Part 30 (1/2)

'Seems we all have a lot of catching up to do,' said David. 'I'm looking forward to hearing about how things developed after you left Sarawak,' he said to Julie.

Julie took the cup her mother pa.s.sed her and sat down. 'Oh, the Elliott boys were great but their friend Christopher really made the breakthrough in finding Bette.'

'Jules, we wouldn't have even begun all this if David hadn't contacted us,' Caroline reminded her.

'Oh, I realise that,' said Julie quickly. 'You gave us our first clue.'

'So tell me all about it,' said David settling into his chair.

'I'm sure Mum has filled you in,' said Julie quickly. 'Anyway, we haven't talked to Bette yet. I hope your research with the Iban went well.'

'It's a never-ending process, really. I'll be going back in a few months. Do you think you will?' he asked.

'She'd like to,' began Caroline, but Julie broke into the conversation, fearful that her mother was going to say more about Christopher.

'I've run out of holidays, but we'll see. I have a lot to do at work at the moment. So, tell me, is there any progress with the bypa.s.s?' she asked.

'David is trying to find out more about the original bypa.s.s plans that the lawyer dug up,' said her mother.

'They sound interesting,' said David. 'But we have to find out more about them to see why those plans were rejected and if that information's useful to us.'

'So this is just a social visit? There's no dramatic news,' said Julie. 'Good to know you're still helping the cause, David. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to see Dad about some cuttings for my garden pots.'

Julie stayed in the garden, keeping her father company, until her mother called to tell her that David was leaving. She pulled off her gardening gloves and went to the bottom of the steps. 'Good to see you, again, David. Sorry I've been so busy with Dad.'

'That's all right. By the way, I have a lot of photos of our trip. Some good ones of you!'

'Terrific. Could you email them to me? I'm sure Mum and Dad would love to see them,' said Julie quickly.

'I'll be anxious to hear what Bette is like,' continued David, advancing closer. 'I wonder what she thinks about the continuing loss of orangutan habitat.'

Julie nodded and waved her muddy gardening gloves at him. 'I'm not sure that she's keeping up with all that sort of thing now. She is nearly ninety. Have to go and wash up. Good to see you.' She skipped past him up the steps and, avoiding her mother, went indoors.

'You didn't have to be so rude, so brusque to David,' said Caroline as soon as he had gone.

'Mum, he annoys me. He's just too pushy. Can't he see I have no interest in him?'

'You can't blame a fellow for trying,' said her father.

'And if it hadn't been for David, we wouldn't have known about Bette and he's been very helpful with the bypa.s.s campaign,' added her mother.

'I know, but think of him as your friend rather than mine,' said Julie.

'Well, I hope he continues to help us,' said Caroline pointedly.

'I'd say that David has a thick skin,' said Paul, grinning at Julie.

Two weeks later Caroline called Julie to tell her that Bette had made contact again.

'Bette's written another short note. She says that she's still busy painting for her exhibition. Can you believe it? She must have steady hands and good eyesight.'

'Let's hope it's hereditary,' said Julie. 'Does she say anything about meeting us?'

'Only that she's glad we've made contact. I don't think she realises how interested we are in her,' said Caroline.

'Let's just take things gently. You know, we could just go up to Cairns unannounced. When's her exhibition?'

'She doesn't say. When have you got time to go north? Do you have any clients up in Cairns you could visit?' asked Caroline.

'Not really. I've been more focused on Melbourne.'

'Maybe we we should phone her,' said Caroline. should phone her,' said Caroline.

'Why not? Say that we would like to come up for her exhibition, if we can.'

'Bette sounded lovely when I rang her,' Caroline told Julie. 'We didn't chat for long, but she told me that she lives alone, although a woman comes in each day to help with domestic things. The exhibition opens in three weeks time, to coincide with the long weekend. We could fly to Cairns for that weekend and it would be even better if you could manage to get an extra day off.'

'That's a fantastic idea. I'm sure I'll be able to arrange an extra day. It will be lovely up there this time of year. See if Dad can get time off and come up, too,' said Julie. 'Gosh, it's going to be interesting meeting an elderly Aunt Bette, when I've been reading about a headstrong adventurous young woman studying orangutans and living with the Iban in the jungle!'

Julie got a kick out of travelling to Cairns with Caroline and Paul. She couldn't remember the last time just the three of them had been on a trip together.

'What does Adam think of us taking off on this little family excursion?' Julie asked her parents, sitting across from her on the plane.

'To tell you the truth, darling, he doesn't care. I don't think he's looked at any of your photos of Malaysia. He's just wrapped up in the baby and finis.h.i.+ng the house,' said Caroline.

'I was feeling a bit out of the loop, too,' said Paul. 'But having read Bette's book about the Iban and the pamphlet about the orangutans, you get the sense that she's a very intelligent woman.'

They checked into a two-bedroom suite in a small European-style hotel.

'All very Tuscan, isn't it. Nice pool area, and the suite is huge,' said Caroline.

'A few too many Greek statues for me,' commented Paul. 'But the urns of flowers are nice.'

'And we're very central,' said Julie. 'Let's go for a walk and see what's around.'

'Not me. I'm going to sit out here with a beer and relax,' said her father, settling himself on a lounge chair on the balcony. 'I might go to the pool later.'

Julie and Caroline browsed through shops, ate a salad at an outdoor cafe, walked along the esplanade, chose a bistro they would go to for dinner and walked back to their hotel.

'I'm trying to remind myself that we're on a mission,' Julie said, linking her arm through Caroline's.

'Can't you just relax? At least for the rest of today and tonight,' said Caroline.

'Right. I just don't know what to expect with Aunt Bette,' said Julie.

When they arrived back at their hotel, Paul showed them the free local magazine he'd found on the coffee table in their suite. 'Here's an advertis.e.m.e.nt for her exhibition!' It showed a picture of some of Bette's paintings.

'Wow, look at those! They're exquisite,' said Caroline.

'Is there a photo of her?' asked Julie peering over her mother's shoulder. 'Those flowers are gorgeous. You feel you can pick them off the page.'