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Oh God, Mum, Ash’s house, my friends, Jet! Everyone I knew was in danger.
I immediately called Mum. Voicemail. I tried again and no answer. I left a message asking Mum to call me as soon as she could and hung up.
I dialled Jet’s number, and I almost cancelled the call when he finally answered.
“Ari, hey.”
“Oh my God, Jet! Is your house okay? What about your animals? What about you?” I practically yelled down the phone. Several patrons swivelled towards me.
“I’m okay, babe.” He sounded so tired. “Animals are okay, for now. Neighbour’s keeping an eye on them. How are you? You in Broome?”
“Who cares about me! Jet, are you going to lose your farm?”
“It’s bad out there, not gonna lie, but the firefighters are amazing, and they’re doing a great job; I’m safe, and that’s what matters.”
A sob escaped my lips.
“Fuck, are you crying? Ari, I’m okay, I promise.”
“I just … thought I might have lost you.”
He sighed. “I’m okay, baby. You’re not going to lose me.”
Hearing the smile in his voice gave me some comfort. “I wish I could hug you right now.”
“Wouldn’t say no to that.” He chuckled. I heard my name and Jet’s in the background. “Hey, it’s your mum. Yeah, Debra, it’s Ari. Sure, here you go.”
“Ari! Darling! It’s just madness here at the hall?—”
“Mum! Where is your phone? I’ve called you twice, and you didn’t answer!”
“I dropped it, and it’s ruined now.”
“Wait, why are you at the hall? Have you been evacuated too? Has something happened to Ash and Cody’s house?”
“No! Good lord, dear! I’m helping with the Ballydoon Ladies Auxiliary. Making my famous beetroot salad for the evacuees and firefighters. We’ve got a roster for helping in the kitchen at the hall to do meals.”
“You’re cooking.” Only God could save Ballydoon now.
“No need to sound so horrified, Ariane. You like my beetroot salad!”
“Put Jet back on, please, Mum.”
Mum huffed but complied.
“Hey,” Jet answered.
“You can’t let her serve beetroot salad. It’s just bloody awful. I mean, like so awful, you’d rather deal with the bushfires.”
“You want me to stop your mum from serving salad?”
“It has tinned asparagus in it! Ash and I called it the stinky pee and poo salad because it makes, well, you know.”
Jet laughed. “Asparagus and beetroot have a certain effect on the body.”
“Yes! You can’t let her serve that!” I waved around me. “You have to save the firefighters from Mum’s helpfulness.”
“You can count on me to save the brigade.”
