The Fine Color of Rust (31 page)

“Engine size? Performance and handling? Warranty?”

“No, I just want a cup holder.”

“Color?”

“A black or gray cup holder would be fine.” I can't count the number of hours I've spent trying to get the morning school-run coffee stains out of my clothes.

“Right,” Merv said.

He's going to call me when he's found a good one. Meanwhile, I'm thrashing this brute of a Holden like it deserves. Melissa and Jake have cinched their seat belts very tight and occasionally hold hands when we take a corner.

Justin drops his chair back to vertical and picks up another spanner from the table to work at the rusty nut and bolt he's fiddling with.

“What do you mean by quite a bit of money?” He's not looking at me. That's Justin's way. He manages to have entire conversations while gazing at a rock or a tree or a camshaft.

“Seventy-seven thousand four hundred and twenty-nine dollars and eleven cents.” I can't help laughing. “The sly bugger. He'd be cracking up at the idiot looks on our faces.” My breath does a quick intake of its own accord, a kind of hiccup. “I miss him.”

Justin nods. He leans back in his chair again to flick on the kettle.

“Cup of tea?”

I sniff a yes and watch the steam fog up the shed window while Justin makes the tea.

“Milk?” He lifts the opened carton of milk, but I shake my head.

I take the cup he passes me and sip the strong brew. Outside in the yard, the rusted tractors and car bodies, the harvester combs and the sheets of corrugated iron, the motors and trays and wheel rims and cyclone wire and steel drums and sheep skulls and windows and metal lockers and a single broken vending machine crack and sigh as the morning sun evaporates the dew from their hides.

“By the way.” I've suddenly remembered. “Did you know Samantha Patterson was bonking that council officer?”

“Of course.”

“But you've only been here half a minute! How come you knew and I didn't?”

“Dad told me. So, what will happen with the development now?”

“They have to resubmit the application to council because, of course, it broke every regulation in the planning book. There's some court case going on. Not sure what will happen. I hope I don't have to start painting placards again. I've still got marine paint on my shirt.”

I take another sip of tea. This is my life, I think. My ordinary
life with tea and company and two unruly children. I don't need a Merc or an Audi, or even a Harley.

“When's the court date?”

Everyone's been asking me this. The SOS supporters have threatened to hire a bus and travel to Halstead Magistrates' Court. They said it's for support, but I'm fairly certain it's for the entertainment value. I told them we still need to save the school, so to stop playing around and start thinking about how to use the money we raised at the auction. The words “party” and “beach holiday” did come up, but in the end we decided on a media campaign. Whatever that is.

“Two weeks. The Legal Aid lawyer says I'll probably get off with a bond.”

Melissa appears at the door of the shed, dragging her brother behind her. “I'm not looking after him anymore. He won't listen to me. He put an old paint tin on his head and I can't get it off.”

She swings Jake in through the shed door. His tin head bangs against the doorjamb.

“Ow,” Jake says from inside the tin.

“What are you doing, Jake?” I shout so he can hear me.

“I'm Ned Kelly.”

“Hold your breath, Ned.” When I give the paint tin a quick firm twist, Jake is too surprised to scream. He squeaks, then rubs his ears.

“This is a nice blue.” I wonder how the kitchen would look painted this color.

“When are we going home?” Jake says.

I don't know why I put up with these children. Apparently there's still a white slave trade in the Middle East. I wonder how much I'd get for two.

“In a minute. Go and get some lemons and we'll head off.”

They race to the tree in the middle of the yard and jump up and down, trying to grab the lemons off the high branches. I stand and stretch.

“Thanks for the tea.” I put the cup on the table.

“I'm glad you knew my dad. I'm glad you're still here.” Justin's voice is soft as he continues examining the thread on the bolt before placing it carefully on the bench. He stands up.

I hesitate before I say, “Actually, we're having sausages for dinner tonight. Top quality from the supermarket. You're welcome to come.” I am almost fifty percent sure I didn't leave them sitting on the car seat in the sun.

He looks down at me and smiles. It's a rare thing, a Justin smile. He has beautiful teeth. Natural ones.

“That'd be great.”

“See you at six, then.” I might even put on the new green jersey dress I got from the charity shop last week.

As the kids hare off to the car with lemons aproned in their shirts, I take a long look over Norm Stevens Junior's yard.

The art of junk.

I am grateful that the writing of this novel was assisted by residencies from Varuna: The Writers' House, Litlink, and the Tasmanian Writers' Centre. Thanks also to my talented friends whose belief and support have helped to keep all manner of projects afloat: Janet Hutchinson, Jane Watson, Mary Manning, Janey Runci, Pam Baker, Penny Gibson.

P. A. O'R
EILLY

A Readers Club Guide

Loretta Boskovic is a woman struck with the Gunapan curse—her husband, Tony, ran off after ten years, leaving her with only two resources to bring up her children in this small Australian town: a part-time job and a robust sense of humor. When the government threatens to shut down Gunapan's only school, Loretta leaps into action to rally the community around the cause. And when she and her unlikely friend, the old junk man Norm, sense suspicious activity within the city council, Loretta finds her way through the corruption to uncover the real truth. She may be short on money, influence, and glamorous outfits, but with the help of her devoted friends and unflagging spirit, Loretta is ready to defend the true beauty of her imperfect home.

1. 'Reilly describes the Japanese word
sabi
in the book's epigraph as “the simple beauty of worn and imperfect and impermanent things.” How does this theme manifest itself in
The Fine Color of Rust
?

2. What are your first reactions to Gunapan as a community? Consider the positive aspects of the town (everyone knowing everyone else, people helping each other, a sense of all being “in the same boat”) as well as the negative ones (economic depression, drought, welfare dependency). In your opinion, what is the value of a small town or community? Consider where you live and how you participate in your local community in your response.

3. What do you think is Loretta's greatest strength? Her greatest weakness? What is Loretta's greatest value to others?

4. Loretta has frequent fantasies of transformation:
“The pudge has magically fallen from my hips and I'm wearing a long, slinky silk dress. I'm in the function room of the golf course, tossing my newly blond-streaked hair and full of ennui or some other French feeling . . .”
Will she ever do anything about these fantasies? Why do we have fantasies like this? Are they helpful, or do they only make us long for things we can never have?

5. When Loretta reads her “List of Pleasing Things” aloud in writing class, it's clear that her pleasing things are completely different from those of the other women. Is this a
reflection of their different backgrounds? Is it a matter of working class versus upper class? Do you think the other women are being perfectly honest in their lists?

6. Loretta says her sister Tammy
“thinks her wealthy lifestyle exemplifies cultured good taste and mine has degenerated into hillbilly destitution, whereas I think Tammy is living a nouveau riche nightmare while I represent a dignified insufficiency.”
Whose version do you agree with? Why?

7. What do you think was the real cause of Melissa and Jake's bullying behavior? Did Loretta do the right thing in the way she tried to short-circuit the bullying? Have you or members of your family ever been bullied? Or have you been the bully? What makes people become bullies?

8. Loretta's sister Patsy says,
“You've got no reason to stay here [in Gunapan]. . . . That bastard's not coming back and the kids are young enough to move schools. Mum's gone to the Gold Coast, so she won't bother you. Come back to the real world.”
Why do you think Loretta chooses to stay in Gunapan?

9. Most of the residents of Gunapan seem pleased and excited about the resort development. Why do you think they want the resort? Discuss the tension between gritty authenticity and out-of-reach luxury in
The Fine Color of Rust.

10. When Loretta jokes about dropping her kids off at the orphanage, she's expressing the feelings most parents
have at some point: of being overwhelmed, exhausted, frustrated. She is also fiercely protective of her children. What do you think of the way motherhood is portrayed in the book?

11. Loretta's mom offers the following advice:
“[You] should give up that political hocus-pocus you've got yourself into. Put your energy into finding a partner and a father for those children.”
What do you think is the best use of Loretta's energy, for herself, for Melissa and Jake, for the community? Whose needs are most important for Loretta to meet?

12. For both Loretta and Norm, humor is one of the ways they deal with adversity and pain. (Loretta also gets assistance from a dose of chocolate.) Do you think humor makes life easier or harder? How do you cope in difficult times?

13. What is the greatest injustice in
The Fine Color of Rust
? The greatest moment of justice restored?

1. Write out your own “List of Pleasing Things” and bring it to your book club meeting. Read them aloud. Do you tend toward poetic, intangible things or simple, down-to-earth items? What do you think your list of “pleasing things” says about you as an individual? Were you surprised by any of your fellow book club members' lists?

2. Loretta is a firm believer in the power of local organization and fighting for the underdog. According to Loretta, “No one cares about us in the small towns. We have to fight or we'll go under.” (p. 184) Channel Loretta's energy for change in your book club and spend an afternoon working together for a local cause that you all believe in. This could range from volunteering at a school, a shelter, or a residential care facility to canvassing or making phone calls for a local political or nonprofit organization. How does spending time in your community change your relationship to or perspective of your surroundings?

3. The local natural water resources are very important to Gunapan's community. What natural resources play a similar role in your community? Take a trip with your book club members to a local park. Consider packing a picnic, bringing some sports gear, or dusting off your camera and binoculars and taking some time to appreciate the outdoors together. To browse National Parks by state, visit
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_United_States
. If you don't live near a National Park, try searching the National Park Service's state-by-state registry of places to visit instead:
www.nps.gov/communities/states.htm
.