Del screeched and held her hands over her face. Too late—she was soaked through. The sound of laughter reached her ears and she looked up at the gate. Blake and Bluey stood outside the yard shaking their heads, tears streaming down their faces as they watched the circus inside the yard.
Her lips twitched and before she could help herself, laughter sprang from her throat, bubbling out to turn into full gales of joy. Her shirt was plastered to her skin, shorts soaked, and her manicure was well and truly ruined with what nail polish remained now peeling off with the shampoo and water. But it didn’t matter. She was having fun doing something never before tried, and the kids were more relaxed than she had seen them since her arrival.
When she had calmed down and regained what threads of sanity she retained, Del took the hose from Lilly and ran it over the dogs coat until no bubbles remained.
“Okay, grab the next victim, Royce.” The sound of the men’s voices faded as she got stuck into the job at hand. When both the dogs were washed, she screwed the lid back on the bottle and turned off the hose. “Right, let the dogs go back down to your dad and we can get changed into something dry.”
She watched Royce open the gate and let the dogs out. They immediately sniffed around the dirt and dust of the driveway until they found an interesting patch and rolled on their backs, kicking their feet in the air in ecstasy as they rubbed the dust into their clean-for-a-couple-of-minutes coats.
“No, no stop them. They’ve just had a bath, for goodness sake.” Del raised her hands in horror. The dogs stopped rolling and stood up, shaking the dust from their once clean coat before running down to the shed.
“They always do that. It’s a dog thing.” Royce was watching her with an exasperated look on his face as if she should have known what would happen. With a shrug of his shoulders, he followed them down to the shed.
“Well, that made the whole job worth it.” Frustrated, she took a towel from the step and dried Lilly as best she could before stripping the sodden clothes from the child and patting her skin dry, wrapping the towel under her arms to hold it on until she found dry clothes. “Best you go and get something else on, lovely.”
She glanced up as a car rattled over the cattle grid and headed down the driveway toward them. The dust cloud got closer and Del raised a hand to shade her eyes as she watched the little red car come closer.
“It’s Aunty Sue.” Lilly jumped up and down on the spot before racing to open the gate, the towel barely staying put. As the dusty little car pulled up, she ran to the driver’s door.
Del glanced down at her wet clothes and shrugged her shoulders. Too late to change now. She walked out of the yard with a genuine smile on her face. Sue was a wonderful character and it would be good to have another woman to talk to.
“Sue, how nice to see you.” Del leaned in and gave her a gentle hug. The older lady wrapped her arms around her shoulders and slapped her on the back.
“Well just look at you.” She pushed Del back and shook her head, her gaze travelling up and down her body. “Guess they’ve managed to knock some of those big city ways down, hey?”
“I guess you could say that. It’s great to see you.” Del pulled the wet shirt from her body, knowing her lacy bra was showing. A chill settled on her skin and the need to change into something dry beckoned. Looking down at her wet shorts and the dog hair sticking to her pale legs, she shook her head. “Not really dressed for company, am I?”
“Yeah well, out here we don’t worry about that kind of thing. I thought it was time I made the effort to come out and see the kids, and I was wondering how you were managing. My only day off, you know, so I have a lot to do usually. How are they treating you?” She leaned back on the car and Lilly clung to her, resting her head on Sue’s stomach, letting her stroke the wispy blonde curls.
“Good. It’s all been rather an experience, as I’m sure you can understand. How about I go and put the kettle on? I’ll change into some dry clothes, then we can have a good chat over a cup of tea. Coming with me for dry clothes, Lilly?”
“She’ll be fine in her towel. I’ll bring her up in a minute, if that’s okay?”
“Um, sure. I’ll get something for her to put on then and see you at the house.”
“Sure, sounds good to me. I’ll go down and say hi to the boys. See you inside soon.” She took hold of Lilly’s hand and together they walked down the dusty drive to the sheds. Del fled to her room, dropping the wet clothes on the bathroom floor. Not taking time to shower, she rubbed the towel over her damp skin before rummaging through her suitcase for a more suitable outfit. She was brushing her hair when the sound of footsteps sounded at the back door.
Del walked out, tying her hair back in a knot on the top of her head. Sue had pulled out a chair at the table, Lilly clinging to her. A small stab of jealousy made her start. It was understandable the child would love seeing family but, after having her all to herself, Del felt a little bit put out. “Right, a cuppa.” She filled the kettle and turned it on, leaning
