Shy Pete

As a young bloke, I came across a windmill expert who was doing some repairs on a mill on the property where I was working as a station hand.

The boss was named Jack, and he had a kid working with him, a kid who was probably more shy than me.

I said G'day to Jack and the kid and started asking Jack about the windmill repair business.  Jack seemed happy enough telling me what he knew, but every so often he would yell at the kid in a most abusive manner.

"What's takin' ya so long? Get some ants in ya' bloody pants and get a move on."

The kid, in overalls, which were three sizes too big, and a greasy hat pulled down almost to over the ears, tried to hurry up but stumbled on the cuffs of the long legged overalls. I was thinking to myself that this poor kid was in the wrong job, and the boss was  too hard on someone that looked as young as this kid did, but there was no way I was going to say anything. 'Tanyrate, we got to talking, and I got to swearing about everything, just like men do, which I considered myself to be.

It got to be getting late in the day, and the boss suggested that I come back for a bite to eat later and, seeing as I was interested, he would go ove a few pointers with the working windmill.

When I got back there was no sign of the kid in the overalls, and I mentioned that fact, but not with a great deal of interest.

"Somewhere around," said Jack and started on about how he was an expert at windmill expertingl and how he ... I suddenly lost interest, as this pretty little girl came up from the tank. She was drying her hair. Long blonde hair, and had a bit of a smile on her cute face. I gulped, as young blokes do in the company of pretty little girls with wet hair,or wet anything for that matter, and turned my head away in embarrassment of my fine words of the afternoon.

"This is Jenny, 'me bloody daughter," Jack said as a sort of an  introduction, "She was the lazy kid with all the grease over her, today when ya' come."

"I ... I ...  I'm pleased to meetcha', an' I'm bloody sorry for bloody swearing today," I blundered.

"Don't worry about it. This old bastard bloody swears at me all the bloody time." Now this was the first time I had heard a young girl swear like this, and to tell the truth it didn't sound right, but her looks covered  her words very nicely.

I couldn't concentrate on what Jack was saying for the rest of  the evening, and he knew what my trouble was.

"Not a lot of shelias out here, hey, Pete?"

"Yeah! Yeah! No, no there ain't."

Me being as shy as a bloke with a busted zipper in a dance hall, I was as red as a beetroot as Jack asked Jenny what she thought of me.

"Yeah! He looks all right, Ive seen worse," and she laughed out loud.

I can tell you, with encouragement like that any young bloke would go for it, so I opened up with "Ya' wanna go to the pitchers, Jenny?"

'Yeah, I suppose."

Jenny and I helped each other with our shyness over the next six months.

I left Aramac a changed man, and wondered about Jenny for some time after that.

I am not saying that this is Jenny, but it could be 'cause it is a long time ago and me' memory is a bit gone, ifn' ya' know what I mean!