by Sally Morgan
‘Aunty Shirl isn’t going to bur y us, is she?’ he asked.
‘Don’t be an idiot!’ I said. It was only a small shovel.
‘What’s the hole for, then?’
‘How would I know?’
We took turns with the shovel. The sand kept falling back in, so it took ages.
Then Mum came out and looked in the hole.
‘That’s deep enough,’ she said.
‘Deep enough for what?’ I asked.
Granny Mary and my sisters came out the back door. Sharni and Tia grabbed some plastic flowers from the verandah and they all joined us.
‘Charlie,’ said Mum, ‘you go first.’
‘First for what?’ I asked.
‘This is a special memorial service for Granny Mary,’ she said. ‘To remember Paddles.’
‘And Fluffy,’ Granny Mary said.
I felt sorry for Granny, she looked so sad.
‘I’m sure Paddles isn’t dead, Granny!’ I said.
‘That’s not the point, Charlie,’ said Mum. ‘Paddles is still missing, so it doesn’t hurt to remember him.’
It hit me then that Mum didn’t really think Paddles was dead either, and neither did Tia and Sharni. They were doing this to make Granny feel better.
Sharni pinched me. ‘Say something nice about the duck!’ she whispered.
‘Er,’ I said. ‘Paddles had soft brown feathers.’
Granny gave a sad moan.
Mum, Sharni and Tia said some soppy ducky things.
Then Johnno finished off. ‘Paddles liked to quack three times,’ he said.
He left out the bit about Paddles making a splat.
‘Now we’re remembering Fluffy,’ said Granny Mary.
Tia dug her fingers into my back. ‘Say something nice about Fluffy!’ she hissed.
Pretending Paddles was dead was stupid enough, but having a memorial service for Fluffy as well was even stupider. Fluffy was in the scrub scoffing the last of the cat treats! But I couldn’t tell if Mum or my sisters really thought Fluffy was dead or not, so I thought I’d better play it safe.
‘Fluffy had a strong meow!’ I said.
‘And lovely tor toiseshell fur,’ said Johnno.
Granny Mary, Sharni and Tia told a pack of lies about what a wonderful cat Fluffy was. Then the girls chucked the plastic flowers in the hole.
‘Fill it in, Charlie!’ said Mum.
Then they all went inside to have another cup of tea.
I scraped the dir t back in the hole.
‘And I thought my family was weird!’ said Johnno.
Mum made Johnno and me some toast, then she said she was walking Granny down to her place. Boy, was I glad! I needed to get away and find Fluffy.
‘And you boys,’ Mum said, ‘still owe the girls a favour. They’re waiting in the lounge room for you.’
The stupid face mask! I wished we’d never eaten it.
The twins were leaning back on the lounge with their feet propped up on pillows. Tia pointed to a collection of little bottles lined up on the coffee table.
‘Frosted Peach, Johnno,’ she said.
They wanted us to paint their toenails?
‘Gross!’ I said. ‘I’m not doing it!’
But Johnno was already opening the bottles. ‘They’re nice colours,’ he said.
What kind of best mate was he?
‘Feel free to be creative, Johnno!’ said Tia.
‘Guess I’m stuck with you, Charlie!’ said Sharni. ‘Try Precious Plum first.’
I hate the smell of nail polish!
I started with Sharni’s big toe. It had the largest nail, so I couldn’t go wrong.
But straight away a fat runny blob of polish dribbled off the brush. Sharni wiped her toe with a tissue and told me to try again. I did, but it didn’t matter what colour I used, they all went blobby.
‘I wish I’d got Johnno!’ she snapped. ‘You and nail polish are bad news, Charlie!’
I scowled at Johnno. Tia’s nails were perfectly painted in two different stripes of colour. And he was blowing on her toes to dry the polish quicker.
‘My feet look like they’ve been dipped in paint!’ Sharni said. ‘Start again!’
‘I could be stuck here forever!’ I groaned.
The nail polish remover stunk so sharply, I started coughing.
‘Out!’ screamed Sharni. ‘Your spit is getting on my skin!’
I staggered into the hallway, then out the front door. My coughing had finished, but I kept on faking it.
Tia and Sharni sent Johnno out to check I wasn’t faking.
‘Of course I’m faking,’ I told him. ‘Now grab some more cat treats and meet me down the street.’
‘But Sharni’s still waiting for you to do her nails,’ he said.
‘Sharni can wait forever,’ I told him. ‘Now get going!’
Johnno met me at the bottom of the hill. He was pushing the pram from the verandah, and he kept getting caught up in the pink streamers that were trailing from the handlebar.
‘What have you brought that for?’ I asked him.
‘I thought Fluffy might like sitting in it on the way home,’ he said.
‘Crumbs, Johnno,’ I said. ‘Do you really think a spitting cat is going to sit quietly in a pram all the way back from the conservation area? She only stayed in it before because she was sick from all the treats you fed her.’
Johnno’s eyes started misting up again.
There’s nothing worse than seeing a mate cry, so I had to give in. ‘Okay, okay, bring it if you have to,’ I said. ‘But I’m not helping you push. It looks nothing like a go-cart now.’
Johnno said he’d wheel the pram there and back, so off we went.
Frank King wasn’t in his truck. I hoped he wasn’t searching for Grabber. If he found his own dog, me and Johnno wouldn’t get our money.
Johnno pushed the pram ahead of me, into the scrub.
The old bone was still hanging from the tree. And guess what? It was swinging back and for th! Something had been trying to get at it. I looked around for a hungry dog.
‘Johnno,’ I said, ‘shinny up the tree, untie the rope and let the bone drop to the ground.’
If Grabber was around, that would bring him running.
At first, when the bone fell, nothing happened. We moved further away, in case Grabber didn’t want to come out with us so close to the bone.
Still nothing.
Then suddenly a mass of browny-red fur darted out of nowhere and pounced on the bone.
But it wasn’t a dog. It was an enormous tomcat.
Then another ball of fur dashed out of the undergrowth. It was a cat, too.
It was Fluffy!
Fluffy dashed right up to the tomcat and launched herself, claws out, onto his back. ‘Yeeeeeoooowwwrrr!’ she howled.
The tom cried out in pain and shot away from the bone.
Fluffy hissed at him and began gnawing on the bone herself.
If I was that tom, I’d have kept running and never stopped, but for some reason, he crept over to Fluffy again.
‘Prrrrrt?’ he said quietly. Then he tried to rub his head against Fluffy’s.
‘Hhhhhhhhhhhhhsssssssssssssst! Yeeeeeoooowwwrrr!’ said Fluffy. She flattened her ears right back against her head and took a swipe at the tom’s nose.
The tom backed off a couple of paces, sat down and began purring.
‘Crikey, Johhno,’ I said. ‘I think that tom’s in love with Fluffy.’
Johnno was so excited to see Fluffy, he didn’t answer. He dashed forward calling, ‘Here, baby girl!’
Fluffy hissed at him, then went back to gnawing the bone.
‘Get the pram, Charlie!’ said Johnno.
‘She’ll never get in it,’ I told him. But I brought it over anyway.
Johnno grabbed the disgusting bone and threw it in the pram. The cats yowled. Then Fluffy spat at Johnno and leapt into the pram after it.
Talk about an easy catch!
‘Good one
, Johnno!’ I said. My best mate might be a bit soft sometimes, but he does have his uses.
‘Do you still have Fluffy’s collar?’ Johnno said.
I whipped it out of my pocket. While Fluffy gnawed on the bone, Johnno quickly slipped it around her neck. When she realised what he’d done, she swiped his arm with one fat tor toiseshell paw, then went back to her gnawing.
We turned the pram around and headed towards Frank King’s truck. It was a rough ride for Fluffy, but she was so busy chewing on the bone, she didn’t seem to notice.
The tom ran over and started trotting behind us.
Fluffy poked her head out of the pram and spat at him, but it didn’t seem to put him off.
We were nearly at the clearing when Johnno said, ‘Ay, Charlie, what’s that?’
A huge python was emerging from beneath a bush.
Pig!
‘He’s not getting Fluffy!’ said Johnno.
The python did have a hungry look about him.
Johnno pulled the pram from me and took off towards the road. The tom broke into a gallop and followed him.
Pig set off after Johnno and the cats.
I chased Pig and caught up with him on the bitumen. I tried to pick him up, but I tripped on his tail and fell over. I ended up with Pig kind of on top of me.
‘Johnno,’ I yelled. ‘Help!’
But Johnno was sprinting down the road with the pram. The tom was still following him.
I wriggled around a bit and got myself out from under the python.
I grabbed him like I’ve seen Grandpa do and kind of looped him over my shoulders. Only he was super heavy, so I was staggering about, trying not to collapse. Pig’s head moved down the side of my shoulder, then he coiled some of himself around my chest and started to squeeze. He was gripping on a bit harder than I would have liked.
A police car pulled up next to me. It was Sergeant Scott.
‘Better get your new pet home, Charlie,’ he said. ‘Cyclone Betty is going to hit the town after all. Everyone has to take their rubbish back inside and lock up their houses. Your mum will be needing a hand with that.’
‘Can you please send Johnno back to help me?’ I said. Pig was squeezing so tight now, I was having trouble breathing.
‘Will do!’ said Sergeant Scott. He gave me a cheer y wave and cruised off.
I wanted to put Pig in the pram and carry Fluffy. She wasn’t as heavy as a python, and she wasn’t really into crushing you, either.
Johnno came back half-heartedly.
He stopped a couple of metres away from me and Pig.
‘I’m not coming any closer!’ he yelled.
Some best mate he was!
I was star ting to feel a bit light-headed with all Pig’s squeezing. Where was Grandpa when I needed him?
I could see another car in the distance. Maybe I could flag it down. A ute zoomed towards us at top speed.
Grandpa!
He jumped out with a big hessian sack in his hand.
‘Just passed the sergeant,’ he said. ‘He reckoned you needed a hand with a snake. See, Charlie, you did call him home!’
‘Just get him off me, will you, Grandpa,’ I gasped.
Grandpa uncoiled the snake and stuffed him into the sack.
‘Are you all right, Charlie?’ said Johnno, coming closer. ‘I didn’t know Pig was squeezing you!’
‘It’s a bit late to ask now, isn’t it?’ I yelled once I’d got my breath back.
‘Sorry, mate,’ he said.
At least Fluffy was still in the pram.
The tomcat was sitting on the ground just behind the pram. ‘Prrrrrt!’ he said loudly. ‘Prrrrrt! Prrrrrt!’
Johnno grinned at me. ‘It wasn’t Fluffy talking to you in your dream,’ he said. ‘It was that mongrel tom!’
‘Jump in, boys,’ said Grandpa. ‘I’ll give you a lift home.’
Johnno and me hauled the pram onto the back of the ute and climbed up after it. We couldn’t risk it rolling off!
The tom hopped up after us and curled up next to the front wheels of the pram. I could hear him purring even over the noise of the ute’s engine.
When we got home, Mum was on the front verandah with the girls. She was hugging herself and frowning at the sky. Grandpa waited while we unloaded the pram again. Then he tooted and sped off. I don’t think he was ready to face Mum yet after she yelled at him for losing Pig.
The tom stuck close to our heels as we wheeled the pram up the front path.
‘Where have you boys been?’ Mum snapped. ‘Cyclone Betty’s heading right this way! And, Charlie, I told you not to touch that pram!’
‘Good news, Mum!’ I said, wheeling the pram closer to her. ‘Fluffy’s alive!’
‘Baby girl!’ Mum cried, jumping off the verandah and running to meet us. ‘Where?’
‘Prrrrrt!’ said the tom.
That cat was a big sook.
Fluffy poked her head out of the pram and spat at the tom again.
‘Aw! Fluffy’s got a boyfriend!’ said Sharni.
‘How cute is that?’ said Tia.
Mum grabbed Fluffy out of the pram.
Sharni picked up the tom and Tia patted him.
‘I think that tom’s a stray,’ Johnno said. ‘He was just hanging around the conservation area on his own.’
There was a sudden blast of wind, stronger than before. Dust swirled everywhere and the tops of the trees flapped madly.
‘Let’s get organised while we can,’ said Mum.
I put some dry cat food and a bowl of water in the laundry, then locked the cats in while we cleaned up. Johnno and me gathered up the girly ar t junk we’d tossed out the front, and then we both helped Mum move all her junk from the back verandah. We chucked both lots of junk into the kitchen.
Sharni and Tia went around the house, locking the doors and windows. The stronger the wind got, the more they freaked out. They reckoned the roof was going to blow off.
‘We’ll be safe even if it does blow off,’ Mum said. ‘So long as we stay in the bathroom. It’s got a concrete floor, so it’s the strongest par t of the house.’
‘And so long as we protect ourselves from flying glass with pillows,’ I said.
We did a project on cyclones at school last year, so I knew all about them.
‘Flying glass!’ said Tia. ‘I could be scarred for life.’
‘Maybe it’ll only slice off your pimples,’ I said.
‘That’s enough, Charlie!’ said Mum. ‘Just get on with padding the bathroom walls with the foam mattresses.’
I felt a bit excited. I’d never been in a cyclone before. Then I remembered Dad and Spike were still out prospecting.
Suddenly I wasn’t excited any more. If we copped a lot of rain, there would be flash flooding in the dry riverbeds, and the town might get cut off. Then Dad wouldn’t be able to reach us. Worse still, he might be swept away.
‘Will Dad and Spike be okay?’ I asked.
‘Your dad is smar ter than he looks,’ said Mum. ‘That’s why I married him. He and Spike can look after themselves.’
‘Will Rosy be okay?’ Johnno asked.
‘Of course, Johnno!’ said Mum. ‘Camels are very smar t. And your dad’s been through cyclones before. He’ll take care of Rosy for you!’
I thought Granny Mary might come and stay with us, but Mum said Sergeant Scott had stationed Constable Andrews at the pensioner units to look after everyone there.
The wind got stronger and the clouds got darker. It was only late afternoon, but it seemed like night-time. I pressed my face against the lounge-room window and stared out at the trees across the road. They were bent right over in the wind.
‘Get away from that window!’ Mum yelled at me.
She drew the curtains closed.
‘Charlie,’ Mum said, ‘you and Johnno get the cats and join me and the girls in the bathroom. I think it’s time to bunker down.’
The cats were pleased to see us, especially the tom. Fluffy had him c
ornered next to the laundry tub. The fur on the back of her neck was raised.
I thought she was going to attack him.
‘Come on, baby girl,’ said Johnno.
He swooped down and scooped Fluffy up. She hissed, but at least she didn’t claw him.
I grabbed the tom. He purred and cuddled up to me. I wondered if Mum would let me keep him. He was much nicer than Fluffy.
It was comfy in the bathroom. Johnno and me had leaned mattresses against the walls and laid them on the floor.
Mum had taped thick cardboard over the window, in case the glass smashed. Mum gave the cats some dry food, then we had jam sandwiches and water for dinner. Fluffy curled up next to Mum and the tom curled up next to me. Now and then he’d look over at Fluffy and say, ‘Prrrrrt?’ but she ignored him.
Cyclone Betty gave us a good bashing. There was heaps of rain and lots of clanging, banging and smashing.
The wind roared for hours and hours, but luckily the roof stayed on and none of the windows broke. I was too worried about Dad and Spike to sleep. So were the girls. And Johnno kept moaning about Rosy. But Mum reckoned she’d get a bad feeling if anything happened to Dad. She was sure he was safe. I never had a bad feeling about Spike, so I figured he was safe, too.
‘How do you feel about Rosy, Johnno?’ I asked.
He grunted.
‘Is that good or bad?’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘Been talking to her in my head.’
Clang, bang, smash!
DISASTER! That’s what all the noise had been!
Dad’s shed was missing! Blown away! All that was left was a battered old bar fridge, a car engine and a big lump of concrete.
‘Thank goodness I hadn’t put any of my things in there yet,’ said Mum.
Then a crazy idea hit me. Now that just about everything was gone, Dad would never guess that some of his gear had been missing before the cyclone hit.
Thank you, Cyclone Betty!
‘You’re dreaming,’ said Johnno, when I told him. ‘Your dad’s mates will brag about the gear they wangled off your mum. Of course he’ll find out!’
So much for that crazy idea!
Mum told Johnno to ring home and check on his family.
‘Is Rosy okay?’ he asked, when someone picked up the phone.
I felt pleased when Johnno gave me the thumbs-up sign.
