Country Retreat - 50. Country Home

“Just one more shop to go, for some essentials,” I said as we placed everything in the back of the vehicle and climbed in. A short drive later we arrived at a retail store, where I suggested that Hunter buy underwear, socks, and toiletries that he needs, which he reluctantly did before we set off southwards for Allendale East. After passing the first street as we came into town, I slowed down and indicated to turn right off the highway, onto Edmund Street, then right again onto William Street, and slowed right down as I approached my new home, which has a large hedge along the southern boundary fence, and I turned down the driveway and headed towards the back of the property.

“An old church, you live here?” Hunter asked in surprise, “Yes, and it is quite a nice place considering its age, but it is fully restored and very modern now,” I replied, as I came to a stop near the garage. “Damn, I forgot to do some food shopping, we will have to make a trip down to Port Macdonnell, which is only a short drive away,” I said out loud as I exited the vehicle.

I grabbed one of my suitcases and the armful of new clothes that I had recently purchased, before heading towards the ramp that leads up to the pergola and the back door, which I unlocked for the first time, smiling as I stepped inside for the first time as the new owner, and I looked around the dining area and kitchen nearby. As arranged, the new fridge had been delivered and was quietly running, so I presumed the rest had been delivered as well.

“Wow, this looks amazing, did you pick the furniture? It looks very modern and trendy,” Hunter asked, and this made me chuckle. “No, the previous owners were kind enough to sell the place nearly fully furnished, so I only needed to arrange for new white goods, and… bugga, another thing I forgot to buy,” I said when I realised that I needed more linen, now that I have a guest staying.

“Another item to purchase when we go down to Port Mac D?” Hunter asked me, and I nodded my head yes smiling at his abbreviation of the town name. “Ok. So you can have your privacy, you can have the bedroom upstairs, which has its bathroom. Sort out your stuff and keep one set of clothes aside, and bring the rest down to be washed, then have a hot shower, as I am guessing you haven't had one in a while,” I suggested.

“Not a hot one no, but I do wash every day, but it has been difficult to find places where I can do that,” Hunter replied, as he carried his suitcase and bags of new secondhand clothes upstairs. “Holy moley, I have my own lounge area too, this is…” Hunter said not finishing the sentence, as I heard him say ‘Wow’ when he entered his bedroom for the first time, as I went into my bedroom, where the first thing I did was make my bed with the linen that I did have with me, before starting to unpack my first suitcase.

Hunter was still in the shower when I headed outside to collect some more of my belongings, carting it all out of my vehicle and onto the pergola before starting to bring it all inside. After a while, as I was finishing putting all my clothes away, Hunter appeared at the doorway of my suite.

“Nice digs you have here, I think I will like it here, can I accept your offer please,” Hunter asked me politely, “Yes mate, you are welcome to stay. Do you feel better after the hot shower? Did you bring your clothes down to be washed?” I asked, and Hunter had turned his back away and didn’t respond, which I thought was a little rude, as I followed him out and saw him enter the laundry.

“Hunter, I don’t have any laundry detergent, we will have to wait until we get back from the shops,” I called out, and he soon appeared, “We need laundry powder,” Hunter said to me, “I just said that… wait a moment. Are you partially deaf?” I asked as I used sign language, “Yes, and I am glad that you know Auslan sign, my batteries must be getting low,” Hunter replied in just sign, and I smiled.

A few minutes later, we had locked up and travelled out of town and south to Port Mc D as Hunter calls it, and just five minutes later we arrived in the coastal town, which has a population of about 650. The general store had just about everything, including some camping gear, but it didn’t have what I needed in the way of additional linen, which annoyed me, and after buying a few small items, we headed back to the house.

“That wasn’t much of a shopping trip?” Hunter said to me, “No, mainly because we have to head back to Mount Gambier, to get the main items I need, and we might as well do the main food shopping while there,” I replied, as we placed the items I did buy into the fridge, before we set off again, stopping briefly at the local general store. “Hello again Oscar, how can I help you today?” Clare asked when she saw me approach the service counter, “Hi Clare, I want to arrange a post box if you have any available please as I have just moved into town,” I said to Clare, “Sure, but we have none available so will just holding mail for you here do, or do you have a residential address… Hunter, what on earth are you doing here?” Clare said out loud on seeing my new friend.

“Oh shite…” I heard Hunter swear softly, before beginning to sign, “Hello Clare, I have been homeless for a few months now, since Mum went into Hospice Care, and my step-dad kicked me out of the house,” I saw him sign, “You know Hunter?” I asked, “Yes, his mother and I grew up together and were best friends. How do you know him?” Clare replied. “I am a staff member of TAFE SA and Uni SA in Mount Gambier, and I have noticed him around the place and tried to help him where I can and when he will let me help,” I replied.

“Mr Kingston has given me some work helping him to move into his new home, in exchange for some meals, a place to sleep over the weekend and some new secondhand clothes to wear,” Hunter explained, which surprised me a little as I thought it would be longer than just the weekend that he would be staying. “Yeah well, being a counsellor, it didn’t take me long to spot that he was having a hard time at the moment, so I offered to help him out,” I added.

After organising to have my mail sent to the Community Post Office, we set off once more, back up to Mount Gambier, where we went to the large department store to buy a few sets of bedding, doonas, pillows, towels, and I also bought some basics that I needed for the kitchen, like cooking pots and pans, utensils, eating cutlery, tea towels, non- metal cooking items, for heating in the microwave.

At Hunter’s suggestion, we wandered around the whole store and ended up buying heaps of stuff for the house, which we loaded into the vehicle before heading to the supermarket to buy heaps of food, with Hunter once again taking the lead on what to buy. When we finally arrived back home, once all the frozen and cold food had been put away, Hunter started up a load of washing, before returning to the kitchen to help wash up all the new items, drying them and putting them away in the cupboards.

Once that was done, Hunter went outside to explore the gardens, and he came back inside sometime later with a handful of different herbs, some oranges and lemons, which made me smile. Waiting to catch his attention, I signed to him, “I am glad you are good at cooking, as I just know the basics to stay alive. I have been spoilt that I have had someone to cook for me, and it is clear now that I need to learn more, and I do hope that you will be staying a lot longer than just the weekend,” I signed to Hunter, who laughed.

“Yes, I will be staying longer, I just didn’t want Clare to know just right now, that is all,” Hunter signed, and I nodded my head in understanding. “Do you like the garden? I asked out loud when he was facing me, “Yes, it is wonderful. I am going to enjoy spending time out there, as I find it very therapeutic working in the garden,” Hunter replied. During dinner, Hunter wrote out a timetable of his classes at Uni, so I knew what days and times he was attending lectures and tutorials, with there being one day – Wednesday when he had no on-campus commitments.

“Will you be ok here on your own all day, if you stay home on Wednesdays?” I asked, “You are going to let me stay here alone?” Hunter asked in surprise, “Yes, as long as you look after my home and don’t wreck it, you are welcome to be here any time, just treat the place well,” I replied, “Awesome, that would be great thanks, I can spend part of that time in the garden, and doing my laundry and studies too,” Hunter said happily.

As I parked my vehicle in one of the garages at the back of the property, I was looking at all of the empty space and wondered what on earth I was going to do with it all and on hearing a noise close to me, I jumped in fright. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Hunter said to me, “That is ok. I had some stuff happen to me when I was younger which as me on edge sometimes, so just be aware, not to frighten me, and don’t ever hug me, as they may trigger my anxiety attacks,” I informed Hunter.

“You get anxiety? And you’re a psychologist? Well, that is something different,” Hunter said to me, “Yeah well we all have our own issues to deal with, and that information is for you to know only, no one else, understood?” I said to Hunter sternly, and he nodded his head in understanding. “The front two rooms have desks and no beds, can I use one of them as my study please?” Hunter asked me, “Yes, that is fine, but sometime next week I will get a proper large desk, bookcase, desk lamp and chair for you to set up in your lounge area upstairs,” I responded.

The following day, we travelled back down to Port Macdonnell to spend the day at the beach, and we spent some time checking out the Maritime Museum, walked along the foreshore, where we found three Penguin Statues, and after a short drive further east, just past Racecourse Bay – population of 30, we checked out the coastal bird hide, where there was an enormous number of various birds including black swans.

On the way back to Port D, I slowed down and turned onto a side track at the No. 1 Mistead Drain and stopped about 250 metres later near just a few hundred metres northwest of Pointe Des Coreaux. “It is very wild out here, lots of constant winds and sea spray,” I commented as we exited the vehicle to look at the view. “But also very remote and peaceful too, which I don’t mind at all,” Hunter added, as I turned to look back towards the road.