Chapter 8

"Bicycles?" This time, I was convinced Heather had lost her mind. The two Giant bikes leaned against the front entrance of our four star apartment in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

"I know, right? How much fun is this?" Heather handed me a helmet and a backpack. "It's only about a ten minute ride."

We'd arrived in town only an hour before, flying into the beautiful red vastness of the Western Australian inland. After a quick taxi ride to our two-bedroom accommodation, Heather had informed me we were required by the Super Pit management to wear the site uniform.

I'd hefted myself into the blocky blue work shorts and the orange long sleeved shirt with its reflector patches, feeling about as sexy as an infected toenail. The stiff material of the shorts made it hard to bend over and pull on my steel-toed work boots, snug against my thick socks. Add to that the fact I was slightly hung over, and I was barely able to walk, let along straddle something.

And now Heather was suggesting riding to the pit, rather than the option of taxiing. I was not impressed. Bicycles made me even more self-conscious than normal; I always wondered if anyone watching me was worried about the frame holding up under my weight. "Heather, I don't think I can physically ride at the moment."

"You'll be fine," she insisted blithely, snapped her helmet on and pushing her bike out the door.

Cranky, but too encumbered to stop her, I followed along. She was already at the gates of our small resort complex, so I heavily plonked my foot on the pedal and heaved my other leg over the seat. Groaning, I began to push hard to catch up.

We turned onto the main road, cycling leisurely through the little town. Above us, a clear day glowed, the sky a pale blue and the burning sun warming my bones.

"I thought we'd head up to the look-out first and see the whole mine. Then, you can meet your contact at ten at the main entrance." Heather chatted as we rode, her breathing normal. Her scarlet hair poked out from under the helmet in adorable spikes, and she was totally rocking the tradie-girl look, with her long legs luscious out the bottom of her blue shorts.

I panted out a reply. "Sounds... Good..."

"So... Did you decide what you're going to do about Matt's email?"

I'd filled Heather in on Matt's heartfelt letter on the flight. "I still don't know. I... I want to believe him, I do. But... does it make me sound horrible if I say I'm finding it harder to trust his motives because he's so hot?"

She chortled. "You know, studies show that people find attractive faces more trustworthy on average."

"Not for me. Plus... there's still the whole bet thing."

"Okay, seriously!" She extended her arm to indicate a right turn to the single car on the entire main street. We coasted around the corner. "Why don't you just ask him? Flat out; 'Matt, did you bet the crew that you could screw me?'"

As the wide red road sloped downwards, I said, "I can't ask him like that!"

"Well, all this back and forth isn't helping your stress levels. Find out for sure, because if he's innocent you can't keep sending him one line responses while the poor guy pours out his heart to you. And if he's guilty, then you're wasting all this time and mental energy for nothing."

"I told him we could talk tonight, about eight o'clock."

"Good. Get it sorted, once and for all. For a TV host, you're a horrible communicator, Evi."

"Heather, I swear to God..." I couldn't finish my insult, due to the steep incline of the road, putting my entire body into a quivering, acid-laced state of shock. I concentrated on pumping my legs, feeling the skin of my thighs chafing back and forth while sweat rolled down inside the thick shirt.

After what felt like a year of riding, the hill flattened out as we entered the viewing area. "Oh... Wow."

I had no words for the spectacular vista before us. All around, the land was flat and red and bare, which made the presence of the vast hole in the ground even more shocking. The cut had been scraped deep into the earth, and all around the sides of the hole were graded. It wasn't a perfect circular hole; instead it wound in curved shaped, following the gold as it had appeared.

I spotted some tiny specks at the far end of the pit. "Are those... trucks?"

"Yep. They're the massive trucks with wheels bigger than hot-tubs." Heather grinned and pulled me into her side. "Selfie time!"

I almost protested; after all, why on earth would I want a picture of myself in pumpkin orange, sweating and red-faced? But both of us were smiling in wonder, and with the gorgeous view behind our heads, it turned out to be one of my all-time favourite pictures.

Twenty minutes later, I parked my bike at the rack outside the security gate met my guide for the week.

"G'day, Evi," said the grizzled man. "I'm Jacko."

"Good to meet you!" I shook his hand, the fingers hard as burnished steel. "Thanks for having me this week."

"Our pleasure," he grinned. "We don't get a lot of excitement out here; you'll be a good boost for everyone."

He escorted me to his Land Cruiser, caked in red dirt. We jumped in and I asked, "So, tell me a little about this joint."

"Well, the Super Pit employs about 1100 staff. We're a bit different from most mines, because in other parts of the country people tend to fly in, work a few weeks, then fly home for a while. Here, everyone lives in Kalgoorlie-Boulder."

The four-wheel-drive began to descend into the pit via a long, sloped road. The walls rose around us, the sky pulling away above our heads. "Do you like it here?"

"It's a good place to live and I like me job," he said. "But I'm an old bloke. Small town life can be a bit hard on the young fellas."

I studied his sun-leathered face. "Why?"

"Too much time and not enough to do. You get to my age, you like a bit of peace and quiet, but the boys, they get bored."

I'd spent some in northern New South Wales as a kid. I understood. "Small town life can be really isolating," I agreed.

"It's not just that...." Jacko seemed like he wanted to say more, but he checked himself. "We're nearly at the bottom."

The road flattered out as we reached the end of the road. Jacko squinted in the sun, still pouring down on us. "The mine is over 3km long; this is the south end. I'm gonna leave you with Nora today. Over here..."

We pulled over to the side of the rough road, and I stepped out next to a truck the size of a two storey building. A grinning lady with curly brunette hair stuck her head out the cab window, far above my head. "Hello, love! Ready to go for a ride?"

With a little trepidation and a foot-support from Jacko, I navigated the ladder up the side of the behemoth beast, and entered the surprisingly cushy interior. "Hi, I'm Evi!"

"Nora." The woman was tiny, only coming up to my elbow, a little spitfire in her early forties. "I'm so excited to have you here, Evi! My kids and I watch you every morning!"

For some reason, I hadn't imagined women working in the mines, at least not out in the field; I'd pictured it as an entirely male environment. Certainly, everyone I'd seen on site so far had been a man, from Jacko to the guards on the gate, to the fifty or so guys milling outside the canteen on a smoko break.

But here was a mini-mum, cranking the gears on the truck as we roared into action as if she was born to wield the massive machinery. "So, can I answer any questions for you?"

"Um... yeah. How on earth did you get into this line of work?"

She cackled. "Do you mean, what's a girl like me doing in a place like this? Well, I used to be in PR back in Sydney. I worked a hundred hours a week, husband did the same, no time for each other, or the kids. One day, I surprised him by coming home early, and I found him screwing some woman he'd met online in our bed."

Nora pulled the truck into a line behind half a dozen others. "The marriage dragged on for a few years, but really, it was dead from that moment. I realised I needed to make a change for my family, so I did some research into places I could get the kids out of the city, but still earn a decent quid."

"And you came here?"

"Never looked back." She edged the truck forward, pride on her face. "We've been here five years now; my youngest is heading off to uni in Perth next year. I'll have made enough to retire after she's gone, working a regular 37 hour week, and my kids have had their mum around for their teen years."

"That's awesome," I said, a little preoccupied with the massive chute we had positioned ourselves under. A noise like thunder travelling in a freight train rolled above us and the cab shook as our load was poured into the huge bucket behind us.

"So, did you ever remarry?" I asked as she drove us forward.

"Nah, mate. I wanted my kids to know they had my focus, but... between you and me, there's a bloke I reckon might ask me out once Elise is gone in January."

I smiled as the little warrior blushed. "Will you say yes?"

"You know, I just might."

"Is it hard, working around so many man?"

Nora pointed the truck towards the south road and we began our assent. "Nah. They're good blokes, most of them, even the young guys. They swear and drink and smoke, of course. A lot of them drink far too much, and I do worry about them, but they're decent men. They get lonely, so I end up playing mum to more than a couple of them. I don't mind."

I could imagine her as the site mama, gently scolding the youthful tradies. As the morning wore into afternoon, we drove load after load to the dumping station at the top of the pit, then turned around for more. The whole time, we chatted and gossiped, me discovering all about the unglamorous business of gold production and Nora very interested in the many celebrities I'd interviewed on Jump Start.

Around two, Nora parked the truck and we crossed to the canteen to grab some lunch. The buffet was far less fancy than the airport one, but still chockfull of fries, bread and greasy meats.

Heather's quiet voice echoed in my ear: Just because it's there, doesn't mean I need to eat it. Frustrated, I steered away from the carb-laden end of the line and towards the salads.

"Quinoa? Roast pumpkin? Baby beetroot?" I sounded more surprised than I should have.

Nora elbowed me in the hip, because that was where her arm came up to on me. "Don't be shocked, missy! We might be in the sticks, but we have good tucker out here, thanks."

"Works for me!" I piled my plate with colourful crunchy food, and followed Nora through to the dining room.

About twenty men sat eating at functional tables and chairs. They looked up as we entered and raised a cheer. "Evi! Woo!"

"Sit over here, sweetheart!"

"Nah, sit with us!"

"Bugger off! I'll give you a 'jump start!'"

It was like a high school girl's dream; where a crowd of boys in the cafeteria all cry her name and vie for her attention. I blushed furiously.

"Alright, settle down, you lot!" Nora waved them down good-naturedly. "Evi's with me today, so back off, all of you."

We sat a table alone, but in small groups, the tradie boys wandered over, politely asking about the show or for autographs. I'd never realised how popular Jump Start was with men as well as the female population.

Two young guys wandered up last. They were only a few years younger than me, one blonde, one dark. The blue-eyed boy spoke first. "Hi, Evi, I'm Jake."

"And I'm Joel," said his buddy, who looked to be Indigenous. "We were wondering... would you like to come out for drinks with all of us after work this arvo?"

"Sure," I said, flustered by the dedicated attention of the two very attractive men. "Where?"

"You will?" said Jake. "That's awesome! We always meet at the Grand Hotel about six."

"I'll see you there."

***

"So, you enjoyed it then?" Heather lounged on my bed, talking to me through the bathroom door as I towelled off after my shower.

"I liked it, way more than I thought I would." I globbed moisturiser into my palms. After the dry, dusty day in the truck cab, my skin was cracked and in desperate need of a liberal coating of shea butter.

As much as the creamy concoction felt blissful going on, I hating putting my hands on my own wobbly bits. The raw exposure of my naked, voluminous flesh under my fingers was a slap in the face, a bleak, hateful reminder of how much my own body revolted me. I rubbed it in quickly, distracting myself by conversing with Heather. "Nora is a great chick, and some of those miner boys... pretty cute!"

"Ooo! Tell me more..."

I wrapped the towel around my bulk and pulled my robe over the top. Emerging from the bathroom, I said, "Not much to tell. They all know who I am, which is weird-"

"Evi! Seriously, you know you're one of the best known faces in the country, right?"

"Not when I'm just me! TV with Matt, yeah, but on my own, no one ever really sees me."

Heather lay on her back, lolling on the bed with her feet in the air. "I refute that. Anyway, what are you wearing?"

"Hmm..." I scanned the contents of my small closet. There was a piece from Imogen I hadn't been game to wear yet, a spring green top which dipped low between my breasts. I had one decent plunge bra I could team with it, and the length of the green material would overlap my dark jeans.

I threw the ensemble on the bed and Heather eyed it critically. "Noice. Your cans will look magnifique! Wear your hair loose too – those boys won't know what the hell has come to town!"

I giggled and grabbed her leg, dragging her off my covers. "Thanks. Now, get out!"

She flailed and shrieked happily, grabbing at a pillow and whacking me in the face hard. We both cracked up and Heather said, "Oh, we are gonna have fun tonight!"

***

The next morning, I woke up and had a moment of pure enlightenment, where I floated above my body, my mind completely vacant.

Piece by piece, my body came back to me; my cheek was glued under me to a hard cold surface. Tiles? My brain pulsed inside my skull fiercely, and my belly roiled as if it was filled with maggots and motor oil. I clacked my tongue inside my mouth, and was greeted with the taste of stale vomit.

I scraped open my eyes, which took two goes. The first, I only succeeded in opening one, my pupil contracting painfully against the glare of the sun snaking in the windows. The second time, both pried wide, and I found myself on the bathroom floor of our apartment.

"Heth... Ugh... Heather?" My voice was hoarse, grating horrible through my vocal chords. I couldn't risk moving; I wasn't sure I wouldn't immediately pass out. "Heather!"

"Ah! Awake, my little drunken beauty?" Heather appeared above me, bearing a water bottle and a pack of Nurofen. "How are we feeling?"

"I'm... I think I gonna chuck..." I lifted my head, hoping I could make the toilet bowl in time.

She shook her head. "Nope, I doubt it. You couldn't possibly have anything left inside you. You threw up about five times, and the last lot was nothing but bile. Here, sit up. Take these."

Slowly, like moving through glue, I raised myself into a half-sitting position. Gratefully, I accepted the bottle and choked down the pills. "What the hell happened?"

"How much do you remember?"

"We... We went to the hotel." I winced suddenly, clutching at my temple. "Oo... We met a bunch of the boys... Someone said Jager-bombs... I don't know..."

Heather gave me the exact look my mother used to send my way after she found me passed out after a big night on the sauce. "You, my dear, were drunk off your ta-tas. You went from the shots, to tequila, to a massive jug of some local brew that tasted like battery acid. You sang karaoke, even though it wasn't karaoke night, then you started a conga line around the bar. Do you remember dirty dancing with Jake and Joel?"

"No..." I touched my lips. "I didn't kiss anyone, did I?"

"It was pretty close. I yelled at them for trying. I think I frightened them, because they let you be after that."

I smiled weakly at her. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. I didn't manage to stop you from something I think you're going to regret."

My already delicate stomach burbled in anxiety. "What?"

She looked pained. "You called Matt."

No Matt email at the end of this chapter - sorry!  I know some of you were enjoying those :)  Thanks so much to everyone for reading and supporting Evi's tale - I'm amazed at all the discussion this book has inspired in the comments!  People encouraging each other on their health journeys, people debating size over happiness, people empathising with Evi in a hundred ways.  I hope you're one of the people who feels this tale as deeply as I do - if you are, please tell me about it in the comments, I'd love to hear from you :)

Thanks for reading - please vote if you're enjoying it!  I'm not trying to beg and it might sound silly, but I really do appreciate the clicked stars.  You, my wonderful reader, are the reason I sit clicking alone at my keys on a Sunday night rather than blissing out brainlessly in front of the TV, so thanks for your support!  xxoo Kate