into the hall,
closing the door and locking them in together. She sat on the side of the bed
and helped herself to a bran muffin, which she slathered with jam and grated
cheese.
“It’s quite a tale, actually,” she said, “and neither George
nor me’s ever told anybody before. But we know all about youse now, so I guess
I don’t mind.”
Evelyn started on her eggs and bacon, waiting for the other
woman to continue.
“Mason bought this place ’bout ten years ago. ’Round that
time, my George had just been let go from his job. He was a shift supervisor on
the mines, and earned a pretty good wage, but they had redundancies, and his
whole team was ’mongst those they let go. He was a bit old to go starting over
at a new mine and we had some savings, so we bought the property next door
here. We thought we’d have a go at a bit of farming.”
She finished her muffin and reached absently for a bowl of
yogurt, which she held but didn’t eat. Evelyn could see that she was lost deep
in her memories.
“It was a lot harder than we thought. In the first year, so
many things went wrong we used up all our money. We worked damn hard but we
didn’t know what we were doing. Looked like we were gonna lose the farm, and we
didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was ’round ’bout that time when George
started hitting me.”
Evelyn gasped. “He hit you? Oh no, Edna, I’m so sorry! You
can stop if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I’ve started now, so ya may’s well hear it. One night
he laid into me pretty badly, and Mason heard us. He’d been out with a sick
horse in one of the paddocks near our side, and I guess he heard me screaming.
So the next thing we knew, he burst in our front door and he knocked George
clean out. Broke his nose. Then the next night he came back again, but I was
ready for him. I had a wooden fence post, and I told him I’d kill him if he
laid another finger on George.”
By this time Evelyn had also stopped eating. Although
horrified by Edna’s story, the thought of her threatening Mason with a fence
post was absurd.
“What did he do?” she whispered.
“He laughed at me. Then he said he’d come back to find out
if I still wanted to be with George, and I told him of course I did!”
“You wanted to stay with him even though he beat you?”
“Don’t ya judge me, missy! Ya wait ’til you’re my age and
you’ve learned a thing or two ’bout life. I love George and he loves me. He’d
never raised a hand to me in all the years I knew him before. He was just
breaking his heart over the farm and the money, and he didn’t know what to do.
That’s what I told Mason that night too.”
“But, Edna, you’re a victim. There’s no excuse for what he
did. You don’t have to stay with him. I know you’ve never told anybody about
this, but I know what to do. My job is helping people like you. There are
places you can go—”
Edna cut her off with a snort. “There ya go judging again.
I’m no victim. That was a decade ago, and he’s never laid a finger on me since.
That man spends every wakin’ minute trying to make it up to me for what he
done, even though I forgave him years ago.”
“But—”
“There’s no buts . He’s not gonna do it again.” She
leaned forward and fixed Evelyn with a glare. “I know what people say, but
sometimes a man makes a mistake. A terrible mistake, maybe, but still a
mistake. An’ if he’s a good man, when he realizes what he’s done, he’s sorry
right through his guts, and he’ll never, ever do it again. Then ya gotta
decide. Do ya throw it all away, his life and yours, or do you give him another
chance? Sure, I could’a left George. Would’a enjoyed it, paying him back for
the hurt he caused. But where would I be now? In some old-age home somewhere?
Or living in the back room in my daughter’s house, being a burden on her
family? Instead I’m living in paradise here, in a big house with air
conditioning, and I got
closing the door and locking them in together. She sat on the side of the bed
and helped herself to a bran muffin, which she slathered with jam and grated
cheese.
“It’s quite a tale, actually,” she said, “and neither George
nor me’s ever told anybody before. But we know all about youse now, so I guess
I don’t mind.”
Evelyn started on her eggs and bacon, waiting for the other
woman to continue.
“Mason bought this place ’bout ten years ago. ’Round that
time, my George had just been let go from his job. He was a shift supervisor on
the mines, and earned a pretty good wage, but they had redundancies, and his
whole team was ’mongst those they let go. He was a bit old to go starting over
at a new mine and we had some savings, so we bought the property next door
here. We thought we’d have a go at a bit of farming.”
She finished her muffin and reached absently for a bowl of
yogurt, which she held but didn’t eat. Evelyn could see that she was lost deep
in her memories.
“It was a lot harder than we thought. In the first year, so
many things went wrong we used up all our money. We worked damn hard but we
didn’t know what we were doing. Looked like we were gonna lose the farm, and we
didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was ’round ’bout that time when George
started hitting me.”
Evelyn gasped. “He hit you? Oh no, Edna, I’m so sorry! You
can stop if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I’ve started now, so ya may’s well hear it. One night
he laid into me pretty badly, and Mason heard us. He’d been out with a sick
horse in one of the paddocks near our side, and I guess he heard me screaming.
So the next thing we knew, he burst in our front door and he knocked George
clean out. Broke his nose. Then the next night he came back again, but I was
ready for him. I had a wooden fence post, and I told him I’d kill him if he
laid another finger on George.”
By this time Evelyn had also stopped eating. Although
horrified by Edna’s story, the thought of her threatening Mason with a fence
post was absurd.
“What did he do?” she whispered.
“He laughed at me. Then he said he’d come back to find out
if I still wanted to be with George, and I told him of course I did!”
“You wanted to stay with him even though he beat you?”
“Don’t ya judge me, missy! Ya wait ’til you’re my age and
you’ve learned a thing or two ’bout life. I love George and he loves me. He’d
never raised a hand to me in all the years I knew him before. He was just
breaking his heart over the farm and the money, and he didn’t know what to do.
That’s what I told Mason that night too.”
“But, Edna, you’re a victim. There’s no excuse for what he
did. You don’t have to stay with him. I know you’ve never told anybody about
this, but I know what to do. My job is helping people like you. There are
places you can go—”
Edna cut her off with a snort. “There ya go judging again.
I’m no victim. That was a decade ago, and he’s never laid a finger on me since.
That man spends every wakin’ minute trying to make it up to me for what he
done, even though I forgave him years ago.”
“But—”
“There’s no buts . He’s not gonna do it again.” She
leaned forward and fixed Evelyn with a glare. “I know what people say, but
sometimes a man makes a mistake. A terrible mistake, maybe, but still a
mistake. An’ if he’s a good man, when he realizes what he’s done, he’s sorry
right through his guts, and he’ll never, ever do it again. Then ya gotta
decide. Do ya throw it all away, his life and yours, or do you give him another
chance? Sure, I could’a left George. Would’a enjoyed it, paying him back for
the hurt he caused. But where would I be now? In some old-age home somewhere?
Or living in the back room in my daughter’s house, being a burden on her
family? Instead I’m living in paradise here, in a big house with air
conditioning, and I got
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