When Storm Clouds Hover

25: Dom - Boating in paradise

Dom woke up to the familiar honking of his mother's geese outside his bedroom window. He was glad those pesky birds were early risers; they'd woken him up just in time as he wanted to get some riding in before breakfast. The farm was looking so good now that the rains had finally broken the long run of drought. Everywhere you looked, greenery was sprouting through the earth, as if the years without rain had meant nothing. Dom nudged Cole out of bed, and after a quick coffee, they both headed to the stables leaving the girls to sleep in.

When they returned, Izzy and Tal were already seated at the table with his Mum. By the looks of things, they were nearly finished eating and seemed to be getting on okay.

It probably helps that Em's not here.

While his Mum had said she liked Em, he'd noticed a certain reserve between the two of them when he'd brought Em home to the farm one weekend. What his mum really meant was she liked Em better than Pascal.

Dom had often wanted to tell Em that she tried too hard with his parents, and it came across badly, but he had never had the courage. He took a seat at the table next to Tal and Cole sat opposite. He remembered that Em had messaged him last night to wish him good night, and he'd missed it. He reached for his phone and sent her a quick message beneath the table. Immediately he heard a buzz in return. A glance at his Mum's face told him he'd need to wait until after breakfast to check his phone. Bec was quite relaxed about most things, but texting at the table did her in.

'What time will we head off?'' Cole asked Bec.

'I'm going to drive up a bit later,' she responded handing Cole a plate of eggs. 'You guys go ahead. There's no need to wait for me. You'll have your own set of keys to the house.'

'We were hoping to take the boat out today.' Dom reached over to take a plate from his mum, picking up the ground pepper. 'Is that okay with you?' he asked, glancing at his Mum.

'Sure. You know where the club is—behind the bottle-o. The keys are in the top drawer of your dad's desk.'

'Thanks,' Dom and Cole tucked into their breakfast with enthusiasm and were finished in a flash.

'You might want to check in with your dad if the club needs anything.' Bec said, as Dom stood up to leave the table. 'I think they need a password or something on entry.'

Izzy and Tal both offered to help clear the table, but Bec brushed them aside with a smile. 'You can help with coffee,' she said pointedly to Dom.

'Got you, Mum. I'll be back,' he said ducking into his dad's office.

Dom was grateful for the independence that his mum always tried to give him and for the fact that his dad would stay home this time. Being able to take the boat out on his own with his friends, was a sign his parents were coming to trust him more.

Later that morning after they'd had coffee and packed the ute, they set off on the drive to Uki. Once again Dom drove while the others exchanged stories and laughter along the way. As they passed through the other side of Grafton, Dom took in the large areas of scorched earth ravaged by bush fire. What was once forest was reduced to a ton of charcoal and ash; but the resilience of nature was such that greenery was already pushing through here too, bringing the bush back to life. The rains had brought hope but still, the land looked so desolate that the group fell into silence as they drove though, as though passing a gravesite.

Dom was grateful, his family had escaped the fires on the farm to date and hoped they'd never know such devastation. Drought was one thing, but losing everything you have in a bush fire, was a whole other story. He knew that despite the rains, the impact on the soil and water quality alone made it almost impossible for farmers to return from a bushfire event let alone the livestock and infrastructure loss.