Page 53

Chapter Fifty-Three

A bi woke once again to a debilitating queasiness that had her on her hands and knees dry retching. Finally succumbing to the nausea that gripped her, she threw up. She sat back panting and Mackenzie’s gentle hands were comfort on her shoulders.

“You need a doctor. I think you’re really sick.”

The concern in his eyes was raw and true. Her chin quivered. Their love was so real, she didn’t want to spoil it, but she couldn’t hide the truth any longer. She’d been suspicious for a few weeks, certain for a few days. The nausea, her continual exhaustion and sore, swollen breasts were undeniable signs. She was pregnant.

Mackenzie smoothed her hair. “It’s okay, honey. We’re going to make it. I know it.”

“Mack.” Tears spilled over her cheeks. The moment had come; she stared into his light brown eyes, anticipating his reaction. “I’m sorry, Mack, but I’m pregnant.”

His jaw dropped, his brow furrowed, his eyes pierced hers. “You’re pregnant? We’re having a baby?”

He jumped up and spun in the air. “I’m having a baby,” he yelled into the surrounding trees. “Abi, oh my God. This is amazing. How did you … when did you?” He pulled her to his chest squeezing her so tight she couldn’t breathe.

Overwhelmed with relief, she crumpled into his embrace .

“You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. I’d accepted that I’d never have children. A baby … we’re having a baby.” He pulled her back from his chest, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Then his eyes lit up. “Show me.”

“Show you what?”

“Where the baby is … your pregnant belly.”

Delirious with happiness, she lifted her shirt and laughed as he eased her back onto the ground and his fingers glided over her flat stomach. He then surprised her by pressing his ear to her smooth skin. “Hello, my little bubby, it’s your daddy here.”

She cried tears of joy as she threaded her fingers through his hair. “I’m so glad you’re happy.”

“Happy? I’m ecstatic. I just want to jump up and scream, tell the whole world.” And he did exactly that, dancing about the bushes yelling at the top of his voice. “I’m going to be a daddy. Me … Mackenzie Steel … a father. Woo hoo.” He punched the air with his fist, then he ran back to her and fell to his knees.

A serious look crossed his face. “How many … how much?” He still couldn’t find his words.

She guessed his questions. “I think I’ve missed three or four, maybe five periods. I wasn’t really taking notice. I’ve never had to worry about birth control.” She dropped her eyes. “The day Spencer found out I was pregnant with Krystal, he made sure he’d never have any more children. Anyway … I guess I’m anywhere between three and five months pregnant.”

Holding both her hands; fear showed in his eyes. “We need to move faster now. You need a doctor and the sooner the better.”

“I know.”

He wrapped his arms around her, kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. “We’ll make it, Abi. All three of us.” He clenched his teeth, squaring out his jaw, and the look of determination in his eyes was the most powerful thing she’d ever seen.

The days, nights and weeks that followed were a whirlwind of grunt and determination, but the never-ending river continued to stretch out before them like an enormous umbilical cord. Abi succumbed to her tiredness and the hours they spent walking decreased dramatically.

She was constantly hungry, but they’d been fortunate with the discovery of Charlie’s Ozioxidant berries, as they gave her an energy boost she desperately needed. She chewed on their collection of the dried-out fruit at every opportunity.

The river grew clearer with each day’s hike, fewer crocodile tracks were a welcome relief and Mackenzie continued to find food with an uncanny ability.

One day they discovered a billabong where Mackenzie speared a foot long barramundi fish clearly visible in the water. Eating fish for the first time in months was like discovering a new sense in her body and Abi savoured every morsel of the white flesh. They devoured the entire fish in one sitting.

The scenery gradually changed again. They no longer had to navigate their way through unyielding shrubs. The landscape was more like an open savannah. The knee-high grass was easier to push through, but the downside was the lack of shade and relentless heat.

Mackenzie rubbed mud over their exposed skin to avoid crippling sunburn. They both resembled creatures from a B-grade horror movie when he was finished. Termite mounds as tall as Mackenzie and shaped like mud cathedrals dotted the area. In the moonlight, they looked eerie and haunting, like men in heavy robes walking through the field.

As the days turned into weeks, Abi’s stomach hardened, her fingers and ankles swelled and each night she had to elevate her legs to reduce the throbbing.

They continued to walk with the river on their right-hand side and often risked a refreshing, albeit brief, splash in the water at the end of a hard day. They ate well as they travelled up and around many small waterfalls. Mackenzie expertly speared fish, frogs and eels in the rock pools at the bottom.

At the end of one hot afternoon, Abi heard a deep rumble in the distance and looked to the sky with trepidation. It’d been a couple of days since the last downpour, and she preferred to sleep in a dry bed. She frowned at the scattering of white fluffy clouds across the clear blue sky, but the rumbling continued to gain depth and consistency.

Light water spray hung in the air like a morning fog. We’re approaching another waterfall. Her anxiety was replaced with relief, and she picked up her pace. One of the pleasures of following the river was stumbling upon a waterfall. They often used it as a rest stop and she likened it to watching a fire, as she could relax and stare at both for hours.

“This one must be a biggy!” Mackenzie read her mind.

An enormous bowl revealed itself below them. Abi stood at the top of the rocky ledge looking down into the enchanting scene. The river tumbled over a natural rock wall into a large pool about thirty metres below. The water then cascaded down yet another waterfall before it carried on in an aquamarine-coloured stream that stretched as far as she could see.

“Looks like a nice place for a skinny dip.” Mackenzie raised his eyebrows at her.

“You’re on.” Abi melted at the thought of clean, fresh skin.

They navigated their way down the steep cliff by traversing along a narrow track and Abi wondered if the paw prints in the dirt were from a dingo. At the bottom, Mackenzie helped her over the last rock hurdle and onto a flat rock at the lagoon edge. The bottom of the pool was easily visible even though the water was an interesting aqua colour.

“It looks good,” Mackenzie yelled above the roar of the tumbling water. “Come on, get your gear off.” He tore off his filthy clothes and stood naked before her. She never tired of looking at his well-toned body. His physique was a work of art with sculpted muscles and flawless skin.

Abi stripped off. Her clothes fell in dirty clumps onto the rock.

Mackenzie stepped into the pool first, steadied himself and then reached up for her. She glided into the water and welcomed the embrace of the cool, refreshing liquid. The weightlessness was heavenly on her aching back and she stretched out, floating with her pregnant belly protruding from the water like an island. Mackenzie duck dived, briefly showing his white bottom cheeks before he disappeared beneath her.

She closed her eyes, letting the water wash away weeks of dirt and rejuvenate her weary body. Mackenzie popped up beside her spouting like a whale, and laughing, she splashed a wall of water over him.

“This is magic.” He swam toward the waterfall and vanished in the cloud of fine spray.

Her rough hands were the perfect scrub for removing embedded grime and the return to clean skin was like a youth potion. She raised her left leg and marvelled at how long and dark her leg hairs were as she scrubbed her knee and calf free of sweat soaked dirt. A shimmering object on the side of the pool caught her attention and frowning, she swam toward it. Her eyes widened as she recognised what it was.

“Mackenzie.” She turned to where she last saw him. The moment he resurfaced she called out to him again.

He wiped his hair out of his eyes.

“Come look at this.” As he arrived at her side, she pointed at the object.

“A can! Jesus, Abi, you know what this means? We’re nearly there.”

She grinned at him. This was the first sign of civilisation they’d seen in months.

“Yee haa!” Mackenzie splashed heavily into the tepid water.

But Abi didn’t share his excitement. She wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to be found. Although she’d welcome a hot shower and a soft bed, she didn’t want to go back to the pathetic existence she had previously called her life.

Mackenzie swam up beside her. “Excited?” His boyish grin was barely visible beneath his overgrown beard.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. It’s everything. I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“We’ll be all right.” He blinked at her, his eyes soft and caring.

She tried to lighten her mood. “But we’ll never skinny dip again.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Or be stuck wedged against each other in the middle of the night.”

“I bet we will. We’re so used to it now; we won’t be able to sleep any other way.”

Abi laughed. He was a master at looking on the bright side.

“This is serious, Mack. We’re about to return to our previous lives. Lives with family and work and friends and … and I don’t want any of that. I just want you.”

“I know we’re going to have some serious readjusting to do but?—”

“Readjusting? More like being reborn. Nothing out here has been real life. What if our love can’t handle real life? ”

“You’re wrong. Everything out here has been real. From eating croc eggs, to sleeping in a soggy bed two metres off the ground. Our love has conquered every obstacle thrown at us during this ordeal, so our challenges at home are going to seem like floating in this pond in comparison.”

She shook her head at him. Mackenzie lived in a never-ending world of optimism. But she wasn’t so certain. “I think it’ll be harder.”

“You don’t know that, Abi. Nothing from your previous life is going to be the same as it was before. You’re about to be a mum again, your daughter will be a sister, you’ll be caught up with Spencer’s financial affairs, not to mention our wedding.” He raised his eyebrows.

Her stomach dropped. Mackenzie had just unleashed an atomic bomb. “No, Mack, don’t do that to me. I’ve been down that road once before.” She shook her head adamantly. “I don’t want you proposing marriage just because I’m pregnant with your child.”

“I’m proposing marriage because I love you. I want the three of us to spend the rest of our lives together.”

She stared into his honey eyes, searching for the right words. “You know I love you too but, like you said, we don’t know what’ll happen when we get home. It will be mayhem.” She reached for his hand. “If what you say about the strength of our love is true then your proposal can wait until everything has settled down.”

“But—”

“Shhh.” Abi pressed her finger to his lips. “There will be plenty of time for our wedding.”

Clearly, he wanted to say more, but he left the conversation alone and reached for the can. The faded tin screeched as he wiggled it from its trap between the two rocks. It crumbled easily under his touch and as he turned it over, she noticed how much the beer can had faded; the section exposed to the sun was almost white although the underside remained dark blue.

“This has been here a very long time.” His smile flattened.

She felt selfish for not sharing his excitement and was momentarily at a loss for words. The first sign of life since the crash could’ve been left here decades ago. She sensed it was her turn to show strength and searched for something inspirational to say. “If there is one thing I’ve learned out here, it’s that no matter how tough things seem, there’s always something positive to come from every situation.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “Oh yeah, so what’s good about this?”

“Well for starters, it proves we’re not the only humans on Earth.”

His laughter was unbridled and refreshing.

Abi continued, “And it proves people were once in this area and it shows we’re going in the right direction.”

“Okay then. What was good about the crash, Miss Always-Look-On-The-Bright-Side?”

She laughed. “Heaps!” She cocked her head in defiance. “We survived. We found each other. There was enough food on the plane to get us through until you learnt how to hunt. Do I need to go on?”

He splashed water at her. “It’s usually me boosting your spirits.”

“Well, that’s what a good relationship is about, yin and yang. Mars and Venus. Fire and water.”

“When did you become a relationship expert?”

“I’ve learnt to listen to both myself and you.”

“After you stop yabbering, you mean.”

Abi feigned shock at his comment and then jumped onto his shoulders, pushing him under the water.

After their swim, Mackenzie decided this was their campsite for the night and declared the flat rock at the edge of the pool as their bedroom.

That night, they made love to the sound of the roaring water and Abi fell asleep with hope in her heart.