Calypso Summer (15 page)

I jumped back in Clare's car as the fella in the passenger's seat called out to his friend, ‘Make sure you warn the attendant that the niggers are filling up out here. Don't want them taking off without paying.' Then a second later the cowboy crossed paths with Clare. He turned around and watched her walk toward me, having a good perve. It was lucky they didn't say anything else. I mean if I pulled that fella out of the window of his car and flogged him until he was shitting chops like I wanted, my arse would have been dragged through the courts. I just looked up at the pale blue sky and tried to make my anger disappear.

‘Everything alright?' Clare asked passing me an ice-block.

‘Yeah, it's just damn hot.'

When we got back on the open highway Clare looked at me as if something was wrong and then said, ‘Shit, I almost forgot.' She turned on the radio and started searching for a station. Then the familiar nasal voice of Richie Benaud reminded me that the test match between Australia and the West Indies was beginning.

‘How could we forget about the cricket?' I asked.

Already a few balls had been bowled by Mitchell Johnson to the West Indian opening batsman, Gayle.

‘The first few overs of a game are the most exciting don't you reckon Calypso?' Clare asked.

‘Yeah mahn, and probably the most important. If a team can get some early wickets, the others seem to come easier. And the longer a batsman is at the crease the easier it is for him to get runs on the board.'

And just then, Johnson, as if on cue, took Gayle's wicket.

With the air-conditioning blowing straight into my face, the cricket on the radio and my hand on Clare's thigh as we travelled along, I'd soon forgotten all about the blokes at the service station. I was looking forward to seeing the ranges appear as we travelled toward my mob's country.

°°°

We turned off onto the little dirt track to Aunty Janet's with the Flinders Ranges in the background. ‘God I'd like to live out here, this place is beautiful, I mean, check it out,' Clare said.

‘Deadly, hey?' I jumped out to open the gate to Aunty Janet's property.

I told Clare to drive ahead of me because I wanted to stretch my legs a bit. I looked at the rows of trees planted out the front of Aunty Janet's, wondering what they were. And then I heard a hiss. I nearly shit myself and I kind of shivered when I looked down to see a blue-tongue lizard with its back arched and jaws wide open. I almost ran to where Clare was parking her car beneath the shade of a large gum tree.

When she jumped out she stretched her hands above her head. I grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. God she looked, smelt and felt good. ‘Aunty Janet's real good, nothing to worry about,' I told her before I took her by the hand and led her to the house.

‘Aunty Janet, you there?' I called out through the flyscreen door.

‘Yeah we're in 'ere, come in.'

I was surprised to find Vic sitting in the lounge watching the cricket. I was even more surprised when he stood from his seat and shook my hand. ‘How you going cuz? So this is your woman?' he asked as he looked Clare up and down.

‘This is Clare,' I said.

‘Nice to meet you,' Clare said going to shake Vic's hand.

Vic mucked around with shaking Clare's hand. Shaking it in all types of ways you know before he started laughing. Clare thought it was funny too but I wasn't too impressed. It didn't take me long to figure out why Vic was being all friendly.

‘Come here and say hello to me, come on, don't be shame,' Aunty Janet called out from where she was rinsing some dishes at the sink.

‘Lovely to see you, Kyle,' she said wiping her hands on a tea towel when I walked over. ‘Well, give us a hug then,' she demanded, and then said. ‘Nice to meet you girl,' as she gave Clare a warm hug too. ‘Let me get you a cold drink then, it's hot out there 'ey bub?'

Clare and I took a seat at the table where Aunty Janet's game of patience was spread out. Before Aunty Janet had even handed Clare a glass of water she asked her, ‘Who's your mob?'

‘Ngadjuri,' Clare said.

‘True?' Aunty Janet said, her face lighting up. ‘Who's your parents then?'

‘My dad is Frankie Stewart, works at the Health Centre in Adelaide. My mum's from England.'

‘I know your dad,' Aunty Janet said almost squealing, ‘And some of your old people too.' Then she gave Clare a hug and said, ‘That's lovely dear.'

‘That's proper way to marry for us mob, you know cuz?' Vic said from his position on the couch.

‘That's what Mum reckons,' I said, trying to not make a big deal of it so that Clare wouldn't get all shame.

I heard a car pull up out front, the car door squeak and then slam shut. Then I heard feet shuffling up onto the veranda as Uncle Ray called out, ‘Eh you mob.' Uncle Ray walked into the house, took off his cowboy hat, ruffled his wispy grey hair, placed his hat back on his head and then said, ‘G'day Vic,' as he walked to the kitchen table. ‘Hello, love,' he said to Clare and he tilted his hat. ‘I'm Uncle Ray, bloody hot out there 'ey, hotter than Satan's arse isn't it?'

Clare laughed and said, ‘Nice to meet you.'

‘Nice to meet you too love,' he said before turning a seat around and straddling it. He wiped his forehead with the back of his arm. ‘Glad you fellas come up 'ere. Vic and I will take you for a look around country when it cools down a bit.'

‘That'll be solid, Uncle Ray,' I said.

‘Yeah, cool,' said Clare. ‘Will we get up into the hills?'

‘Why's that love?' Uncle Ray asked leaning forward on his chair.

‘I used to go up to Alligator Gorge with Dad and Mum when I was a little kid, I really like it up there.'

‘We'll take you up to the hills, we'll take you to one real special one.'

°°°

I was really impressed with Uncle Ray's old white Valiant wagon. Sure it was old and covered in dust but it looked more like a stingray with fins and things than a car. Real deadly!

Me and Clare sat up front with Uncle Ray on a long vinyl bench seat that was like a couch. Vic stretched out in the back as we coasted along the highway with a Johnny Cash tape playing quietly.

Soon we had a clear view of the sea to the left of us with plains of saltbush ahead and the hills to the right. ‘One thing you should know about this country,' said Uncle Ray, ‘a lot of stories about it are secret and sacred … but there are also a lot of stories about this country that can be shared with most people.'

‘You still just can't tell anyone,' said Vic glancing sideways at me and I was reminded again of Vic not wanting me to know about bush medicines. Although I was desperate to ask some questions, I decided to just listen and enjoy the ride.

‘Yeah course Vic,' Ray rattled before spitting out the window. He cleared his throat and then said to Vic, ‘Well tell this mob something you can tell them. What about tucker and that around here?'

‘Biggest mob of tucker 'round here,' Vic said enthusiastically, slowly motioning his hand across the lay of the land. The sea
there, course we got kuija, fish, big fish like snapper and yellow tail and then there's yiritji, crabs, and oysters, mussels, razor fish … lovely stuff.'

‘Bruce and the girls and me caught a good feed the other week, it was too good,' I told them.

‘Then on the plains here,' Vic said leaning forward and placing his arm between Clare and me and motioning to the plains with his hand, ‘there's meat and fruits and things like kangaroo and emu, quondong, yams, bush tomato, grape, and witchetty grubs on the sandy parts. Rabbits too.'

‘My dad loves all that type of food,' said Clare. ‘He's always trying to get his murras on it.'

‘Who recks, murras hey?' said Vic. I was surprised, I didn't know Clare knew any lingo. ‘Does he like yabbies?' Vic asked.

‘Like them, he loves them,' Clare said.

‘Well, there's plenty of yabbies up in the creeks there. See, we've got the best of all worlds here, the sea, the plains and the hills and the fresh water up in there.'

Uncle Ray suddenly swerved and me and Clare rolled towards him and then bounced back upright on the springy bench seat. ‘Shit, I hit the poor little bugger,' said Uncle Ray. Clare and I swung our heads around flat out to look back at the road.

‘What did you hit?' Clare asked when we couldn't see anything.

‘Didn't you see him? Poor little ant,' Uncle Ray said before he and Vic started laughing hard.

Vic pushed Uncle Ray in the shoulder and me and Clare cracked up too.

°°°

Uncle Ray slowed the Valiant right down to walking speed before veering off on a dirt track to the right.

‘Are we going up to those hills there?' Clare asked pointing directly in front of her.

‘No, we're just cutting across the paddock here and up to the hills closer to Port Augusta,' Uncle Ray told her. ‘That country ahead of us is men's country, real potent country there, powerful place. I can't even take Calypso there yet. Sorry neph. But you fellas will like where we're going.'

I wasn't too disappointed about not being taken to the hills ahead of us but it did make me wonder what was there. I wondered what I'd have to learn before I could be taken there.

‘You fellas enjoying yourselves?' Vic asked.

‘Yeah, it's deadly, real deadly,' I said and Clare turned and gave Vic a big smile.

‘That's good then,' said Vic as Uncle Ray reduced the car to walking speed. Clare was the first to spot the lizards walking across the road.

‘Sleepy lizard, hey?' Clare asked Uncle Ray.

‘Yep, but we call them Gulda. And they're special those Guldas, see they're one of our totems. Snake is one of our totems too … we're snake people you know … which means we can't kill 'em or eat 'em or nothing, which kind of ain't fair 'cause the snakes around here can bite you and kill you just like that,' said Uncle Ray, with a click of his fingers.

‘But the Guldas keep the snakes away, see?' said Vic.

Then I noticed that they were walking real close together and I saw another couple walking across the track in the distance
doing the same thing. ‘Why they stuck together like that?' he asked.

‘Good eyes, neph,' said Uncle Ray flashing a smile at me. ‘That's 'cause they're husband and wife. Those Guldas mate together for life, real love story stuff you know?'

Vic tapped Clare on the shoulder and said to her, ‘That's why a woman can never insult a Nukunu fella by calling him a lizard if you got the shits with him see … that would mean he's a proper good fella, faithful and that.'

Clare gave my thigh a squeeze.

‘If you fellas are staying at Aunty Janet's tonight you won't be as cozy as them Guldas though, inny Dad?'

‘We won't be able to sleep together?' I asked.

Uncle Ray and Vic laughed. ‘Sleep together,' Uncle Ray said, ‘you fellas will be lucky to sleep in the same postcode. Aunty Janet is stricter than the Pope when it comes to that stuff …'

‘I'm cool with that,' I said but secretly I was pissed off. Clare gave me a playful nudge in the ribs with her elbow.

°°°

Uncle Ray weaved through a winding gorge full of gum trees, red slate cliff face and rocky riverbeds and then ducked back behind the hills where the sun lit up the plains like gold. He pulled up at the base of a large peak shaped hill and said, ‘Alright you fellas, we've got a bit of a walk now. You gunna be right in those thongs love?' he asked Clare, looking at her feet.

Clare looked at the hill and said, ‘Yeah, no worries, I'd do that barefoot.'

‘Proper little black woman,' said Vic.

I was a bit worried about Uncle Ray huffing and puffing up the steep and narrow track with sharp rocks jutting out everywhere but he cruised around like a mountain goat.

Occasionally we stopped for a quick rest. From only halfway up the peak, I could tell that the view at the top was going to be amazing, especially with the sun setting. I kind of wished I was just there with Clare but knew the day was all about learning from Uncle Ray and Vic.

We didn't speak to each other for a while when we reached the top, not even after we'd caught our breath. The scene before us was just too deadly. The sunset in the distance lit up the land and the hills and plains spreading out before us all pink, orange and purple. We could see Port Augusta, and the top of the Spencer Gulf seemed to trickle into the earth like a slither of molten lava.

‘I don't know what to say,' I said, ‘It's just too deadly!'

‘Just take it all in neph,' Uncle Ray said. He turned to Vic, ‘Look at Clare there, that's freaky 'ey?' She was standing near a ledge with her arms outstretched like a bird.

‘What?' asked Clare, unwinding from her pose.

‘Just you looking like a Wirltu,' said Vic.

‘What's that?' I asked.

‘It's the eaglehawk,' said Uncle Ray, ‘the number one boss of these skies here.'

‘This is his place,' said Vic. ‘See, look this peak is shaped like his head. There's his eye there.'

I could see it … and I was suddenly struck with a chill even though it must have still been about thirty degrees. Nothing more was said for a little while as we all took in the scene again,
Vic sitting on a rock, and Clare leaning against me with her arm resting on my shoulder.

‘I wish I brought my camera,' Clare whispered.

‘I wanted to bring you up here so that you could get a good look at country, neph. It looks beautiful from up here but you've always got to remember that it's beautiful when you're down there too.' He took off his hat and used it to point to the plains. ‘Nukunu believe this is the oldest place in the world, and this country has looked after us from the beginning of time. We need to look after the country, especially with so many people wanting to dig it up and stuff these days.'