Heart of The Tree

Chapter 12

Mia was still talking with Shane when Mark’s phone rang. Not wanting to disturb the other two, Mark stepped away from the table before he took the call.

“Mark.”

“What the hell is going on, Mark?”

“G’day, Rhys. What do you mean?”

“I mean, Aunt Cynthia has just had a call from Matt saying he won’t be able to make it next weekend. I thought you guys were supposed to be getting him to help us, not making things worse!”

Mark glanced back at Mia and Shane and then took a few more steps away from them. He lowered his voice.

“Listen, if you say that to Mia, I’ll rip your balls off! Things didn’t go well, but they aren’t as bad as you might think. We’re with an old friend of Matt’s who’s also a roommate, and it looks like he’ll help us.”

“Steady, Mark! I didn’t mean it that way. I just got a shock that Matt isn’t coming on Saturday. I take it Vince isn’t there?”

“No, he’s not. I’m guessing that means you’ve got no word, either.”

Mark heard a heavy sigh over the phone.

“My dad has put out the word to his mates to keep an eye out for Vince’s ute, and Bobby’s taken a day off work to just drive around looking, but I haven’t heard anything so far.”

“What about Vince’s parents? What’s going on there?”

“Padma and Karen are spending the day out there. I think Vince’s mum is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I don’t know what to do.”

Mark nodded to himself. He understood how Rhys felt, as he was feeling the same. He wasn’t sure Shane would be able to get Matt back onside, but there was no other option that he could see.

“Bobby did have one idea. He thinks Vince may’ve gone to the spot where Matt was camping last week. Do you think you could ask Matt where that was?”

Mark made a face. “At the moment, no. We had to tell him the whole story about The Tree, and he blew up. I don’t think he’s willing to talk to any of us. Shane thinks he can talk him around, but we’ll have to wait.”

“Shane? Who’s he?”

“Sorry, I should’ve explained. Shane’s the friend and roommate of Matt’s that I mentioned. Mia’s talking with him at the moment. He’s told us he won’t help unless he’s sure that Vince is going to be right for Matt, so Mia’s giving him a sales pitch.”

“Of course Vince is right for Matt! Put him on and I’ll tell him myself.”

The idea of Rhys and Shane talking was one that Mark found amusing, but too dangerous to consider until after Shane had been convinced to help.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rhys. Shane is… an interesting character. Let Mia handle him. We don’t want to risk accidentally putting him offside.”

“Interesting? In what way?”

“You know how we never suspected Vince is gay?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, imagine a person who it’s impossible to not suspect. That’s Shane. One of the first questions he asked me was what brand of after-shave I use. That was after he’d correctly guessed the type of perfume that Mia’s wearing.”

“Oh.” There was a short pause. “Sounds best to let Mia handle things with him, then.”

Mark grinned. “That’s what I was thinking, too. I’ll pass on Bobby’s suggestion, but we’ll have to wait and see what Shane can do.”

“Okay, Mark,” Rhys said. “Just curious, what brand of after-shave do you use? Eau de Garbo?”

“Going now. Bye, Rhys,” Mark said and ended the call. His lips started to curl upwards at Rhys’s cheek, but he sobered as he returned to listen to Mia and Shane.

* * *

Vince absentmindedly reached down to his pocket and then cursed as he realised his phone wasn’t there.

“Damn you, Rhys!”

He kicked a stone into the creek he was standing alongside. The forest canopy kept the temperature cool, and the hills on either side completed the sense of privacy.

Throwing his phone away had been an act of idiocy, but Vince admitted to himself that he hadn’t been thinking straight when Rhys had sent him that text message, trying to apologise. He had regretted it almost immediately, but his phone had landed behind the boxes of spare parts in the stable complex and he hadn’t known if he had enough time to try to find it before his parents came home.

Vince was still trying to work out what to do. If he’d had the phone, he could’ve called Matt and tried to find out if he really was gay. If Matt was, then he thought going to Dubbo would be an option, at least until the people he used to call friends showed up there to start school. If Matt wasn’t gay, Vince didn’t know what to do.

He strode back to his ute and picked up a fishing rod and some bait. Fishing time was also good thinking time, and he wanted to stretch his supplies out for a long as possible. He was fortunate that he didn’t have to make a fire site, as he and Matt had done that when he had shown Matt the secluded hiding hole. He glanced at his Game Boy that was plugged into the cigarette lighter, but left it there for later. He didn’t recall putting it in his bag before he left the house, but he’d been so frantic, he was mildly surprised that he had a reasonable amount of clothing. He wasn’t a great fan of electronic games, but they helped fill the time when he had nothing else planned.

Resting with his back to an old ironbark tree, Vince gently tossed the line into the water. It was too early to have much chance to catch anything, but there was no harm trying.

Someone would tell Matt, Vince realised; they wouldn’t be able to stop themselves. If Matt’s gay, Vince thought he might come looking for him, and the campsite would be the obvious place to start. He decided that the sensible thing to do would be to wait for as long as possible. He didn’t know how long it would be before they told Matt, but he was hoping Matt would come for him. Otherwise, he would have to risk getting caught by going somewhere to ring Matt from a public phone. He was fortunate that he still had Matt’s phone number in his wallet.

* * *

Shane walked into the main room and looked around for Matt. He was glad that everyone else had disappeared for the Christmas holidays. It would’ve been hard to find somewhere private to talk to Matt if any of their housemates had been around.

Matt was nowhere in sight, but Shane could hear noises coming from his room. He walked over and rapped lightly on the door.

“Mattie, it’s Shane.”

He waited, but there was no response. He clenched a fist and beat on the door twice.

“Open up, Mattie. I need to talk to you.”

When nothing happened, Shane kicked the door.

“OPEN THIS DOOR, MATT!”

Giving up on any pretence of respecting privacy, Shane opened the door. He was ready to yell at Matt for ignoring him, but his outrage died when he saw Matt lying on his bed with his eyes closed and headphones on. While Shane watched, Matt raised a hand and wiped his eyes.

Shane picked up a chair and put it next to the bed. He sat down and watched his friend. Faint sounds of what seemed to be heavy metal music escaped the headphones.

He was still watching when Matt opened his eyes. Startled, Matt scrambled into a sitting position and pulled off the headphones.

“What are you doing here?” Matt asked.

Shane thought he sounded tired. He suspected that Matt had been hurt emotionally by what he had been told.

“I was concerned. You had some friends visit and when I turned around, they were gone and you were in your room, not answering the door. You look like you’ve been crying.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, and they aren’t friends,” Matt said, lying back onto his bed and putting his hands behind his head. He stared at the ceiling.

Shane waited, hoping Matt would continue.

“I thought they were friends, but they just wanted to use me. They didn’t really like me; they were only interested in what I could do for them.”

“Are you sure?” Shane asked. He reached over and put a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “It’s possible to like you and also be interested in what you can do.”

Matt turned his head to look at Shane. “They wanted to run my life, just like Nick, and they didn’t even know me. They were just manipulating me.” Matt’s eyes were wide and bright.

Shane debated quickly with himself on what to say. Matt was right to a degree, which made Shane’s job harder, but he still felt that the Mourton group had honourable intentions. He was concerned about Matt’s quick comparison of the events to Nick. Matt had fallen heavily for the charming Nick soon after arriving at the university, only to learn later that he was being used as revenge against Nick’s ex-boyfriend. Matt had retreated into a shell for a long time after that. Outwardly, he had seemed fine, but he hadn’t let anyone get close to him. Shane decided to concentrate on the key person.

“Was it all of them, or just some of them? What about this guy you’ve been going on about all the time, Vince?”

Shane couldn’t help smile when he saw Matt react to the name, but Matt didn’t notice. He had closed his eyes while making a face.

“He was in on it, but I don’t know what to think. They told me he’s gay, too.”

Matt’s feelings appeared to be torn on the subject of Vince, and Shane knew that was causing his friend pain. Shane wondered if he was better off letting the wound heal by allowing Matt to seal his emotions away, but Mia had convinced him that Matt and Vince had a real chance together. Knowing it was going to be cruel in the short term, he committed himself to making sure Matt wouldn’t forget Vince.

“Is that so? You certainly sounded like you liked him. Tell me about Vince. Maybe I can offer an opinion.”

“I don’t want to talk about him or any of the others,” Matt said, rolling over to put his back to Shane.

Shane frowned. After a short pause, he stood up. “Okay, Mattie. I’ll let you be. If you want to talk about it, just let me know.”

He walked over to the door before laying his barb. “I’m just surprised that Vince didn’t come to see you with the others. I suppose he’s working or something, and couldn’t get away. A pity, I think I would’ve liked to meet him.”

After shutting the door behind him, Shane leant against it and sighed. He knew from experience that it might take Matt a few days to get off his high horse. He was hoping that he could get Matt to worry enough about Vince that he would act. From what he’d learnt from Mia, and what he had heard from Matt since he had gotten back from Mourton, Shane believed that if Matt and Vince got together, then there would be a reasonable chance they would finally talk to each other about what was important.

Shane straightened up and decided to make himself a cup of tea. He didn’t expect Matt to make an appearance for at least a couple of hours. Shane was sitting down, sipping the hot drink, when he heard a phone going off. He looked around and spotted Matt’s mobile on the kitchen bench. After glancing in the direction of Matt’s room, he headed over and picked up the phone.

“Matt’s phone, Shane speaking.”

“Hi, Shane, it’s Matt’s mum. Is Matt there?”

“G’day, Mrs. Sterling! It’s good to hear from you. No, Matt’s not available at the moment. Can I help you, or would you like me to take a message?”

Shane smiled as he made himself comfortable in a nearby chair. He always enjoyed chatting with Matt’s mum.

“Well, Matt told us last week that he wouldn’t be coming down here until next week, but Fiona took a message earlier today that says he’ll be home this Saturday night. I’m just checking up to see what’s going on.”

Shane pursed his lips as he decided what to say. He realised that Matt must’ve rung his younger sister while he had been talking with Mia and Mark.

“Well… I think I need Matt to make a final decision, but I know what’s going on. Please don’t say anything to him, because it’s a sore point at the moment, but there’s a guy that Matt’s really confused about. I’m hoping they’ll get themselves sorted out, but Matt’s gone into one of his stubborn moods. Why don’t I keep you informed? At the moment, Matt’ll be there on Saturday, but I’m hoping he shows up late, if you get my meaning.”

A chuckle came down the line. “Okay, Shane. I’ll leave things with you. Are you still coming for Christmas dinner?”

Though Mrs. Sterling couldn’t see it, Shane was indignant.

“Of course I am! How could I miss one of your dinners? I’ll be having lunch with my parents first, and then I’ll see you early afternoon.”

“All right. Until then, take care, Shane, and keep me informed as to what happens with Matt.”

“Promise not to say anything about this guy? I don’t want things messed up with an accidental word.”

“I promise. I’ll leave it with you. If you approve of the guy, I’m sure he’s right for Matt.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Sterling. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I find out.”

“Bye, Shane!”

“Bye, Mrs. Sterling. Give my love to the rest of the family.”

Shane smiled. He knew he could count on Mrs. Sterling for help with Matt.

* * *

Warren stormed through the door and into the kitchen. He didn’t immediately recognise the girl beside the stove, but when she looked up at him he remembered her as one of Vince’s friends.

“G’day, Mia. What are you doing here?” he asked, looking around for a clue as to where his parents could be found.

“I’m helping out by cooking dinner. Your mum isn’t too well at the moment,” Mia said. She used the wooden stirring spoon to point to the living room door. “Go see her. They’ve been waiting for you to come home before they have dinner.”

“Thanks,” Warren called out over his shoulder as he headed in the indicated direction.

“Warren!” Mrs. Aster called out as he walked into the room. She quickly rose to her feet and grabbed him in a big hug.

Warren gave her a clumsy embrace in return. He was shocked by her haggard appearance, which looked as if she hadn’t had any sleep. He was worried by what it meant, as she normally tried to look her best at all times. He raised his eyes to look at his dad and was concerned at how old the man looked. Events were aging his parents at an unnatural rate.

“Thanks for coming, son. We really need you here.”

After disentangling himself from his mother, Warren sat down on the couch, and then his mum joined him. He put an arm around her, trying to comfort her with his presence.

“I take it he’s still missing. Do you know what’s happened?”

Tony Aster gave a slow nod as he gnawed at his lower lip. Warren waited.

“I don’t know how to say this, so please forgive me if I’m blunt,” Mr. Aster said, staring at his eldest son. He dropped his eyes to the floor. “Vince has run away because his friends found out he’s gay.”

Warren was startled. With all the possible scenarios that had been running through his mind since the phone call from his dad, that was one that hadn’t occurred to him.

“Vince is gay?”

Mr. Aster looked up and nodded, his eyes not leaving Warren’s face. “He’s still your brother and he’s still our son. We can’t talk to him about this until we find him.”

“What’s there to talk about? He likes guys. So what? I’m going to kill him when we find him, but that’s because he’s scared you two half to death, not because he’s gay!”

“You don’t mind?” Mrs. Aster asked Warren, still nestled against him.

“Mum, I work on Oxford Street, the heart of Sydney’s gay community. At Mardi Gras time in particular you can’t go down the street without seeing gays everywhere. If I had a problem with gays, I’d be looking for another job,” Warren said. He laughed. “Even the pub we go to for drinks after work on a Friday night is a gay bar. No, I don’t mind Vince being gay.”

“Rhys said Vince told him he can’t be gay in a small town,” his dad said.

“If that’s his only problem, he can move to Sydney and live with me. I can take him and show him around. Even introduce him to a few other young gay guys,” Warren said. “The only reason I haven’t said anything, besides not knowing he’s gay, is that I’ve always assumed he’d stay here. That’s part of the reason I moved to Sydney, so he wouldn’t have to wonder if I wanted the farm.”

Tony Aster gave a dry laugh. “I don’t think there’s been any doubt about you wanting to stay, Warren. Unlike your brother, you don’t love the land.”

“I tried, Dad, I really did. Vince loves this place, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

“We know, son, we know,” Kirstie Aster said, though her soothing tone was a contrast to her wringing hands.

While Warren gently squeezed his mother’s shoulders, his dad stood up and started pacing.

“We’re hoping he’s just gone off to blow off steam, but we don’t know, and I don’t want to take any risks he might do something stupid. He’s taken a ton of camping and fishing gear. Do you have any ideas of where he might’ve gone?”

Warren grimaced. “There’s too many possibilities. If he’s camping, he could be anywhere in the hills. Without a full-blown search, it could take weeks to find him, and that assumes he’s not moving around.”

“You don’t know of a special place he might’ve gone to?” Tony asked.

Warren shook his head. “Vince and I haven’t spoken a lot for the last couple of years. Any place he’s likely to go will be somewhere his friends have taken him to, or somewhere he’s discovered himself since getting his license. Sorry.”

When he saw his Dad’s whole frame slump, Warren quickly added, “But since I’m here, I can go looking. If he’s taken fishing gear, he’ll be near a lake or stream. I can start checking them out.”

Tony nodded, not raising his head. “Thanks, son. I’ll get the others to fill you in on where they’ve already checked.”

“Others?”

“My friends and I,” Mia said from the doorway. “We’re all looking for him, too. We’re not going to stop until we find him.”

Warren sensed the diminutive girl’s determination. If that was all that it took to get his brother back home, it wouldn’t be long before he could have a heart-to-heart with his brother. Warren had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

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