Chapter 27

After the ambulance had taken Fred away we all went back to the mess hall. No one felt like eating so I put the roast in the cool room, telling the boys if they wanted anything to help themselves. Jess and I went to our room.

"I'll give Ernie a call in the morning love, no sense in spoiling his evening. He'll be pretty upset, Fred and him go back a long way."

Jess shuddered, "I've never seen a dead person before Tony, he looked so grey and empty, it's so sad."

"When I lived in the orphanage, one of the girls died, when she was in her coffin we all passed by and said goodbye to her. I know what you mean, once she was full of life and running around, then she was gone, just an empty shell."

"Did you know her well?"

"Yes, we used to play together, I was only a kid then ... I cried for days after."

We sat and talked late into the night, about Fred, about us, about the Sundowner; mainly reminiscing about Fred. When we went to bed Jess was cold and snuggled her back against me. During the night she woke several times crying, I tried to comfort her as much as I could. When morning came we were both washed out. I started breakfast but no one seemed to interested.

Wally called for a day of mourning, he rang the head office and gave them the bad news about Fred and let them know he was standing the men down for the day.

I gave Ernie a phone call and he was very upset and wanted to come back to the camp.

"Ernie, there isn't anything you could do here, you would be better off if you stayed there with Jean. Wally is making the funereal arrangements today, when we have a date I'll come and pick you up."

"I suppose you're right Tony, Jean will be a big help to me, Christ! why the hell didn't he tell someone he had a heart condition."

"Simple Ernie, he didn't like being fussed over, he went crook at me when I got on his back about seeing the quack."

"Yeah, he was a pretty private sort of a bloke when you think of it. Jesus, I'll certainly miss him."

"I think we all will mate, he was like a father to me and he treated me like a son."

"I better let the café bloke know that you will be delayed for a bit."

"We can't let it wait too long Ernie, I see if Dom is up to it and we can come over tomorrow, that's a respectable wait don't you think?"

"I think Fred would agree with you on that, I give the fellow a call and let him know when you're coming."

The following day saw the four of use heading towards Bairnsdale again. Jess and Cheryl were very subdued in the back seat, Dom and I weren't much better. We talked about the café equipment and decided to see if Ernie would do the negotiating, he seemed to have a good idea of bargaining.

Jean and Ernie met us at the Sundowner and we went inside and had a cuppa. Ernie was sill a bit shaken over Fred's death, Jean kept a close watch on him and when she saw he was starting to get a bit emotional she would rub his arm to get him out of it. We asked him if he would like to negotiate a price for us and he was more than happy to.

"You go with them Ernie, it'll do you good to have something to take your mind off of Fred." Said Jean.

We piled into the car and headed into town, Ernie directing us to the café. Once there he introduced us to the proprietor and we went in to appraise the equipment.

Everything was is good condition, some bits showed a bit of wear but nothing to impair it's use.

"I have one month left to trade, I then have to dismantle everything and be out of the building by the end of the following month. If you folk do the dismantling and tidy up the building I'll allow you a big discount on the price. Have a look around and decide what you would like to do, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

We had a good look around and what we saw made us happy, if we bought the equipment it would be a 'one stop shop', we would have just about everything we needed to get started. We had a quick discussion and agreed to go ahead.

Rather than all of us being in on the negotiations we let Ernie talk to the proprietor on his own. Ten minutes later we were the owner's of a café full of equipment. Ernie had negotiated well and the price was well within our budget; our only concern now was to see if our local friends would help with the dismantling and transport.

Back at the Sundowner we related to Jean what had transpired, when I mentioned that we needed to talk to her friends about the dismantling and transport she hopped up and started to make phone calls. Very soon she came back with a big grin on her face.

"Once they found out, you couldn't hold them back with a team of wild horses; just name the time and the date."

I breathed a big sigh of relief, things were moving fast. We would need an electrician and a plumber to do the disconnecting and then re-installing the stuff when it was at the Sundowner. Ernie offered to talk to a few of the local tradies for us.

All too soon we were on the road again heading back to camp. We were slightly elated but the gloom of Fred's death still hung over us.

The atmosphere in camp wasn't much better, Fred was a very popular boss and these fellows missed him. Dom and I rustled up a salad and we cut up last night's unused roast for cold cuts. I asked Wally how the arrangements went.

"The usual wait is four days laddie, I've spoken to the minister and it's arranged for Monday morning. He didn't have any relatives that I find out, the minister will make an announcement during Sunday's services. When everything is settled I will need to talk to you."

I called Ernie and told him we would collect him on Sunday, he told me that Jean would be coming with him. There was room in my old room for the two of them although Jess was a bit nervous.

"How do you think she will be about us sleeping together Tony?"

"We will only be doing what her and your dad are doing, if she don't like it, then it's too bad."