The Reef by Di Morrissey Page B

answered a barrage of questions. Christina busied herself in the kitchen, ignoring the group still gathered around the dining table.
    Jennifer closed the dishwasher. ‘Come on,Mum, let’s join the others. We have to go soon. Lots to do at home. And I have to get ready for uni tomorrow.’
    â€˜Well, I suppose you can forget all about that now.’
    Jennifer winced. ‘Oh no, Professor Dawn has been great. I’ll be able to get a lot done on the book on the island without distractions and classes.’
    â€˜And how long will you be at this place? I don’t imagine the likes of us will be able to afford to come and visit.’
    â€˜I’m sure Blair can arrange a family rate. Unfortunately we won’t have our own place. Just a suite with its own garden area but it looks lovely.’
    â€˜You’ll live in two rooms? What about all your things? Your place here?’ Christina was aghast.
    Yeah, tell me about it. ‘Storage, Mum. We’ll rent Blair’s house. We plan on saving as much as we can.’
    â€˜It’s your house, too, don’t forget, Jennifer. You won’t be earning any money. Does he give you housekeeping money?’ she asked suddenly.
    â€˜Oh Mum, that’s so old fashioned. I might be able to get a job in the resort or on the island.’ Fat chance. Blair is management and that puts paid to hiring family.
    â€˜Do you have a phone in your room? When are we going to see you? It all sounds very odd.’ Christina’s voice trembled.
    Jennifer gave her a swift hug. ‘Come on, Mum,it’s not so bad. Just think of it as one long holiday. People pay a fortune, come from all over the world to visit the reef. We’ll get you over there or meet you on the mainland in Queens land for a visit.’
    Christina brightened visibly. ‘I suppose I could take holiday leave. What’s this island called again? Not that I plan on going. But a visit up the coast would be nice.’
    â€˜Mum, let me get settled in first! It’s Branch Island. Off Headland Bay. Way up north. Come on, let’s join the others.’ She took her mother’s hand and drew her outside, catching Vi’s eye who gave her a ‘Well done’ nod.
    Blair went ahead to Branch Island to ‘settle in’, leaving Jennifer to drive Blair’s car, crammed with belongings, to Headland Bay. She’d sold her old car and put the money in her personal account. It would take her two days to drive, but Jennifer enjoyed being in her own space after the hectic weeks of packing up, rounds of farewells and reorganisation of their life. Without Blair around she had packed two big cartons of books, despite his repeating that they should take as little as possible.
    â€˜You don’t need many clothes. It’s all very laidback. Just something nice to wear to drinks with guests occasionally. If you have any questions call Rosie, she’ll tell you what not to bring.’
    â€˜Who’s Rosie?’
    â€˜The manager, on the island. The bosses are in Sydney, you met them.’
    â€˜So she’s your boss. On the island.’ Why was she pleased to know Blair would be answering to a woman boss?
    â€˜I have my instructions from corporate headquarters. She’s been there for yonks. Probably a bit out of touch, though she has good local knowledge, I suppose. She’s not circulating through the hotel chain like I will be.’
    â€˜Let’s hope!’
    â€˜Listen, Jenny, this is a kind of trial. The big boys have their eye on me. I’ll be doing a bit of everything at the resort, to get the feel of how these boutique places work. It’s different from a big international hotel where you hardly get to meet three-quarters of the staff. I’ll be putting in long hours.’
    â€˜And I’ll be working on my tan,’ she said flippantly, but he chose to ignore it.
    The packing process brought home to Jennifer how few