‘Thanks, I appreciate that. It makes a bit of a change from your visiting here!’
‘I’m only sorry that it is for such a short time. Couldn’t you make it longer?’
‘Not really. I have to finish my course of lectures here before leaving, and the international flights are already booked. It’s a post-doctoral scholarship and I’ll be away for about six months, which is really a very short period of time for research. I arrive in Perth on TAA372. It arrives about six in the morning, an ungodly hour, so don’t worry about meeting me, I’ll just grab a taxi.’
‘No way. Wouldn’t dream of it. I’m an early riser so I’ll meet you at the airport. We’ll breakfast at Miss Maud’s on the way to my place. I’ll even take a couple of days off and show you around.’
‘Are you sure about that? I don’t want to interfere with your work.’
‘No that can wait; you don’t come this way very often and your visits over here have always been too short’
‘Well, that’s the nature of things. Always, busy!’
‘How do you fancy a trip to the forests in the south and the new wine areas? Or wherever you want to go.’
‘It all sounds great. We can make plans once I get there. There’s lots to talk about, and that’s not even thinking of the geology. By the way, how’s the Tertiary channel gold going?’
‘Not as good as I’d hoped. We’ll talk when you get here.’
‘Okay. I look forward to that. Cheers, see you soon.’
‘Bye.’ Petri put down the phone. He always greatly enjoyed Alec’s company and looked forward to his visit and the opportunity to talk shop. He was genuinely happy for Alec’s engagement but deep down he knew that, had he lived closer, Shelley would have been in his own sights for a long-term relationship, even marriage. Proximity was as important as compatibility and he lived on the opposite side of the continent. His frequent visits to Melbourne had been enough to establish good friendships but not long-term relationships. In any event he could not compete with and so betray his friendship with Alec. Poor Alec had suffered enough and deserved a second shot at life. Petri felt that he was going to be the eternal bachelor unless he changed career or made a substantial effort to socialise. He sighed and wondered how that could be done and still balance his. He met so few single women and those he could relate to seemed unable to understand his need for, nor his love of, the remote and lonely parts of the country.
He looked out the office window and gave another deep sigh before turning back to the maps spread out on the table. He tried to concentrate, but somehow thoughts of Shelley kept interrupting. She would have understood.
T he drab English winter was giving way to spring. Alec’s time in London was coming to an end, and he was looking forward to the visit from Shelley.
Christmas, her birthday celebrations and those of her much younger sister put family pressure on Shelley to delay. She spent the summer in Melbourne thinking it might be her last as a single woman. Now she was due to spend a fortnight in London, seeing the sights with Alec. Most of her friends were married but had travelled widely before settling down. She felt that at thirty she had not experienced enough of life. Apart from a trip to New Zealand with her family she had never been overseas. She took extra leave from the University in order to travel the long way around and spend a few days in Perth before taking a flight via South Africa.
Shelley spent a pleasant interlude in Perth. The weekend with Petri allowed the two friends to catch up on each other’s news, though Petri found it difficult to keep his emotions hidden. Apart from discussing the forthcoming wedding, Petri arranged a concert evening so the two could share their common interest in music. At a coffee house after the concert they enjoyed a heated discussion about Schubert’s influence on the development of classical music.
‘You are surprising knowledgeable,’ Shelley teased as Petri made his points.
‘And why shouldn’t I be?’
‘I thought geologists were almost artistic troglodytes.’
‘Just shows how wrong you are. Remember, I told you about my father introducing me to classical music?’
Petri continued to surprise her by discussing with her Schubert’s ability to create different moods simply by changing the key while retaining the same melody. He seemed as familiar with Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat major, Opus 90 as he did with the different types of igneous rocks in granite country.
‘You know Alec comes to concerts with me,’ Shelley said.
‘But really I think it’s to be with me rather than because of the music. He prefers it when we go to the movies.’
Petri laughed. ‘I heard Alec singing once and burst out laughing. He can’t sing a note in tune but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy good music. I know he enjoys listening to the classics.’
‘Oh, it’s all right. I’m not attacking him or anything,’ Shelley said, suddenly realising that she might have sounded a bit too critical of her future husband. ‘We do go to the concerts and he says he enjoys them but I’m not sure if it really is his thing. He much prefers to argue about books and movies. He has strong opinions and it’s sometimes hard to talk to him about different views. I reckon he just likes a good argument.’
‘I didn’t take it as an attack,’ Petri quickly responded, fearful that he may have exposed a jealous moment, recognising how similar his and Shelley’s interests were.
Shelley spotted a record in his collection that allowed the direction of discussion flow back to music, away from the personal. All in all, both Petri and Shelley enjoyed a delightful and enlightening evening and Petri ensured his underlying tensions never surfaced.
The following day Petri drove Shelley to the international airport to take the flight to London via Johannesburg. They hugged at the terminal gate and he said, ‘Give Alec my best and tell him that I look forward to seeing him on his return. Hopefully he can change his flight so he comes home through Perth and you can both stay a short while.’
‘Will do. Bye.’
Petri stood in the windows and watched until the aircraft flew across the Darling Ranges before turning north.