LOVE & POPPIES - PART 4 OF 4
Belle had been standing in front of the judge for the last four hours. They had done it. They won the court case and the poppy farm had been convicted of illegal land clearing on the bordering national park to their property. Environmental legislation had not been a strong protector of stands of vegetation, even when it was in protected reserves. But Belle had accessed new information under another act that protected whole ecological communities, and this meant that they were able to make a prosecution. It was such a relief that Belle and Jack had their first win for BJ Law. They could now focus on other cases that started building as they had quickly gained a reputation as a small legal powerhouse with the protection of the environment at the top of their priority list.
Five months on from the landmark court case, life had slowed down for Belle and Peter. It was a great sadness that his mother had died two months earlier. Belle had taken time off work to be with Peter. They sat at the front deck of their house during a cool winter day with the sun going down behind them. Peter had slipped into one of his quiet phases so the two of them listened to the waves from across the road of their beach house. It was after dark by the time Peter broke his silence, and Belle was surprised to hear that Peter felt relieved by his mother’s death. It had been such a struggle for his mother and the family. She had been in so much pain for a long time. His Dad seemed to be coping ok and he was supporting his daughters – Peter’s sisters. Peter had spent less time with his sisters since his mother died. He felt so distant from them, but closer to Belle than he had ever been before. Peter’s family were grieving and it was only Peter that felt that sense of relief that his mother was no longer experiencing pain. This idea hurt his family, as they couldn’t understand his detachment from this horrible disease that took the woman they loved from their lives.
Peter remembered his fantasy thoughts from a year ago, of the two of them starting a new life in northern Queensland. They had only spoken about the idea once, but that was before Belle had started up her law firm with Jack. Things were completely different now, and Belle had responsibilities to her business and her associate. She wondered what she would do in her new life, and if she could work remotely. They decided to sleep on it and consider things again in the morning.
The next morning was simply not enough time to decide on how their life might play out. It was another three weeks of conversations about what sort of life they might want to live in tropical Queensland. They had managed to speak with Jack about their potential move and he was supportive after being reaffirmed by Belle that she would stay on with BJ Law remotely and fly to Victoria for court proceedings if she needed to. They also decided it would be a good time to expand their firm and hire a junior associate to work on preparing the cases, and a small administrative team to keep things ticking along now that Belle was leaving the office.
It was another two months before Belle and Peter had packed up their belongings from their quaint Torquay house, and made the big drive up to the sunny Queensland state, where they decided to rent a house in the coastal town of Mission Beach. Belle had always loved the area for its rich wilderness and forests. Peter loved it there and together they felt happy and finally free of stresses and worries. Their connection was still strong, and Peter had started searching for new work in a nearby town.
Belle and Peter were out exploring the area when they came across a sugarcane farm bordering the nearby national park, and noticed one of the tractors was heading towards a small family of Sarus Cranes in the field. Belle jumped out of her car and ran along the fence line waving down the driver of the tractor to stop them from driving across the nest of the cranes. There was no slowing down and the birds had flown ahead, leaving the nest behind and the eggs destroyed. Luckily, Peter had captured it all on camera. Belle got out her phone and called Jack – she knew she had a new environmental case on her hands and that BJ Law would be expanding their law firm to northern Queensland.
Amanda Lilleyman is a fledgling writer. Her most recent passion is ice skating, an unlikely but enjoyably cool endeavour in the tropics.
