Twenty-Six #2
A hot fist slammed hard into Rowena’s stomach. Lachlan clearly knew things were dire, and his desperation wrenched at her heart strings as he paced towards her again.
‘Lachy.’
Stopping in front of her, he shook his head, slipping his hand over the mouthpiece. ‘Can you believe this?’ he demanded. ‘What’s the point of having a bloody flying doctor if they can’t—’
‘Lachlan!’
Rowena didn’t yell but she did use her nurse voice, cutting him off mid-tirade. Sliding her hand onto the forearm holding the phone, she looked into his eyes.
‘You need to come.’ Endowed with decades of medical authority, her words brooked no argument. ‘Now.’
All the fight went out of him, and that was scarier than his yelling and cussing. ‘No,’ he said, a plea cracking his voice.
Rowena held his gaze, wishing she could give him what he wanted because his helplessness was far more heartbreaking than his anger. ‘Yes.’
Lachlan bowed his head for a beat, and when he raised it again he was composed. The resignation in his blue eyes was probably the most wretched of all.
‘Ryan!’ he yelled as he reached for her hand.
They headed back. As Ryan hurried towards them, Lachlan handed over the phone. ‘Stay on the phone with the RFDS.’
Crossing into the shade, Lachlan knelt beside his grandmother. Beads of sweat had popped on Reggie’s brow and her colour had changed from pale to grey, her lips dusky. Her breathing was laboured.
She was right—death was close now.
Rowena went to move away to give them privacy but Lachlan put a staying hand on her leg.
‘My two loves,’ Reggie said as she looked from Lachlan to Albert.
‘Don’t leave us, Reggie,’ Lachlan murmured, his voice rough. ‘We still need you. The farm still needs you. You always say Blairgowrie is the best part of your life.’
A ghost of a smile touched her lips. ‘You’re the … best part.’ Her gaze shifted to Albert. ‘And you.’
She tried to lift her hand but was too weak and Albert guided it to his face, kissing her palm as she cupped his jaw, her smile strengthening, her love shining like a beacon even as her life force dimmed.
‘My protector,’ she panted, barely audible. ‘My salvation.’
A tear spilled from one of Albert’s eyes and trekked down his cheek. ‘My love,’ he whispered.
Tears flowed unchecked down Rowena’s face. She’d witnessed a lot of last moments in her life but they’d all been in controlled, clinical settings. This was entirely different. It was so raw, so uncontained, and her grief in this moment felt as wild and visceral as the landscape.
She may have only known this incredible old lady for five months, but Reggie’s steadfastness, pragmatism and unconditional support had been exactly what Rowena had needed and she wept for the brevity of their relationship. And the fact Reggie was never going to meet her greatgranddaughter.
That sat hot and heavy against her chest.
‘Gonna need you … to watch out … for this one,’ Reggie said to Albert, flicking her gaze briefly to Lachlan.
Albert nodded. ‘I will.’
With a faint pat to his cheek, she turned her attention to Lachlan. ‘Bury me … under the big gum.’ Her voice was gurgly now, her lips blue. ‘Near your parents.’
She coughed, her shoulders and chest barely moving as it rattled through her rib cage. Blood stained her lips then, bubbling out until the last spasm subsided and she was still, the light slowly fading from her eyes.
After long beats, Lachlan sniffled. ‘Reggie?’
Glancing wildly up at Rowena, his eyes implored and questioned. Rowena didn’t need to check but she knelt beside Reggie anyway, pressing two fingers against her neck, feeling for a pulse she knew wasn’t there.
Looking at Lachlan and shaking her head was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, and his sobbed, ‘No,’ clawed at her gut.
But then Albert, two tear tracks reflecting his grief, reached across with his spare hand and gripped Lachlan’s shoulder. Lachlan glanced at the old man and, wordlessly, threaded his arm over the top of Albert’s to grab his shoulder.
Rowena stood and moved away, giving them some privacy as they knelt over Reggie—the centre of their universes—united in their grief.
It was so quiet suddenly, so still, compared to when they’d first arrived, innocently looking forward to smoko. The jocular conversation and smack talk between the men had ceased. Even the sheep grazing nearby had fallen silent.
Sitting at the table closest to where Reggie lay, Rowena waited. She wasn’t sure what else she should be doing, but she did know that Lachlan and Albert needed to take whatever time they needed.
And that was all that mattered right now.
Shaun, Brodie and Ryan were standing at a respectful distance, clearly stricken by the shocking turn of events, their hats clenched in their hands.
A silent kind of sorrow united them more forcefully than any mournful keen.
Red and Blue had been ordered to stay with the men and, as good working dogs, they had obeyed, but Blue’s restless agitation and Red’s low whines left Rowena in no doubt they knew that Reggie was no longer with them.
She wasn’t sure how long Lachlan and Albert sat there but eventually Lachlan roused, placing his grandmother’s hand down gently and rising. He lifted his arm and scrubbed the sleeve of his shirt across his eyes before he turned and walked towards the clutch of men.
‘Can you empty the back of the ute?’ Lachlan asked gruffly as he grabbed the phone from Ryan.
He didn’t wait for their confirmation or stop to see if they were doing as he requested, he just walked away from the scene, his long legs striding into the distance, the sun shining on his blond head.
Rowena, her heart in her mouth, wandered to the edge of the shaded area, watching him go, wondering if he was going to keep walking and not stop. Wondering if she should go to him or if it was better to give him space.
She hated that she didn’t know what he needed right now.
Suddenly he stopped, raised his face to the sky and bellowed, ‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuck!’
Kicking at the dirt and low scrub around him, he shouted unintelligible gibberish, which eventually subsided into wrenching sobs. By the time he was spent, leaning over at the waist, his hands on his knees, he was almost obscured by dust.
Once it had settled, he straightened, palmed his eyes vigorously then turned and walked back, picking his way through the scrub. The hard knot of tension in Rowena’s gut eased a little at his more composed demeanour.
He made a phone call as he neared. ‘Reggie’s deceased,’ he said into the receiver. ‘We’ll bring her back to Blairgowrie in the back of the ute.’
He hung up as he drew level with Rowena, and when he reached for her she opened her arms to him without hesitation, offering solace and comfort, whatever he needed in that moment. Shutting her eyes, she willed all the strength she had in her body into his.
‘Can you drive the ute?’ he asked after a while, his lips at her temple.
Rowena nodded. ‘Yes.’
He broke away, nodding his thanks, his hand slipping into hers as they walked back to Albert and Reggie.
‘We all set?’ Albert asked, his eyes not leaving Reggie.
‘Yes,’ Lachlan confirmed.
Albert nodded once, kissed the back of Reggie’s hand then lay it down, before he stood and crammed his hat back on his head. Lachlan bent to lift his grandmother but Albert shook his head, stepping in wordlessly, scooping her up in his arms.
Hot tears pricked at Rowena’s eyes at how reverently Albert held his beloved, carrying her to the ute and laying her down in the tray on the bright yellow-and-blue-checked seersucker tablecloth Reggie had included with the supplies.
Albert and Lachlan climbed in the back, followed quickly by the dogs, as they all took up vigil around Reggie and Ryan shut the tail gate with a thunk.
‘Let’s go,’ Lachlan murmured to Rowena, who swallowed back the hot ball of emotion clogging her throat, climbed into the cab and kicked the engine over.