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36
2ndMay 1958
Melbourne, Australia
Nacha smoothed the tablecloth over the white Formica table and smiled.She set a fresh vase of cut flowers in the centre of the table, then carried the plates of scrambled eggs, pancakes and toast to the table.
They were having an English breakfast to celebrate life in their new home, an apartment above the fruit shop that Jan had established a few months earlier when they first arrived in Melbourne, Australia, as new immigrant refugees.
“Breakfast is ready,” she called.
Four-year-old Andrew and two-year-old George came barreling down the short hallway from their bedroom into the kitchen.Andrew climbed into a chair at the table while George fell short and landed on the laminate floor.
When he cried, Nacha went to him, scooped him up her arms and set him on the chair with a kiss to his chubby cheek.
“No need to cry, my love.You’re not hurt.”
She spooned eggs onto their plates, along with pancakes with butter and honey.
Jan came jogging up the stairs from the fruit shop, his apron wrapped around his waist and a smile on his face.At thirty-three years of age, he was more handsome than ever.He had a golden tan, was strong and fit, and his generally happy demeanour had a chance to shine every day now that their lives were free from danger and tragedy.
His missing teeth had been replaced by dentures soon after they arrived in Australia, and his smile was wide and full of genuine joy.They both had scars, invisible to most, but they were healing, moving on and building a new life together as a family.He loved it here—they both did.She hadn’t felt as safe and happy in a long time as she did now.
“It’s close to opening.I have time to eat, then I have to go.”
She kissed him, then he rushed to wash his hands at the sink.
“It smells delicious.”
Nacha served food onto a plate for Jan and set it in front of him at the table.“Will Mama and Tata be coming over soon?We’re going to the market, and it’s already late.”
“They should be here any moment.”
“I wish you could come with us.”
“I’ve got to work.Sorry, honey.”He winked at her as he chewed a bite of eggs.
She laughed.“I know.I hate being away from you, that’s all.”
They’d been married thirteen years and had finally made it to a safe haven.Somewhere they could start their lives again.A fresh beginning without any reminders of the past to get in their way.Europe was still struggling to its feet, but Australia was almost untouched.
The country had lost many sons and fathers in the war, but only the northern tip had experienced conflict.The rest of the land was as it had been before the entire world was thrown into years-long battles twice in the space of only a few short decades.
It would take Nacha a while to get used to her new home.Winter in Melbourne was cold and rainy, but could also be hot.It seemed to fluctuate day to day.There was no snow on the ground, and the locals shivered under thick coats in the cool wind that she thought of as nothing more than bracing.She hadn’t weathered a summer yet, but she’d heard it could get insufferably hot.
They lived in the suburbs of the second-largest city in Australia, and they’d only driven their used car outside the city a few times.The countryside was wild and mostly empty, with stretching green fields and long, jagged coastlines that nibbled at an ocean so brightly blue, she couldn’t look at it without squinting.
She sat at the table with the rest of her family just as Mama and Tata burst through the back door.The door stood at the top of a staircase that ran down the back of the building to a parking lot behind the fruit shop.Tata had used the key she bought for him and couldn’t get it back out of the lock again.He struggled with it, swearing beneath his breath as Mama carried an armload of food and groceries into the kitchen.
“Good morning, my loves,” Mama said, bending to kiss both boys on the cheeks.They were eating and didn’t stop chewing, preferring instead to slap egg-y kisses on her face, making her laugh as she wiped her face clean with a dish towel from the kitchen.
“How was the traffic?”Jan asked.
Nacha knew he meant, how did you find the drive?Tata and Mama were new to Australia as well and Tata had decided to embrace the entire culture and way of life by purchasing a second-hand Holden station wagon and driving every day even though he’d never driven much back in Poland, and it’d been on the other side of the road.
Jan worried about them, but Nacha didn’t let it bother her.They’d been through so much already, there was no way anything could hurt them now.
“Antoni always forgets about staying on the left when we get to an intersection,” Mama said with a chuckle.“I have to remind him ‘Stay to the left, left, left’ as we turn.”
