Page 10 of Larapinta

Ellie flinched. ‘Susan was a lovely woman, but that name, Sordina still sends a shiver down my spine.’

‘She made some poor choices.’ Sandra reached out and squeezed Ellie’s hand. ‘Let it go, love. I have.’

‘Yes, Mum. I can ninety percent of the time.’

‘And she had a beautiful son. Kane is a wonderful son-in-law too.’

‘She did, Mum. And he is a beautiful man. Nothing like that cranky pilot I thought he was the first time I saw him. And Susan would have loved James. Bloody breast cancer,’ Ellie said.

They were all quiet for a while. The year Ellie had met Susan’s son, Kane, had been tough. Susan had passed away, her second husband, Panos Sordina, who had been involved in the supposed suicide of Sandra’s husband, Peter, had been murdered too. Ellie had been attacked by Russell Fairweather, an industrialist who had been blackmailing the Chief Magistrate.

Emma chuckled to break the tension. ‘We bought magazines, and makeup with money Dad slipped to me before we left the farm.’

‘And we had lunch right here in this food court,’ Dru said with a smile. She nudged Ellie beside her. ‘Em and I had milkshakes and you decided you were going to be grown up—’

‘Yeah, Miss Tomboy Ellie,’ Emma interrupted.

‘And you ordered a cappuccino and spat it all over the table,’ Dru continued.

‘I did not. I spat it in a tissue,’ Ellie said.

It had been a wonderful afternoon, and when Ellie dropped Sandra back to her apartment, Sandra wondered why on earth she was going off to “find herself”. Things were pretty good, and she’d seen so much of the girls these past couple of weeks.

‘Did you pack your phone charger, Mum?’ Ellie asked as Sandra nursed James on her lap in the coffee lounge at the airport as they waited for her flight to be called.

‘There’ll be nowhere to charge that in the West McDonnells,’ Dru said.

‘No, we got Mum a battery pack. Remember?’ Emma said.

‘Just more weight to carry.’ Dru shook her head.

‘Once I get in the hotel and talk to the guide, I’ll see what they offer. I forgot to ask that when I called the company.’

‘Anyway,’ Emma said. ‘There won’t be much service out there.’

‘But Mum’ll still want her phone charged for taking photos.’

‘That’s true, Els.’

‘Hey you girls. I know you’re just trying to help, but I’m a big girl now. I have a small camera and two cards to store the photos.’

‘And a spare battery?’ Dru asked.

‘Yes, three.’ Sandra looked up as an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

‘Passengers travelling to Alice Springs on Air North, Flight 200, please make your way to Gate Seven. Your aircraft is ready to board.’

Sandra stood holding James, and Dru picked up her carry-on luggage. ‘You be a good boy for Mummy while Nan’s away, won’t you?’

‘I’m always a good boy, Nanny.’

‘I wish,’ Ellie said with a chuckle. ‘If you’d just sleep in your own bed at night, you’d be a perfect child, my Jimmy boy.’

‘You make sure you get lots of rest, Ellie.’ Sandra handed James over to his mother and took her bag from Dru when they reached the entrance to the air bridge. ‘And Emma, you’re working too hard, you look tired. Try to get some time off.’

‘What about me, Ma?’ Dru held her arms open for a hug. ‘What are my instructions?’

‘You, my baby child? You never do as you’re told. So, I won’t waste my breath.’ Sandra laughed as she hugged her six-foot daughter.