Chapter 7 - i

They passed the commuters heading back into the hills as they descended towards Adelaide. “Look at the fairy lights!” Kate exclaimed to Jo as they glimpsed a vista of the small city. It glittered in the night sky. Kate had never been to Adelaide before and she was eager to explore, but it could wait tonight, they first needed to find somewhere to stay. They would stay in a serviced apartment for a few days. Kate wanted to be sure that the Morovas had no connection to the Russians who were after them, before she contacted them. Alex would have told them about her by now, she had told him not to give them her name as she would have a new one by now and she hoped he had remembered. Kate sighed as they entered the city proper, ‘it’s no Melbourne,’ she contemplated. She yearned for her old life and to be doing all her usual things. She wanted Ben, her friends and family, her apartment, even her job. Kate never would have imagined this life for herself, though it barely felt like life at the moment. Sure, she was breathing, eating, sleeping, but that wasn’t life, that was just existence.

She spotted some apartments on Hutt Street, it was the eastern side of the city, ‘where the action is,’ she had been told. ‘It doesn’t look action-packed now,’ thought Kate as they pulled up outside the office. She noted all the keys behind the desk, and they indicated that the place was virtually empty. That suited Kate, she had told the apartment manager that she was here on business and would need a two-bedroom apartment for her and her son for a week. She also asked about facilities for Benny and where they could do some shopping for groceries. “There’s a Coles on the other side of the city, or there’s Woolworth’s in the Mall, though that won’t be open again till tomorrow.” Kate looked at her watch, it was barely 7pm, the shops would still be open in Melbourne at this time, she sighed; it was like being in the country. Kate had thanked the woman behind the counter and then gone to settle into their apartment. She got their big cases out of the trunk, as she was thoroughly sick of wearing the same three tops day in and day out. She had decided to remain professional for this week while she made the final preparations for life as Julie Barnes. She flicked through the information folder, and found that there were a lot of restaurants around the market area where the Coles was. ‘One of them must be open,’ they might as well have dinner and then do a quick shop. Kate wrote a short list.

Most of the restaurants were closed, but they found a Korean BBQ place and Jo loved the novelty of cooking at the table. They had left Benny at the apartment. The management had allowed them to keep him in the laundry downstairs. No one else was there to complain anyway and there was a laundry service for the businessmen as well. The Coles had been massive but Kate had her list so she didn’t get distracted. The checkout chick had been a nosey one, but Kate figured that she was just bored and deftly evaded her questions. They returned to the apartment well fed and content. Benny was happy downstairs and Jo was ready for Bed. Kate put away the shopping while he changed into his pyjamas and brushed his teeth. Kate read him his favourite story and left his door ajar. She put the TV on but kept the volume low. CSI was on and she hadn’t watched it for ages. At least in Adelaide she wouldn’t have to be so on her guard, though she had grown so used to it now. She watched the late news after CSI finished and then switched the TV off. She went into her room and unpacked her suitcase. She was looking forward to purchasing a new wardrobe. She hadn’t been clothes shopping for ages. She dreamt of clothes….

Kate had watched the morning traffic as she ate breakfast, ‘it could hardly be called peak-hour,’ she thought to herself as she woke Jo and put him in the shower. She wanted to explore the city and Benny needed a walk too. He had been overjoyed to see her when she had come with his breakfast. He was a very sociable puppy and Kate felt a bit sorry for him down there on his own. Jo was soon ready and they headed out. They walked up East Terrace and down Rundle Street, it was buzzing with activity now that all the cafes and clothes shops were open. Kate liked the feel of this part of the city. They wandered down the mall and then up King William Street to the river. Jo let Benny of the lead and they played fetch. Kate had bought The Age and found a nice shady spot to enjoy it where she could also keep an eye on Jo and Benny. She had instructed her parents to rent out her apartment back home; the rent would cover her mortgage payments. It was a beautiful spring day and nearing eleven when Kate finally put down the paper and called out to Jo, she was feeling peckish.

They meandered along North Terrace, and Kate noted the Art Gallery and Museum. She’d have to take Jo there without Benny one day. They returned to Rundle Street and had noodle boxes for lunch. Kate would have liked to purchase her new wardrobe on Rundle Street, and Kate could have, but Julie would more likely purchase her’s at Target. Kate sighed as they headed back to the apartment, Julie’s life wouldn’t be a patch on Kate’s. Kate had set Jo up with his books after they got back. She figured that he’d had enough holidays from his books. She got out her laptop, apparently the apartment had wireless, and she needed to check her e-mail. There was nothing interesting in her inbox, and she was about to logoff when a new message arrived. It was from Ben! Her heart leapt as she opened the message and she read it four times. It wasn‘t long, but it was full of feeling and Kate could feel tears pricking at her eyes. She logged into her bank account to distract herself. She didn’t want to cry in front of Jo. She had opened a State Bank account using Julie’s details and deposited $6000. She transferred most of it to Kate’s savings account. She would have to open on of those for Julie too, though Julie wouldn’t be likely to have savings like that. She’d have to check with the police and see if Julie had a credit rating. She didn’t want to apply for a credit card only to have her application rejected. She had regained her composure once she logged off. There was nothing like banking to dull the emotions. She hadn’t replied to Ben’s message because he should receive her first letter in today’s post.

Kate and Jo went back into the city without Benny in the late afternoon. She had seen a couple of shops that she wanted to check out. She was dressed in jeans and a non-descript t-shirt. A woman in a designer suit wouldn’t shop at Supre or Jeans West. She didn’t buy anything because she didn’t have enough time to try things on and it was slightly depressing. She hadn’t realised just how different her clothes were to this stuff. It was going to take a bit of getting used to. She had bought a few more books for Jo. She wanted to start him on some simple arithmetic now that he had the reading in hand. I was getting toward six o’clock when they headed home. Kate wanted to cook dinner, as it had been almost two weeks since she had cooked a meal. She made a simple green curry and its fragrance soon filled the apartment. Jo had watched cartoons while she cooked but was now setting the table. They ate with the accompaniment of the evening news. Adelaide really was a sleepy town, and nothing of real interest was reported in the bulletin.

They played a few games of connect four after dinner then Kate read Jo one of his new books. She wanted to update her resume tonight and she booted up her laptop once Jo was asleep. She checked her e-mails, there were notes from Michele and Bess, but it was Ben’s name she was looking for and there it was! It was only short because he had written it at work, but he had received her letters from the farm and commended her on her new plan. The few sentences were filled with unspoken sentiment and Kate again read them several times. This time she replied and cc’d to Bess – ‘have arrived in Churches, everything’s fine. Nothing unusual noted, will keep you posted. Much love, etc, K xo.’ She also created a new e-mail account for Julie and then opened her resume. As she read it she realised that she would basically have to start from scratch to reflect Julie’s schooling and likely work experience. It wouldn’t be nearly as impressive as Kate’s, she reflected, but it would have to do. She wouldn’t look for any work until Jo started at school in the New Year, but she wanted to be prepared. She joined a couple of job seeking sites and Julie and created several Job Alert profiles. She set them up to notify her weekly. She wouldn’t need anything more regular just yet. She was sleepy by the time she had shut down the computer and she went straight to bed. She didn’t write to Ben before turning out the light, the e-mail would suffice for now. She dreamed of Ben and picnics in the countryside.