Getting Hitched Fiction -  City Girl

By Sue Radke

A city girl! The cut of her clothes gave her away. Not trusty old work jeans like everyone else, a new designer pair. And with those nails she was a stranger to manual labour. Pity, she was quite a looker otherwise.
 
He heaved the table onto his broad shoulders and Hayley saw the muscles rippling beneath his old t-shirt. Physically he left the men in the office for dead.

“That’s Dave, my cousin,” Pam said. “He owns the farm next door.” She watched her friend avert her gaze from the masculine form. “He’s single, you know”

“Pity he lives in the sticks. Must be boring way out here. I didn’t even see a decent café for the last hour of our trip.”

Hayley sighed. Two weeks forced holidays.

“You’ve too many weeks owing,” they’d said, “Mr Robertson has two weeks off. You’re his PA, you take the time off too. Go away somewhere.”

Yeah right – she hated travelling.

So here she was for the long weekend, staying with Pam’s parents. The rest of the time she supposed she’d spend sitting around her city unit, looking for something to do. She hated boredom. That’s why she couldn’t live out here, but it would be okay for a few days. Anyway, it was her best friend’s thirtieth. She was pleased to be invited to a “quiet family gathering” as Pam had put it. But Pam had a big family judging by the tables and chairs they’d set up. She stole another look at Dave’s muscular frame as he swung the last chair into place.

That evening the first thing he noticed was the way she dressed. The way her outfit clung to her curves. Did they even sell dresses like that around here?

“Dave! Bring your plate here.” Pam patted the empty chair beside hers, ignoring Hayley’s warning stare from her other side.

“Don’t match make,” she warned, “it’d never work, we’re too different.”

“Nonsense, you’ll get on like a house on fire!”

“I mean we come from different planets - our lifestyles are worlds apart…” she searched for another expression, “we march to different drums. So different they’re actually probably other instruments entirely.”

Which was a shame, she realised over dinner. Besides his looks, he had a great sense of humour and conversation flowed easily.

“C’mon, Pammy. Dance with yer old Dad.”

Pam laughed and kissed her father’s cheek. “Course Dad. Come on Hayley, you’ve gotta try square dancing once in your life!”

“Square dancing?” Hayley’s coffee nearly squirted out of her nose.

“Yeah, Uncle George is a square-dance caller. We always square dance at family gatherings.”

“I’ll just watch,” she eyed the dusty patch of drought-stricken paddock suspiciously. The fairylights and lanterns didn’t make it any more inviting. “I don’t know how,” she said, picking up her coffee again.

“Easy fixed.”

Dave took her arm and pulled her out of her seat. “Those shoes aren’t suitable for dancing. Kick them off,” he commanded.

She must have been mad to comply because he hauled her out after Pam and before she knew it she was do-si-do-ing with the rest of them.

The best she could hope for was that no photos would find their way inconveniently around the office. Even if it was more fun than she’d ever admit, she did have her reputation to consider.

“Lucky it’s fine weather tonight,” she remarked to Pam between songs.

“When isn’t it?” Dave asked. “It’s been fine here for years. We’re sick of trucking in water and feed, and watching our crops and stock die. Even when we do see storm clouds, like tonight, they pass us by and dump it all in the city where it runs into storm-water drains and out to sea.”

For the first time Hayley thought of all the occasions she’d complained about rain ruining her plans or making the trip to work more uncomfortable. They really needed it out here.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Uncle George’s comments about passing the dance floor over to the young ‘uns and the applause that followed him to his seat. She was about to resume hers too when Dave took her arm.

“Not yet. Or is square dancing all you know, City Girl?” he teased.

“Of course not, I just didn’t want to show you up!”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

He moved surprisingly well as some more-familiar tunes filled the air. For a moment she was back in a local club, dancing the night away, then she realised she could hear her partner speak over the music. It felt strange to do more than smile uncomfortably whilst dancing.

Hayley began to relax and enjoy the warmth of his chest as he held her close during a slow number. Then the moment was spoilt. Dave stepped back and looked at the sky. She wondered about this ritual as she noticed others copying him. Then she realised it was starting to rain.

Nothing much to begin with but as it got heavier Hayley started towards cover. She stopped at the sound of cheering. Several people were dancing around madly, celebrating the rain, and getting soaked. Suddenly Hayley realised that she was just as wet and her mascara was probably running. Preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn’t notice Dave approaching before she was off the ground, being spun in circles.

As he let her back down to earth, which was rapidly turning from dust to mud beneath her bare feet, he impulsively kissed her.

The sound of the rain and cheering disappeared as abruptly as the sight of those gathering the lights in from the downpour. There were only two of them standing in the near darkness. She could barely see his face in the pale light from the distant house where the sensible people sheltered. He could hardly make out her features save for her shining eyes watching him. Yet somehow their hungry mouths found each other again.

He knew this made no sense. He was tied to the land. She lived in the fast lane.

She knew this was hopeless. She could never survive out here where a cloudburst was the most exciting event in town, if there even was a town.

***

“...it’s still bucketing down.”

She heard Pam’s father in the kitchen and recognised the deep voice of their visitor, familiar from last night.

“Putting water in the tanks anyway. Maybe a little in the dams if it keeps up.”

A door banged, the voices faded, then an engine started up. Hayley joined Pam and her mother in the kitchen.

“Morning sleepy head. Sleep well?”

“Yes thanks.”

“Should have woken earlier,” Pam said, studying her response. “Dave was here. He and Dad have just left.”

Hoping she sounded indifferent, Hayley asked where they’d gone.

“Neighbour’s got a fence down. Tree fell on it last night and the cattle will be wandering everywhere.”

“So why do they have to go?”

“We help each other,” Pam’s mother explained. “If someone needs assistance, there’s always somebody ready to lend a hand.”

Hayley thought about her neighbours. She didn’t even know their names and she was pretty sure they’d tell her to call a tradesman if she asked for a hand with anything.

***

“Come in.”

Pam burst through the door and sat on Hayley’s bed in the middle of her packing.

“You haven’t come to grill me again, have you? I told you there’s nothing going on.”

“I don’t believe you but that’s not why I came. Stop packing.”

“Why? We’re off home tomorrow.”

“Nope, looks like we’ll be staying put.” Answering Hayley’s puzzled look, she continued, “Macarthur’s Bridge is under.”

“Isn’t that the bridge we came over?”

“Yep and I’m not driving through a metre of water to get out.”

“But the creek was dry!”

“Not anymore. Flash flooding.”

“So we go out the other way then.”

“What other way? The main road crosses the same river just the other side of town. The whole area sits in a bend. We have to wait till the water recedes. They’re predicting more rain, so I hope you’re not in a hurry.”

Four days of heavy rain gave way to lighter falls, but the locals were still concerned. The river continued to rise and the township was in danger.

Several low-lying farms had been evacuated as a precaution. Hayley and Pam had spent the morning helping at the local school, which was doubling as an evacuation site. Now it was onto the town centre.

Dave was surprised to see the city girl there.

“We’ve come to help,” Pam called.

He took the girls to join the others filling sandbags.

“You can help fill. If they’re right and the rain stops tonight, we might just save the town from flooding.”

Hayley was pitching right in and he couldn’t help admire her for it. Her damp hair hung around her fresh, un-made-up face and her fingernails bore no resemblance to the carefully manicured ones of a few days before.

They worked solidly for ages, only stopping when a matronly local brought mugs of hot coffee to warm the wet and frozen volunteers.

“Think it’s high enough?” Pam asked as they snatched a couple of minutes to drink their coffee.

Dave surveyed the wall of sandbags. “Rain’s all but stopped now. If it holds off, we should handle the predicted peak sometime tomorrow morning. Oh Mrs Ferris,” he started, as the supplier of the hot drinks approached them, “thanks so much.”

“No, thank you to all the volunteers,” she eyed Hayley off. “The ladies in the evacuation centre said Pammy had a nice friend who was helping us. Pretty city girl they said, but still willing to pitch in. At least your visit hasn’t been boring, my dear.”

The rain had stopped and Hayley was back at their sandbag wall early the next morning. There were plenty of people up and about ready to fill more bags if needed.

She walked over to Dave who was leaning on his ute, staring out at the flood waters.

“I seem to remember jubilation when it started raining…”

“Yes, but it’s too much all at once. We need this over several months, not days.”

She laid her hand on his shoulder and he covered it with his own.

“It should peak any time now. It hasn’t risen much in the last hour.”

He tried to stifle a yawn and she noticed his bleary eyes.

“Have you been here all night?”

“A few of us have. I don’t think many have slept much for days anyway. Bit different to the life you’re used to, huh?”

Hayley thought about it. Yes, lack of sleep was generally due to late night partying, not worrying about floods. Sweat was a result of the gym, not filling sandbags. It was only a couple of hours to her unit, but it seemed a lifetime away. She could be sitting at home surfing the net or partaking in some retail therapy or working out in silence beside strangers in the gym. But here she was making a contribution and people were grateful for it. Complete strangers knew her name and talked to her, unlike the familiar nameless faces on the bus to work.

She realised Dave was watching her.

“Penny for them.”

“I was just thinking it must be nice, knowing so many people, to be a part of a community, to belong somewhere.”

“I thought you enjoyed the fast life, City Girl.”

“Maybe”

“What, even with our floods we’ve won you over?” he teased. “We’ve no nightclubs, no beaches, and no high-class cafés, although the local take-away makes great coffee. They’re even considering one of those cappuccino machines. This town will be trendy in no time.” He shook his head mournfully.

Hayley gazed into Dave’s deep brown eyes. There was one thing this place had over the city.

Together they watched the floodwaters peak safely, wrapped comfortably in each others arms.

***

© Sue Radke 2008

The short stories on this website are copyright and cannot be copied for any purpose. However, you are welcome to link to any story.

More Features

• Short Stories
• Subscribe to Newsletter
• Further Reading