She held the steaming cup up for his inspection.
He stared at her for a moment longer, then his face broke into a smile. It was a warm smile, and again Jeanette felt her breath being taken away. He took a couple of steps toward her. Focusing diligently on the cup, he reached out his hands. It took him a moment to grasp it in his big, workman hands. Once he was sure he had the cup, he took a step backward finding the wall to prop himself up with. His legs held him up long enough to take a first gulp of coffee. After that he slid down the wall and settled heavily on his bottom. This caused some of the coffee to splash out of the cup on onto him. While Jeanette was sure that that would burn, it didn’t seem to bother him.
He let out a huge sigh. ‘Thank you. I think I’m a little … overdone.’
Jeanette let out a snort, ‘Ha, only a little?’ She was watching him, sizing up the situation and how this stranger may react. Jeanette only knew of one drunk, her Dad, and he had loved her. That had been how she thought every person acted when drunk.
Jeanette could remember her Dad going out on a Friday night, and coming home early in the morning. Jeanette would only hear a commotion and a lot of shouting, and Dad would then sleep well into the next day. A couple of times Mum had bruises in the morning, and usually told Jeanette that she had done something to herself in the garden. She knew that Mum didn’t like gardening that much to be working that hard in the garden. Dad never hurt or yelled at Jeanette. ‘Looks like you can hardly stand up.’
He took another drink of the coffee. ‘Yeah, two pot Pilman at your service,’ he said in a mocking tone.
‘Pilman? Is that your name?’
He sat, staring at the ground. He let out a whinny, reminding Jeanette of a horse, before he said, ‘Richard. Richard Pilman.’
Jeanette was satisfied that this guy was not going to do anything too random for a while. She slid back inside and returned with the bucket and mop. Richard was still on the ground, drinking the coffee.
She plunges the mop into the bucket and drew it out. ‘I haven’t seen you around before. What are you doing here in Cobar?’
‘Me and the lads finished up a shearing shed just west of here. The skipper has given us a bit of a break until the next shed. May ‘ave celebrated too hard today.’ Richard finished off the rest of the coffee in his cup. ‘Great coffee. Could I get another?’ Richard held the empty cup up, looked up at Jeanette and said ‘Please?’
Jeanette was dumbfounded. She was only half way through cleaning up the mess on the floor. He had used his manners and was polite, she couldn’t help but grant him his wish. She grabbed the cup and went off the kitchen to make another coffee. When she returned, Richard was asleep.
She gave him a gentle kick with her foot. ‘Aye, knucklehead. Do you want this coffee?’
Nothing else came from him than an incoherent muttering. ‘Great’ Jeanette spat sarcastically. ‘Well, not letting this go to waste.’ She had a sip of the coffee, put it down next to Richard, and continued cleaning up the veranda.
By the time Jeanette finished cleaning up the mess, and the chores on her list in the kitchen, she realized that the time was way past her finish time. There was no sign of Bill and Debbie, the street was deserted and the hotel had closed. Now what was she to do with this man? She didn’t really want to leave him on the veranda, he could catch his death of cold. And what would Bill and Debbie say if they found him on the doorstep when they get back.
She locked up the doors and did a final round to make sure all the lights were out. She looked down at her own clothes and they were now stained with the aroma of stale booze and vomit. Another ounce or two wouldn’t bother her. After a short deliberation, she resolved to take him home, and give him shelter for the night. There was something about him she couldn’t put her finger on and that intrigued her.
Once she made up her mind, nothing would stop her. She quickly scanned the road again, in the hope that someone would be able to help, but there was no one in sight. ‘Well, this had better be worth it’ she said as she bent over to him, putting her shoulder under his and heaved him to his feet. He was not light, and not very helpful. Lucky for Jeanette, she didn’t have that far to go.
In the early hours of the morning, Jeanette unlocked her front door. They both stumbled in and crash spread eagle across the floor. Retrieving herself from under the heap, Jeanette surveyed the mess. She felt exhausted, but knew she wouldn’t sleep peacefully until she had taken care of Richard and herself. As she was standing there, a soft snore eased from his lips. Jeanette smiled. He even snored cutely, but between her sweaty, spew soaked clothes and his alcohol stench, she was not going to be able to sleep. She was sensitive to aromas. In her house everything goes by her rules, and she had to get those clothes outside to the laundry. Now was not the time for modesty. Her house, her rules, whether he liked it or not.
She carefully rolled him onto his back. He toppled over quicker than expected when he got over his balance point, and landed with a heavy thud. Jeanette held her breath for a second. When a snore arose from his open mouth, she breathed a sigh of relief and carried on. While unbuttoning his shirt, she realized she was enjoying the curves of his body. It didn’t look like it, but under his shirt were some very refined muscles. Looks like the shearing work was keeping him in good physical shape. After sliding him out of his shirt, she pulled off his boots and socks.
She paused for a moment, looking him over. He looked striking without his shirt, and his tangle of hair half covering his face. Very peaceful. Was it too far to take off his pants? His heavy breathing gave away his deep sleep. If she left them on while all wet, he could be more likely to catch pneumonia. They needed to come off and go to the wash. He wore a big belt, and the buckle was harder to unclip than she anticipated, but she persisted until it opened. The button and the zip were effortless, and then she wrestled his pants down his well-muscled legs.
With him now down to his underwear, she dragged him to the sofa, and heaved his body onto the cushions. Jeanette went to the hall cupboard and retrieved a blanket which she used to tuck him in. She was happy. She had done all that she could for him. Now it was her turn. She grabbed the pile of dirty clothes from the floor and took them to the outside laundry. There, she took off her own clothes and left them all in the sink to soak. She went to the bathroom and soaked the days troubles away with a hot shower.
On her way to her bedroom, while wrapped in her towel, she stopped in the living room for one last look at Richard. He was now quiet and peaceful. A little smile crept over her lips and now completely exhausted, she collapsed into her bed.
Day of a New Beginning
At 10:35am, Jeanette’s eyes snapped open. The sunlight was streaming through her window and had woken her as it hit her face. Her first thought was the big football game. She didn’t know if Bill and Debbie would make it back in time, and she still had the meat to grab before the cafe could open. Even worse, when she looked at the time, she was late. No time to waste, she threw on some clothes, grabbed her shopping list and was out the front door.
‘Good morning, Sunshine! Bit of a late morning for you isn’t it?’ came the warm, smiling greeting from Bruce the butcher as she exploded through his door. The butcher was already busy, as the rest of the town needed their snags for the football game fundraising as well. Jeanette pushed her way to the side of the counter for her preferred customer treatment, which on days like today, she was thankful for.
‘You have no idea’ Jeanette managed to get out. Bruce was a welcoming face to see in the morning. She had been dealing with him almost as long as she had been working at the
