The Birthmark

by Beth Montgomery

  ‘Neko,’ Amos called to the young Gilbertese waitress. A thin girl with a toothy smile approached warily and stayed just out of arm’s reach from the men. She held a pencil and pad as her defence: to stab customers and shield herself from their advances.

  ‘More beer,’ Amos said, lunging to grope her hips. She saw the move coming and expertly sidestepped.

  Unbalanced, Amos teetered on the edge of the seat and flung out his arms to steady himself. One arm landed in the leftover rice. His friends howled with laughter. The waitress rolled her eyes in disgust.

  Lily shook her head and approached.

  ‘The plane’s gone, Dad. Can we go home?’

  He looked up at her with surprise and made an effort to appear sober. ‘Ah, Lily, my girl,’ he said in a serious tone, picking rice from his forearm with his stubby fingers. ‘Not yet, not yet. You see I’ve just met my old friends here and we’re drinking together.’

  ‘Home, don’t go home. Come and join us,’ one of the friends said with a sleazy glint in his eye.

  Lily stood self-consciously in the shadows. The stupid arseholes were like pigs wallowing in mud. She didn’t want to go near their party. She kept the same distance the waitress did and choked back her distaste. Still, his drunkenness would suit her plan perfectly. Now she could simply walk to the end of the runway and meet Jonah. She hoped she wouldn’t be too early or too late.

  ‘Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll get a ride home later,’ she said. She walked out into the glare of the airport carpark once again, away from their drunken guffawing.

  seventeen

  Yamek District

  26 March 1943

  Tepu and Tarema woke to the hum of US bombers and the thudding of blasts in the south of the island. Again they were targeting the runway. The brothers scrambled round the edge of the camp to see what was happening. The black sky filled with streaming coloured lights. With each blast an orange glow expanded on the horizon and Tepu imagined another Jap plane exploding into flames. Flashes of red trailed upwards as the Japanese guns answered and the battle continued into the night.

  ‘The Americans must win. The bombs will blow the Japs off our island!’ exclaimed Tarema.

  ‘We should go back and stay with mother in case the planes drop bombs close by,’ said Tepu. He wished this was the night when the Japs were all killed and there would be no more digging, no more bowing and no more hunger.

  But the next day the marines came once more and escorted Tepu and the other men back to work.

  Pago Volleyball Court

  Pago District

  Thursday 1 July 2004

  She’s here, Hector observed. My girl, Lily. Still hanging off that jerk Jonah. Why did the girls like him? There must be something about football players. If you’re strong enough to play football, then you get the girls. If you’re a skinny little runt with a busted face, no one wants to know you.

  Football sucked. It was a stupid game. Besides, it was too hot to run around an oval of crushed coral when the sun grilled the island. Those guys wanted to turn black. They probably thought if they were black their dicks would get bigger, like those black guys on the X-rated movies.

  Volleyball was a better game. For a start no one wanted to punch your head in, and you didn’t have to stay out there for hours at a time. Plus there was always shell on the team, plenty of girls to look at.

  Hector had scored a place on the Dragons team today. They were sitting out this game, having lost the previous one to the Sharks. So the Sharks played on and the biggest shark of all was pretty-boy Jonah, who was showing off on the court in front of Lily.

  Hector sat by the net on the sideline trying to give Jonah the evil eye. He had to make sure the Sharks lost. That would be sweet justice. He hoped Jonah would go back to Pago in his so cool Bob Marley T-shirt and shades, and step in dog shit on the way. Arsehole.

  Lily wandered over towards Hector and sat beside him. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks and he didn’t know where to look.

  ‘How are the chickens?’ she said.

  ‘Taste good. What’s happening?’ he asked.

  ‘I just saw Decima off. She’s gone to Melbourne. I thought I’d come here to look for some fun,’ she said.

  ‘What kind of fun?’ he asked winking at her.

  ‘Suh!’ she scolded him.

  ‘There’s no fun in Tevua, you know that,’ he said.

  She smiled but looked away quickly. He saw her gaze fall on Jonah. Lily was out to catch her own shark, Mr pretty-boy from Pago.

  ‘Hope Sharks lose,’ he said.

  ‘They won’t,’ she said, her eyes on Jonah. He was serving now, holding the ball in one hand, as if it were merely a cushion. He spat to one side as he prepared himself for the big bash.

  Bounce, bounce, bounce—Jonah was almost ready now.

  Hector spat into the grey sand. Jonah the arsehole thought he was so cool, didn’t he?

  Jonah threw the ball and leapt into the air just as Hector blew the loudest raspberry he could. The distraction didn’t faze Jonah and he slammed the ball over the net.

  Hector felt Lily turn towards him. She must have been giving him that ‘stupid shit’ glare, but he was too ashamed to turn to her. He searched in his pocket, pulled out an Oxo cube and unwrapped it.

  ‘Do you want to go up to the bunker again?’ he said, picking at the cube and offering her some at the same time.

  ‘No,’ she said, looking away.

  ‘We could go up to Government Settlement again, find something else.’

  Now Lily faced him. ‘Mum doesn’t like me being with you. She gets mad.’

  ‘And what about you? Do you like hanging around me?’

  ‘Suh!’ she shouted at him and pushed him so hard he fell back and his head hit the concrete with a thud. He blinked back the pain and righted himself. She laughed at him, so he swore back at her. He was enjoying this— obviously she didn’t mind his company at all, otherwise she would have walked away.

  Hector looked at her honey-brown skin for a long time, noting again the scars on her legs. He knew she was tough, just like most Tevuan girls, but he wondered exactly what happened when Lorelei lost her temper.

  ‘My parents used to get mad, too,’ he said. ‘Ibu’s good though, he doesn’t hit me.’

  ‘He couldn’t catch you,’ Lily said, laughing.

  ‘That’s right.’ He flicked a small stone into the air and watched it fall at the feet of one of the volleyballers. ‘What have you done with the sword?’ he asked.

  Lily stared at him. ‘It’s at home. It’s hidden.’

  ‘What are you going to do with it, cut toddy?’

  They both laughed, imagining someone climbing a coconut tree with the sword. How stupid.

  ‘It keeps me safe,’ she said. Then in a whisper she added, ‘Or it will—something like that.’

  eighteen

  Yamek District

  12 April 1943

  Tepu’s legs shook, ready to run. His mind was alert for any danger. He knew they had to work quickly. Once the shock of the blast had faded, Tarema grabbed a woven-coconut basket and pulled him down to the beach. In the light of dawn the water was a transparent wash that rippled and shimmered, hiding the subtle contours of the reef. On top of the pale moving surface floated dozens of dark shapes. The boys stumbled in their efforts to collect as many of the stunned fish as the basket could hold.

  A shout from the beach made them turn. More people from the camp were coming, once they knew that the Americans’ wayward bombs had delivered a bounty from the sea. Hungry children in rags scampered onto the reef, scooped up fish and sunk their teeth into them. The women from the camp scurried towards the children berating them for their greed.

  Tepu and Tarema hauled their catch onto the beach. With sea water streaming from their shorts, they ran home to the lean-to, making certain not a single fish fell.

  Their mother greeted them with haunted eyes.

  ‘It’s a feast, Mother!’ Tarema sh
outed, passing her a fish.

  ‘You go ahead, eat,’ she said.

  ‘There’s plenty for all of us. And we ate yesterday while you went without.’

  She sniffed at the food and took a small bite. ‘You boys need your strength,’ she said. ‘It’s wasted on me.’

  Tepu was horrified at her words. ‘No, don’t say that, you must eat. We all must.’

  ‘What is the use? We’ll all rot here in the next few months. If the bombs don’t kill us, then the Japanese will. There’s nothing to live for.’

  The brothers exchanged worried glances.

  ‘You can’t think like that, Mother. It will end soon. The Americans will save us. I know they will,’ Tarema said.

  Tepu sat brooding. He was distressed by his mother’s words and by his inability to provide more food than the meagre rations from the marines.

  ‘We have to do something,’ he told Tarema later that day. ‘She sickens because she is weak.’ He rocked his head in his hands. ‘What can I do?’

  ‘I’ll get more food,’ his brother said, ‘even if we have to keep eating lizards. I’ll find more.’

  Pago Volleyball Court

  Thursday 1 July 2004

  ‘You style, Jonah,’ Lily said.

  He wandered over to her, his T-shirt dripping with sweat. It clung to his body, highlighting his muscles.

  ‘Suh!’ he laughed.

  ‘I’ve been watching. You’re a mean spiker.’

  ‘I need longer legs,’ he said, spilling a bottle of water over his short black hair. He shook the drips off then upended the bottle to drink the dregs.

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Lily.

  ‘Those tall boys are good for spiking. Not me.’ He indicated two of his team-mates who were wandering off towards the Ring Road.

  Lily clutched one of the volleyball posts and leant against it. ‘Eh, you do fine,’ she said. She was desperate to say something more, to keep the conversation moving. She needed to keep him there with her, but her mind was blank.

  Behind him she could see some of his family approaching. This was the end of their meeting.

  ‘Come on, we’re going,’ said his brother. He was a smaller but older and fatter version of Jonah. He greeted Lily by raising his eyebrows.

  ‘What are you doing now?’ Jonah asked Lily.

  Surprised, she couldn’t think of a quick answer. ‘Nothing special,’ she blurted.

  ‘We’re going round the island. Want to come?’ Jonah said.

  Lily hesitated. It wasn’t right: you just didn’t get into a car with a bunch of boys, and you certainly didn’t go round with people you only vaguely knew. You just didn’t do it because you didn’t know what was on their minds. Still, she figured she’d never get closer to Jonah’s world than she was now unless she took a few risks.

  ‘Yeah, why not.’

  Jonah looked to his brother who raised his eyebrows again. ‘We’ll drop her at Anbwido,’ the brother said.

  ‘No!’ she said. ‘At Baringa Channel.’ God, what would her mum say if she saw her getting dropped off by a car full of boys? What would anyone say for that matter, her dad, Rongo? Oh just think of it, shit!

  Jonah’s brother looked at her with amusement. ‘OK. Want to go swimming?’

  ‘Eh, no,’ she said. There was something about him she didn’t like. Was he mocking her? He was too smooth, too cool for her in his pressed island shirt and wraparound sunglasses.

  The back seat of the sedan smelled of cigarette smoke and vinyl interior. Lily eased her way over to the far end against the door. The door handle was missing but at least there was a lever for the window.

  Jonah and his cousin, Roy, pushed in after her. Another of Jonah’s cousins, fat and giddy on his feet, hauled himself into the front passenger seat. Oh-so-cool big brother sat in the driver’s seat with his sunglasses tilted at just the right angle so you could see his eyebrows. He looked at the three of them all squashed in the back. ‘Now you behave yourselves. We’re going to get some beer.’

  Beer! Lily felt herself scream inside. She was desperate to get out, but she dared not speak. She knew this was a big mistake, but they had begun to drive off, heading around the island on their way to a sly grog shop.

  ‘Want a smoke, Lil?’ Jonah asked as he took the gold packet from the compartment between the front seats.

  ‘Nah,’ she said, hoping she didn’t sound like a little kid. She tried not to appear nervous, but it was hard to relax. She didn’t want to press up too tightly while Roy was sitting on the other side, but she couldn’t escape the fact that her thigh brushed against Jonah’s. And Jonah didn’t seem to mind. He turned to her as he lit his cigarette and winked.

  Lily sighed and some of the fear and tension left with her breath. She could tell Jonah was showing off and he really did want her to be there with him. She knew she’d be all right. She felt happy for once, happier than she’d been for months.

  As she gazed out the window she could smell the rotting sea life from the reef and the breeze off the waves flicked in her face. She smiled to herself as they passed the old tin sheds that made up Chinatown. A few cars were parked in the gravel out the front and she could see coloured blow-up toys hanging in the doorways. Lily always loved shopping in Chinatown. She was fascinated by the hundreds of products packed into such little stores. Boxes and boxes of T-shirts and shorts, piles of towels and racks of lacy, frilled satin dresses for preschool girls. All packed in tightly, just like her in the back seat of the car.

  She tensed for just an instant as she felt Jonah touching her right hand, pulling it down onto the seat between their thighs. She shot him a quick glance, frightened that Roy would see, but Jonah simply winked at her again, while Roy untangled a cassette tape and argued with the two in the front about last week’s football match.

  Jonah’s hand was strong and smooth in hers and his touch sent a buzz of warmth up her arm, filling her chest with a growing tightness that dulled everything else around her. She knew it now—he did like her. He liked her a lot. But he was holding her good hand, not her purple one. She slipped her left hand under her thigh.

  The jolt of the car turning off the road brought her back to reality. It rolled over huge potholes, scraped its exhaust and came to rest a little way from the front of a large white house.

  Big brother and drunk cousin lurched out into the yard towards the shaded entrance at the side. Roy opened his door to follow them.

  ‘Don’t you two do anything naughty now,’ he laughed as he walked away. Jonah squeezed her hand tightly. Together they watched Roy enter at the side door. He didn’t look back.

  Jonah looked at her sideways. ‘No one can see us,’ he said, sinking low, level with her breasts. ‘Come here,’ he whispered, pulling her down, ‘I want to kiss you.’

  Lily had no time to react. He pressed against her, breathing cigarette breath all over her lips as he kissed her. She flinched, tasting the sharp scent of tobacco, but his lips and tongue were soft against hers. His body was warm and strong and she began to melt as he pulled her closer. She was surprised at how smooth his face was, not rough and scratchy like Eldon.

  She froze. No! Why did she think that? How could she think that? She wanted to enjoy this moment, but fear took over. Jonah’s tongue pushed inside her mouth, wet and probing. She felt crushed in the confines of the back seat. She pushed him away, her breath coming short and frightened. They’d be found out, she knew they would.

  ‘No, not here, not now. I’m scared,’ she whispered.

  He moved away from her and laughed. She looked up at him; he seemed different. She could now see a kind of roughness about his skin, pimples she’d never really noticed before. He certainly wasn’t as slick as his older brother, but he wasn’t as fat either. She liked his leanness and the gap between his teeth.

  ‘When then?’ he said.

  Lily righted herself against the door and glanced towards the house. She struggled for an answer but nothing would come. She was so excite
d that she felt an electric buzz run through her again. Her mouth opened and shut like a newly landed fish but her brain was empty.

  The three men emerged into the sunlight from the side of the house.

  ‘Shit, they’re coming,’ she turned back to Jonah. ‘Tomorrow after midday, at Baringa Channel,’ she said.

  He grinned. ‘What is it with you and the channel?’

  Alone at Baringa, Lily watched Jonah’s car drive away, black smoke billowing off to the side as it accelerated. Once it disappeared she ran alongside the road then down the track that led to Leper Beach. She’d have to be careful along the casino beach. But she wouldn’t be spotted now in the dusk. No one looked seaward at night. They were all too busy with the road and who was on it—going round.

  She raised her fists in triumph. ‘Aue!’ she shrieked, flinging her head back to laugh at the sky. ‘He likes me!’ Hearing the whooping ring of her voice hang in the air, she stopped. She didn’t want everyone at the casino to hear. But she couldn’t stop grinning. He kissed me! I’m special. I’m really someone, now!

  The high grass opened into a clearing. A few more strides and she was underneath the beach almonds on the shore. Pinnacles loomed up on the right, huge shadows against the curtain of dusk. The tide was coming in. She was cut off from her walk around the hotel. Never mind, once darkness came she would make her way through the casino grounds without anyone seeing her.

  She sat on the sand and peered out to sea. ‘Without anyone seeing her’, what a weird thing to think. No one ever really saw her. Enough people looked at her, she knew that. But how many people really saw her for what she was? Just a couple: Decima, maybe Hector. She laughed, thinking about him, that skinny brat, and how her mum thought they were together. As if she’d ever kiss that busted face, huh! But now, now Jonah had touched her and she was certain Jonah really saw her. He noticed her, he kissed her. Yeesss! He liked her. Liked her enough to see her again tomorrow. And then, what would they do?