Ben Dixon and The Long Paddock

By R L Humphries

Cattleman and journalist Ben Dixon has gone west, leaving behind his cattle property Dixon Hill at Monaldo, in Queensland, Australia,and his difficult wife,Milly. She's been convinced she's pregnant, even though Ben and her doctor tell her, that, at 49. there's little chance of that and it's just her time of life. On learning that Ben's correct she turns on him savagely and Ben wearily sets out for his beloved Western Queensland to call on people he wrote about years before in an award- winning newspaper series, and to distribute some of his and Milly's considerable wealth among landholders doing it tough. He's well-received wherever he goes and finds plenty of people needing help. But word gets out and people start to pursue him for a hand-out. Ben tires of eluding them and joins a drover,Oscar Brown, and his wife Belle, to go on a cattle drive down the Long Paddock, a Government stock route which is used to walk cattle and sheep to railpoints and to other properties.He had promised Milly a 25th anniversary reavowal in a Melbourne church with pealing bells and men in morning suits but had told her to call it off, as he departed. But on the peaceful cattle drive he realises that Milly's problems were not of her making and he begins to think of her more and more, and decides he'll try to make it to the reavowal ceremony after all, if it's still on. Milly meanwhile is broken-hearted at his departure and realises that she'd behaved pretty badly. She hasn't called off the ceremony and with 15-year-old daughter Mim sets out to find Ben and persuade him to the reavowal. They track him through one friend of Ben's after another and find that he's worshipped in the West. They have a couple of threatening moments but protect themselves with gun and knife, developing a reputation as they pass through, getting closer to Ben. They catch up with Ben on his cattle drive and Ben and Milly are re-united. Milly joins the drive but getting to the ceremony presents many problems....

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483530864

Book preview

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Chapter 1

Ben

My adored wife, Milly Dixon, thought she was having a baby, at the age of 49, but it was not to be.

When the possibility emerged, it was all just a faint hope. But, after telling me on Christmas night that she suspected she was pregnant her restrained excitement got out of control. She’d been waiting for my reaction and when I said the words, ‘I’d welcome a baby’, followed by many qualifications about her wellbeing, away did my beautiful wife go! I don’t think she really took in my conditions for completion of the pregnancy, which was Mil’s way sometimes. She saw and heard only what she wanted to see and hear. I was worried about any risks to her and thought I’d spoken firmly, but all that was apparently wasted.

Oh, she acknowledged them alright but, in a few minutes, they were all forgotten, as she started to kiss me in gratitude. She entered a cloud of joy and excitement which carried her through until we were able to see our regular doctor, Tim Anderson, in Monaldo, who was on vacation. It took four weeks and all the vital signs of pregnancy apparently remained, so, each morning, Milly glowed even brighter, believing that each day confirmed her belief.

I tried to bring her gently back to earth and she sat and listened or lay in bed beside me at night, and listened, but I didn’t want to cloud her great joy and didn’t ram things home as strongly as I could have or should have.

As everyone knew, Ben Dixon could be pretty forceful when he had to be---and softly loving with Milly nearly all the time.

I was the lucky recipient of her expressions of joy---kisses, hugs, long embraces, much lovemaking; watching her skip down the main street of Monaldo when shopping; trying to catch up to her when out bike-riding in town and horse-riding out at the property.

Came New Year’s Eve and Milly was almost uncontrollable as she dressed in a beautiful blue dress, bought in Melbourne for the occasion. When we walked in the door of the Shire Hall, she brought many admiring looks and she was beautiful—glowing as I’d rarely seen her. She didn’t look 49. She exercised a lot and with her clear smooth skin, her fabulous blue eyes and her blonde hair swinging down to her shoulders, she was a traffic-stopper, and I was very proud to be her husband and escort.

On the way she asked me if we could have every dance together. That sure suited me but was not entirely courteous to the others in our party. Mil smoothed through that by addressing them thus, ‘You’ll all understand that Ben and I have had a difficult time lately so I hope you’ll understand that I want to have every dance with my gorgeous man tonight.’

The others were surprised but we certainly had been through a testing time, and everyone knew it, so they immediately understood. Mil and I were good dancers and I have to say that there is nothing---nothing--- in the world like the feeling of Milly Dixon in one’s arms. She sings softly and she has a beautiful voice. She smells and feels so sweet that, whenever I dance with my wife, I fall more in love with her.

When the ball ended, we walked the long way home in the moonlight until Mil snapped off a heel of her high-heeled shoes clowning around on the bitumen road and then I picked her up and carried her, with her head resting on my shoulder and her soft lips just occasionally touching the corner of my mouth. I took my time.

In this glorious time our daughter Mim, now nearing 15, detected the excitement, asked a few questions and accepted that it was just Mum and Dad being in love, after a few bad scenes. We could have told Mim—she was mature, but both Mil and I pulled back. Why, I wonder?

And Mim knew what we were talking about alright. A couple of years ago, Milly had gone to Melbourne, ostensibly for three years, to work in TV, leaving her family, including a small Mim, behind. It was all unbelievable and I was thinking divorce until I discovered that Mil had been blackmailed into going so she could protect a friend of ours, who’d got himself into all sorts of strife. I flew to Melbourne to join Milly in a replay of our old Ben and Milly TV series, the blackmailer had fled my wrath and after a great reunion, I brought Mil home and there were no more thoughts of divorce.

Ben Dixon and Milly Bartlett had met as reporters on the Brisbane morning daily, the Courier-Mail, fell in love and were married in Monaldo a year later. Mil was from Melbourne but estranged from her parents. I won’t pretend our marriage was all plain sailing. Mil was very ambitious—no children was her first stance, but she changed her mind. All our efforts were unrewarded so she set out to become the best reporter in Australia and she damn near achieved that, but it came at a cost to our marriage. I’d been ill and decided to call it a day in our marriage and came home to be a cattle man in Monaldo. I left the ambitious one in Brisbane, climbing the ladder to success.

We didn’t talk much during this crisis and I was unaware that Mil was bound by a contract and had fought hard to get through it so she could rescue our marriage. She did complete the contract, saw that I’d departed the family home, had a breakdown and then drove to Monaldo to beg me to have her back. Of course I did and we settled into a marriage that produced three beautiful children. Then the TV business in Melbourne came up. We’d been parted for two years before I got to Melbourne to rescue her and the lovemaking with a very fit and youthful Milly was intense.

And that’s where the idea of the hoped-for baby came from or, more likely, in the beautiful, beautiful nights together since, making up for lost time.

As the time for our medical appointment neared, Mil kept testing me to reinforce that I wanted a baby. I was now becoming a bit concerned at the intensity of her hopes and kept trying to get through to her that I wouldn’t consider it if the suggestion of any risk to her came up... even just a splinter of such suggestion. Mil always agreed but I knew I hadn’t planted that deeply enough in her beautiful head.

Tim was back and we were among his first appointments. I was not excited.

I knew that if there was a letdown, Milly was so high in the clouds that the landing could be hard.

I’d do my best to break her fall.

Chapter 2

Milly

I just know that Ben and I are going to have this baby. Ben would tell you that I’m a very private person even though I do try to open up to him. I certainly had opened up to him about the baby on Christmas night and he wanted it too! I was joyous.

Oh, he had a few reservations and I promised that, if there were any possible complications---no baby. We didn’t talk abortion but it was there—the elephant in the room. But just the thought of a little Ben made me feel so womanly, so feminine, that it was all I could do not to shout it from the rooftop. Damn Tim, our doctor, for going on holidays, but I didn’t want to go to the locum. And waiting for Tim has built up the excitement.

Ben has been trying to get me back to earth and I’ve been trying to help. I know I’m 49 and that the chances of being genuinely pregnant are not great, but I refuse to believe it’s a false alarm. No, it’s not.

I’m having a baby! I’m having a baby!

But I’ll be careful. I promise you that, baby. I’ll be careful with my exercises and with riding horses and even with riding my bicycle. Ben’s hovering like a guardian angel and I love him for that. I love him for everything.

We had a marvelous time at the New Year Ball in Monaldo. We had every dance with each other and then he carried me most of the way home and I was in his arms and I was in heaven. I loved him well that night, but always conscious of baby.

I think all this started in Melbourne when Ben came down to rescue me after two years apart. When I left, Ben was not pleased. In fact he was very angry and Ben rarely gets angry. He talked divorce and, among other things, told me that he would now be available for any woman who fancied him. I got a big fright. But he didn’t mean that he’d be out there hunting. He meant that any woman who fancied him would know he was free and single. And my husband is a hunk, no mistake! It still frightens me and when I asked if he’d been unfaithful to me when we were parted, I didn’t get a direct answer. There’s this young woman who keeps singing a song called ‘Ben’ on the radio. It’s a pretty song and I sing it with her now. But he won’t answer any questions about it.

So, down in Melbourne I set out on an exercise program to compete with these young things, should they appear, and I also developed some sexual techniques from our past love-making, before Ben had been injured when he was shot, poisoned by a stonefish and then poisoned again by a bullet fragment and a bit of dirty shirt, lodged in his back. Quite unbelievable isn’t it? But he’s tough and now is as strong as ever.

It sounds as if I want this baby for me, doesn’t it? But I want it for Ben, to show my love for him after the Melbourne disaster. And, boy, do I love him? He is my life and I don’t know what I’d do if he ever left me. But that will never happen now.

I’ve had some tests at the hospital and now Tim has to examine me and tell me the good news. Soon I’ll know. And then it won’t be long before I have cute little baby-gowns and booties, a gurgling babe in a bassinet and Ben helping to feed him in his high chair. And my heart is over-flowing with love for my man.

So here I am waiting patiently in the car for my husband who is up at the stables with our aboriginal overseer, Daniel, inspecting Ben’s horse, Jupiter, and mine, Mars, both of whom are getting old and showing it. I like Mars ok but Ben’s love for Jupe is nearly as great as his love for me, I think. He’s had him many years and Jupe is part of his life. I can see him dreading the day when Jupiter’s pensioned off but Daniel already has a new horse, Glider, ready-- Glider because he glides over the ground so smoothly. He’s a pleasure to ride and I asked Ben to give him to me—selfish bitch that I am, but my adoring husband didn’t fall for that, so there’s another horse somewhere for me to saddle up and ride when Mars reaches retirement age.

But I don’t have time for that now. I’m having a baby! I’m having a baby! And Ben’s here now and we’re off to Monaldo.

Chapter 3

Ben

Milly was like a cat, twisting and wriggling in the front seat beside me. She kept leaning over and kissing me and grabbing my arm and hugging it. Her excitement was now becoming hysteria, I thought, and I was becoming alarmed.

I jammed on the brakes and the car skidded on the dirt road.

Mil exclaimed in fright and then became angry.

‘You stupid fool! What if you’d harmed the baby? I’d never have forgiven you, Ben!’

I put on my toughest face, put my body in my most aggressive pose and deepened my voice to its most menacing. I was angry, but mostly alarmed.

‘What if there is no baby, Mil? Prepare for that! You’re too high on the kid. He might not exist and then you’ll be down, out of control, just as you’re high, out of control now. Tim’s not going to lie to you to please you. Your body’s not going to lie to you. For God’s sake, Milly, get real and just wait until we talk to him. Lady, just fucking calm down!’

She looked at me, shocked.

‘You hope there is no baby, don’t you Ben? You don’t want it. Now I know. You never did. I don’t care what you’ve said. It’s my body, Ben, and if I want this child, whatever the risk, I’ll have it and you won’t stop me. Clear? You won’t stop me. Now drive to the doctor’s and let’s have the good news for me and the bad news for you!’

A whole new ball game now. I feared that Mil was nearing a nervous breakdown and was leaving reality. I’d feared that for a while now.

I drove to Tim’s. We were silent. We got out of the car and walked to the wooden steps. I tried to take Mil’s arm but she jerked away.

"Don’t touch me, Ben!’

So I walked with her into the old weatherboard building and we took our seats in the waiting room. After a while Mil stood up and moved a few seats away, with a glare at me.

Then Tim called us in and proceeded to address Milly about hormones and how they affected women of her age.

Mil broke in. ‘Tim, is it yes or no? Cut out the bullshit!’

Tim looked at me in surprise.

Then he said, ‘Ok, Milly. It’s no. you’re not pregnant, but I have more to tell you.’

Milly didn’t wait for the rest. She stood and walked out of the surgery, slamming the door as she left. I let her go. She was going to get a verbal backhander when next I saw her. Everything had been so good and now so bad.

Tim said, ‘What I was going to tell her, Ben, was that a woman’s body can act in strange ways at Mil’s age. She’s very fit and very strong and might be fertile, from what I can see. In Melbourne, did you discuss birth control? Did she use anything?’

‘I didn’t see any Pill packets around, Tim, and I used to in earlier days. I looked. The sex was great and I wondered if Mil was trying for