Chapter 11

Damian, the manager of the cemetery, ended up working with his old team mates on digging, while Angus did the 'hard stuff', until AA referred a bloke onto them. He was a blow-in from the Eastern States who was not interested in going bush, and anything he earned, half of it would go to his ex-wife as child support. At the moment, half of nothing was nothing, yet he wanted some money to go to his child. That came out good for him as his wife was taken to court by one of her ex-lovers who wanted contact with his child. After DNA checks, she was heavily fined for making false claims and filling out false statutory declarations; there would have been gaol time but for the kid.

The ex-lover got his contact and due to trial evidence, our man found out that his ex-wife had no less than six lovers a week, often a few casuals as well, while he was married to her. All someone had to do was ask her it seemed. Amusingly, because of the court decision, he then had to pay the maintenance to the father, his ex-wife's lover, as officially the money was for the child, not the adult. The law is an ass. He remained dry, no longer needing the crutch.

The punch line there was the mother was eventually charged, and found culpable of being an unfit parent and of child endangerment. Once she was unhindered by her husband's presence to her steady stream of lovers, the stream had become a river. The baby was placed in the care of the true father, who was unable to care for the boy due to his work commitments, so that our man became responsible for the child's welfare again.

Both fathers had been given equal responsibility of care, and he was being cared for by the ex-husband and his girlfriend. The father could visit, making the hugely expensive six hour flight, anytime he wants. There are no discounted fares from the eastern states to the west. 'The cheque's in the mail.' He now gets continuous mail reminding him to pay the child's guardian the child support. Of course, that means pay himself the child support.

Now the cemetery was looking for two more employees and the hunt seems to be never ending. Anyone need a job? The hours are reasonable even if the company you keep tends to be a little quiet at times. The wages never really compensate enough for the labour involved but someone's always dying so the job hasn't got a finite use-by date. The mining jobs are highly dependent on the Chinese and the price of the Australian Dollar ... often a little iffy, but one has got to look on the positive.

Irene was helping Angus around the office, as he really wasn't coping with the stress, and they had fun wheelchair dancing. Irene was growing stronger by the day, and was putting some meat back onto her bones. Something was not totally intellectually right, there, but with much love and patience...

Oh, yeah. Adele, accepted her old job back, after they rang just when she said they would, the next Thursday. She demanded double her original pay or she's walking. Adele discovered that they had tried to advertise the job at that higher pay rate, interstate, and had to take Adele nevertheless. Again, there had been no other applicants.

They even tried changing her employment contract to contractor status but couldn't get the funding from the powers that be as it would have raised her pay even more than the double she asked for. The idea behind that being they can employ or not a sub-contractor at their leisure. It's enough to make one really feel really wanted. Even being employed at that new pay-scale meant they had to up her public service ranking two places which then placed her higher in the hierarchy than the management who was so desperately wanting her out, and ergo their boss. There is a God!

Fuck 'em all!

A week after Irene began to work casually in the cemetery office, she received a phone call intended for Damian from a solicitor's office in northern New South Wales. Explaining to them she was his wife, they said that there would be a cheque in the mail to his home address within a week. He had an interesting conversation with his wives that night, telling them that they would have a cheque, soon, for two million, five hundred thousand dollars (plus some interest; it turned out a lot of interest, after that length of time almost a million dollars). It was his inheritance from Mrs. Mildred Turvy, and he explained what her history with him was. Mary had known all about it but the subject had never risen again with Adele and Irene after the old lady died.

The Monaro had sold for four hundred thousand, three years after they received it. It had never been driven again, as the leaded to unleaded fuel changeover would have ruined its value. He would have given it all back, without a quiver, to have Mary and Jessie back. He would have sold his soul.

Irene would never use her degree and would probably never completely return to full health, but she was still a lusty babe. Eventually she was placed on a full invalid pension and each survivor of the accident received massive worker's compensation from the trucking company. The family also sued that company enormously for the loss of their partner and child, separate to the worker's compo. The multiple partner relationship was brought up during case but not so as to change the outcome.

Adele presented Damian with a boy eight months after the accident, Cameron Damian. Cameron reminded Damian of Angus, who was unkillable ... even though you would often want to. He matured to become a physicist working in Geneva, Switzerland for most of his life. He had explained to his Father what he was doing, and was promptly asked to have it translated into English.

Cameron married a French girl to get even with his father, as then his wife and father couldn't talk to each other. Therefor Damian couldn't tell her his, 'Olden Days, Historic Tales of My Youth', series of stories; which had always driven Cameron nuts. Cameron never believed for a second that his 'never been nowhere old man' had ever been anywhere on the road, least of all as a mythical swaggy.

He also didn't believe, that the man who tutored him on most of the Maths he'd learnt (up to year two Uni level), had only done up to a second class education, which included almost no mathematics. However the old man did know astounding details on the bible, which was remarkable for a renowned agnostic and rabid anti-papist?

Nasty little overeducated prick! Just for that Damian swore he was going to learn French!

Damian was made executor of Nina's will. He placed the shop under a management company, as her sons only wanted to sell out and cop a small profit, each. They hated that shop, as it had made their own parents into strangers to them. Damian paid them that amount, then he told them to fuck off making sure the signed an affidavit rejecting all further claims on the company or the family. He had long term plans for the business model, so kept the business running at neither a loss or profit in Nina's name and as her grandchildren's legacy from her. The three partners truly believed that Mary was their wife and Jessie was their daughter so the business was their mother-in-law's legacy to her family, them.

Irene had twin daughters, Mary and Jessie, who he had eventually suggested to take courses in Management, Economics and Food Technology for obvious reasons. Eventually he placed them in charge of their late Nanna's shop. Soon after, using family resources, it became the major hamburger-fast food chain within the state, with about one hundred outlets and speedily growing. They made real hamburgers, not those Yank cardboard cut-outs!

They were two very bright girls who achieved their Bachelor and Master's Degrees in each of the subjects they attempted, each with their own specialty. He had pointed out that he admired their Grandmother's system of employment, which stemmed originally from him, though he never told them that. They streamlined that system and went huge ending up being the major female employer in most country towns throughout the State, and scattered throughout the City and Fremantle. They decided not to franchise as the girls liked the hands on method of management.

The company didn't have any male employees, which led to quite a few sexual discrimination court cases headed by the feminist mafia in the State Public Prosecutors Office. Those were all quashed by the State Premier in The Lower House and seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, refusing to allow the State the use of the Public Prosecutors. No matter his opinion of them they were Daddy's Boys to their bootstraps. It's the only time those two had ever agreed on anything.

A similar case on 'Hooters Restaurants Pty Ltd.' on the east coast was the catalyst on removing all the court cases which were plaguing them. In the initial case in the eastern states, the decision was that men didn't have breasts therefore they couldn't be employed in a company which was based on the display of its employees' breasts. A little like strip clubs only employing women to strip; well duh!

The only reply by the NSW State Public Prosecutors Office was to close down the company by the Prosecuting Attorney (female), permission for which was denied by the government (the male Premier refused a conscience vote) on the voices.

Seeing the hamburger company employs women -who have breasts etcetera- specifically to attract men who attract in more women, so they couldn't be sued for employing only women. If you understood any of that, please explain it to me, very slowly. It was explained to me that the feminine mafia pushed the case due to the fact that they would then have to allow only men being employed in some industries, which they were currently in combat about as well. All about consistency.

Irene eventually had two other sons on consecutive years, ten months apart. They were a disappointment to their family; or to their father anyway. The youngest became a solicitor, and the local State Government Lower House Member and eventually, State Opposition leader for eight terms. His older brother would never amount to much of anything either, as a barrister and the State Premier, and the neighbouring Lower House Parliamentary Member to his younger brother for almost nine terms, to his father's huge disgust. He didn't know where he had gone wrong, there, but it made the Saint Joseph name rather prominent for a time, eventually almost forty years, especially seeing as the brothers stood on opposite sides of the political divide.