Who's the Louny?

By Dianne Carter

After leaving Dagwood, Lou finds herself in Dusty Creek, a small town beyond the mythical black stump, with a population of just 1,600.

A near miss with death on the road shakes Lou up and sends her on a downward spiral. Things become increasingly unclear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Nov 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796008142

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Well, here I am. I have just moved to a small town beyond the mythical black stump, with a population of 1600 and a seasonal transient population of a couple of hundred. It is called Dusty Creek.

Dusty Creek has a service station with two mechanics named Simon and John. Business is good, roads are mainly gravel, and it’s 1600km to the nearest big town, Broken Springs, where there is a hospital with a mental health unit and all the amenities a big town normally has. Dusty Creek has a caravan park with a dozen or so cabins and the usual van places, powered and unpowered. It has two hotels, the Bullocky’s Rest - locally known as the Cow Poo - and another, known as The Udder One, which is more popular. The Udder One has a band known as the Up The Creeks, who play every Friday and Saturday nights, and just about everyone in town goes to hear them.

Dusty Creek has two restaurants. There is a noodle shop named Ho and Kien’s. Ho is the husband and Kien is the wife; they are Vietnamese-Chinese refugees and have been running the restaurant for 12 years. The other one is a beef and burger joint run by a couple of guys on the other side of the fence, named Terry and Peter. The town also has a drugstore where you can buy all your necessities, and an abattoir and a recycling plant. Needless to say, it is not your picture-postcard town.

You may be wondering what the hell I am doing in a town like Dusty Creek. Well, I will tell you.

My name is Lou and I am thirty-five years old. I have run away from a volatile and acrimonious relationship with my ex-husband. My mother, June, had said: Look, Lou, go away for a while and get your head together. She said she and her husband (my stepfather) would look after my son, Jeremy. Mum, Roy and Jeremy have a great rapport, and Mum thought she and Roy could help Jeremy get over the mind games and brainwashing he had gone through. I really didn’t want to leave Jeremy, but I agreed with Mum that I wasn’t mentally well enough to care for him properly.

I had no idea where to go, so I took out a large map, and with a pin I pricked Dusty Creek. I thought it was meant to be. Little did I know where the journey was going to take me. So I said goodbye to Jeremy, Mum, Roy, my brothers Declan and Darren, my sister-in-law Alice, and a handful of friends including my best friend, Maggie. I made sure my car was mechanically sound, packed it and headed off.

Seeing that Dusty Creek was interstate, I figured it would take three or four days to get there. I was 90 miles up the road when I suddenly burst into tears, wondering what on earth I was doing. I only planned on being away for a year, but little did I realise then, it was going to be twenty-five years before I made it back to my home town. But I was on my way, with plenty of time to reflect. Would I meet nice people? Would I get a job?

I hadn’t got much from my marriage settlement, as I was too scared to go for half, even though I had worked and raised my son. Not to worry, what goes around comes around. One door shuts and another one opens. I didn’t want another man in my life, that’s for sure. I am not what you call a sex kitten, but I have known a few who have been treated worse than me, so there you have it.

Two and a half days of thinking went by and then, halfway through the third day, I was jolted out of my reverie. The alternator in my car was not working, and I had to keep the engine running to keep the charge in the battery. It was a scary time, but I finally ended up in Dusty Creek at Simon and John’s mechanical workshop. I was finally here.

CHAPTER 2

Simon and John are lovely blokes who obviously love their work. They welcomed me with open arms. The locals love strangers because they are someone new to talk to, someone different. I automatically felt at ease, and they said they would fix my car as soon as they could. I said I was in no hurry as I was thinking of staying a while. I immediately felt close to these two, especially John. He’s a big man, a gentle giant with a wispy salt and pepper beard that gives away his years. According to Simon, John was ten years older than him. Simon is short and slim, also with a beard, and piercing blue eyes and an olive complexion. John is single and Simon has a partner named Liz.

I asked where I could find some accommodation, and they said I would find some at the Cow Poo, at $25 a night. After a few days at the Cow Poo, I had shown my skills as a barmaid and waitress and I was offered a full-time job, board included. I was on my way.

I found that people took to me because of my outgoing nature and welcoming smile, which some people say is my best feature. I worked hard and gradually the bad memories began to fade. I was working six hours a day, five days a week. On Fridays and Saturdays, I would finish work and go to the Udder One, where I would dance the night away. With all this working and dancing, I lost 5kg. I was looking and feeling great.

CHAPTER 3

Just three months had passed and I was starting to feel homesick. It was Tuesday, my day off. I decided to write to my best friend, Maggie, as I knew she made me feel better when she wrote back. Maggie had been my friend for fifteen years. She had been with me through thick and thin, and I really believe she saved me. She kept me informed on how Jeremy was going with school, sport and his general wellbeing. I also planned to write to dear Alice, who was more like a sister than a sister-in-law. She had made my brother Darren very happy, and I loved both my brothers and their children. I knew Mum worried about me, even if it was her idea for me to go off and get my head together. I kept telling her I was okay, but perhaps I was feeling a bit melancholy.

The buzz was going around that the pub was getting a new cook this afternoon. The last cook (everyone called him Cookie) got a better paid job in Broken Springs just when things started to look up in. We hoped this new cook, Jack, was as good if not better. Nadia, my fellow waitress, was going to follow Cookie but changed her mind, thank goodness. We got on well considering the ten-year age gap. Her room was only two doors away from mine and we regularly had a nightcap after work.

Jack would be arriving after lunch, so before I wrote my letters I thought I might head off to the Beef and Burger and see how Terry and Peter were going. I decided to pick up Liz on the way as it was her day off, too. Liz and Simon lived in a cabin and Liz did the books for the mechanical shop.

Terry greeted us at the door and said, I love ya sis, love ya sis.

And I said, I love you too. Are you going to the Udder One on Friday night? Your dancing cracks me up.

I’ll be there, sis bitch. Peter has gone to Broken Springs to buy new clothes; hope he behaves himself.

He will, I’m sure of that. Peter adores you, I replied.

I know that, but he is very good looking, you know.

I understand that. You’ll be all right. Just relax. Right now, I’m famished. How about you, Liz?

I might have a burger, she replied.

Same here - two burgers with the lot.

On the way, my darlings, said Terry.

Over our burgers I explained to Liz that the Cow Poo was getting a new cook, a Scotsman named Jack. I believe that Cookie was offered more money in Broken Springs, so I hope Jack is good, as business was starting to pick up, I said to her.

I could talk to Liz about anything, as she was a good listener. While we ate our burgers, she asked what I thought about Nadia.

She seems okay to me, I said.

I don’t know about that, Lou. She flirts openly with Simon; and with Cookie gone and all… I think she’s a tart.

It wouldn’t be long before I realised that what Liz said was spot on. I knew Nadia flirted with the male customers and ignored the females, but that didn’t bother me as I treated everyone the same and therefore earned respect. I am not big-noting, but I was the one the customers came to see. I put Nadia’s flirting down to youth and low self-esteem.

After Liz and I said our goodbyes, I went to my room and started writing letters. I was passing time until Jack arrived. It was about 3pm when Nadia knocked on my door.

Come quickly! she said. Jack has arrived and he’s quite cute.

I checked myself in the mirror, brushed my hair and put on some lipstick, and went downstairs. Jack greeted me and I immediately thought, Wow he is cute, with his long black wavy hair and blue eyes. And I got scared that I wasn’t going to have feelings for anyone anymore. But this was to be the start of something new, I could feel it in my bones. Nadia made us all a cuppa and I felt a bit silly because I was actually shaking. What had become of me? I was not supposed to feel this way at all.

CHAPTER 4

Jack and I hit it off really well. He loved going to the noodle restaurant, and had formed a strong bond with Ho and Kien. We went there nearly every Wednesday night after our shifts, and it was a really delicious change from pub food. I didn’t see much of Liz anymore because I was either working or spending time with Jack. I had a feeling Nadia felt a bit left out as well. She was flirting more and more. She liked to think she had one over me, but I didn’t know why.

I wasn’t saving much money, as I spent it partying with Jack. Oh well, I can’t take it with me. I saw John quite a lot. He came to the Cow Poo during and after my shifts, and we often had a drink when I knocked off. He brought me a lot of joy - he was a very funny man. Jack got on with Simon and Peter and often helped out in the kitchen when they were busy.

Apparently, Jeremy was thriving and had turned into a great cricketer, thanks to the efforts of my stepfather, Roy. Mum said he missed me badly at times, but he was better off with them than me, and he knew I would always love him. Maggie was thinking of taking a road trip to come and see me. That would be great! I would have to take some time off, which I rarely did. Darren and Alice were happy for me and I would appreciate their love for me further down the track. I could not have done without their love and support, but that is another story. Stay tuned.

My life went on peacefully for the next two and half years, and I started seeing Liz more often. I enjoyed our girlie time together as I could relate to her. My fortieth was coming up and Liz wanted to throw me a party. We’ll have it in the caravan park. We’ll have a BBQ with Up the Creek playing, she said. It sounded all right to me.

But I don’t want to invite Nadia, said Liz. It’s almost like she’s getting desperate, flirting more and more with Simon.

I know what you mean, I replied. She’s starting to flirt with Jack.

Jack’s room was between Nadia’s and mine and his room was lot bigger than mine because he had so many cookbooks and paraphernalia. It was only three days later when I saw Nadia standing outside Jack’s door naked. I was shocked and surprised, as her body was worse than mine, and after all I’d had a baby and three major operations, and I was older. Poor stupid fool me.

The next morning, she came to my room and asked if I could sew on some buttons and I happily obliged. I suddenly felt physically sick. It was the time of the month for me, and I suffered immensely - I find that a hideous thing that we women go through. And when I saw Jack go into Nadia’s room, I felt my life had come to an end. I was beside myself about what to do.

I think it was about this time that I started to go crazy.

I didn’t know how long Jack and Nadia had been at it. I was no sex kitten, but I felt inadequate now as I absolutely cared for Jack. I knew I could not cut off my nose to spite my face, so I decided to move to Broken Springs. I didn’t have much money and the only person I knew there was Cookie. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. I was so upset that I decided to do a runner in the middle of the night, not saying goodbye to anyone.

I would ring Liz once I got to Broken Springs. In my heart I knew Jack loved me and was sorry for what he had done. But being so devastated and not in my right mind, I decided to leave Jack a