Gladioli in August Read Free

shaking her arm. “There she is.”
    Jael pressed her face against the window. The huge cone of the volcano rose into the sky. Kyle’s worries came back to her. “It is extinct, right?”
    “Who knows? The volcanologists refer to her as dormant. She last erupted in 1723 and hasn’t even stirred since. You have villages all around the island, plantations, vineyards, farms. Most have dirt airstrips, so you’ll get your bumpy take offs and landings there. The base one is tarmacked…well, most of it is. That also serves as the town’s main runway. The actual airport isn’t much more than a hut with a couple of security people on duty to man the radio, but we get by. We’re not set up for anything bigger than small planes like this one.”
    He turned on the radio. “Achor, this is Micah on approach from the east.”
    “Hi, Micah. Runway is all yours.”
    “Cheers.” He put the radio down and guided the plane straight in.
    Jael closed her eyes as the plane bounced. That seemed like a terribly lax radio conversation to her, nothing like what she’d imagined, or like the one with the control tower at East Timor.
    “And here’s Danny to meet us.”
    Jael opened her eyes to see a tall man coming across towards the plane. She jumped down and was instantly hit by a wall of intense heat and humidity.
    Micah dumped her bags on the ground. “Danny Taylor, this is Jael Stevens, your new nurse and her many cases and bags. I shall leave the two of you to get acquainted, and I’m off to bed.”
    “Oh, night.” Jael watched Micah head off and then turned to the other man. “Is he always like this?”
    “Pretty much.” He held out a hand, his accent clipped and distinctly American. “Danny Taylor, in charge around here.”
    “Jael Stevens.”
    “Pleased to meet you. Just call me Danny. We don’t stand on ceremony around here. The place is too small and busy for that.” He grabbed a couple of her bags. “Come this way. We’re currently doctorless. Kevin got called to one of the other islands, Bantu, this morning. They have a smallpox epidemic, and he won’t be back for some time. That means you’re it.”
    She followed him with the rest of her luggage. “Talk about being thrown in at the deep end,” she said, trying to keep up with his long strides. “I can assure you, I’m fully qualified.”
    Danny nodded. “What about the language? Here they speak Tiampian, Indonesian, and Malay. A few of the Dutch descendants speak English, but they’re in the minority.”
    “A little Malay, but I’m a quick study.”
    “Good, that will be a help. The clinic is there, dispensary, stores, offices…”
    Jael tried to keep up as Danny nodded to buildings as they passed them.
    He led her into a brick building. It was much cooler than outside. “These are the living quarters.”
    Jael followed him up three flights of stairs and down a dingy hallway.
    “There is a light switch by each fire door. It stays on long enough to get from one end to the other, but we don’t use them during daylight hours.” Danny stopped outside a door with her name on it and slid the key into it. “This is you.”
    The door swung open. He carried her cases in and set them on the floor. “I’ll see you in my office in twenty minutes to go over your schedule and fill in all the paperwork. Micah’s room is right next to yours. It’s easier that way in case you’re both needed during the night.”
    “OK.” Jael took the key from him and wandered over to the small window. She could see Gunung Berapi in the distance, snow on its peak and trees lining its sides. Perhaps on a day off she could get over there somehow.
    Turning around, she glanced around the room. It was small, bordering minute, containing a bed, sink, chest of drawers, wardrobe, and bed. The furniture was basic and shoehorned into the available space, which gave the room a cramped, almost claustrophobic feel.
    To one side was a tiny ensuite, containing a toilet and shower. But