CHAPTER 54
That week was one for delicacy. While Maz and I seemed to have sorted a lot of common ground, it was still a problem dealing with the assumptions, and the dreams, of others. Not our first hurdle, but perhaps the most immediate, was at the weekend, when, largely at Dal’s urging, we had a mass descent on the climbing wall. Should that be ‘ascent’? No matter. That was when I discovered the fall-out from that publicity video, oh dear me.

I got any number of people asking me for advice, from training to technique, as well as offers to give me advice on Special Diets (etc), but it was Maz who really suffered. She refused to tell me what some of the more personal questions had involved, but I could guess.

We still managed some decent climbing, and I was really pleased when both Maz and Dal managed that move round the lip, even though in each case it involved multiple attempts.

Our week. No great events, no sudden revelations, but each evening brought Maz back to my, our, bed and another few items into that no longer flat pack wardrobe. I was drifting into a situation I had never intended, but could find no real objections in my mind.

[Adulterer!]

That was something I was finding easier to deal with each day, largely because of the simple fact of her presence. I was also beginning to realise how incredibly lucky I was, which was another split-screen moment that threw me off-balance for quite some time, for there was no way on Earth I could ever consider Caro’s death as ‘lucky. Instead, I had been lucky in the people I knew, from Audrey through Keith and Penny to the crowd around me now. That was how I finally finished my dancing around the concept, for it was the simple recognition that while life may have handed me the shitty end more than once, fate had given me people to love, in all senses. After all, wasn’t that what had brought Steph out of her own pit? Good people in my case, very good ones, and a bloody good man in hers.

That last set me giggling, because it would have been a typical comment from Maz, blissfully unaware of the double meaning. I’d have to see about a card for them; probably simplest to send it to my place with their names on it.

Shit. I only had six months in Perth! I had no idea what time Maz had left, or if she was a permanent resident, or what her own long term plans were. Visas were a very foreign country for me, and yes, I spotted the accidental pun as I thought the words, but shit indeed.

All of that went through my head in about sixty seconds as I sat in that King’s Park food place again, waiting for Kul to return from the gents’. As he approached our table once more, his eyes narrowed.

“Problems, mate?”

“Thoughts, Kul. Confusion”

He sat down heavily, after waving over a server.

“Could we possibly have a couple of LLBs, love? And the bill? Ta!”

As the woman headed for the bar, Kul quickly murmured “Ripper, bonzer, she’ll be right, et bloody cetera. What’s up?”

“Glad you didn’t add ‘this time’, mate. I’ve not exactly been an easy guest for you, have I?”

“Oh, do fuck right off with that crap. Bloody family is what you are, so none of that”

“Not what I meant. I was having…. Look, here I am, I’ve had some absolute shite in my life, and, well, not talking about that today. What it is, is that I’ve been lucky, more than lucky, in the people around me, you included, and that made me realise one major problem: my visa”

Kul looked up as our drinks arrived, smiled at the young woman and turned back to me.

“You know what we decided, Mike. Said that almost as soon as we got here. All three of us are going through the PBS, points-based system, for a permanent stay. You would have a bloody good case for that as well. It would mean a lot of hassle with your stuff in the UK, but, well, we both have a lot of friends in Sheffield, and I am bloody glad you are finally accepting that as a fact of your bloody life”

He took a long pull at his drink, then settled back into his chair.

“You’re wondering about Maryam, aren’t you? Short answer: she has three months left on her work visa, but it’s an open-ended one. She could go for the PBS at any time, if she wanted. Is that what’s got you rattled?”

“Not rattled, Kul, just counting blessings”

“Keep on doing that, and let me add another one to the pile”

“Eh?”

“Rod’s left a message. Canning Vans Rod. Asked if we can stop by when we have a moment. And we have a surprise appointment on Friday morning as well, thanks to my clever, clever boy”

“And?”

“First one you’ll find out in about three hours, second one over tea tonight. And no good trying to bribe me with a slice of that choc and mint cheesecake in the dessert section, either. Hint”

We finished off the afternoon’s grease traps after he had savoured his sweet slice, and then headed up the long hill to Rod’s place. He was even more ebullient than usual, hands covered in oil and other stuff as he emerged from the inside of a minibus.

“G’day, you two! Good to see you. You given Mike the heads-up, Kul?”

“Nope. Left that for you, Rod”

“Right! Mike, Kul says you’re a bikey?”

“If you mean a biker, yes. Always have been”

“Your birth must have made your ma’s eyes water, then, what with the boots and the helmet and that?”

Every Aussie thinks they’re a comedian. I gave a dutiful laugh, which wasn’t actually dutiful at all. Rod was always a good laugh. He did get to the point, though.

“We wondered about travel, mate. Perth’s a big place, but what’s outside is a hell of a lot bigger. So I had a word with a mate, and he knew another, and, well, it’s parked in the yard if you want a look-see”

He led us past the minibus, and when I saw what he had I started to laugh. It was an R75 BMW, not that different to what Neil had. I turned to Rod to apologise.

“Sorry, mate, but a friend has one of these. He modified his”

“Bloody side stand, Mike? Yeah, Scott’s done the business there. Bloody stupid idea. Anyway, what do you think? Was going to see if there was a car I trusted, till Kul explained”

I was astonished.

“You’ve done all that for me?”

He actually looked embarrassed.

“Bloody hell, Mike! You and your lot, you’ve done, you’ve turned my business round, big as, ‘ey? Anyway, when are you sorting out the Sydney stuff?”

Kul was smiling, but in a genuine way.

“Well, we’re sending our boy over there next week to get the fine print stuff tied down, so, yes, all going ahead”

“Ripper! Mike, want to give the bike a try out? Got a lid should fit?”

“In this rig?”

“Hell, mate, not like you’re setting out over the Nullarbor! Just give her a spin past the Gum Nut and see how you feel”

I obviously had no choice, so I took the offered helmet, which was just about the right size, and followed him to the bike. It was the trail version, seat height looking intimidating at first acquaintance. Rod was insistent.

“Down to the Gum Nut and back, mate”

I fired it up, hearing the usual Beemer Burble, clunked it unto gear after remembering to kick the side stand back up, and set off for my little tour.

Twenty minutes later I was back, spotting a shared look of concern slowly easing from both faces. Onto the hard standing, engine off, sidestand down and a high jump to get off the saddle

“Strewth, Mike, thought you’d come a cropper. What happened to ‘down to the Gum But and back’, ey?”

“Sorry, Rid, but it’s been a while since I rode anything”

I heard a muffled snort from Kul, so gave him as hairy an eyeball as I could manage, but it seemed I was really picking up some of Maryam’s tics.

“How’d you find ‘er?”

“Bit tall, bit soggier than I’m used to. Mire of a sports tourer rider, me”

“All arse up in the air and chin on the tank? Not a good idea round the city. Coppers’ll have you pulled up in no time. Anyway, this lets you go off a bit further. You’ll need to sort out your own insurance and stuff, though”

He went to a fridge in the corner of the workshop and returned with a trio of Pepsis, handing us one each.

“Kul said you’re only on a short-term visa at the moment, so buying a car or a bike only to have to sell it again would be a right pain in the arse. Think of it as being on loan, until you find out where you’re going. You might hate the bike. And don’t try and get your bloody knee down, ey?”

“I’ll try. Not today, though. I’ll need to sort a jacket, gloves and lid, for starters”

Rod grinned happily.

“Gets into your blood, mate! See you in a bit, then”

Kul was quiet on the drive home, and I realised he had been weighing his words carefully when he finally spoke.

“Geeta and me, we’ve been a bit worried, mate”

“Don’t be. I think I’m getting my head straighter by the day”

“Ah, not what I meant, Mike. Answer me truthfully: do you think we’ve been pushing too hard, you and Maz? As in you and Maz as an item, or whatever the cool kids say these days?”

I paused to consider the question fairly and he rushed in with more words.

“I mean, we both thought, we both know, sod it, that the two of you are well-suited, and both of you being… having. Shit. I’m stuffing this up. Just, please tell us if we overstep, or if we already have”

“Mate, I can’t really… Look. Yes, you made assumptions. No, they weren’t wrong. Yes, it seems to be working. What I think, though… Pull over a sec, if you can”

He found a space to stop, and then turned to face me as I sought my own words, unrushed.

“Kul, what I was saying earlier. Word you used, as well: family. What you and Geeta, and Dal, what you have been doing, and please take the word in the way I mean it, what you’ve been doing is from love, and that’s all I will say on that. Whatever happens with me and Maz, well, that’s for us, but no, all you have done is like letting the dog see the proverbial rabbit”

I couldn’t resist adding, “Mind you, you DID paint that rabbit Day-Glo orange!”

“Dogs don’t see colour, Mike”

“Oh bugger off, you pedantic bastard!”

I still hugged him, even though it was an awkward process around the steering wheel and gear stick.

I was unsurprised to find a familiar car parked outside the house, and was greeted by a cheery Sangeeta calling out “She’s in the shower, boys, so no rushing in, Kul. And we also want tea on time, Mike, so you can stay out as well. Oh, and she says she’s cooking at the weekend. I have a list of what we’ll need. Doing chicken biryani tonight, with tarka dhal, so clean your teeth twice before work tomorrow. Dal’s made a big jug of unSangria; he’s setting stuff up out the back”

Kul grinned at me, explaining that it was their name for an alcohol-free fruit punch, and then Maz was with us for a quick kiss and multiple hugs. Three of us settled down on the patio as Dal trotted out with plates and bowls, and then finally held the flyscreen open as Geeta brought out a steaming mass of fragrant rice and a large bowl of garlicky lentils. It was like being back in That Place, just without any of its other aspects.

Maz was in a happy mood, explaining how she would be cooking our Sunday meal, with all sorts of comments about slow cooking and coconut milk, until Kul simply held up a hand for silence, then flipped it over into a single finger pointing at his son.

“Tell Mike your idea, boy”

The lad looked slightly embarrassed at finding himself in the spotlight, but gave his best shot at self-effacement.

“Wasn’t anything someone else wouldn’t have thought of, Dad”

“Get on with it, son. Food’s getting cold”

“Well, okay. It was just looking at what you do, and then sort of turning it over. It was when you were talking about the docks, and all that waste grease and oil, what it gets turned into”

I shrugged, throwing in a quick “Biodiesel. Not enough for a big freighter”

“Yes, I know, but that’s a given. What does the Rotto ferry run on?”

Just like his father, he had a need to fill a silence with his words.

“It was a just something at college, about how you can’t have A without having B, but having B didn’t mean you had A, and I just sort of got thinking”

Kul put a hand on his shoulder, his grin as wide as ever, but prouder than I had yet seen.

“And, Mister Rhodes, where is it you think we are going Friday morning, together with some boys from our biofuel clients?”

He did his usual ‘Mwahahahaha’, followed by “My god, how the money rolls in! Who wants some dhal?”