Chapter 8: Marree and Adelaide

Sam phoned Sarah. She was happy to hear from him, but he could tell that she wasn’t looking forward to his visit.

“I’m not going to stay with you. In fact, while I’d like to see all three of you, taking you out to lunch and maybe a dinner or two will be everything. I’m not going to annoy you even six or eight hours a day ... I was hoping you might suggest a hotel ... Near the Museum would be good ... The Majestic? ... Majestic Roof Garden? ... OK. I’ll most likely fly in tomorrow ... I’ll call you when I’m there ... Right.”

He then called Wrightsair and reintroduced himself. “I took a tour of Kati Thanda with Steve today ... Yes, it was great. But I need to get to Adelaide tomorrow. What? ... No, any time ... A bargain rate if I can leave by nine? No problem. I’ll be out where Steve picked us up and let us off ... No, alone ... Right, same card number. Thanks.”

He went downstairs and told the clerk that he’d be leaving somewhere after eight in the morning. They’d have the tab ready. He then went for dinner. He was really sad about Tessa. But he wasn’t sure what to do ... if there was anything he could do. Back in his room he called the Majestic Roof Garden. Yes, they had space. It would run double the rate in Marree, unsurprisingly.

Sam thought of leaving a message for Tessa on the office’s machine, but suppressed it. In the morning he grabbed his swag, had a bite, checked out, and walked to the airfield. There was a Cessna landing as he stood there. Well before noon they had landed, Sam had gotten some money from a cash point at the airport and taken a taxi to the hotel. Sam went to his room, showered and got a map and some instructions from the woman at the desk marked “Concierge.”

He then went to Connor in Rundle Mall and purchased two pairs of pants, four shirts and a coat. From there, he went to a barber shop in Victoria Square and got a shave and had his long hair neatly trimmed. He walked back to Connor, decided to purchase a pair of shoes and a suitbag, and returned to the Majestic. It was mid-afternoon and he was very hungry, so Sam walked back towards the Mall, stopping for a burger and a beer. Then he went to Dymock’s to find some reading material.

He went past the “Fiction” tables to a section marked “Religion, Philosophy, Folklore” and noticed a copy of Haebich’s Dancing in Shadows, presumably shelved in error, when a voice asked “Could you move a bit to the right?”

He did, noting the speaker was a blonde around his age.

“Did you notice any Scandinavian mythology?” she asked.

“You mean like the Edda?”

“Yes. You are interested?” She gave herself away, she wasn’t an English-speaker.

“Not really. I’m more interested in the Australian Dreamtime. But my parents think that all mythologies have much in common.”

“Oh! They are Jungians!”

“No, not at all. I think they are more pan-human. Where are you from?”

“Southern Germany, near the Swiss border. I am a student here at the University.”

“Well, I’m just a wanderer. My name is Samuel.”

“I am Gudrun.”

“Oh! From Wagner’s Ring!”

She laughed. “No. Only Goetterdaemmerung. Do you live here in Adelaide?”

“No. I’m only here for a few days. I have some family here, but I’ve not yet called them. Can I buy you a coffee?”

“Thank you.” Sam replaced the Haebich.

Sitting in The Coffee Spot, Gudrun asked: “What was that book?”

“Oh. Haebich documents how the Nyungar people of Western Australia

adapted their rich performance culture to survive the catastrophe that engulfed them, and generously share their culture, history and language in theatre. In public corroborees they performed their sovereignty to the colonists and in community-only gatherings they danced and sang to bring forth resilience and spiritual healing. Pushed away by the colonists and denied their culture and lands they continued to live and perform in the shadows over the years in combinations of the old and the new, including indigenised settler songs and dances. [University of Western Australia Press, 2018]

Actually, it should have been shelved under history.”

“Would you like to go to a party?”

“Yes, but I need to call my aunt.”

“Here, use my phone.” She handed over her iMac.

Sam unsurprisingly got the answering machine. “Hi, Sarah and Henry. I’m in Adelaide. I’ll call tomorrow – not too early – so we can get together.”

He looked across the small table. “Where’s the party?”

“Upstairs.”

“Upstairs?”

“Well, actually, elevator after a short walk. My roommate and I have a flat in UniHouse.”

“Roommate?”

“Karen. She is from Sweden. Come and meet her.”

Karen was a tall, broad-shouldered woman wearing one of those Japanese robes that ended way above her knees. She said “Hej!” and kissed me, thrusting her tongue far into my mouth.

“I invited Samuel to a party,” Gudrun said.

“What a fine idea!” Karen said, sliding her robe from her shoulders. She had medium-sized breasts each with a pink nipple about the size of a 20-cent piece. Sam bent his head and kissed each. She sighed audibly. He ran one hand down her bottom inside her bikini-bottoms and squeezed gently, pushed down and they fell to the floor, joining her robe. Sam took a step back. Karen had a brown bush, not dark, but darker than her head.