Those Faraday Girls

by Monica McInerney

  ‘And who’s that one?’ Sadie pointed to the mother duck. ‘Tadpole?’

  ‘No, that’s your mother.’ Maggie thought for a moment. ‘Where’s your mum, Sadie?’

  ‘She died, Maggie. About fifteen years ago.’

  ‘My grandmother died too. Tadpole told me. He’s still really sad.’

  ‘I know. Your grandmother was my mother, Maggie.’

  ‘She was? How?’

  ‘Because Tadpole is my father. And his wife was my mother.’

  Maggie thought about that for a little while. ‘What was she like?’

  ‘I don’t know. I thought I did, but I got it wrong.’

  ‘Did you love her? Like I love my mum?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Did she love you?’

  Sadie stood up, brushed crumbs off her jeans. ‘No, Maggie, she didn’t.’

  ‘But she was your mum. All mums love their kids.’

  Sadie didn’t answer her that time.

  The next three days they caught trams, went to the beach and visited the zoo. They ate whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They sat up on the couch in Miranda’s living room and watched videos. Maggie fell asleep, curled across Sadie’s lap. When Sadie went to move her into her room, she sat upright, opened her eyes wide and stared at the TV screen. ‘I’m awake, I’m awake.’

  Sadie started to laugh. ‘No, you’re not. You’ve been asleep the past hour.’

  Maggie held her eyes open with her fingers. ‘No, look how not asleep I am.’

  Sadie did it too. ‘This is what you look like.’ She shut her eyes tight. ‘And this is what you looked like about a minute ago. You were snoring so loudly the whole room was shaking.’

  Maggie started to laugh. ‘Even the chairs?’

  ‘The chairs were shaking, the table was shaking, I looked out the window and all the buildings on St Kilda Road were shaking. You must be the noisiest snorer in the whole world.’

  ‘Like this?’ Maggie made five grunting noises, then burst out laughing again.

  ‘Now you’re a pig. You’re not my niece, you’re a little piglet that caught the plane from Hobart with me.’

  Maggie made the noise again and then reached up and flung her arms around Sadie’s neck. ‘This is fun.’

  ‘You’re right, it is.’ Sadie gave her a big hug back. ‘You know what, Maggie? I love you very much.’

  ‘I love you too.’ Maggie decided to tell her something. ‘I have to tell you a secret, Sadie.’

  ‘Do you, Maggie? What is it?’

  Maggie clambered up on to the sofa, put her hands around Sadie’s left ear and whispered. ‘You’re my favourite auntie.’

  ‘Am I?’ Sadie gave her a big smile. ‘Really?’

  Maggie nodded.

  Sadie pulled her into a hug. ‘Can I tell you a secret? You’re my favourite niece.’

  ‘I’m your only niece.’

  ‘You’d be my favourite even if I had one hundred nieces. I know, Maggie. Let’s live here for the rest of our lives, watch TV all the time and catch trams every day —’

  ‘And eat chips and lollies and go to the beach —’

  Sadie nodded. ‘And have as many ice-creams as we want. You’ll never go to school and we’ll just have lots of adventures all the time.’

  ‘Will we climb the Faraway Tree?’

  ‘Of course we will. The Faradays have to climb the Faraway Tree.’

  ‘I’d love to do that.’

  ‘Would you really?’

  Maggie nodded.

  ‘Me too,’ Sadie said.

  Miranda rang the next morning. She was in Perth. She spoke briefly to Sadie, then asked to talk to Maggie.

  Maggie started giggling as soon as she took the phone. Miranda always made her giggle. ‘Yes, and I saw ten seagulls. We had fish and chips. I had twenty-four chips. No, you didn’t. I don’t believe you. I’ll ask Sadie.’ She turned. ‘Sadie, did Miranda once balance fifty chips on her nose and then eat them all?’

  ‘I can’t remember.’

  ‘She can’t remember,’ Maggie said into the phone. She listened and laughed again. ‘Sadie, Miranda said you would have eaten all the chips, not her.’

  ‘Very funny,’ Sadie muttered, not looking up from the newspaper.

  Maggie kept talking to Miranda for a little bit longer. When she finished she turned to her aunt. ‘Do you want to talk to Miranda again, Sadie?’

  ‘No, thanks,’ Sadie said.

  A postcard arrived the next day. Clementine must have posted it the same day Maggie and Sadie left.

  Dear Maggie, I love you and I miss you. I hope you are having fun. Love, Clementine xxxxx

  ‘She didn’t put your name on it, Sadie. She must have forgotten.’

  ‘Yes, she must have,’ Sadie said.

  Maggie was doing some colouring-in in her bedroom that night when Sadie came in. She got down on her knees so she and Maggie were at the same height. ‘Maggie, that was Tadpole on the phone just now. He rang to —’

  ‘Tadpole! I want to talk to him!’

  ‘No, sweetheart, he’s gone now. He could only talk for a minute because he needed to pass on some news. Maggie, you know how your mum is up on that island, sleeping outside and watching those birds? And you know how cold it is there?’

  Maggie nodded.

  ‘Well, I’m sorry to say that your mum has caught a bad cold there, you know, with lots of coughing and sneezing? And the doctors think she might have something else as well, called pneumonia. And Tadpole says she’s going to be fine but that the doctors think it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to travel home yet, or see other people in case they catch it.’

  ‘But if my mum is sick, I have to help look after her.’

  ‘We can’t, sweetie. We need to let the doctors do that. And they’re really good doctors and they’ll make sure she gets better really soon. But it means we won’t be able to talk to her for a little while.’

  ‘Can I write to her?’

  ‘Of course you can. We’ll do a get-well card for her tonight and put it in the post first thing. She’ll have it in a few days. And she’ll write to you too, I’m sure. But what it means is we can stay away from Hobart for a little bit longer. And I’ve had an idea, Maggie. Tadpole and I were talking about it on the phone and he thinks it’s a great idea too. You know how we were talking about having a big adventure?’

  Maggie nodded.

  ‘Let’s have a real one. Starting tomorrow. Just you and me. What do you think?’

  Maggie sat up. ‘A real adventure? What kind of one?’

  ‘The best kind. The kind with lots of surprises.’

  ‘But Miranda was going to come home and see us.’

  ‘She was?’

  ‘She said on the phone she would surprise us and be in Melbourne for a day next week.’

  ‘Oh, that’s right, I meant to tell you. Miranda rang late last night after you’d gone to sleep, Maggie. She said she’s really sorry but she has to keep working and she won’t be in Melbourne. And the other news was that one of the other girls from her airline needs this apartment. So you and I are going to go and stay somewhere else. And guess what, we have to catch a train to get there.’

  ‘A train!’

  ‘A train with big windows and even a carriage with a restaurant in it so we can have sandwiches and a drink as we’re going along.’

  ‘Will Mum know where to write to me if we’re on a train?’

  ‘Of course she will. I’ll send her our new address as soon as we get to where we’re going. But she might not be able to write for a little while, because she is sick. But I want you to keep writing to her and telling her what you’re doing and how happy you are, okay? Will we draw her a picture now?’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  They caught a train the next morning. The journey lasted six hours. Then they caught a bus for another two hours. Maggie got sick of it. It was only when Sadie promised she could have as many lollies as she wanted that she sto
pped crying. They got out at a bus stop near lots of trees and started walking. Maggie didn’t feel like walking. She kept starting and stopping.

  Sadie waited for her every time. ‘We’re nearly there, Maggie. I promise.’

  ‘Where are we?’

  ‘It’s a surprise. We’re having an adventure, remember?’

  ‘I want to go home.’

  ‘We’ll have an adventure first and then you can go home.’

  ‘I want to go home now.’

  Sadie came back and crouched down to her height. ‘Do you know where we’re going to sleep tonight?’

  Maggie shook her head, her bottom lip trembling.

  ‘We’re going to sleep in a caravan. A caravan is like a doll’s house for people. And you know what else it will have, if we’re really, really lucky? A camp fire.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘It’s a fire outside that we can cook our dinner on. Won’t that be fun? We can have potatoes and beans and sit around and sing songs.’

  ‘What songs?’

  ‘Any songs you like.’

  Maggie started walking, then stopped again after ten steps, her backpack falling off her shoulder. ‘I’m tired.’

  ‘We’re almost there, I promise.’ Sadie pointed ahead. ‘See, up there?’

  ‘What does the sign say?’

  ‘It says the Happiness Bay Caravan Park.’

  ‘Which word is happiness?’

  ‘The first word.’

  ‘But that’s a B, not an H.’

  ‘It’s just the way they’ve done the writing.’

  Maggie loved the caravan. She opened all the cupboards, laughed at the little stove, climbed into the bunk bed. ‘Even the TV is little.’

  ‘Imagine if we were really little too?’

  ‘I am little.’

  Sadie laughed. ‘So you are. So do you like it? Will we stay here for a while? Have an adventure?’

  ‘My mum is sick.’

  ‘I know, sweetheart, but don’t worry, she’ll be better soon. And she’d be much less worried if she knew you were having fun, wouldn’t she?’

  A nod.

  ‘So let’s have fun and have a picnic dinner tonight, and tomorrow we’ll send her more get-well cards, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’

  Sadie reached into her bag. ‘And what do I have here but Vegemite sandwiches!’

  Maggie clapped her hands.

  They spent the next day playing on the lawn near the caravan and swimming in the little pool that was there just for them. They were lying in the sun drying their bathers and their hair when Sadie asked her a question.

  ‘Maggie, have you ever wondered what it would be like to have red hair?’

  ‘Like Miranda?’

  ‘Not just like hers. I found a box at the shop here. We could change the colour of our hair if you want.’

  ‘Mum might not like it. She and I have got the same colour hair.’

  ‘Just while we’re having our adventure.’

  ‘Okay.’

  Maggie wrote to her mother the following day. It took her a long time to do all the letters. Sadie had to help her with most of them.

  Dear Mum, We had good fun tonight. We have got red hair. Sadie made toast with cheese and tomato soup. I love you. Love, Maggie xxxxx

  ‘Will we take it down to the postbox now?’

  ‘No, I’ll drop it down tomorrow when I go to get the groceries. It’s a bit rainy out there tonight. Are you having fun, Maggie?’

  Maggie nodded. ‘I love it.’

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘I wish we could live like this all the time.’

  ‘Me too.’

  They stayed in that caravan for five sleeps. Maggie wrote to her mum three times and told her all they’d been doing. Swimming. Reading. Playing hide-and-seek. Playing I-spy. Drawing in the sand.

  Maggie only cried three times and that was because she wanted to see her mum and got sad that she was still sick. The rest of the time she was really good. Sadie told her that every day. ‘You’re the best girl in the world, Maggie. Did you know that?’

  Maggie nodded.

  The next day Sadie said it was time they had another adventure. They caught another bus. They were on it for half a day. Sadie told her half a day was twelve hours. Maggie wrote those numbers in a new notebook Sadie had given her. The bus had a little toilet in the back of it. Maggie thought that was funny. She went three times.

  They got to a new place that was by the sea, with even more caravans in it.

  ‘I wish my mum was here,’ Maggie said. ‘And Tadpole. And Juliet and Miranda and Eliza.’

  ‘I do too, Maggie. It’d be fun, wouldn’t it? But just for now it’s only you and me, so what shall we do?’

  Maggie shrugged. ‘I don’t care.’

  ‘In that case, I’ll decide. We’re going to cook more sausages and bake apples, and if you’re really good, we’re going to have ice-cream tonight too. As much as we want.’

  ‘As much as we want?’

  ‘Even more than that.’

  ‘Good morning,’ Sadie said the next day.

  Maggie did a big yawn.

  ‘Guess who I just spoke to?’

  Maggie sat up, still half asleep.

  ‘Your mum,’ Sadie said.

  Maggie woke up properly. ‘My mum!’

  ‘Your mum! She sends you lots of love and says she misses you and that she hopes you’re having lots of fun. I told her you have been the best girl in the world and we’re having a real adventure.’

  Maggie clambered down from her bed. ‘Can I talk to her?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Maggie. She could only talk for a minute this time before she had to go back to bed. She was coughing a lot, the poor thing. But she said to tell you she loves you very much.’

  ‘She wouldn’t say that. She says very, very, very, very, very. Five times. Not once.’

  Sadie smiled. ‘Sorry, Maggie. I forgot. That’s exactly what she said. Now come on, get dressed and come and have breakfast.’

  ‘Maggie, you know how we were playing that game and pretending to be other people? What about we play one where you’re my daughter?’

  ‘But I’m your niece.’

  ‘It’s just easier to say daughter sometimes. If I say you’re my niece, people always say, “Where’s her mum?” and we have to answer all their questions and the whole day passes answering their questions instead of having our adventure.’

  ‘I miss Mum.’

  ‘I know.’

  Her tears started. ‘I want my mum, Sadie.’

  ‘Oh, darling. I’m here.’

  ‘I want Mum.’

  ‘You can’t see her, sweetheart. She’s in hospital.’

  ‘But if she’s sick, I want to look after her.’

  ‘She’s got good doctors.’

  ‘I want to talk to her. I don’t care if her voice is funny. I want to talk to Tadpole too. And Juliet. And Miranda. And Eliza. I miss everyone.’

  ‘We’ll ring them, then. But I’ve only got a bit of money. Would you like to talk to them, or to your mum?’

  ‘My mum.’

  ‘You wait here and I’ll go and talk to the man in the office, okay?’

  Maggie sat in the office. The man wasn’t there but his wife was. She was old too. Sadie told her she had to go and buy some groceries and then she’d be right back.

  The phone rang. The lady answered it and handed it to Maggie. ‘It’s for you.’

  ‘Maggie, hello!’

  Maggie thought her voice sounded funny. ‘Mum! Where are you?’

  ‘I’m in hospital but I’m fine. I’ll be out soon.’ Her mum started to cough. ‘How are you? Are you having fun with Sadie?’

  ‘I miss you.’

  ‘I miss you so much. But I’ll be better soon. What have you been doing?’

  ‘Our hair is red and we’re having an adventure. Tomorrow we’re going to go to the beach. We can’t call Tadpole because we haven’t got enough money, but he c
ould call us, couldn’t he?’

  ‘He’s very busy at the moment but he sends you lots of love.’ Her mum started coughing again. ‘I have to go. I love you very, very, very, very much.’

  ‘That’s only four times.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘That’s only four times. You have to do it five times.’

  ‘I love you very, very, very, very, very much.’

  When Sadie came back Maggie was sitting in the chair still, swinging her legs and talking to the lady. She had a lollipop in her hand. ‘Sadie, the lady said there are penguins here sometimes and even a seal.’

  ‘Let’s go and look for them tomorrow, then. How was your mum?’

  ‘Good. What’s for lunch? I’m hungry.’

  The next day Maggie had just finished lining up ten little stones, eight feathers and twelve shells when Sadie appeared beside her, with both hands behind her back. ‘I’ve got something for you. Guess which hand?’

  Maggie pointed. Sadie’s left hand was empty. Maggie pointed again. Her right hand had a piece of paper in it.

  ‘It’s a letter from your mum and from Tadpole. It came today. Want me to read it to you?’

  Maggie forgot about her counting. She nodded.

  ‘It says, “Dear Maggie, It was lovely to talk to you last night. I hope you are having lots of fun with Sadie. Aren’t you lucky to be having such an adventure. It is like something from an Enid Blyton novel. You will be going up the Faraway Tree next. All is well with us. We miss you. Lots of love, Clementine and Tadpole”. And there are five kisses, see?’

  Maggie counted them. ‘Mum forgot to put the heart.’

  ‘What heart?’

  ‘She always puts a heart over my name when she writes it.’

  That night Maggie cried herself to sleep. The next day there was another letter from her mum, saying she hoped Maggie wasn’t feeling too sad, that she didn’t need to be; she should just have lots of fun with Sadie. This time there was a heart over her name.

  Most days they had the beach to themselves. Today there were just two people up the other end, a man and a woman.