“Okay. We’ll leave it for today.” Outside, the street is beginning to dim as the afternoon passed. “Hey! There’s cooking to be done.”
Our guests arrive right on 6.30 which is pretty well timed since it’s peak hour. Actually, Jarrod comes straight from work and is helping Sandro with some stuff on the computer when his wife arrives, frazzled from the traffic, but triumphant.
“Hey. Look at you,” she says to her son. “Don’t you look so much healthier?” Her eyes are shiny when she comes across to me. “Hello darling,” she says giving me a big squeeze and staring at me. “Something’s very different about you, Bridey.” How she can tell that is hard to make out, but she’s right. I feel fuller and more content these days, except when I’m too busy being frazzled. “You must tell me all about it one day soon.” She is the one option of talking about Homarta who would understand the meaning of it. One day, maybe, there might be girlfriends to talk to about all the intricate pieces of my life, but I’m a long way off trusting anyone with this spiritual business.”
Instead of giving her a quick peck on the cheek and turning back to the soup, I hold on to her for a while and mumble into her shoulder. “It’s a date then. When shall we meet? Life is full now because of squeezing everything in before we go to Birdsville. I’m having driving lessons!”
She holds her breath for a moment. “You’re still going then?”
“Yep. In about a month.” Her face closes in a way I haven’t often seen, except perhaps when she’s been angry with Sandro. This must have all sorts of meaning for her.
“Well. Let’s make it in a couple of weeks, eh?” The subject of Sandro’s dad is one that can’t be addressed by me, or for that matter, him, and certainly not tonight.
“Hey. What are you two up to?” Sandro, alerted to the fact his mother is upset, cannot get her to say anything. In the end, we press on with dinner.
“When do you think you’d like to move back upstairs, Sandro?”
He pauses, forkful of curry halfway to his mouth. “I’d like to do it next week while Bridey’s still here. Dizziness is the big issue. He doesn’t mention the pain and seems to think everyone’s expecting him to be over it by now. But there’s no point in saying anything. He gives me a funny look. “Unless, of course, she decides to stay?”
The thought of being away from him isn’t pleasant, but I don’t want to move in quite yet. Independence is still a big issue. And then there’s all the trouble we’d had while we were in Mallacoota. It gives me the creeps thinking about it. “I don’t think we’re ready for that for a while,” my voice is firm while everything in me melts at the look he gives me, warm, inviting, seductive. God, he’s gorgeous! Then he scowls, and I recall how difficult and self-centered he can be. Clearing the plates is an excellent distraction from difficult topics. While I’m doing this his phone rings.
“If this is business Sandro, don’t take it now.” But he frowns at me and accepts the call.
While the dirty plates go into the dishwasher to make room for dessert, I watch his face, ready to be angry if he keeps talking while we have guests. The face in question is blackening, and my insides knot.
“You can keep him overnight as far as I’m concerned,” he says. The conversation on the other end of the phone goes on for a bit, then he asks, “Where are you? Okay. I’ll ring you back in ten minutes.” He hangs up and growls at us. “Don’t look at me like that. Wait ‘til you hear what it’s about.” His glare takes us all in, and his mother returns the stare with one of her own.
“Did any of us here cause the problem you seem to be having, Sandro?”
He takes a deep breath and apologises. “Sorry. No, of course not. It’s Josh.”
“What!” Fear brings a sour taste to my mouth. “Where is he? What’s happened?”
“He took the four wheel drive for a spin. With Ruby. I’m going to kill him.”
“Were they in an accident?” Jarrod asks for the three of us.
“No. No thanks to him. For heaven’s sake. He’s had five driving lessons. Seriously, I’m going to take him apart.”
“Where are they?” Gabriella begins to rise from the table, and it seems dessert is no longer on the menu, which is a pity because it’s lemon meringue pie, and looks spectacular.
“Richmond Police Station.”
“What! He didn’t drive down Hoddle Street?”
“No. Just did a blockie, but the police were cruising, and he was over the speed limit, no plates and looking way too young with a teenage girl in the car.”
A thought occurs to me. “Surely, he didn’t give them your phone number. He knows you’d be furious.”
“Stolen vehicle. Half a dozen charges, I reckon. I told them they could keep him.”
“Where’s Ruby?”
“Her parents are on their way.” What must it be like for someone who has no parents? Of course, Josh is not new to the law.
“Come on, Sandro. We’ll go and pick him up.” Jarrod stands and holds out his hand for Gabriella’s keys. “Do you mind staying here, love?” She shakes her head and tells him where the car is while Sandro goes for his jacket and boot. I wouldn’t be in Josh’s shoes for any amount of money.
When the front door slams behind them, we sit with our thoughts. Gabriella’s the first to speak. “He’ll be okay, sweetheart. Sandro will rattle him, and then he’ll sort out what needs to be done. He only looks dangerous.” She grins.
“I hope so. It makes sense he’s angry, though.”
“It does. But if he gives him too hard a time, I’m going to tell Josh about the time Sandro stole Jarrod’s car and took it for a joy ride and ran it into an island with pole in the middle. He was sixteen.”
This is worth thinking about. However if they bring up the story too early Josh won’t have to face his own behavior, so we decide to hang out in case Josh is in danger of either being locked up for months, or of becoming black and blue.
I put the coffee pot on, and we cut into the lemon meringue pie.
By the time the boys return we’ve only managed to save just above half of it. Josh is with them looking glum and obviously in disgrace, but that doesn’t stop his eyes lighting up at the sight of the pie.
“Don’t even think about it!” Sandro snaps. But Gabriella cuts the pie into three pieces, and we all sit together at the table.
“If this stops us going to the desert, Josh, I’m going to rough you up thoroughly.” And he quite clearly intends to, but instead of going deeper into the sulks Josh’s eyes light up.
“What! You’re still going to take me?”
“Well, I’m not going to go without you. We’d be short a driver. How could we do it? Bridey can’t handle it all on her own. What a mess this is! You’re an idiot, Josh, and I’m not happy.” Which he clearly isn’t. His voice is loud, his fury doesn’t seem to have diminished since they went to collect him, in fact it’s rising, and he continues to say some horrible things while we sit and listen watching Josh’s head hang lower and his pie go untouched. “How dare you? You could have killed her. Did you think of that?” Sandro breaks off his rant, and we’re silent, thinking. Then he starts up again. His parents don’t speak. “Now, you’ll have to go to court. If the dates interfere with our trip…”
“I didn’t think, Sandro.”
“No. You didn’t! We’ll just have to get the solicitor to sort out the dates.”
“What solicitor?” Josh’s tone is belligerent making Sandro rise in his chair and lean across the table to yell into his face.
“What do you think? Do you think I’m going to let you do this without a solicitor? What do you think I am?” Josh shrinks back, nonplussed. Sandro sits. “Oh, for goodness sake. Just eat your pie.”
The evening’s wrecked. Josh eats his pie. Gabriella holds back from mothering him. I do more dishes while Sandro and Jarrod return to the computer with their coffee. I can hear them making plans to shift the mattress upstairs. “How about we tackle it tomorrow?”
&nbs
p; “What!” Sandro speaks as though Jarrod has stolen his car. “You don’t want to be coming back again tomorrow. Some other time!”
“Chances are I’ll be coming back tomorrow anyway.”
“Why’s that?”
Jarrod turned to Josh. “How about you come home with us for tonight?”
Josh goes red and looks as though he’s about to cry. Still, Gabriella holds back. “I’ll be alright. I’m used to the streets.”
“Surely you’re not thinking you’re going outside to sleep. Why would you do that?” Jarrod’s voice was reason itself. “Come back with us. There’s no room here for you, and I’m going to need you somewhere close tomorrow.”
Josh’s belligerence rises as he struggles to hold himself together. “Why?”
“Because, no doubt the police will want to speak with you, and you should have your lawyer with you. Also, I could use a hand to shift the mattress tomorrow. Sandro’s arm’s not up to it.”
Gabriella comes up behind Josh and put her hands on his shoulders. “Come home with us, Josh. Everyone makes mistakes.” In the end, he decides to go. It wouldn’t have worked for him to stay with us. He definitely couldn’t be left to find his own accommodation. If the police found out he was on the streets, it wouldn’t help his case. Sandro grunts at him as they leave. Gabriella hangs back to speak with her son.
“I’m proud of you, Sandro.” She says, softly. “Don’t overdo it though. He’s had enough I think.”
We snuggle into bed leaving the rest of the dishes for the morning. If Josh had been upstairs that would have been a real nuisance. We have sex, and it’s delicious. Even better than the pie.
The next morning, Sandro has softened slightly. “You should have seen his face, Bridey when we walked in. It was all I could do to stay mad. He was shitting himself. Thought he’d blown everything. For that matter, he may well have blown it with Ruby’s parents. I don’t think he’ll be welcome there for a while.” He sits up and begins some stretches. “On the way home, he didn’t speak. Just sat in the back of the car feeling like a criminal. It was quite funny really.”
“You certainly did a good job of acting mad. I really thought you were furious when you walked back in with him.”
“Can’t let him think he got away with it, can I?” Sandro’s humour is infectious. “Must think of some way to give him a hard time.”
“Whaaat!”
“When Jarrod came to the accident site after I stole his car, he was a lot, lot worse. He was too quiet. It lasted for hours, and then he came into my room and asked me if I wanted to go live with my father, in Iran. At first, I was excited. Then he told me he was sick of my shit and had had enough of my tantrums. From now on, I was to pull my head in, or I was out. That was the first time I woke up to the fact that Jarrod did not actually have to be my dad if he didn’t want to. The thought of being separated from the girls and Mum made me panic. But the bit that surprised me the most was when I realised how important Jarrod is to me.” He pushes back his hair and stares off into the distance. “Do you know, I’ve never told him that? Last night, I saw it. There he was helping me out again, and putting up with my ranting and raving and never once have I told him I love him. And, thank you.” All the time he’d been in the hospital, Jarrod had largely been out of the picture. I’d wondered how he’d felt about that.
Just after lunch, Jarrod arrives with Josh. Leaving him with us, he goes off to do a couple of things, and Josh fronts up to Sandro. “I’m really sorry.” Sandro stands taking it in. Then, he gives him a slight grin. “No, listen,” Josh says. “You’ve been real good to me. It was a shitty thing to do, and you can do what you like to me, and I’ll take it. But, don’t just let me off. I feel real bad about it.”
“Well, there’s nothing much I can do to you, Josh. I’d like to rip your arms off or kick your arse, but my arm doesn’t work, and I need yours. Also,” he reflected, “if I tried to kick your arse, I’d probably fall over.” This is quite funny, but Josh doesn’t think so. He stands staring off across the room, lost in some inner battle which he doesn’t share with us. “Look, mate, I was angry last night, and you deserved it. That’s the end of it. If ever all of me starts working again like it should, I promise I’ll give you the hiding you deserve. Okay? That’s the best I can do.” He holds out his arms and is dismayed when Josh stumbles to the door ready to leave. “Hey mate. It was a joke.”
Josh turns and says savagely, “It was me who caused the accident in the first place.”
At this, Sandro strides over angrily and blocks the front door with his body. “What rubbish! We’ve been over this shit. Let it go, or I will seriously take you apart.”
“I wish you would, Sandro. You’re too nice to me, and I keep stuffing up. You’re always doing things for me, money and stuff.” He stands frozen, unable to work out what to do.
The door behind Sandro opens, and Jarrod walks in taking in the tableau.
“What’s this?”
Josh is trapped. “Just let me out. I need to walk or something.”
“No, you don’t.” Jarrod is kind, but determined. “What you need to do is to work off a debt.”
The boy’s eyes open, and he looks to Jarrod for a moment, hopeful.
“If you walk out of here now and leave me and Bridey to shift things alone, you’re not the man I thought you were.”
Josh goes and sits on the stairs. Sandro joins him. “Look, mate, we’re holding up Jarrod here, but there are a couple of things you need to know. Every kid does stupid stuff. I’m trusting Jarrod not to mention all the shit I put him through. When you’re on your own, you don’t always think straight. Stop doing this stuff, and just let me be angry with you for being a dickhead.” He thrusts his good arm around Josh’s neck and pulls him down, helpless. “The only other thing we can do is put you to work. Behave yourself!”
When Sandro releases him, Josh doesn’t sit up at first. He just lies on Sandro’s knee and stares at the floor. Then he says, “Okay. Let’s get cracking” and jumps to his feet. Then, he stops again. “One more thing…”
“What is it? Make it quick. We’ve got work to do.”
“Can you not tell Flagran?”
“Well, mate. I can try. But he probably knows already.”
“Who’s Flagran?” We’ve all forgotten Jarrod hasn’t met the Caretakers.
“Just a mate of his who’s good to him,” Sandro says airily. “What are you worried about Josh?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“What? Out with it.”
“He told me if I said I caused the accident again, he’d be after me.”
“Not only will I not keep it a secret, Joshie, but if you don’t get over it, I’ll sic him onto you. I promise you that in all seriousness.”
For some reason this appears to work, and Josh sets about shifting all the gear back up the stairs with Jarrod. He seems to go in and out of these fits like a bee with a hive and you never know when he’s going to be completely overwhelmed. During the afternoon, several times, he disappears inside himself, and at one point Sandro flicks his ear drawing a shriek and renewed effort. He’s still in disgrace, which he’s reminded of every time he texts Ruby and she doesn’t reply.
“That’s punishment enough, eh Josh?”
The reply is a bleak grimace.
Fourteen
By early afternoon, our sojourn on the living room floor is at an end.
This feels strange. Now, we’re sleeping in Sandro’s room, whereas on the floor it had been more our place. Home is a strange concept really. Immigrants describe their old countries as home. As soon as you spend an afternoon in a Hotel it becomes home, even if you only stay there one night. The little blue house is my home, but without Sandro and now with the Caretakers away, it feels empty. I’m going back there to spend the afternoon, collect stuff and sort out clothes and study for the week ahead.
Around two o’clock, Sandro’s phone rings. It’s the police. Because the shift for them had been so
busy with real police business last night, they hadn’t been able to process Josh’s case and need him back in for an interview. Jarrod drops me off, and they go with Josh to sort it out. It’s five o’clock before they pick me up. During the wait, my anxiety grows. He’s known to the police, and this is going to make matters complicated. We’re fortunate Jarrod’s a solicitor, and also that he knew Josh before all this happened.
Back at the Town House, Jarrod asks Josh to stay at their house another night. He reluctantly agrees. My guess is this is more the guilt of feeling like a nuisance than anything else. The amount of time it has taken out of the afternoon is clearly an issue for him.
“Josh,” Jarrod regards him with a serious expression, “the best thing you can do to repay me is to look after my son for me.” He doesn’t look at Sandro when he says this, just watches the boy’s face take on a solemn demeanour.
Sandro’s thoughtful. “Wait in the car will you please, Josh,” he says. “I want to talk to Jarrod for a minute.”
Jarrod holds out his car keys, and Josh hesitates. “Go on. You can’t stand outside. It’s raining. And don’t let me forget the shopping on the way home.” The boy leaves.
It occurs to me I might be in the way too, because things feel serious, but there’s nowhere to go. Sandro stands thinking. Then he says, “Thanks Dad. I really appreciate all you do for me. Although, I most often behave like an ungrateful bastard.”
Jarrod’s gob smacked. He doesn’t know how to respond, and the silence is fraught. He holds out his hand, but Sandro ignores it. Then they both step forward and give each other an awkward hug. Well, it starts off awkward, and then it develops. They stand there holding each other, and I cry. If only Gabriella was here to see this.
Then Jarrod hastily pulls away and heads out the door. Sandro goes to the table and sits, his head in his hands. “Do you know Bridey, that’s the first time.”
“The first hug?”
He thinks for a minute. “No, it can’t be.” He shakes his head. “There must have been other times, especially when I lived at home.” He rubs at his stubble. “I meant the first time I’ve ever called him Dad.”
Eleven Hundred Sand Dunes Page 20
