping, took it into the house and put everything away. By then she was saying goodbye to her daughter.

She told me to get into the car! As we made our way back, I had a notion she was going to tell me something.

SUNDAY BEST

Back at my normal place of work, as I set about doing my chores, I tried not to get myself all worked up about whether it was to be good news or bad. I knew that I had to accept it, because in those days we had no choice. We just had to take what came along.

Later, having cleaned up after tea, I was sweeping the floor and sure enough, just as I had expected, she came in. She told me that seeing I had been there eight months and had done such a good job - I nearly fainted, thinking, “Wonders will never cease” - she had a surprise. She explained that a friend of hers had hired a girl from the same mission, to work for her on their farm, on which they bred racehorses.

I had never heard of racehorses and didn't understand what she meant. Naturally, I thought she meant horses running up and down the paddock and that was why she called them racehorses.

Well, she continued on, the friend was arriving at their farm tomorrow, and had asked if she could bring this girl into town in a fortnight's time to meet me, which I thought was quite humane of her friend.

“So, I won't be taking you into town with me on Thursday, which would have been your town day. You can wait till next Friday, when my friend will bring the mission girl in.”

As much as I hated my boss, I could have hugged her for joy. I couldn't control my emotions. My tears splashed onto the floor. It seemed like years since I had seen anyone from home.

I was dying to ask her: what was the girl's name? She just told me to wipe my eyes, as I was a big girl and only babies carried on that way.

Over the months that I had been there I had written a couple of letters to the mission, but never received an answer. Now I'd find out from this girl all the news. She'd tell me everything! Oh, I was so overwhelmed with joy inside me that nothing else mattered. I put the broom away, went to my bedroom, knelt down and thanked God for letting me be near my mate.

Next day when she went into town as usual, I was still bubbling with joy. As soon as everyone left the farm and I was on my own, I couldn't wait to run flat out down to the orchard to tell old Bill the good news!

He felt very pleased and happy for me. He wiped his eyes and said, “Hey lassie, I can see a change in you already.”

I told him I couldn't wait to see her.

He asked me where was I the other day? I told him, “She took me into town to clean her daughter's house out. She's taking me in every second Thursday to do her daughter's cleaning.”

He scratched his old head and said, “By gosh, some people have got it easy!” I didn't understand what he meant by that, then he said, “Let's go on up to the house and have a cup of tea. I fancy a bit of fruit cake too,” and he gave a chuckle.

The fortnight went by quickly, and then came the day I was meeting my friend from back home. I was so anxious to find out who she was, I took extra care in getting ready for town. I put on one of my Sunday best dresses, a beautiful pink one which reached down to my ankles; stockings, corset, my one and only best pair of sandals and a bright green scarf, which I carefully tied around my head. I got my old purse and stuffed it down my bra.

With a feeling of importance, I walked out of my room and down the driveway to where Mrs Bigelow had the car parked.

When she came out, I was standing proudly beside it. She sort of brushed past and remarked to me she'd let me know when there was a circus in town as maybe they'd have an act in the show for me. She told me to open up my door and get in. Then she started up the car and away we went into town.

I had butterflies all the way. When we got to the bus-stop, I saw them standing there. Soon as she stopped the car, I started giggling, with my hands over my mouth. It was Anne! We used to fight like cats and dogs all the time at the mission. She called me Sprattie and I called her Horsey.

I climbed out and we both stood waiting by our cars until our employers finished talking. Then they turned to us and told us they would pick us up here in about an hour's time. They strutted off down the street like a pair of chooks on their high heels.

We both laughed out loud then said, “Hello.” We were so glad to see one another, we became the best of mates. I asked her how everyone was?

She said, “Good!” The nuns were O.K., and a few girls had received my letters; but the priest had read them and he didn't like what I wrote. I never received any answer.

I was feeling too happy to be upset about the priest in the mission. I told her to come and meet my friend at the comer shop and I'd buy an ice-cream for her.

We both linked arms and made our way down to the shop, laughing and giggling about old times at Wandering.

When we reached the shop, I pushed Horsey up to the counter to introduce her to my friend. She said, “Hello dear, I bet you're glad you met up with a mate?”

I told my friend at the shop, “Anne grew up with me in the mission - we were in the same class.”

She grabbed Horsey's hand and said that it was very nice to meet her, then told us to sit down and make ourselves at home.

I ordered two milkshakes, two chocolates and some lollies and biscuits for us. As we sat and drank our milkshakes, Anne said that the lady in the shop was different from the one she worked for.

She asked me how the missus I was working for treated me? I told her it was a beautiful place; but that the people were funny. They didn't talk to me at all, and all I seemed to be doing was working, and when I did try to talk to her, she didn't answer, or even look at me.

Then she asked me did I get wild?

I said I couldn't get wild, because they were white people and our bosses. What could we do? Nothing! I even had to clean her daughter Janet's house.

Anne asked me if the daughter was pretty? I looked at her in surprise and said she was a
pretty kid
. We both had a good laugh.

I explained to her about sleeping in the garage, and we compared different things, the places we slept and ate and washed in - even our toilet rooms. My mate told me she had to walk a mile past the horse stables to reach her's. We both saw the funny side and killed ourselves laughing. I told her about the phone incident, and she cracked up again.

All too soon it was time to go back to the bus stop to wait for our bosses to pick us up and take us back to their farms. We both said we'd see one another again in the next fortnight.