Chapter 12
CHAPTER
Justin found the email when he arrived back at the Wagtail Ridge fire station.
The theme for this year’s calendar was alpacas and apparently there was an alpaca farm nearby that had seen the birth of twin babies last year.
Something that was, according to all accounts, incredibly rare.
They wanted Justin and Ben, twin firefighters, posing with the twin alpacas.
He shrugged. That made sense. The photographer would pause for the shoot on her way to Tamworth, where there was to be another session with more of his colleagues on a different farm.
He googled the property to check out the animals.
He’d never had anything to do with alpacas before, but they were not likely to leave tiny scratches all over his chest as last year’s kittens shoot had.
He and Ben were regulars on the calendar, both alone and in their unique place as identical twin firefighters.
The calendar was to raise money for a good cause and he was happy to do it.
Of course, he hadn’t been to the gym lately, because this town didn’t have one.
But he was in pretty good shape. He wouldn’t be afraid to take his shirt off.
As he clicked casually through the website, he saw a woman with long, curly hair.
She appeared to be the owner of the farm and she looked familiar.
He’d probably seen her bringing food or drink to the firemen during that last big fire.
He scrolled down to the next photo, and there was Anna.
The two women were either side of an adult animal, with two young alpacas standing at their feet.
Anna’s head was turned slightly and there was no sign of the scar on her face.
This was how she must have looked before the incident that had left its mark on her forever.
She was beautiful, and he imagined any straight man within fifty metres of her would have been desperate to ask her out, just as he was.
He found it hard to imagine someone as beautiful and kind and funny and smart as Anna would still be single.
Then he remembered the scar. Something that superficial didn’t change the woman she was, but he could imagine it would be a turn-off for some men.
Not for him. If she was single, maybe he’d get a chance to ask her out at this photo shoot.
This shirtless photo shoot.
Justin looked at his watch. There was time for a run before dinner. A workout first, then a good long run.
When Ben hadn’t appeared by the time Justin had finished his run and showered, he knew where to go looking for him.
The pub wasn’t crowded, but nor was it empty. He immediately spotted his brother, holding up the bar and talking to a couple of blokes who looked like stockmen. Justin joined them.
‘These guys have volunteered to sign up,’ Ben told him, slapping the men on the backs. ‘I think we need a training session next?’
Justin heard the underlying blur in Ben’s voice and wondered how much his brother had drunk. ‘Sure. Thanks, guys.’ He shook the men’s hands. ‘Ben and I will set something up at the fire station. We can get you familiar with the equipment and so forth.’
‘Good. Buy you a drink?’ one of the men asked.
‘No, thanks. I’ve got some stuff to go over with Ben.’
‘Sure thing. I was just leaving anyway. If I come home too late, my wife will have dinner either burned or stone cold.’
All four of them laughed as the men departed, leaving Ben and Justin alone.
‘Why did you do that?’ Ben asked.
‘Do what?’
‘Get them to leave. We were only having a friendly drink.’
‘I think maybe you’ve had enough friendly drinks. Let’s get something to eat.’
‘Hey.’ Ben stepped back unsteadily. ‘Don’t you come the big brother, telling me how much to drink. All right?’
‘Fine. But I’m hungry. I could use a burger. Do you want one?’
‘Sure.’
They found a table and Ben went to the bar to order the burgers.
When he returned, he was clutching two beers.
Justin accepted his and took a drink. It was ice cold and refreshing.
A beer and a burger at the end of the day was always welcome.
Although, this first drink would be his last. As for Ben …
While they waited for their meals, Justin told his brother about the photo shoot and Ben was, as always, eager to do it.
When the burgers were done, Ben drained the last of his drink. ‘Your round.’
Justin shook his head. ‘Not for me. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, remember. We’re going to a couple of the studs for fire assessment and advice.’
‘That’s not a big day. You’re getting old, brother.’
‘But if we are both going to look good for that calendar shoot, we need our beauty sleep.’ Justin frowned and peered at his brother. ‘At least you do.’
‘You’re just jealous because I’ve always been the good-looking one.’
It was a long-standing joke, and both were laughing as they left the bar to walk home. It was a slow walk, not so much because they weren’t in a hurry, but because Ben was weaving more than a little.
Ben took a steadying breath. ‘So? Did you see her?’
At last, Justin thought. ‘I thought you didn’t want to talk about her.’
‘I don’t.’
They walked on in silence, until—
‘Yes. I saw her.’
Ben didn’t reply.
‘Are you going to ask how she is? Or what we talked about?’
‘No.’
Ben sounded like a petulant child and Justin wanted to shake some sense into him. ‘Fine.’
They kept walking. When they arrived at the fire station, Ben vanished into the bathroom. He didn’t come back to the common room where Justin was watching TV. A few minutes later, he heard snoring coming from Ben’s bunk room.
Ben might not want to reconnect with their mother, but as Justin watched a footy replay, he thought about what he wanted.
He’d never really expected or even looked for a reconciliation.
If asked, he probably would have said he didn’t care.
Or that he assumed they would meet again some day.
Eventually. But now? Now that he’d spoken to his mother, memories were pouring back into his head.
Memories of a small boy who had loved his mother.
Before times got tough, when Carol was able to spend more time with her sons, the memories were good.
The sound of her voice as she read the twins stories at bedtime.
Playing Monopoly. He was pretty sure she always let one of the twins win.
He remembered fighting with Ben to get the mixing bowl scrapings when their mother cooked a cake.
He could almost still taste the finished cakes.
Chocolate with plum jam between the layers had always been his favourite.
Then things changed. She’d had to work two jobs just to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. She was too tired to talk to her sons at the end of the day. That’s when Justin had learned how to make a cheese toastie for dinner and tend to a scraped knee.
But not all the memories were bad.
Of course, Ben’s issues were different. He’d had to shake off a lie that had lasted for seventeen years.
Fifteen years later, almost half their lifetime, Ben still hadn’t been able to forgive that lie.
If Justin were in Ben’s shoes, he might feel the same.
But he wasn’t in Ben’s shoes. And he didn’t feel the same.
He wanted to see their mother again.
***
Rather predictably, Ben had a hangover next morning. He was monosyllabic and sullen as they breakfasted on cereal and coffee. Justin wasn’t about to help out. If Ben needed bacon and eggs to cure him, he was going to have to make them himself.
By the time they reached the first of their day’s appointments, Ben’s face had returned from green back to something resembling his normal colour.
They spent the day advising three stud managers on fire prevention, showing where to build firebreaks and how to do a controlled burn if one was needed.
The big studs, for the most part, were bushfire ready.
Most had sufficient funds to put the right precautions in place.
It was the smaller properties Justin was most worried about.
The retirement properties and hobby farms, where there was neither a lot of staff nor a lot of money.
Despite his hangover, Ben was, as always, totally professional in his work.
He encouraged a few stud workers to sign up for their forthcoming RFS training session.
A few more volunteers were always welcome.
By the end of the day, any animosity between the brothers had given way to their usual relaxed and easy manner.
In order to keep Ben away from the pub, especially this close to their photo shoot, Justin stopped by the shop on their way back to get supplies for dinner.
Their kitchen wasn’t designed for full-time residents, it was more about feeding hungry firefighters in the middle of a bushfire.
But Justin managed to rustle up some lamb chops and vegies.
About time, too. They’d been eating at the pub far too often.
The pub food was good, but there had been too many chips and too many burgers.
If they were going to have to take their shirts off for the shoot, a bit of healthy food wouldn’t go astray.
Nor would keeping Ben away from the beer.