The twins were out front setting up their fireworks. Apparently, they'd had too much spare time lately and decided learning how to blow stuff up while making it look pretty was a good investment of their time. Not that he minded, hell of a lot cheaper than buying the things in, plus there was the added entertainment of watching Joel and Jordan--identical six foot three muscle bound firemen--finishing each other’s sentences and rushing around like excited five year olds on Christmas morning. It was one of the funniest things he’d seen in quite a while.
Just as he finished his can of Coke, his eldest son, Dominic brought him a new one. NYE at the station was family friendly, no alcohol required for them all to have a great time--and if they got a call-out they would be fine to go deal with it.
"You're looking pretty happy there son. Anything you want to share with your old man?"
Dominic turned to his father with a massive grin and a sparkle in his eyes. Jake felt sorry for his oldest son, he'd been dreaming of his mate for just over four years and had yet to meet her. Every year he got a little more down, smiled and laughed a little less. It was heart breaking for a father to watch.
"Hell yeah I'm happy, you would be too. My mate pulled me into a dream last night. Told me that today she was catching the ferry over here to look for work and to begin a fresh start."
Jake slapped his son on the back as he smiled broadly with happiness for him.
"That does sound promising, son. Good to hear the new year is looking up for you."
"Yeah, it is. I hope it doesn't take too long for her to find her way to Rosebery. Tassie's a big place and I can't wait to meet her for real."
Jake chuckled at his son's enthusiasm, oh to be young again!
"It shouldn't take too long now. Once she starts towards you, she'll feel drawn to you. The feeling will get stronger and pull her harder until she gets here. Just watch yourself when you meet your mate. Remember you aren't meant to know what she's told you in your dreams."
"Yeah, that could be fun to explain. Especially since she already has issues with men."
Jake smiled at his son. Oh it was going to be fun watching Dominic win over his mate. He just knew it.
~ * ~
Adele sat outside a divine little cafe, sipping her coffee after having eaten her breakfast. She looked out over the ocean toward where Melbourne hid beyond the horizon. She'd arrived at six last night and crashed at a budget motel here in Devonport to get a good night sleep. Now freshly showered and eager to start her new life, she looked down at the map in front of her. She had an interview at the Devonport Hospital in an hour, then she was free for a few days to find her way down to the other towns. She closed her eyes as she took a deep draw of her flat white. She had simple tastes and didn't go for all the fancy coffees. Give her a good hot cup of old fashioned plain coffee with a dash of milk and a spoon of sugar and she was a happy lady. She glanced back at the map; what was the best way to go? Strahan was her next interview, then Rosebery and onto Hobart.
Two hours later she was driving down the highway. The interview had been short and sweet. They were keen to have her on board but were happy to give her two weeks to attend the other interviews before she gave them her answer. They had a good set up with four teams that rotated shifts. She was a little concerned about the large area the hospital was responsible for, but the manager had assured her, with the four teams in place, the hospital handled it well.
She started to tap her fingers against the steering wheel to the radio. Gwen Stefani ‘If I was a Rich Girl’ came on and Adele chuckled to herself thinking you and me both girl! The country side of Tasmania was impressive. She would have loved to have had enough money saved so she could just simply explore for a few weeks before having to focus on her job hunt, but most of her mother's savings went into covering medical bills and funeral costs. Adele hadn't been able to save much while she was at Uni, even with dropping back to part time so she could work more hours. The small amount she did have wouldn't keep her going much more than a week or two at most. Finding a job was sadly at the top of her to do list at the moment, not relaxing and exploring her new island home.
She came to a fork in the road. Decision time, again. Turn left and continue on the highway toward Queenstown and onto Strahan, or detour closer to the coast on smaller roads down to Strahan. The sign said ‘Rosebery’ so she guessed she could check out the town on the way down then come back this way after her interview. Maybe she could stop there for lunch and get a feel for the place. As she hit her indicator and began turning down the road, the next song was introduced, Rob Thomas ‘Lonely No More’. She frowned down at her radio--was the damn thing possessed? Each song that came on seemed to hit just a little to close to where her head was. Maybe she should paint her Corolla yellow and black and start calling it ‘Bumblebee’. With the Transformers theme song now stuck in her head, she shifted her focus back to the road, just in time to slam on her brakes to miss the mess in the middle of the road. Damn, Tassie had big ass logging trucks which apparently, created a big ass mess when they fell over. There were logs all over the place and when she saw the crumpled cab of the truck, her instincts took over. She grabbed her first aid kit and got out of her car to head over to the cab just as a fire truck pulled up on the other side of the accident.