CHAPTER ONE

"If passenger, John Berg, outbound for Auckland, New Zealand is still in the terminal, will he please report to United Airlines Desk 23 …"

          Julie Berg, one of the thousands of passengers delayed at New York's J.F. Kennedy International Airport due to the biggest snowstorm through the Eastern Seaboard that January, jerked awake and frowned. She moved the sleeping head of her six-year-old sister from her lap, stared, bleary eyed around and felt down for their hand luggage. Yes, it was tucked safely beneath their feet. Everywhere she gazed, travelers, like themselves, were stranded and waiting for the snowplows to do their job so the airport could reopen.

          "Daddy!" the twelve year old girl hissed and poked the well built man snoring in the seat next to her."  I heard your name called out."

          "What? What?" John muttered. He opened his eyes to see Julie gazing at him with her forehead creased in a frown. "I'm sorry. I must have dropped off. What time is it, Sweetheart?"

          "Two in the morning, Daddy," Julie continued and nodded at the unseen speaker above them. "Listen!"

          John yawned and smiled at his elder daughter, a tall slim girl with an easy smile, a pinch of a nose and moderately long light brown hair. She seemed to be growing every day and had already reached puberty. Dressed in a new suit and with a light touch of make up she was a young woman, not a child any more. Perhaps the events of the previous few weeks had force her into maturity before her time. He sighed and turned his attention to the continuous stream of announcements until he heard his name coming through.

          "Stay here with Helen and the gear, Sweetheart," he said and cranked his stiff body out of the seat. "I'll go and see what they want."

          "Can you get me a burger and coke, Daddy?" Julie asked. "I famished."

          "Sure, Sweetheart. See you soon." He grinned. Perhaps she was just a kid, after all.

          John threaded his way through the huddled mass of people until he came to the almost empty airline's desk. The crisp and clean attendant smiled as he approached and mentioned his name.

          "Yes, Mr. Berg," she began. "We can reroute you to Dallas/Fort Worth and onto an Air New Zealand flight leaving for New Zealand later this afternoon. Unless another storm comes though, a domestic United Airlines flight for Dallas will leave JFK at first light but I'm not sure of the departure time."

          John smiled. "I'll take it," he replied. "That's good news. I knew we'd missed our United connection at Los Angeles."

          "Great," the attendant said and clicked away at the computer terminal keys. "Now, that was two adults and two children?"

          "No," John replied and was about to say there were only he and the two kids when he felt a slight tug on his sleeve.

          He turned and noticed the intense hazel eyes of a slim woman in her late fifties staring up at him. "Grandma!" he gasped. "What are you doing here? You should be home in your apartment in this weather. I told you it was useless coming to the airport to see us off." He frowned when he realized his mother-in-law was in the international departure lounge? Only passengers were allowed this far in.

          Fiona Reynolds' eyes misted over. "There is nobody here for me now, John. Only you and the kids. I decided to follow you out but heard your flight was delayed and managed to find you." She hesitated. "That's if you want me tagging on. If not, it is easy enough to cancel the ticket."

          John stared at the moist eyes and his heart went out. Of all the people in the world, this determined woman was the one he'd want with them. The tearful goodbye and the promises to keep in touch seemed totally inadequate after the earlier decision to continue the family's emigration to New Zealand. Anne and he had planned it over the last two years and everything had been finalized five months before.

          "Oh Fiona," he replied and tucked his arms around the frail woman. "You know we want you but what of your apartment and the cat?"

          "Thelma, next door has adopted Patches and as for the apartment, it is only a building. One can't live on memories, you know!"

          "So my arguments did get through?" John replied.

          "A stubborn old lady takes a while to see the light," Fiona retorted, "but when I saw the cab drive away I had a rethink and here I am."

          John grinned and turned to the attendant. " I was wrong. It is two adults and two children," he corrected.             

                                                                   ***

"My God! Look at it Daddy," Helen gasped in astonishment as the city unfolded beneath their Boeing 747 thirty-six hours later. "You said hardly anybody lived here."

          Beside a muddy estuary, thousands of houses stretched away into the distance. As the aircraft dipped and circled around for its approach to the airport, high rise buildings, topped by a gigantic tower rose in front of a second harbor, this one blue and shining in the morning light.

          "We are arriving on schedule at Auckland International Airport," announced the captain over the public address system. "As you can see, the weather is fine and sunny. It is seven a.m., local time; the temperature is sixteen degrees Celsius and is expected to rise to twenty-eight degrees this afternoon. For our American passengers, that is sixty degrees Fahrenheit rising to eighty two degrees.…"

          "I know that," retorted Julie. "We aren't dumb."

          " …Most of New Zealand is in the middle of a summer drought at the moment," the voice droned on, "Please have your passports and customs declarations ready for inspection. For New Zealand citizens …" the voice continued but the Berg girls had stopped listening. There were too many other things to attract their attention as the 747 descended onto the runway that stuck like a gigantic aircraft carrier into the harbor west of the city.

         Even John, who had visited before, felt a twinge of excitement as a tiny hand grasped his and Helen gazed up at him. "I'm glad Grandma is with us, Daddy," she whispered.

          "I am too, Sweetheart" John replied. He caught his younger daughter's smiling eyes and reached up for their luggage. For better or worse, they had arrived in their new homeland. The circumstances had changed so much since he had suggested to Anne they sell their Upper New York State ranch and purchase a property in New Zealand. She was gone now, but at least the family's dreams could be fulfilled.

          "Mom would have loved this view," Julie added. She tucked an arm around Helen's shoulder and used the other to squeeze her father's arm.

          "Yes, Sweetheart," John added. "and I know this is what she would want us to do."

          They watched as the aircraft turned onto a taxiway and made the final journey to the distant terminal building. Airports the world over, looked the same from this direction.    

                                                          ***

After customs and transfer to the domestic terminal the Bergs had an hour and a quarter's flight in a tiny fifty-seater aircraft to the city of Palmerston North.

          They walked inside the small but modern terminal land and stood, somewhat disorientated until a young man in a crisp suit and bright smile approached. " I heard your accent and assume you must be the Berg family, "he said and took John's nod as a signal to continue talking. "I'm Gerard Hurstworld from Taylor and Webber, the real estate agents working for you." He smiled at the girls. " You must be Julie and Helen. Welcome to New Zealand. You, too, John." He switched his eyes to Fiona and gave a tiny nod.

          "Fiona Reynolds, my mother-in-law," John introduced. "She decided to come with us."

          "Of course. Hello Fiona." Gerard smiled and shook everyone's hand before turning back to the family's leader. "May I offer my sympathy at the tragic loss of your wife, John. I spoke to Anne on the phone on one occasion a few months back. She sounded a very pleasant person."

          "Thank you," John replied. "It all happened so quickly in the end," he hesitated, "After a great deal of soul searching we decided to come, anyway."

          "If there is anything we can do, just ask," Gerard continued and sounded as though he meant it. "We've got the new Ford Fairmont wagon you ordered out in the parking area and the guy from the dealer, is around somewhere for you to sign along the dotted line. I think everything else is done. If you wish, I'll travel out in your car and show you where to go. My wife who will follow in our car and bring me back."

          "That's awfully kind of you," John replied, "but are you sure?"

          "No problem," the man replied. "It's about an hour and a bit to the farm. " He scratched his chin. "The last bit is pretty windy but I'm sure you'll like the place once you arrive. A real bargain, too, I might add, a mortgagee sale and far better than the original property you were considering."                                                                                             

                                                                   ***

After twenty kilometers of wide straight two lane highway through rich but parched farmland they reached rolling hills that became more windy the further they traveled. They wound down into a beautiful valley and crossed the Rangitikei River, a tumbling river cutting through a valley beneath enormous white cliffs. From there they drove up through to a tiny village named Hunterville, turned along a narrow sealed road that headed through a picturesque valley between steep hills. 

          John, who was still trying to cope with the steering wheel on the right and driving on the left, almost panicked when he drove around an 'S' bend to find a gigantic Mack truck filling the road in front. Instinctively he pulled the wrong way, Julie screamed but the truck had stopped. As they squeezed by the tractor unit and two trailers loaded with sheep, the grinning driver, pulled his hooter when Helen waved at him.

          "It's been so dry, many farmers are selling off stock," Gavin explained. "Your place is fine, though. The previous owner under stocked the place and the gullies have still retained their moisture. When I visited last week, the stream still had quite a volume of water flowing through. " He grinned at Helen sitting, wide eyed, in the middle of the front seat. "What do you think so far, young lady?" he asked

          "It's different," the youngster replied," and I don't like the narrow road." She glanced up at Gerard.  

          The road from that point on wasn't bad, it was diabolical! They turned off the sealed road where a faded yellow sign stated Long Valley Road, State Highway 49, 63 km.

          The gravel road was barely wider than the Fairmont and John had no idea what would happen if an auto came the other way. As they wound up another hill through steep native forest that Gerard called bush, his thoughts grew gloomy. The back tires spun on another corner and dust bellowed up in dense brown clouds behind them. Even with the air conditioning on, the sun blazing through the windshield soon had his shirt covered in perspiration. The shady sections became welcome but the dry waist high grass and thistles covered in brown dust further added to his depression. What had he committed his family too?

***

In the back seat, Julie had similar feelings but was encouraged by her grandmother who sat with an almost satisfied smirk on her face. "It'll be fine, Julie," she said with her usual confidence. "Your daddy knows what he is doing. You just wait and see."

          "I hope so, Grandma," the twelve year old gulped as thoughts went back to Davidson Junior High School at home and all her friends. A pang of homesickness activated by motion sickness jerked through her slim body.

          As Fiona had predicted, the windy "U" bends did stop and the road opened out into a wide valley, the bush retreated and farms appeared.

          "Three more kilometers," Gerard said, "We're in the valley proper. There's no more windy road and that's Mount Ruapehu in front."

          Ahead, rising up above steep hills, a wide twin peaked mountain with snow still on the summit, filled the northern horizon in front of a bright blue cloudless sky.

          "It's beautiful," gasped Fiona. She glanced over at a white faced Julie who managed a weak smile. "I heard the ski fields there are some of the best in the North Island."

          They passed a farm house on the left and, a few moments later, another to the right. Two more slipped by before Gerard instructed John to slow down at a wooden sign carved into a split log that stated  Top Oasis Farm .

          They had arrived!

          The driveway led up a steep gradient before it leveled out. They came to a wide expanse of green lawn fronting their new home, a modern house built of cream bricks. A huge bay window was on the left while three more were along the front of the house. Two attic windows poked out from a steep tiled roof. Ornamental shrubs, a tennis court and, even better for the girls, a kidney shaped swimming pool beneath overhanging fern trees appeared, adjacent to a large car garage. Flower gardens circled between the drive and bush area while, to the right two large farm buildings could be seen behind a white painted fence.

          The whole grounds were spacious and in immaculate condition.

          "Welcome to your new home," Gerard announced as he stopped the car under a shady archway built out from a double glass door of the house's side entrance.

          "Oh Daddy!" exclaimed Julie with her eyes twinkling as she stared at their new home. ”It's more modern and bigger than our house back in The States.

           Helen, though, saw something else. She gave a squeak of delight when a massive ginger cat strolled around the corner and stared disdainfully at them as if he was the owner of the property.

          "You have a choice about Ginger," Gerard said. "We've had a manager here over the last couple of months since the original owner shifted out and he fed the cat. If you don't want it, I promised him to my wife."

          "We'll keep him," Fiona retorted before anyone could say a word. "I love cats."

          The new immigrants clamored out of the vehicle and, the girls waited impatiently as Gerard unlocked the ranchsliders and they walked through a carpeted entranceway to a wide polished door. Beyond this was the kitchen and open spaced living area together with another surprise. The furniture was familiar.

          "Yes," Gerard said and grinned. "Your container arrived two weeks back and the moving firm unpacked everything. You may not like where we placed everything but at least it is all out and we have disposed of a ton of cardboard boxes"

          "We?" queried John.

          "Well, you were such good clients, my firm decided to tidy up after the packers left. Not many New Zealanders can afford to pay cash for a property like this.”

          Julie followed her father   through the spacious interior and saw everything they'd packed up three months earlier. Her room even had their teddy bears propped up on beds and clothes placed neatly in the en suit closets.

          "We never expected this," John gasped and reached out to pump Gerard's hand. "Thank you!"

          "The farm gear you brought is out in the implement shed," Gerard added. "I guess you'd call it a barn. The large wooden building further out is the wool shed."

          There was a cough and everyone turned as a chubby brunette woman walked in and Gerard introduced her as his wife, Claire.

          "There was so much dust on the road I had to drop back so I wouldn't be suffocated," she remarked after all the introductions were made.

          "And I bet you helped arrange everything, Claire," Fiona said. "My, even our curtains have been altered to fit the windows."

          "Gavin and I did spend a couple of weekends here," the New Zealander admitted.

          "I knew it," Fiona laughed. "I could see the woman's touch as soon as we walked in."

          "Daddy," Julie tugged on her father's sleeve. "Can we go for a swim? I'm all sweaty.’

          'Please Daddy,' Helen jumped up and down in excitement.

          'How about a bite to eat first?' John asked but knew he was fighting a loosing battle.

                                                                   ***

Mere moments later the Berg girls, having already picked up and cuddled the cat, were screaming and splashing in the swimming pool while the adults brought out food and set out a picnic lunch on a large wooden table in the patio. John had to smile as Claire produced a large hamper she called a chilly bin filled with sandwiches, a salad and other summer food.

          'It's really Gerard's day off," Claire admitted. "We decided to make a picnic of your arrival I hope you don't mind."

          John just stared with a grin transfixed across his face. "Nobody has ever done this for us before," he replied. "I don't know how to begin to thank you."

          "It's no problem," Claire replied. She chuckled. "Gerard and I love it out here."

           John laughed. "Then come back any time."

          He grinned as Claire unscrewed a large thermos and poured some coffee into four cups brought out from the kitchen. "I know Americans always like coffee," she said. "It's only instant, I'm afraid. There are some cans of soft drink for the girls.  I wasn't sure what they'd like."

          "They drink anything that's bad for them," John laughed. "Soda will be grand."

          He sat back and gazed around at the familiar furniture, ornaments, cushions and even the cups Claire had used to pour the coffee into. They were half a world from home but everything was here. They could have moved a couple of blocks to a ranch house in the United States. The big difference from their old home, though, was that the sky was crystal clear and it was mid summer.

          His mind drifted back and a melancholy expression appeared. Anne was the one who'd suggested the big move in the first place. It was ten years since developers threatened their ranch and they'd held out for years, too long, perhaps. Anne would never see the result of all their efforts. One small lump on her breast that she hid from him until it was too late did all the damage. She had refused treatment that may have prolonged the inevitable for a few months .

          A soft hand touched his shoulder. "Thinking of Anne aren't you, John?" Fiona whispered. "I'm proud of you and everything you've done. After working for twenty years, you pulled your father's ranch back from the verge of bankruptcy and won that frightful court case against your useless brother. Now, you have this fine freehold property to show for your efforts."

          "Thanks Fiona," John replied. His marriage to Anne been tough, stressful but especially in the earlier years had been happy but now… John sighed and switched his attention to Gerard who held a plate of food under his chin.

          "Thanks," he smiled and took a tomato and cucumber sandwich. "My mind was a million miles away."                                                                                                                                                        

***