The History of Mischief
Page 33
‘Who’s this then, dear?’ she asks.
‘My grandma,’ I say.
‘I’d shake your hand, but, well, you can’t disturb a cat now, can you?’ she says, and pats the seat beside her to invite Grandma to sit down. Grandma keeps staring. A single tear rolls down her face.
‘Whatever’s the matter, dear?’ Mrs Moran asks.
Grandma doesn’t know what to do. Mrs Moran starts to frown.
‘What’s her name, Grandma?’ I ask.
Grandma glances at me.
‘Mrs Moran wasn’t always Mrs Moran, was she?’ I say.
Tears, a flood of them, roll down Grandma’s cheeks.
‘You called her something else once,’ I say. ‘What was it, Grandma?’
Her hand’s shaking in mine.
‘Pan,’ she says.
Mrs Moran’s face changes. The way she looks at Grandma shifts entirely. She stands up, ignoring Cornelius’ meow of complaint.
‘Lou,’ she says.
It’s not a question. She knows. She hugs Grandma, who cries. I go back to Kay, to my sister, the one who looks like Mum. We leave them to it. They talk for hours. I’m sneaky and watch them through the lace curtains in the study. Mrs Moran never lets go of Grandma’s hand. There’s no anger in her. I would be angry. I think Grandma expected her to be angry. But she isn’t. She keeps touching Grandma’s face, brushing away tears.
Kay brings me a Vegemite sandwich. We eat together, spying on the two old ladies across the street.
‘They seem okay, yeah?’ she says.
I nod.
‘I told Grandma we were going for high tea. I don’t think she believed me though. Still, pretty good mischiefs, you and I, hey?’
I smile. ‘Yeah.’
‘We should try and find Henry’s family. Clear his name.’
I nod again. We finish our sandwiches and Kay takes the plates away. All these months, she’s been Mum. Making food. Cleaning up. Reading to me. Doing everything. I wait for her to come back, but she doesn’t. I go into the kitchen to find her. She’s washing up. Earphones still in her ears. I wonder if there’ll be a day when she doesn’t need them.
‘Kay?’
She tugs the earphones out. ‘Yeah?’
‘I’m sorry I burnt the History.’
She nods. ‘I know.’
It’s dark by the time Mrs Moran and Grandma finish chatting. Kay drives Grandma home.
That night, Kay returns with her own mischief. She says, ‘You need to make up for burning it.’ She says, maybe, we can write our own History of Mischief. We can turn all the special people in our lives, all the secrets and sadness and joy, into stories. Instantly, I imagine Theodore in an ancient war, singing and dancing his mischief across a battlefield, with Broom at his feet and paper cranes flying like real birds. I imagine Mrs Moran turning all the sand in her driveway into a castle of glass. I imagine Mum and Dad, both of them mischiefs, running through history with me and Kay. I decide we will live together in every century.
Tomorrow, I will go to the library.
About the Author
Rebecca Higgie is a writer from Perth. Her whole life has been spent in the company of books, with careers in libraries and universities. Formerly an academic at Curtin University and Brunel University London, she has published research on satire and politics. She has worked in the stacks of the State Library of Western Australia and fostered childhood literacy as the Library Officer at Guildford Primary, Western Australia’s oldest public school. Her creative work combines whimsy and play with extensive research and critical insights. Her stories and poems have appeared in publications such as Westerly, Stories of Perth and Visible Ink. Her novel The History of Mischief won the 2019 Fogarty Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.
Acknowledgements
The History of Mischief took twelve years, on and off, to write. I could fill another volume with the people who have helped me along this journey. Here, I thank those who have made the biggest impact.
This book is a testament to my love of libraries and books. I am grateful for local public libraries, particularly South Perth Library and Guildford Library, and the vital service of inter-library loan. I have also been lucky to be a part of the magic of school libraries. Thank you to the students, staff and parents of Guildford Primary School, who embraced me and my antics as their Library Officer. It was an immense and joyful privilege.
Thank you to Annie Fogarty and the Fogarty Foundation for funding the Fogarty Literary Award. It is wonderful that you have invested in such a fantastic prize for young WA writers. It was a dream come true to win the inaugural award.
Thank you to the amazing team at Fremantle Press, who have championed the book from day one. I would particularly like to thank my publisher Cate Sutherland. You made me excited about what the book could be. You made this book so much better.
I would like to acknowledge Deb Hunn and Ron Blaber, who supervised my PhD on satire and oversaw the Diogenes research that found its way into the book. I am also grateful for the early advice of Julienne van Loon who assessed the first chapter of the book as part of a manuscript assessment at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre in 2012.
Countless books were read in the process of researching every history. Thank you to all the authors, historians and academics whose works inspired me.
A very special thank you must go to my friends. To the Tugboats – Eva Bujalka, Erin Pearce, Mel Pearce and Elizabeth Tan – thank you for keeping me on track, for always supporting me, and for your invaluable advice on my manuscript. To Kelly Hill, thank you for reading my book and encouraging me to embrace the magical element of the story long ago.
Thank you to my family, especially my mum Linda who has read everything I have ever written, from my PhD to the fairy book I wrote when I was five. Back then, Mum, you never told me that I misspelt the word ‘fairy’ on every page. You just said it was wonderful. It made me want to write again.
My biggest thanks goes to my husband Yirga. This book would not be possible without your endless encouragement. Marye, thank you for believing in me and for reminding me that the story I needed to tell was more important than what I thought people wanted to hear. Every moment of love and joy in this book stems from you.
Lastly, to my son Tewodros, who swam in my belly as I finished the book. I cannot tell you how much I love you, Teddy. I hope you will be proud.
Rebecca Higgie, 2020
First published 2020 by
FREMANTLE PRESS
25 Quarry Street, Fremantle WA 6160
www.fremantlepress.com.au
Copyright text © Rebecca Higgie, 2020
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.
Cover design and illustration by Rebecca Mills, www.rebeccamills.com.au
Printed by McPherson’s Printing, Victoria, Australia
The History of Mischief
ISBN: 9781925816266
Fremantle Press is supported by the State Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.