Friday, December 20th
Laptop under her arm and an instant coffee in the other, Raven hipped the screen door and stepped outside to the morning. The earthy smell of animals and heat hit her nose. After nearly three months of living here, the country scents in the air still assaulted her senses.
Will I ever get used to this?
Ben reckoned she should’ve by now.
She sighed. Ben. He’d been up and gone this morning well before she’d woken. She wasn’t sure how he managed to get out of the bed they shared without waking her. But he did. Every morning. He got up, without fail, to do the morning chores and whatever else that needed to be done. Now, there was the addition of harvesting to add to the workload.
Raven had been completely naïve at what it meant not just to move to the country but also deciding to live with Ben, on his farm, with his mom, Janette.
What was I thinking?She put her computer and coffee on the round wrought iron table under the veranda at the back of the old farm homestead. It wasn’t her brain she’d been thinking with, that’s for sure.
They’d started seeing each other once a year, a fling, a few days of hot, passionate sex, and somehow a connection began to form between them. One that had led her right here to the country and living with him in what felt like the middle of nowhere. She certainly couldn’t see the neighboring farms from where she sat, only the sheds and land that stretched out as far as she could see, scattered with some trees. There was life out there. She’d even met some of the neighbors, so she had proof that she really wasn’t alone, but a feeling of loneliness constricted her chest, shortening her breath.
Initially, the plan had been to rent a property in Keith, the nearest town to the farm. It had been the biggest risk she’d taken in her twenty-six years—to move from the city to the country. It had been rash. Exciting. Fun. Daring.
Since she’d lost her job as a graphic designer in Adelaide, she’d decided to pursue her idea of running her own business sooner rather than later. Money was a lot tighter than she realized without a steady income while starting her own business. When Ben suggested she move in with him, she hastily agreed, thinking of how much money she would save and how much fun it would be to have more time with him. They did. To begin with. Then the harvest started, and she’d hardly seen him for the last six weeks.
Raven fluffed the square cushion and put it back on the seat, ignoring that it was too big, and sat down. It wasn’t all bad. At least her office arrangement was inspiring.
The backyard stretched out down a rolling hill, the grass green from the bore water near to the house. Then it slowly died out where the water didn’t quite reach, more so now that it was summer. It hadn’t rained for weeks. This was something she’d hadn’t noticed when living in the city. She saw the consequences more living here in the country.
Maybe I’m adjusting more than I realize.
A big orange tree stood proudly to her left, roots deep to reach the water table and survive the summer months. Its branches extended out randomly as it had been left to grow as it pleased over the years. Oranges left over from last season scattered rotting on the ground, the new fruit, small and green beginning to grow. Ben had explained to her that this was a summer orange tree which fruited in late January.
An old shed stood to her right, the wooden paneling falling off, exposing the insides to the light of day, revealing dust and rusty, old farm machinery which hadn’t been used for decades.
Rex, the motley colored cat, sauntered up to her and rubbed against her leg, wanting food even though she never had food with her in the morning.
“Good try,” she said to him, reaching down, stroking his long body.
Meow. His eyes looked up at her in hope for a scrap or two.
“Not from me.”
She opened her laptop and waited for it to boot up. For her, this was an early start to the day. It was just eight o’clock. She was already showered, dressed, and ready to work. Even though it was likely that the only persons she would see today were Janette, and hopefully Ben, unless he came in very late as he had done a few times, Raven had taken the time to do her hair, tied it back into a messy bun, and wore long, loose linen pants with a flowing light pink sleeveless top. What she hadn’t bothered with was makeup. It had felt a little odd at first not putting on foundation, eye shadow, blush, and mascara, almost like she was stepping out showing her real self to the world, not that anyone was around to see or notice.
For Raven, it might be early, but for life on the farm, this was considered a sleep-in. Ben’s mom, Janette, often reminded her of that. It wasn’t easy going back to living with a parent in the house. When in Adelaide, she rented with a friend and was independent. Having his mom around wasn’t something she had gotten used to yet, especially when she constantly reminded her that the day had begun hours ago.
Raven checked the internet connection. It was good today. Another thing she’d not thought of was how unreliable the internet connection was out here in the middle of nowhere. Running her own business needed the internet, and she had anticipated that she could work anyway. Not quite.
But today was looking like it would work out. She took a sip of her coffee and then checked her emails, hoping there was some interest from people needing a graphic designer. Setting up her own online graphic design business had been more difficult than she’d thought.
The birds tweeted in the surrounding eucalyptus trees, inspiration took hold, and she put together a series of pre-made logos to upload on her website. Time melted away.
“I asked if you want a cuppa?”
Raven looked up blankly from her screen, her mind pulling ruefully from the creative space she’d been absorbed in.
Janette stood there by the back door, holding open the screen door. “Cuppa?” She was wearing a summer dress—flowy dark green with flowers on it—something typical women her age wore.
“I’m good, thank you,” Raven answered. She reminded herself that Janette meant well. The interruption wasn’t helpful. Her coffee sat mostly drunk, now cold.
“Did you want some morning tea?”
“I’m good.”
