Chapter 22 #2
Clem hadn’t quite got used to the sight of Spencer’s ute in her driveway, nor his razor in the shower or his beekeeping suit hanging on the coat rack in the laundry, but as she watched him carry a sleeping Indi across the driveway, her little hands still clasping the Vegemite scroll she’d chosen for dinner, she knew his role in her life—in their lives—was good for all of them.
After the day harvesting the final sunflowers, soaking up the last of the sunshine forecast for summer, Indi was clearly tuckered out.
She’ll be a terror to get to bed tonight, Clem thought, opening the bedroom door and pulling back the sheets. Spencer gently laid Indi down as if he’d been seamlessly transferring sleepy children from cars to beds for years.
Her heart squeezed as she watched him ease the food from her daughter’s hands, replace it with a stuffed yellow rabbit and tiptoe back to the door. ‘Sleeps like her mum,’ he whispered with a grin. ‘A mariachi band could perform in the hallway and she’d snooze right through it.’
She swatted his arm as he squeezed past her into the hallway.
It was still early days in their relationship, and he spent half the week at his new cottage, but unlike when Adam had temporarily moved into the farmhouse, Spencer kept his belongings neat and tidy and Clem didn’t feel like she was going to find more work every time she opened a door.
‘I’m heading outside to practise my school captain speech. Want to listen, Spencer?’
‘Sure thing, short stuff. I’ll grab the snacks.’
Clem turned away, a smile twitching at her lips as she went along with the ruse. All week, the two of them had been searching for Orange Peel, the guinea pig, setting and resetting a wire cage with diced fruit and veggies.
As much as she didn’t want them catching the squirming creature, it was nice to see them working together.
Clem poured herself a glass of soda water, tossed in some ice cubes, added a splash of lime cordial and leaned against the bench, studying the calendar.
Covered in photos from the past year, the calendar had been a Christmas present from Indi and Harriet, with a generous amount of help from Jack’s girlfriend, Lauren.
A whole year of fun, hard work, love and challenges, twelve pages and hundreds of empty white squares, waiting to be filled with important dates and adventures.
Her eyes lingered on the last day of February. How many years had it been since she’d stopped sending birthday cards to her mum?
She wasn’t sure what made her reach into the cupboard for the stationery, but as she folded the spare copy of last week’s Penwarra Pennant and tucked the newspaper into a large envelope, she hoped her mum would at least get a smile seeing both her daughter and granddaughter featured in the same edition, with equally glowing articles about the cafe’s sunflower fundraiser day and the smallest new star in the Penwarra Players theatre group.
Maybe this year will be different. Maybe Renee would read the articles and realise how much she was missing out on.
Hadn’t Kev managed to resolve things with his father, Vic, after being estranged for all those years?
Clem resolved to give it a shot. She addressed the envelope, added stamps, then sat down at the kitchen bench and watched her daughter and her lover through the windows of the farmhouse she was lucky to call home.
The fragrance of blooming roses filtered through the window, carried inside on the warm summer breeze along with the call of birds and the murmur of Harriet and Spencer’s hushed conversation.
This is what’s important.
Spencer drizzled melted butter over the popcorn on a mid-March evening, and was about to sprinkle on a little salt, when he felt an arm wind around his waist and the warm embrace of the woman he loved.
He turned towards Clem’s soft body, her head fitting perfectly into the space between his shoulder and neck, and pinched himself over the fact that he’d been lucky enough to have found two loves in a lifetime. ‘Snacks are nearly done,’ he said with a smile.
‘I’m not sure I’m going to like seeing myself on television. At least this is the very last episode of Love on the Land I ever have to watch.’
Spencer laughed as her dramatic groan rumbled against his collarbone. ‘There won’t be any Franken-edits in this montage, I promise. Just good old-fashioned romance.’
Harriet and Indi were already on the couch waiting for the show to start. Dolly was curled up on the fuzzy grey pet bed that had mysteriously appeared in the lounge room. Harriet or Indi must have brought it inside; he was surprised Clem had let it slide.
‘Hey, Dolly.’ He pointed to the door with a quick whistle. ‘You know the rules.’ Dolly responded with a mournful look.
Clem looked at the joy on the girls’ faces as they watched the Love on the Land host appear on the TV screen, and the way they shuffled across to make room for Spencer to sit down, and gave a shrug.
‘Dolly can watch it too, but just for tonight,’ Clem said, her best attempt at a stern tone drowned out by the cheering from both girls.
The television screen filled with yellow then, and Indi and Harriet clapped as Clem and Spencer emerged from the paddock of sunflowers, their hands linked and a bouquet of the cheerful blooms nestled in the crook of Spencer’s arm.
‘That’s you guys,’ Indi squealed, delighted and surprised.
She’d been at daycare, and Harriet at school, when the short clip had been filmed the month before.
They clapped and whooped as the camera switched to scenes of Clem and Spencer in bee suits, collecting honey from the hives nestled on the far side of the sunflower paddock, and then working the coffee machine, washing the coffee van and plating up the ever-popular baklava donuts in the cafe.
On the ottoman by her feet, Clem’s phone started buzzing, and she glanced away from the television screen for a moment to see dozens of notifications popping up for the Sunny Cross Farm Gate Cafe’s socials.
‘I only half believed the producer when she promised to share the cafe link on the Love on the Land Facebook page,’ Clem said, marvelling at the avalanche of comments, tags and shares streaming through.
‘It was one of my non-negotiables,’ Spencer said. ‘But wait till the ad break to check your phone, okay?’ Spencer laughed. ‘The good bit’s coming up.’
Clem put her hands over her eyes, cringing as between her fingers, footage played of their Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. ‘I look like such an idiot.’
Indi and Harriet burst into a fit of giggles as they watched Clem crab walk the first few steps, gripping the sides of the bridge and walking with all the fluidity of a robot.
‘Not a chance,’ Spencer said, unable to hide his smile. He reached for her hand, kissing the top of her wrist, and pulled her closer.
‘You’re so funny, Mummy.’ Indi grinned.
‘It was really high up,’ Clem protested, snuggling into his side. ‘A zillion times higher than the challenge swing at camp. Absolutely terrifying!’
‘Awww, you’re helping her, Spence,’ Harriet said, tipping her head to the side as the TV camera captured him leaning in to whisper something to Clem. On the screen, she nodded, her nervous look replaced with a smile.
‘And can you share what you said to her on the bridge climb, Spencer?’ the TV show host asked them, when the scene cut to Clem and Spencer seated on the interview couch.
The interview had been filmed the day after the bridge climb, and while he’d already had his fill of the crew fussing over hair, make-up and clothing, Clem had been amused by the novelty of it all.
And though he liked the dress she’d chosen for the TV show, he liked her every bit as much—if not more—when she was like this, in her cotton pyjamas, with her hair in a messy bun, snuggled beside him on the couch.
‘I told Clem our next stop was an award-winning gelato shop.’
Spencer had also told her he loved her more than ever, and that the bridge would be the first of many he hoped to climb by her side, but that was between the two of them, not for TV viewers across Australia.
‘Ewww, you were kissing on TV, that’s gross,’ Harri said, jumping up from the couch.
‘Gross!’ Indi agreed, making Spencer and Clem laugh as she put her hands over her ears and rushed off too.
‘Well, that’s one way to clear a room.’ He laughed, leaning in to kiss Clem.
‘But we’ll have to use it sparingly, I like having them around.
’ And it was true. This trio of Crossley girls had brought more laughter, more joy and certainly more pink, purple and yellow into his life than he’d ever imagined.
And he couldn’t be happier.