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She emailed her dad two or three<br />
days a week except when confronting<br />
a major project deadline<br />
or preparing for an exam.<br />
Both offspring, children no<br />
longer, appeared comfortably<br />
independent. Neither seemed<br />
to miss their father’s perennial<br />
affection and support, as they involved<br />
themselves with their own<br />
busy lives. They didn’t need Cam.<br />
For more than a decade,<br />
Yvonne had regularly told Cam<br />
that she wanted out of their relationship.<br />
He had consistently replied,<br />
“OK, if that’s what you really<br />
want.” Within five or six days,<br />
she usually said, “No, of course I<br />
want us to be together.” Even so,<br />
the cumulative stress had begun<br />
to wear Cam down. Two days<br />
ago, Cam had for the first time<br />
offered a different response: “Be<br />
careful what you wish for.”<br />
“I just wish I didn’t have to be<br />
with you,” Yvonne had said.<br />
“You don’t.”<br />
“What else can I do?”<br />
“Whatever you want. What do<br />
you want?”<br />
“I don’t want to stay here with<br />
you, that’s for sure.”<br />
“Well, yeah, OK. I mean, you’re<br />
not going to be here anyway—<br />
with me or without me. We’re all<br />
packed up; I’ve already bought<br />
tickets back to Portland. In two<br />
months, you’ll be back in a bigger,<br />
nicer house. What’s the<br />
problem?”<br />
“I’ll still be with you.”<br />
“Is that so bad?” Cam had<br />
asked, really wanting to know.<br />
“Yes. I need to get on with my<br />
life.”<br />
“So, do you want me to stay<br />
here? You could just go back to<br />
Selma without me.”<br />
“That would be great.”<br />
The following morning, Cam<br />
had risen even earlier than usual<br />
and written a note saying, “I’ve<br />
always done everything I could to<br />
give you what you wanted,” and<br />
left it on the kitchen table with<br />
most of his cash and his keys to<br />
the Oregon house. He started for<br />
the door, then turned back and<br />
wrote two short notes telling his<br />
children he loved them and carried<br />
those notes out to his pickup.<br />
After a short stop at the Windorah<br />
post office to mail the two letters,<br />
he headed west on the Diamantina<br />
Developmental Road.<br />
Cam headed south from<br />
Cordillo Downs the following<br />
afternoon on a track paralleling<br />
38 WINDWARD REVIEW | Vol. 18
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