Page 72 of Larapinta

Andrew’s eyes closed and his limbs tensed as Graysen used two fingers to prise his lips open. They’d both used the hand sanitiser in Sandra’s pack to clean their hands.

Broken teeth protruded from Andrew’s top gum and as Graysen gently probed around in his mouth, he could feel loose teeth on the bottom too. He couldn’t believe that Andrew hadn’t sustained a more significant head injury. He’d been able to walk and was lucid enough to respond to them. ‘Sandra, can you please crush three of those Panadol while I finish up here, and mix them into a small amount of water.’

A moment later, she handed him the lid of one of the water bottles with the liquid in it. It was a difficult and painful process but after fifteen minutes of persistence, the lid was empty and Andrew had managed to take most of the liquid.

‘I think what we’ll do is save that water for Andrew and we’ll share the other one. Tomorrow, I’ll top my bottle up as I head out. That wind’s turned cold and I don’t think it’s going to be hot tomorrow.’

‘Problem is the cold night ahead,’ she said. ‘We have to keep him warm. We don’t want him to get a chill.’ She looked down at Andrew who seemed to have drifted off into a deep sleep. ‘I think he’s running a bit of a temp, but hopefully that Panadol will bring it down.’

***

Sandra took a deep breath as Graysen moved away from her and sat with his back against the warm rock of the cliff. It had been hard for both of them watching Andrew go through that painful process. As they’d worked, the sun had disappeared over the cliff, and now half an hour later, the shadows were lengthening. It wouldn’t be long until it was dark. And it was going to be pitch dark. Cloud had come over as they’d worked, and even if the sky cleared, the moon was only a sliver.

‘Come and sit with me. The rock’s still warm.’ Graysen’s deep voice interrupted her musing. She repacked her backpack and placed it safely beside the rock. The rock that she was almost thinking of as home, as crazy as it seemed.

She walked over to Graysen and he held his arms open and moved his legs apart. She sat in front of him with her back to his chest.

‘It’s going to get cold pretty quickly, I think,’ he said as she leaned her head back against his shoulder. It still surprised Sandra how natural she was with Graysen. There was no awkwardness or thinking about what she was doing.

‘We’ll have to lie either side of Andrew and keep him warm later,’ she said. ‘I hope he gets through this.’ Sandra gave into a soft sigh and shivered as Graysen lowered his head and his lips brushed her cheek.

‘We’ll do what we have to, sweetheart. He’s going to be fine.’

Another exquisite shiver ran down her spine as the endearment rolled off his tongue.

‘Hopefully by this time tomorrow afternoon, he’ll be in hospital,’ he said.

‘We can only hope.’ Sandra snuggled closer to him and reached for his hand. ‘I’ll be fine here. I just worry about you out on that track.’

‘I hate the thought of leaving you here, but I promise I’ll be careful and I’ll move fast.’

‘Just don’t get lost.’

‘I won’t. How about you try and get some sleep now or would you rather eat first?’

‘I’ll save a jube and the apple for later. For dessert, and to brush my teeth.’

‘Sounds like a gourmet meal. I might choose the same from the menu,’ he said with a low chuckle.

‘I am a little sleepy now, so I’ll try to doze for a while. You rest too. Tomorrow you take most of those sweets with you, because you’ll need to keep your energy up.’

‘We’ll go halves.’

Graysen’s chest vibrated beneath her back as he spoke and with the feel of his arms around her, she felt cocooned and safe.

‘You know what?’ she said. ‘I should be a cot case after the state I was in a few years ago. I would have thought that something like this would have sent me spiralling down, but I don’t know if it’s because I’m stronger or if it’s because I’m with you, but I’m managing to stay calm. I know that you’ll look after me.’

‘Your calm and your care for Andrew shows your strength.’ Graysen’s breath warmed the side of her face. ‘You’re a strong woman, Sandra Porter. Actually, you know what? No matter what Maggie said about you being called Sandy, I think she was wrong.’

Sandra bit her lip as she thought of Maggie. ‘I can’t believe she’s gone. Maybe she’s survived like Andrew did?’

Graysen nodded and she knew he avoided answering her. ‘I prefer Sandra to Sandy. “Sandy” reminds me of that young woman out of that movie from years and years ago. The one who ended up dancing in the tight black cat suit. Marion loved it. I can’t even think of the name of it now.’

‘Love that you remember the black leotard!’ Sandra laughed. ‘It was Grease. My girls must have watched it a thousand times when they were in their teens. They’d be mortified if I went home and wanted to be called “Sandy”.’

‘Well, I’m going to call you Sandra from now on, because I think Sandra reflects the strong woman you are.’

‘Thank you, Graysen. Your respect means a lot to me.’