New Beginings - 16. NB Chapter 16

The veranda runs the full length of the front three rooms, and is 3 metres wide for plenty of entertainment space, with folding windows from the kitchen for easy access” Seb said to me, just as the twins reappeared from their end of the house. “Come see our rooms Huon” the boys said in broken English, as they grabbed my hands and dragged me to the north wing of the house.

When I returned, from seeing the boy’s bedrooms, Seb’s room, the school room and rumpus room, Annette and Kyle were sitting in the lounge room waiting for me to appear. “I am sorry it is taking so long to remember you, Annette.

Little bits and pieces are coming together slowly, and being here today has helped me to remember some more” I said to Rev.

“Well as long as you are on the road to recovery, that is the main thing” Annette replied with a smile, and I faced Kyle and frowned for a moment, “Is it Kyle, that is your name?” I asked, the teenager standing in front of me, “Yes my friend, you have that right, I am Kyle, it is good that you remember” Kyle replied with a smile, and I spend the next twenty minutes going through every room of the house, and trying to get use to the surrounds.

“Mum and I moved your things to here, when Sebastian called us, to let us know that you had remembered a lot of things about him and the twins, we thought it best if you stay at your new home with your cousins” Kyle said with a smile. “Thankyou” I said in reply, as I sat down on a chair on the verandah overlooking the river.

“This is a magnificent house, thankyou Seb for having it built for me, I think I will be happy here” I said as I looked out towards the river, “Now you can have a bird’s eye view of the Avon Descent race each year that it is on” Annette said to me, and I frowned, as I did not remember what this thing is called the Avon Descent.

“It is ok, you will remember things bit by bit.

The Avon Descent is Australia’s longest white-water race, held in August each year, the other things we need you to remember before then is your university studies, I have spoken to the Dean of Veterinary Science, he has agreed to defer your studies, until you have fully recovered. We will discuss that some more later in the year, as you have missed half a semester, and the second semester is about to start.

I have also spoken to Tom and Margaret at Douglas on the Falkland Islands, they are pleased to hear that you are alive and well, and they look forward to seeing you again, hopefully in November when you usually fly back there for six weeks” Annette said to me. “How far away is that?” I asked as I had lost track of what day or month it is, but I guessed that it must be winter, as it was cold, and all the grass was green again.

“It is July 16th, I have to go back to school tomorrow, mid year holidays are over” Kyle said in a disappointed tone, and I saw his mum chuckle at this comment, “The Avon descent is only three weeks away, so we are inviting ourselves to come and watch on that Saturday morning” Annette said to me and Seb. “That will be fine, maybe we can see if Tom and Margaret can come over for a week’s holiday, I will be happy to pay for their travel costs” Seb replied, “Brilliant idea, I will give them a call tonight, when it is morning over there” Annette responded.

Once Kyle and Annette had left to drive back into town, I sat back down in the lounge room, where the wood stove was burning, which was keeping the house nice and warm. “Why did you build the house so high up?” I asked Seb as he handed me a cup of tea and sat down opposite me, “Because we are just fifteen metres from the river bank, and rivers often flood when there has been heavy rain in the region” Seb replied with a smile.

“I remember being on a big boat, I think it is your boat” I said after a period of silence, with just the faint noise of the boys playing in the rumpus room nearby. “That is right, I own a multi-purpose ship, called the Southern Explorer, it is in Albany on the south coast of here, and in six-weeks time it will leave again, on it’s supply run to the sub Antarctic research stations between Australia and South Africa” Sebastian replied.

“Will you be going away in six weeks?” I asked feeling a little frightened of being here in this big house on my own, “No cousin, I am staying right here, to help you fully recover from your injuries, this is our home now too, you, me and the twins” Seb replied, and I smiled, “I think I will like that” I replied.

“I have a local lady, Mrs Cooper, who has been coming here three days a week, to do the house keeping for us, and she cooks some meals, in bulk, so we don’t have to get takeaway or go into town for meals. I am not the best cook, as we have always had house staff to look after us at home in Switzerland” Sebastian said to me, “Can I afford to pay for a house keeper? I asked, “I’m not sure, but I can, so don’t worry about it” Sebastian asked.

For the rest of the day I relaxed in my amazing new home, and Sebastian heated up some dinner for us, before ensuring the boys had a shower and prepared for bed, and I retreated to the study, where I found a laptop computer on the large natural wood desk, and I saw that the office was fully fitted out with a printer scanner, telephone, and all the necessary supplies.

When there was a knock on the door, and it opened, Sebastian appeared and smiled. “Hey, are you ok, do you need anything before I head to bed” Seb asked me, “I wish I could remember everything, it is just frustrating” I said getting upset, and Sebastian stepped towards me and wrapped me in a hug, “It is going to take time cousin, just rest and relax, and it will all come back to you eventually” Seb replied.

“But what happens if it doesn’t come back, what about that place... and my studies at...” I said trying to remember the name of the place that I went every year, and where I was studying. “Don’t worry about any of that now, they know that you are not well, you just need to concentrate on getting better” Sebastian said to me. I headed to my room, and after a quick shower, I climbed into bed and went into a restless sleep.

For the next two weeks I settled into a steady routine, I liked Mrs Cooper very much, she was very kind, and happy to help me with anything, I kept myself busy with planting more trees around the homestead paddock boundary, using the insurance money, Sebastian assisted me to buy a tractor, with some attachments, mainly a small plow and a front loader bucket, plus a small machinery shed to store it all in, and a water tank at each end of the shed. so some small jobs can be done around the paddock.

Sebastian and I spent long days digging holes and planting eucalyptus trees, and although I didn’t mind the hard work, Sebastian was finding it difficult, as he was use to an easier life. I was still not remembering much of what happened, apart from what I was told. I was looking forward to seeing Tom and Margaret, even thou I do not remember what they look like, and I keep forgetting the name of the place where they are from.

Sebastian kept reminding me that they would be arriving on Thursday, just in time for the Avon Descent this coming weekend, and we prepared for their arrival, with the assistance of Mrs Cooper. Sebastian had made all of the arrangements for their travels, including the train ride from Perth to Toodyay, and at 10am Sebastian, the twins and I arrived at the train station, just as the train was arriving.

As a couple stepped off the train, I was shocked and surprised to recognise them, and I smiled. “Hello Tom and Margaret, I remember you... and you have come all the way from the Falkland Islands” I said happily and we hugged each other warmly. “That is a positive improvement, it is the first time that Huon has recognised people, that he hasn’t seen since the accident” Sebastian announced.

“Well we are very pleased to hear that” Tom replied and Margaret gave me another hug, “It is so good to see you both again, I have missed you both, how is the farm going?” I said to the visitors. “It is good, and your horse misses you” Tom replied. “Sophie, her name is Sophie” I replied, “That is right, you remember her?” Margaret said, and I nodded my head, yes and smiled.

When we arrived at the homestead, I gave our guests a tour of house, I had relinquished my bedroom, for them to use, and I moved temporarily into one of the guest bedrooms, also Mrs Cooper had moved temporarily into the homestead, occupying the housekeepers quarters, while our guests were staying. I had asked Rev and Kyle to come for lunch today, to meet Tom and Margaret, as Rev had been keeping them updated on my progress, since I was discharged from hospital.

Once Kyle and Rev had arrived, Seb helped Mrs Cooper, by starting to cook the meat on the BBQ on the front verandah, and I had bought some local red and white wine to accompany the meal, with grape juice for the twins, as we sat around the large outdoor table on the verandah, overlooking the river, which was at a reasonable level for the Avon Descent this weekend. After a delicious meal amongst good friends and family, Tom and Margaret retreated to their room for a rest, to try and recover from all of their travelling, while Seb, Mrs Cooper and I did the cleaning up and washing, and the twins went to the rumpus room to play quietly.

Kyle and Annette sat in the lounge room, relaxing until we had finished with the clean-up, before we enjoyed some tea and good company in the main lounge, “So Huon, we hear that you have some of your memory back, what are your plans now?” Annette asked. “I think I would like to try this coming trip on the Southern Explorer with my cousins, if he will let me” I said with a smile as I looked towards Sebastian, who smiled and nodded his head yes, “and spend summer at the Falkland Islands, before coming back to continue my studies, if the university will let me” I added.

“Mrs Cooper, you will be paid your weekly wages, whether we are here or not, or you can join us on the Southern Explorer, and sail from Albany to Cape Town and onto Stanley in the Falkland Islands” Sebastian announced, and Mrs Cooper looked quite shocked at this news. “Thank you for the offer, but boats and I do not mix well, I get sea sick very easily” Mrs Cooper replied.

“Very well then, but you must join us in the Falkland Islands for Christmas, all expenses paid, it is about 30 hours in total travelling, you will have an overnight stop in both Auckland and Santiago, before you arrive in Stanley on the Saturday” Seb announced to her.

“You see, there is only one commercial flight in and out of the Falklands, and it is on a Saturday each week, and that brings me to my plan, that I have been organising, I only just remembered it a few minutes ago. Annette and Kyle, I have arranged for you both to have a two-week holiday in the Falklands over Christmas, Reverend Allenby will be covering your services here in Toodyay, and it meets the approval of a number of senior parishioners” I announced to Rev.

“So thats what you have been chatting to the ladies about straight after church on Sundays” Annette said, “yes, sorry, it was suppose to be a surprise, and I already know that you both have passports, so that is fine, we just have to arrange your tourist visas for Santiago” I replied. “Do you have a passport Mrs Cooper?” Sebastian asked our housekeeper, “Why yes I do actually, I went to the UK a few years ago, after my husband, Norman had passed away, to see some cousins that I hadn’t seen in a long time” Mrs Cooper replied.

“The farm has a two bedroom guest cabin, so Annette and Mrs Cooper can share that, and we can set up a spare bed at my cottage for Kyle, but Seb and the twins will have to stay on the ship, there is a bay not far from the farm, where it is deep enough for the ship to anchor, unfortunately the river that runs past the farm is not, or they can travel by road to the farm from Stanley, which takes 90 minutes” I explained.

“Or we have plenty of room on the ship for all the guests” Sebastian added, “yes that is the other option” I said with a smile. “Well it sounds like that you have it all planned out and organised, so I guess we are taking a christmas holiday” Annette replied, “Yippee” Kyle said loudly then remembered that Tom and Margaret were resting, “Sorry” he whispered, and he quietly jumped up an down with joy, which made me laugh.

“Next week I will take you and Kyle and Mrs Cooper, into the city, so we can sort out the tourist visas for Chile, you won’t need one for the Falklands, as Australian citizens are exempt from requiring one” Sebastian said to Annette who smiled. “I guess I can make an announcement on Sunday that I will be away for two weeks over christmas” the Rev said, and we just smiled, and nodded yes.

Kyle, Sebastian and I drifted out to the front verandah, leaving Mrs Cooper, Annette and the guests in the main lounge, and for a few minutes we just looked out to the river, “you know, it would be fun to try the Avon Descent one day” Kyle commented, “Or we could have an inter-school kayak race on the upper Avon” I added, “Yes that would be great, we could have it a week or two after the main race, maybe we should try it out to see if its possible” I added.

A few hours later, after Kyle and Annette had left, and our guests had arisen from the afternoon nap, I took them around the 92 acre, homestead paddock, which was still recovering from the fire, and was fairly bare apart from the trees that Sebastian and I have been planting, over the past two weeks. Meanwhile Sebastian took his brothers into town for an ice cream, since they had been so good over the past few days.

During the short tour of the paddock, I explained that the remaining 850 acres is leased out to a neighbour farmer, and that the income from the lease, and my education fund, I am able to attend university and make the regular trips to the Falklands. I also mentioned that until recently, I thought I was all on my own after my father died, but it turns out that my mother and Sebastian’s mother were sisters.

I added that it was Sebastian who had this new homestead designed and built, to replace the one that was burnt down, while I was in hospital for nearly three months. As we sat down for dinner in the dining room, we could hear the rain pelting down on the roof, which had started just before sunset, and as the twins were preparing to go to bed, I helped Mrs Cooper to clean up, before I went to have a shower, and returned to the lounge to find Mrs Cooper chatting with Tom and Margaret.

“Hi, sorry to abandon you like that, I just needed to have a shower, I am still trying to get use to a routine in my new home, so I have been having a few anxiety issues lately” I explained, “If you will excuse me I am going to retire for the night” Mrs Cooper said with a smile before heading off to her quarters, leaving just me with Tom and Margaret. “Do you think you will be ok for the trip to FI?’ Margaret asked.