This from Tai, who was probably trying to give Sam a chance to redeem himself. Sam would prefer not to step back into the conversation, but he took a deep breath, got his head together before replying.
‘Yeah, we did,’ said Sam. ‘Brownie’s for it, Tubs is against it. No surprises there, I guess.’
The adults laughed. Sam had to make sure he didn’t smile too widely. Keep cool. Keep cool.
‘Have you seen your friend Dean lately?’
Casey sounded casual, but Sam was immediately on alert. Brownie had told them Deano had got some more hours at the vineyard. They’d had metal thieves or something, and the owner, that Auckland guy, was too cheap to hire a qualified guard, so they paid Deano to camp down overnight. He went home for a quick sleep in the morning, and then went back to do his daytime tasks. That’s why they hadn’t seen him, said Brownie. Their old mate, Deano, was working his scrawny butt off.
Sam had been pleased to hear it. Work would keep Deano out of trouble. Might even be a way for him to leave that world for good.
But if Constable Marshall was asking after him, it could only be cop business. Good thing Sam could give Deano an alibi.
‘He’s doing night watch at the vineyard,’ he said. ‘They had a break-in.’
‘A break-in?’ Casey nodded, slowly. ‘Interesting.’
Sam saw his dad and Uncle Gene exchange a look.
‘Bad luck,’ said his Uncle Gene. ‘Though, of course, Rick Jensen will be fully insured.’
‘Did I tell you that Olivia Jensen has asked me to act as her divorce lawyer?’ said Corinna.
‘No, sis,’ said Casey. ‘You omitted to mention that little gem.’
‘Can they afford to get divorced?’ said Auntie Liz. ‘I thought the money was all tied up?’
‘It is,’ said Corinna. ‘But Olivia’s had enough. Wants proceedings started.’
‘And what does Rick want?’ said Sam’s mum.
Corinna shrugged. ‘Guess I’ll find out. If I say yes.’
‘What about Madison?’ Auntie Liz asked. ‘Will Olivia sue for custody?’
‘No idea,’ said Corinna. ‘As I say, Olivia’s only just asked me to represent her.’
‘And will you say yes?’ said Casey.
‘Mama!’
Corinna’s littlest, two-year-old Hinemoana, was holding up hands covered in tomato sauce. Unnoticed, she’d got hold of the bottle and given it a good squeeze onto her plate and the tablecloth, and then she’d swirled her hands around in it like it was finger paint. Sam had a swift burst of envy at her sense of her own freedom.
‘Mama, mess!’
‘Lea,’ reproved Sam’s mum. ‘I did ask you to keep an eye on them.’
‘Oh, what?’
Sam was amused to see Lea’s expression was textbook teenage rage-sulk. Strikes cold fear into the heart of every parent, his dad once said.
‘No, no,’ said Tai, peace-making. ‘Our child, our responsibility. I’ll get the wet wipes.’
‘Will you say yes, sis? To Olivia?’
Even though her sister was struggling to hold a reluctant toddler’s two slippery hands, Casey was still pushing for an answer. You wouldn’t want her coming after you, thought Sam. She’d never give up.
‘I think I will,’ said Corinna. ‘I’ll do it for Madison.’
‘You should talk to Sidney Gillespie,’ said Auntie Liz. ‘She’s practically Maddie’s official carer now.’
Tai had taken over from his wife, kneeling down on the grass, making a game out of wiping his daughter’s hands and face clean. Corinna had to speak up over the giggles.
‘Good tip,’ she said, wiping her own hands. ‘I shouldn’t speak ill of a potential client, but in confidence, I’m not sure Olivia’s grip on the reality of the situation is all that solid.’
‘Like Rick’s grip on money,’ said Uncle Gene, with a smirk.
‘OK, let’s bring this to a close,’ said Sam’s mum. ‘I don’t think we need to traumatise the youngsters with any more glimpses into the bleak world of messed-up adults.’
‘But that’s life, isn’t it?’ said Uncle Gene. ‘Can’t spare them from harsh reality indefinitely.’
‘We can spare them over lunch,’ said Sam’s mum, in her ‘No arguing’ tone.
‘OK, but there’s one lesson they should learn. Or this young man should, anyway.’
Uncle Gene pointed his fork at Sam.
‘What’s that?’ said Sam, warily.
‘Yes, what?’ said Sam’s dad. ‘Speak up, fat Yoda.’
‘Don’t fight for anything you don’t a hundred per cent believe in,’ said Uncle Gene. ‘But if you do believe, then don’t fight for it with any less than a hundred per cent.’
‘Did that make sense?’ said Sam’s mum. ‘Or was it pure BS?’
‘I think he’s referring to me taking on Olivia Jensen,’ said Corinna.
‘Full guns, sis.’ Casey raised a clenched fist. ‘The Marshall way.’
‘Of course, arbitration, mediation and other peaceful forms of dispute resolution could be an option also,’ said Tai, amused.
Sam jumped as his phone vibrated. He slid it out of his pocket, held it under the table. Brownie: ‘Sod of a day. Partake of fine ale@ club 2nght?’
Typed: ‘C u @ 8!’ Deleted the exclamation mark as being too naff. Hit send. Then he reached over and snatched up the last cheese-filled sausage, leaned back in his chair to relish this in-between limbo time of no demands. They’d come soon enough, but right now he was being asked for neither words nor action. He closed his eyes, and let the early summer breeze blow to him the faint, sweet scent of roses.
Chapter 25
Madison
‘But when will we get to play?’
Madison could see Aidan was doing his best not to whine. Sidney hated whining.
‘Understand your impatience, big fella,’ said Kerry. ‘But thing is, football season’s over, and the only tournaments on right now we have to pay to be part of. Plus, you’re a fine, talented lot, but there are only nine of you. Can you hold out until next year when the season starts again, and we can rustle up a few new players?’
‘When does it start?’
‘Erm, April, I think.’
‘April!’ Aidan kicked at a stone on the playground. ‘That’s like years away!’
‘But think how much better we’ll be by then.’ Madison didn’t want Aidan to be cross. ‘We could win!’
Dylan gave a kind of snort. ‘Yeah, right.’
‘If you persist with that attitude,’ said Kerry, ‘then of course we won’t win. Negative Nellies never do. Take José Mourinho. Ever see him smile? No! Were Chelsea, under his reign, big fat losers? Yes!’
‘Madonna never smiles and she’s super successful,’ said Shari Booth.
‘Madonna has never played football,’ said Kerry. ‘As far as I know.’
‘She says her best exercise is sex—’
‘OK!’ Kerry clapped his hands together. ‘Are we ready to train?’
‘I want to play,’ said Aidan. His ears were red, which Madison knew meant he was about to lose it. ‘I’m sick of stupid training.’
‘Yeah, training’s dumb,’ said Dylan. ‘And this team’s dumb. Too many spazzos.’
‘You’re a spazzo,’ said Tanya Booth.
‘Shut up, you fat moo,’ said Dylan.
Tanya threw herself at him, hands out to grab his hair, but Kerry moved really quickly and caught her wrists.
‘Owww!’ Tanya yelled. ‘You’re hurting-gg!’
Kerry let her go and she began to cry, though Madison couldn’t see any tears.
‘Outta here,’ said Dylan, and he walked off towards his bag.
Madison felt a sick thump in her stomach. He couldn’t leave! The team might break up! Why wasn’t Kerry stopping him!
But Kerry was looking worried, bent over Tanya, who was still bawling, and now Shari was crying, too, and all the other kids were staring at them. So Madison decided she had better run aft
er Dylan.
‘Don’t go,’ she said when she caught up. ‘You’re really good. We need you!’
Dylan grabbed his bag, hooked it onto his shoulder.
‘Nah,’ he said. ‘Sick of it. Bunch of retards.’
He was usually nice, and fair, too, so why was he being so mean now? Maybe he was upset about something? But it wasn’t polite to ask personal questions, her mum always said. Her mum couldn’t understand why people like Ms Marshall the lawyer had to know about her private business. ‘It has nothing to do with anything,’ she told Madison, though Madison didn’t really understand what she meant. Ms Marshall was really nice, and super pretty, like a model. She was kind and patient when she spoke to Madison. But Madison was careful about what she said to her.
Dylan was about to walk off.
‘Please?’ It was all she could think of.
He went a bit red, but his mouth was still set in a line.
‘You’re OK,’ he said to her, ‘but I don’t like the others.’
‘What about Aidan?’
Madison had thought the two boys were friends.
Dylan frowned, and his face got even redder.
‘He’s OK at school, but he’s kind of a dick here. Competitive. Doesn’t want anyone else to have the ball.’
She had to admit that was true. Aidan wanted to be the star. Sulked when Kerry praised anyone else. Sidney wouldn’t like that if she knew, but Madison could never be a tattletale.
‘Gotta go.’ Dylan scrunched up his mouth, so she could barely hear him say, ‘Sorry.’
As he walked away, Madison felt like someone was inside her, punching her stomach, making her gulp for air.
‘Dylan!’
Kerry jogged up to her, but Dylan had disappeared around the back of the classrooms.
‘Bugger,’ she heard Kerry say quietly.
He squeezed her shoulder. ‘Thank you for stepping into the breach. I know you will have done your very best. Who knows? We may still bring Dylan round.’
Madison nodded. Her throat was all thick.
‘On the sunny side, said Kerry, ‘I’ve managed to avert a Booth sisters-class-action lawsuit by bribing them — and everyone else — with ice cream. Our session today will now culminate with a trip to the Four Square.’
She followed him back to the others, and they did a bit of kicking around, but everyone was too half-hearted, so Kerry called time, got them to line up for their walk to the shop. He put the Booth sisters in front — ‘Lead the way, Tanya’ — and Madison and Reuben at the back, probably because Madison was the only one Reuben didn’t fight with. Kerry jogged up and down beside the line, keeping an eye on everyone as they walked.
He made them all go into the shop, but only after they’d sworn not to touch anything. Mr McKee, the owner, didn’t like children much, so he wasn’t pleased, but Kerry promised they’d be in and out in a jiffy. Which didn’t quite happen because Lincoln kept changing his mind and then went all sort of weird when Kerry asked him to give his final answer.
‘Just buy him a sundae,’ said Peter. ‘He likes those. Likes finding the spoon in the lid.’
Madison chose a sundae, too, because they were small and so might not have so much sugar or fat in them. Her mum never ate ice cream or sweets or bread or pasta, though her dad had read the label on a bottle of wine out loud once and it had been a thousand calories, which for some reason had made him laugh.
Kerry wanted them to walk quickly back to the school because their parents might already be waiting, but Lincoln’s mum had told him not to eat while walking because it made him sick, so they all had to wait outside the shop until he finished. Mr McKee came out to shoo them away and got quite cross when Kerry told them they had a right to be on a public street. Then when they were finally walking back, Tanya told Reuben that the red part of a Jellytip was frozen blood and Kerry had to hold Ruben’s hand to stop him from hitting her, but he was still yelling swear words when they got to school, and Madison saw Lincoln’s mum’s mouth go all small. ‘Lemon lips’, Sidney called that look. It made Madison’s throat feel tight again. She wished Reuben wouldn’t make it so hard for people to like him.
Madison looked around for her mum or dad, but they didn’t seem to be there. Rory and Aidan had already started to walk home, and Peter was getting in Lincoln’s mum’s car. Mr Booth was standing by his muddy ute, and when Tanya and Shari ran up, the dogs in the cage on the back barked and snarled, like they were desperate to get out and bite someone. Madison saw Mr Booth say something that made Tanya and Shari look in her direction, and now her throat was so tight she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want the Booths to take her home! She wanted to go to Sidney’s! She wanted her mum …
‘Oh, my.’
Kerry was peering into her face. He was still holding Reuben’s hand. Reuben hung back, quiet, staring at Madison with big eyes.
‘What’s troubling you?’ said Kerry. ‘Can I help?’
She didn’t say anything, but she couldn’t help a quick look at the Booths, still waiting by their ute.
‘Righty-ho,’ said Kerry. ‘Leave it with me.’
And he walked over, still holding Reuben’s hand, though Madison saw Reuben start to drag his feet as they came up to the ute. Kerry had a quick talk with Mr Booth, who seemed cheerful, but Shari in the front seat poked her tongue out at Reuben. Luckily, he didn’t see.
Kerry came back, Reuben skipping along faster now.
‘Sorted,’ said Kerry. ‘I’ll drive you both home.’
Madison’s knees felt wobbly with relief, but she had to check that it really was OK. She knew her parents always had a lot on their plates, and couldn’t easily find time to take her places. That’s why she only asked them if there was no one else to drive her.
‘Won’t that be too far?’ said Madison. Her mother always complained that their house was in the back of beyond.
‘How very polite and grown-up of you,’ Kerry said. ‘Let me reassure you that it works for me, too. I’ve been meaning to drop in on the glass-blowers, who are between your place and Reuben’s. Do either of you mind taking a little detour?’
Reuben just stared, but Madison said, ‘My mum might be expecting me home.’
‘Then I will call and explain. While you two’ — he finally let go of Reuben’s hand — ‘pick up the gear. Last one to finish is a rotten banana.’
When Reuben raced off, Kerry bent down and whispered to Madison, ‘Let him win.’
She nodded and smiled, but he hadn’t needed to ask. She’d already decided that’s what she’d do.
Madison had never been to the glass-blowing studio. She didn’t think her parents even knew it was there, even though they had quite a few pieces in the house that her mum called ‘art glass’. Oksana had nearly broken an Ann Robinson bowl, but it landed on the carpet and didn’t even crack. Oksana seemed to think this meant it wasn’t well made. ‘Glass should be thin like leaf, not fat like log.’
The glass-blowers were called Nitro and Asphodel, but Madison was too shy to ask if those were their real names. Nitro had dusty brown dreadlocks piled on top of his head and lots of beaded leather thongs up his arms and around his neck. Asphodel had a shaven head but heaps of hair under her armpits, which Madison’s mum would have hated. She wore dungarees with nothing underneath and every so often you could see her boobs. Nitro had a black t-shirt printed with an A inside a red circle and rainbow baggy pants like a genie would wear.
They didn’t mind kids being around, though Madison and Reuben had to stay behind the benches, away from the ovens and the blowing equipment. The studio was an old stable, Asphodel said. She could make them a little glass horse each later, if they had time? Madison was glad to hear Kerry say they had time.
Nitro told them there was a tyre swing under the macrocarpa, and Kerry let them go outside and swing on it. Madison pushed Reuben as high as she could, and twisted him around until he was so dizzy, he had to get off and lie on the ground on his back. Madison lay down next
to him.
‘That cloud looks like a dinosaur,’ she said. ‘And that one’s a dog with pointy ears.’
Reuben scrinched up his eyes, trying to see the cloud shapes.
‘This ground is hard, isn’t it?’ said Madison. ‘I wouldn’t want to sleep on it.’
Reuben turned his head, blinked at her as if she’d said something weird. Madison wondered what kind of bed he slept on. Maybe his was hard as this?
‘Batman,’ he said.
‘Sorry?’
‘The cloud.’ Reuben pointed.
‘Oh. Yes.’
Madison could see a cloud that looked a bit like Batman, if she used her imagination.
‘Batman smashes the bad guys,’ said Reuben. ‘Smashes them dead.’
Kerry called from the studio door, and they both jumped up. Asphodel was going to make them horses!
She was so quick that Madison could hardly believe what she’d seen. Asphodel held a glowing blob on a stick — molten glass that wobbled like jelly — and then she got these metal tong things and just pulled the horse out of the blob! First its little head, and then its mane, and then two front legs at once! Then she twirled it round and pulled some more, and made the back legs and as she knocked it off the stick, she made the tail, which stuck up like a feather. All the time she worked at it, it glowed orange from the fire but as soon as she set it upright on the bench, it was clear.
‘Still too hot to touch, though,’ Asphodel warned, and placed it in what looked like another oven. ‘It’ll stay in there overnight and you can pick it up tomorrow, OK?’
Madison felt Kerry’s hand on her shoulder. ‘I’ll pick it up,’ he said. ‘Don’t you fret.’
Asphodel smiled at Reuben. ‘And now I’ll make you one.’
But he shook his head, fast, back and forth. No, no, no.
Asphodel was surprised, looked over at Kerry for help.
‘What’s the matter, Reuben?’ said Kerry. ‘Don’t you want one?’
A firm shake of his head. No. Wouldn’t look at anyone.
Madison put her hand on his back. ‘You can share mine, if you like? I’ll keep it at my place and you can come and visit it?’
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