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“Oh, all right.” Kee wasn’t sure that would ever happen, but he was right, the car was like a neon sign for anyone looking for them. A different one might give them the breathing space they needed to make it to Darwin.
An idea began to form. Perhaps this was the chance she needed to let Wazza go. If he found her a new car, she could ask him to take her old car back to Stormcloud for her, where it’d be safe until she could come and claim it again.
“I think there’s a kid’s playground over there.” Wazza pointed to a spot overhung with trees between them and the road, and Kee could just make out the shape of a set of swings and a slide. “You can wait for me there, if you like.”
“Can we? Can we, Mummy?” Benni pleaded. Kee couldn’t remember the last time Benni did something as normal as playing in a playground.
She pushed the hair falling loose from her braid, tucking it behind her daughter’s ear, touching the tip of her nose affectionately. “Of course we can.”
Kee rummaged through their bags to find some toiletries and clean clothes and took Benni by the hand and led her to the right of the building, where the sign said ladies.
The amenities were old and shabby; the floor covered in sand, but the shower cubicles were bigger than she expected and the feeling of finally being clean for the first time in days overcame any of her distaste at the austere facilities. Benni sang her favorite song, while Kee worked up a lather of shampoo in her hair and Dolly sat on a ledge watching them both. For a fraction of a second, Kee wished Wazza were in here with her. She daydreamed of running slippery hands over that gorgeous cowboy body, all muscle and hard planes. A shiver ran through her at the thought, then Benni dropped the soap and all nefarious thoughts fled. What was she thinking? She’d already decided that last night was never going to happen again. And if Wazza managed to find her a new car, that might be all in the past.
They took their time getting clean, brushing their teeth at the sink, and she applying moisturizer, a luxury she didn’t often get time for. Then Kee stood Benni on a plastic stool in front of the vanity mirror and braided her hair while it was still wet. With no hairdryer handy, it was the best option. The heat of the day would soon dry it. Then she did the same for herself. Leaning into the mirror, she examined her face under the fluorescent lights. There were dark circles under her eyes, which were to be expected after last night’s pursuit of pleasure. She’d got used to wearing no makeup. There was no point while she was on the road every day, and it now felt like a frivolous pastime. Her brown skin was smooth and clear. Her eyebrows could do with a little maintenance, but otherwise she decided she didn’t look half bad, considering how she’d been living over the past month; the worry and doubt that’d been plaguing her. Looking closer, she decided there was also a glow about her that hadn’t been there before, either. She touched her cheek with her fingertips, remembering the feel of Wazza’s lips as they trailed down the side of her face, from her temple to her jaw and back again.
Kee stuffed their dirty clothes into her bag and thought about using the laundry. It was nice to be wearing clean clothes, and they’d run out soon.
But then Benni looked at her with big, brown eyes. “Can we go to the playground now?”
“Sure, bunny.” She packed up all their belongings and took Benni by the hand. “Just let me check it’s all okay first, all right?”
“To make sure Uncle Bruno isn’t there?”
Kee grimaced, but decided it was time to stop sheltering her little girl so much. “Yes, that’s right.” They’d already had one conversation about Bruno. And soon she’d need to find the right time to tell her she had a whole other set of grandparents that she’d never even met.
Kee held tight to Benni’s hand as they cautiously approached the playground. She could hear children’s voices raised in merry laughter, and Benni tugged, impatient to race over to the slide. They emerged from behind the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, and Kee stopped to observe the area. The playground was a large sandy bowl, with a set of swings, a slide, and a set of metal monkey bars, surrounded by large tropical trees with leaves as big as dinner plates, providing much needed shade. Two children, a boy and a girl, siblings by the looks of them, played on a large rope construction, built to look like a spiderweb. They didn’t stop their bickering, even as they noticed Benni and Kee approach. There were no adults in sight, which surprised Kee at first. Then she decided that this might be a good thing. If the parents were prepared to let their kids play unsupervised, this was probably a safe place to do so. Still, she observed the area warily, checking to make sure it really was safe.
Finally, she let go of Benni’s hand, and like a puppy loosed from a leash, Benni zoomed toward the park, making straight for the ladder up to the slide; her favorite thing in the world was zipping down the polished-metal, landing on her feet with a whoop and running around and doing it all again, and again, and again. Kee was often in awe of her child’s boundless energy.
Taking a seat in the shade on an old, wooden bench, she settled in to watch Benni. The day was already hot; the sun blazing overhead in a bright sky, the buzz of the cicadas almost deafening. Lethargy overtook her, and she had to resist the urge to close her eyes. This wouldn’t do, she needed to stay alert, keep her eyes peeled for any sign of Bruno or the police.
“Hiya, gorgeous.” A hand touched her shoulder, and she nearly leaped out of her skin, turning around with a squeak of fear. “It’s just me, sorry to scare you,” Wazza apologized, when he saw the fear on her face.
Kee took a deep breath, and then another. “No, I should’ve been paying more attention,” she admonished herself, as Wazza took a seat next to her on the bench. Benni waved at him from the rope construction—it seemed she finally had her fill of sliding, and had decided to join the other kids testing out their climbing skills. Wazza waved back, smiling at Benni’s antics. Then he lay a hand on her knee, in an unconscious move of comfort, and she stared at it for uncounted seconds. To the outside world, they might look like a happily married couple watching their child playing without a care in the world. If only that were the case. Kee suddenly desperately yearned for that fantasy to be true. She could see it, her and Wazza married, he’d take to Benni as if she were his own child, and they could live a simple life, together in Darwin.
“I think I might’ve found someone who’ll sell us a car,” Wazza said, bursting her fantasy bubble.
