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1997

The phone is ringing. It is 2 PM on a Wednesday afternoon and I have just put my two-year-old daughter in her bed for her afternoon nap. She still has these which I have been told is quite unusual at her age. Most other mothers I know have commented that their toddlers have dropped their afternoon sleep. I’m grateful that my daughter still does, as I’m ready for a nap myself come early afternoons. 

I’m not too concerned about getting to the phone as I have a lovely new white answering machine that a guy friend has gifted to me. Even so I manage to pick up the receiver on the eighth ring. I even have a moment to arrange my call receive voice. You see, I’ve been expecting calls as I have answered three job advertisements from the local paper and I’m hoping to arrange face to face interviews.

‘Good afternoon, Margaret speaking’ I say into the receiver.

‘Well, good afternoon to you too Margaret speaking’ said a friendly sounding male voice. ‘This is Johnathan from” Red Platforms” and I’m calling in response to the job advertisement that you applied for.

I gather my thoughts quickly as this isn’t the call I was hoping for. This job I inquired about was done on a whim and not done very seriously yet here they were the first out of three jobs to get back to me. I had been waiting in some anticipation for responses for over a week now. 

‘Hello Johathan, thank you for getting back to me.’

‘That’s all-good Margaret, by the way great name, you don’t hear that one often now these days, my mother is called Margaret, can you tell me a little about yourself and let’s see if we can get you in for an interview so I can get a look at you.’

The job I have applied for is for a skimpy bar maid, with the options of working local, out of town and remote. I have managed to get my body back in shape after pregnancy without too much trouble, though I’m not fully confident about it, plus I haven’t done bar work before. I tell Johnathan all this to save wasting each other’s time.

‘I hear this a lot of Margaret in this stage of interviewing and let me be the judge of whether your body shapes up or not and don’t worry about been inexperienced in bar work, it’s not hard, you just need to be good with people, and fit enough to be able to do long shifts on your feet. Do you think you can manage that?’

‘It’s now or never’ I think to myself.

‘Yes, Johnathan, I think I could manage that,’ I answer, hoping I sound confident.

We spend the next twenty minutes arranging an interview time at their offices and discussing the finer details what the job offers and entails.

Finally hanging up the phone I make a call to my friend Sally who lives a short walk away in East Bunbury, asking her if I may come over to visit as I have a favour to ask of her. Sally wants to know right then and there what the favour is, I have piqued her interest though don’t tell her what it is. 

‘Yes, alright, come over when Lucy wakes up’ she finally says after much questioning.

‘Thanks Sally, see you soon’.

‘Are you fucking crazy!’ Sally is looking at me as though I have temporarily lost my mind. 

‘Look, I just need to know if you will take Lucy to look after whilst I’m away, it will be for one week of every month. I will pay you of course.’ When Sally hears this, she quietens down. 

‘Also, you have to give me your word that you won’t tell a soul about this, for all the obvious reasons.’ I look at her hard searching her face, wondering if I can trust her. I decide that yes, I can. Sally is fifty-two and her children are grown and have left home. She is a staunch born again Christian and has much wisdom. Still, it’s a big favour to ask of her.

‘Anyhow, I don’t even know if I have the job yet, I wanted to sound it out with you in case I do and need to move fast. Johnathan warned me that if I get the job, I will be flying out to Kalgoorlie next week.’

‘I’ll need to think it over Maggie, personally I think your nuts and think you should wait to see if something more suitable comes up for you.’

‘Yeah, of course, think it over, that’s fine, I’m still thinking it over myself.’ It’s getting towards teatime, so I pack Lucy into her stroller and walk home to my little unit where I make a simple dinner for us both of mashed potato, fish fingers which Lucy loves and peas which she doesn’t.

My interview is tomorrow at 10 AM so when Lucy is safely snuggled up in bed, I choose an outfit to wear for it. It is peak summertime so decide on a simple knee length floral summer dress that has spaghetti straps and hugs in all the right places. My shoes are dark tan open toe slingbacks with a medium heel. My bag choice is a chocolate brown clutch made from tree cork that has an old-fashioned clasp. I have a bath and shave my legs, and underarms and then wash my long brown wavy hair. I plan on wearing minimal makeup tomorrow. I’m going for the natural, healthy girl look. Lucy is going into family day care for her usual half day tomorrow, so getting to the interview is no problem. She goes there two half days a week. 

Dressed and ready the next morning I drop Lucy off and head into town. My little car that I love, a generous gift from my mum and dad, is in desperate need of some work, and I only drive it when I have too. The rest of the time Lucy and I either walk or catch buses.

Arriving at the Offices of Red Platforms I check in with the receptionist who is dressed in traditional office attire. I sit down in a comfortable leather chair taking in my surroundings. The office is surprisingly elegant. Paintings on the walls, that I recognise are done by a well-known local Bunbury artist, a jarrah low table with some art photography books on it and an olive-green plush pile carpet that looks and smells new. Nothing cheap or tacky looking to be spotted. 

I hear a door open and footsteps and then a tall slim, clean shaven thirtyish looking man strides towards me. I’m on my feet by the time he reaches me, and we shake hands.

‘Hi Margaret, come this way.’ The man whom I rightly assume is Jonathan ushers me into his office and closes the door behind him. Pointing to a chair for me to sit on he takes a seat behind an old fashioned looking highly polished wooden desk. 

So far, so good.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it isn’t this. This so far was all class and elegance.

‘I see you brought in your resume; can I have a look?’ Johnathan is looking at my folder that I’m clutching in my hands. ‘Relax Margaret, everything is ok, and it’s normal to be a bit nervous at any interview, I give you my word you are completely safe here.’

Johnathan looks through my resume folder making comments here and there. Finally, he places it closed on his desk and smiles at me engagingly.

“Well, you have a very interesting resume Margaret, you have a lot of experience working with people in different fields and I have observed that you seem to have a very pleasant warm personality. I’m guessing you come from a good family and were well brought up. Also, is that a hint of an accent I’m detecting? English?’

‘Yes, and probably a remnant of Scottish mixed in there somewhere too’ I answer.

‘Mmmm, interesting’ says Jonathan leaning back in his chair gazing at me. 

‘Do you use any illicit drugs, Margaret?’ Johnatan is looking at me closely and I’m ready for this question.

‘No,’ I answer Johnathan truthfully. ‘Those days are well behind me. I did use far too much speed in the eighties but that seems like a long time ago,’ I elaborate. Johnathan chuckles and looks amused.

‘We all used to much speed in the eighties Margaret, so I won’t be holding that against you. I apologise, it’s just I do have to ask. I run a clean business here and have a strictly no tolerance policy for illicit drug use on the job. It causes to much drama.’ I nod my head at him in areement. He smiles back at me. 

‘Well, the jobs yours if you would like it and I look forward to getting to know you better if you decide to take this opportunity. I know you have matters to consider so take your time and if you could let me know by Monday next week or earlier that would be great. The girls fly out on a Tuesday each week. Here, I’ll give you my mobile number.’ Johnathan hands me a card. He is the second only person I know who has a mobile phone.

My home phone will only make local calls, I can’t ring out to STD calls let alone mobiles. If I need to ring his mobile, I’ll have to use the phone box down the road.

Later that day at Sally’s we discuss the pros and cons of my job offer and brainstorm the details of Sally having Lucy for a week out of every month. Sally is the only person I can ask of this. There are very few people I trust with Lucy. I trust my parents of course but they are getting on in years and I don’t want them to know about this job. Sally agrees to take Lucy for a very reasonable fee. She’s a good friend. One of the best I’ve ever had.

The following day is Friday and I have made my decision. I’m taking the job. I need to get some things done. After our breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast Lucy and I head to the Forum for some shopping. It is still early, before the full heat of the day, so the walk is pleasant. I wonder how I am going to handle been away from Lucy for a whole week. We have never been separated for longer than one night thus far. On arrival at the Forum, I go straight to “Bras and Things” and quickly choose three different lingerie outfits, all complete with stockings. One in black of course, French navy which is my favourite and a red ensemble. Next into Betts and Betts for some comfortable but sexy shoes. This proves to be quite difficult, and Lucy is becoming impatient stuck in her stroller so I quickly settle on some black suede ankle booties with a small heel that will go with each outfit. Happy with my purchases I treat Lucy to a baby ice cream cone from Wendys and iced coffee for me. When home again I ring Johnathan at his office to say I would like the job. 

Lucy and I spend the weekend doing what I hope are fun things for her, going to the bird park, little walks at Koombana Bay, where we see some dolphins, and lots of cuddles on the lounge. I cancel her usual half day on Monday at Family Day Care as I’m dropping her off to Sally in the late afternoon so I can be up early on Tuesday to catch the bus from Bunbury Station to Perth airport. I’m as organised as I can be.

Saying goodbye to Lucy is hard, though I keep the dramatics on the low down. My beautiful little girl is so good about it and seems quite ok when I leave Sallys. 

I catch a taxi to the bus station the next morning and I’m on my way. On arrival at the airport, I collect my ticket from the front desk as instructed by Johnathan and go straight to line up. I only have hand luggage, so I don’t have to faff about with a suitcase. 

I enjoy a much-needed coffee and roll on the short flight to Kalgoorlie, spend the time on the plane writing in my notebook a list of priorities of how and on what I’m going to spend my first pay- check. It is going to be spent on my little Datsun Sunbird 180B. She is going to need a new motor and some body work done to fix the rust patches coming through. I may even get her resprayed. The same colour. Red. Having our vehicle in safe, reliable working order again is seriously going to upgrade Lucys and my life. I hug myself tight as the pilot announces that we will be landing soon and hopes that we enjoyed our flight. 

Here we go.

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Susan grew up in Scotland, England and Sydney and now lives in West Australia.  Susan enjoys reading, writing for fun and hiking the local bush and local trails.