iv

Kate and Jo hit the road early the next morning. She wanted to avoid the Melbourne commuters as she headed out of Geelong. They were on the road by 5.30am and John had given her the details of his sister-in-law in Portland. Susan had called her the night before and asked if they were happy to put Kate up for the night. She asked John and Susan to call her Julie. She had given them the bare bones of her story the night before and they had promised to do all they could to help out. Kate simply urged them not to tell anyone that she and Jo had stayed with them. She hadn’t told them she was leaving Victoria, and had made it sound like she was touring around the state. She trusted her friends, but wanted to cover her tracks, just in case…. The streets were virtually empty and they soon found themselves on the Great Ocean Road. Kate took it reasonably slowly so that they could enjoy the scenery. They had plenty of time to get to Portland. They paused regularly at rest stops to stretch their legs and allow Benny to have a run. He had caught the hang of fetch and Kate enjoyed the view as Jo and Benny exchanged the tennis ball. It felt good to be on the open road.

They stopped in Apollo Bay for a lunch of pies and cream buns. Kate loved rural bakeries. They browsed through the shops and Kate bought a few things to keep Jo amused on the road. He was being so good, and Kate thought he deserved a treat or two. They continued to make good progress and arrived in Portland at dusk. It was a sleepy little town, and Kate soon found John’s sister-in-law’s place. A young girl answered the door on the second ring, “Mum! Those people are here,” she called and let them in. “What’s your name?” she demanded of Jo. Kate guessed she was about six years old from the bossy tone. “His name is Jo and he doesn’t talk.” The girl looked up at her, “why?” Kate sighed, “He just doesn’t want to.” The girl seemed satisfied with this answer and continued on. “Hello, you must be Julie, I’m Penny,” the woman introduced herself, and extended her hand. “Yes, and this is Jo. Thanks so much for having us and at such short notice.” The woman smiled and waved her hand, “oh, it’s no trouble, as you can see we have plenty of room! It’s an old church, and we have the hall out the back too, its been converted to Dan’s shed and a playroom. This is Sue-Anne and this is Connor.” Connor was young, probably only two or three. Sue-Anne had already dragged Jo off somewhere. She was pleased to have someone to boss around and he didn’t complain. Penny ensured that they were comfortable and made a pot of tea. “Dan won’t be home until late tonight, he’s had a job in Hamilton the last few days.” Kate asked if his work often took him away from home. “Oh, not so often, though it has a bit lately, I suppose. It seems to come in fits and spurts, I guess,” she explained. Kate nodded and kept her talking, she didn’t want to talk about Julie.

Kate had put Jo to bed early. He was tired from the long day on the road and Kate was too. She sat up with Penny for a little while, but Penny could see that she was tired and encouraged her to go to bed. Kate was about to turn in when Dan arrived home. She left Dan and Penny to their reunion and went to bed. She only managed a few lines to Ben before she had to turn the light out. She could barely construct a cohesive sentence.

They didn’t hurry away the next morning. Penny had given her the name of the Anglican Rector in Mt Gambier and they had warmly invited “Julie and Jo” to stay when Penny had explained their situation. They were old friends of Dan’s family. He had grown up in Mt Gambier. It wasn’t far so they didn’t leave until after lunch. Penny had been glad for them to stay a little longer. Kate thought she seemed a little lonely and Penny had agreed that she was. “Portland is such a funny little community. I’ve been here over five years, but I’m still not considered a local. I’m an active member of the community too, and a country girl. So it’s not from want of trying!” Kate sympathised, though she had never lived in the country, she knew what it could be like from what her ex-city slicker friends had told her. Penny invited them to return anytime as they said their farewells and hit the road again. It was an easy drive and the sun was just setting as they located the Rectory.

The Rector and his wife were an ageing couple in their early 60s and Kate felt like she was staying with her grandparents. They were warm and welcoming and didn’t ask too many questions. Reverend and Mrs Ashton had welcomed many troubled people into their home over the years so had learnt to keep their curiosity at bay. They served roast beef for dinner and Kate complemented Mrs Ashton on her fine cooking. Mrs Ashton offered seconds modestly and then presented a homemade apple pie for dessert. Kate and Jo turned in early again and Kate finished the letter she had started to Ben the night before. She wasn’t sleepy when she finished a short time later, so she wrote to her mother. She didn’t want her to worry, though she knew that she would anyway. She had arranged with John just before leaving that she would first send her letters to him and then he would forward them on from Geelong so that they were postmarked in Victoria. She had quietly explained to him that she was leaving the state and had sworn him to secrecy. Kate had stopped signing her letters too, her loved ones would know who they were from and now that she was Julie, she wanted to distance herself as much as possible from Kate. The first thing she would have to do once she reached Adelaide would be to purchase Julie a new wardrobe. She drifted off to sleep thinking of shopping; she was looking forward to being in a city again, even if it wasn’t Melbourne.