Gifts of the Peramangk

by Dean Mayes

  “We can’t have you goin’ off to the recital looking like a ruffian now can we? I’ve seen how you’re expected to present yourself.”

  “I-I don’t know what to say,” Ruby stammered, overwhelmed.

  For what seemed like the first time ever, her aunt looked at Ruby with an expression of genuine warmth.

  “You don’t have to say anything. Just play your violin…the way you’ve always played it. Show them white fellas how good you are.”

  “Thank you,” Ruby whispered, feeling her emotions bubbling up at her aunt’s show of kindness.

  “Let’s get some dinner on then,” Virginia declared robustly. “We all need a good meal in our bellies for tomorrow. It’s gonna be a big day.”

  Jeremy made his way down the near-empty hall of the school, toward an exit. Outside, he crossed over a large quadrangle heading in the direction of a smaller portable building that had an almost informal look to it in comparison to the larger buildings of the school. It was flanked on one side by a vibrant vegetable garden that was filled with a variety of seasonal vegetables that were close to harvest. On the other, was an attractive landscaped garden with a pretty arbour and a number of rose bushes that been recently pruned back for the winter in preparation for their spring blooms.

  This was Miss Glasson’s classroom and office, though it was less like a rigid classroom environment and more like a club room.

  Stopping at the steps in front of the entrance, Jeremy put one hand on the railing and took a deep breath. Everything was changing and he felt himself changing along with it. There was no reason to fear it—he knew that—but he felt the butterflies nonetheless.

  No reason to be afraid any more.

  He had faced down those who’d sought to destroy him and had been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to make a fresh start.

  He intended to make good on that opportunity.

  Entering the building, Jeremy gingerly glanced around the door and saw Miss Glasson sitting at her desk working at her laptop.

  She looked up from her work and smiled warmly.

  “Jeremy. Come in. I was just finishing up.”

  Her eyes narrowed as he approached the desk.

  “You’re hanging around a little late aren’t you?”

  Jeremy nodded bashfully.

  “I had to…finish up some other stuff before I was allowed to leave.”

  Miss Glasson gestured to a chair opposite her, but Jeremy declined wordlessly.

  “I ahh…wanted to talk to you about…your program.”

  Miss Glasson nodded, her eyes widening over the tops of her glasses.

  “Yes,” she ventured, waiting as Jeremy fidgeted where he stood.

  “Well…I wanted to know…if your offer is still, you know—available?”

  Miss Glasson studied Jeremy closely, her expression giving nothing away.

  It didn’t last. Her facade cracked, her smile returned and she stood from her seat, coming around to stand before Jeremy.

  “I would love to have you join the program,” she beamed. “I will get you in as soon as possible.”

  Jeremy’s brow furrowed and his features flickered with a mixture of relief and embarrassment. As always, Miss Glasson was quick to pick up on his nonverbal cues.

  “You’ve made the right decision, Jeremy,” she said reassuringly. “If you work hard, we could have you back up to speed in no time. You’re bright—you always have been. You just needed to believe in yourself.”

  Jeremy nodded, he bowed his head slightly and stifled a lump in his throat.

  “How are things?” Miss Glasson asked him.

  “They’re okay…different. D-Dad’s still in the hospital. He got an infection and they had to operate on his nose again. The police raided Gavin’s house and arrested him and the others. They’ve given me immu…immune…”

  “Immunity?” Miss Glasson ventured helpfully, to which Jeremy smiled and nodded.

  “Immunity,” he repeated. “My information has caused a lot of damage.”

  “Things are going to take a while to settle,” Miss Glasson observed. “But they will settle.”

  Jeremy nodded again and looked at Miss Glasson.

  “They will. Mum won’t let Dad back home until he gets himself together good and proper, so I’m sort of the man of the house.”

  He smiled wanly.

  “It’s not too bad actually.”

  Jeremy’s smile faded almost as quickly and he began to turn away.

  “I worry about us, miss. I worry about what’s gonna happen when he does want to come home.”

  Miss Glasson tilted her head and smiled with empathy.

  “You’ll work it out. You’ve worked a lot of things out lately and they’ve served you well. Just keep thinking about what the right thing is for you and for your family. You won’t ever go wrong.”

  Jeremy nodded respectfully and turned to leave.

  “Baxter’s gone,” Miss Glasson said. “For now, at least. He’s on leave until they decide how to discipline him.”

  Jeremy turned back and looked at Miss Glasson.

  “But you didn’t hear that from me,” she grinned.

  Jeremy unlocked the door to the house and quietly stepped inside, hearing a commotion of sorts coming from the kitchen. For a fleeting moment, he felt panicked, as if there was yet another conflict going on, however the sound of raucous laughter and the chattering of his family confused him and he frowned in the direction of the kitchen.

  Setting his schoolbag down in the hall, Jeremy stopped in the kitchen doorway to find his family bustling around in the kitchen preparing dinner. Asher and Virginia were at the stove, checking on a roast in the oven while Ruby, Minty and Belle washed and dried dishes and Davo and Cherie along with Professor Khalili set the dinner table.

  The scene was comforting. Jeremy hadn’t seen anything like this in a very long time. They were all happy, laughing and chatting away—so much so that none of them even saw Jeremy initially.

  It was Belle who finally caught sight of him and smiled warmly.

  “Jeremy,” she greeted with surprise in her voice.

  Jeremy noted her flicking her eyes up to the wall clock and couldn’t help but grin slightly at the irony. It was rare for him to be home this early—if at all.

  Belle embraced her son then shepherded him into the kitchen and gave him a stack of plates to set out on the table.

  “We’re having a little celebration tonight, son,” she said. “For a change.”

  Jeremy glanced across at Ruby who met his eyes with a querying expression.

  ‘Well?’ she mouthed silently.

  Jeremy simply nodded and Ruby smiled broadly, knowing he’d finally done it and had gone to see Miss Glasson.

  Her exchange was swallowed up by Davo who plucked Ruby from her stool by the sink and set her down at the table.

  “You’ve done enough work for the moment. Take a break while we get this tea on for ya. After all, you’re the lady of the moment.”

  Ruby’s cheeks flushed.

  “How are you feeling?” Cherie asked her. “Not too nervous?”

  “I don’t know,” Ruby answered truthfully, casting a quick glance at Khalili. “Never been in anything like this before so I guess I’ll have to let you know when it happens.”

  “You’ll be alright, Rube,” Jeremy assured her, squeezing her shoulder as he sat down beside her. “I’ve seen you perform and I reckon it sounds awesome.”

  “Me too,” Asher added for good measure. “You’ll be superb.”

  “Now, now,” Virginia interjected. “Let’s not go whipping her up too much. You’ll have her quaking before she even steps up onto the stage.”

  Setting the roasted lamb down on the table in the centre, she took up her seat while Asher and Belle placed the vegetables beside the lamb and Jeremy put Minty down on his knee.

  Virginia took Ruby’s hand and held it.

  “All you have to do tomorrow is play the way you’ve
always played. Remember all the things you put into your music—the pictures, the feelings, the sounds that you hear and forget about everything else. We’ll all be there for you but just concentrate on you and what you’ve always done in your music.”

  Ruby nodded and smiled softly. She glanced again at Khalili who was himself smiling. He’d obviously appreciated Virginia’s sentiments.

  Looking around the table, Ruby’s eyes finally settled on Jeremy and he returned a smile to her.

  Chapter 32

  Ruby sat at the base of Sir Walter Hughes’ statue, her violin case resting in her lap, her eyes closed in quiet meditation.

  She was dressed in her concert dress and had paired it with crisp white stockings. Her new shoes had been polished to a high sheen by Jeremy who had employed a similar technique to which he shined his football boots. Asher and Virginia spent the morning washing, combing and styling her hair. They’d tied it back and secured it with a beautiful butterfly clip that had once belonged to Virginia.

  Ruby had attracted the attention of various passersby, some of whom stopped to compliment her on how lovely she looked and though outwardly, she baulked at their attentions, appearing self-conscious in her showy outfit, she felt very much a young lady. The dress fitted perfectly, billowing out daintily and her shoes were just the right size and fit that she felt comfortable in them.

  Sitting here now, with the recital mere hours away, Ruby felt calm. There was the occasional twinge of nervousness while she was getting prepared at home but those feelings had drifted away on the drive into Adelaide in Davo’s car. They spent the ride down singing songs with raucous enthusiasm, an attempt Ruby figured to further calm her nerves.

  While Belle, Cherie and Asher parked the car nearby, Jeremy stood with Virginia under the arches of the art gallery, waiting.

  Jeremy had dressed smartly in a pair of trousers and a crisp white shirt while Virginia wore a smart blouse and skirt that she hadn’t worn in years. She’d matched her outfit with a lovely hat and smart shoes and looked so much different than usual. Both of them did. In fact, Jeremy couldn’t remember ever having seen his grandmother look so formal. He himself couldn’t remember the last time he dressed up for any sort of occasion. Despite this, he noted with amusement that Virginia was shifting her feet; the shoes she wore were clearly stiff and new and were uncomfortable.

  Virginia was looking across the pavement to where Ruby sat at the large base of the statue. Her brow was furrowed in a worried frown.

  “What on Earth is that child doing?” she whispered impatiently. “We’ll be late at this rate.”

  “She talks…” Jeremy replied, motioning to the imposing gentleman sitting atop the marble base. “To him. He’s like her imaginary friend or something. I never know exactly what they talk about but…”

  Virginia turned her head and glared over the top of her sunglasses at Jeremy.

  “How long has she been doing that for?”

  Jeremy shrugged.

  “I dunno…for as long as we’ve been coming here. It’s like this little ritual for her. She talks to him before practise, kind of like a pep talk. If she doesn’t do it, she says she doesn’t feel right. Ready—or something.”

  Forgetting her shoes for a moment, a curious smile formed at the edges of Virginia’s lips then and nodded once.

  The young girl and the dog, her faithful companion to which she confided all of her secret hopes and fears…

  Jeremy noticed his grandmother’s expression and nudged her gently.

  “What is it, Nan?”

  “Oh nothing,” Virginia replied wistfully. “Just remembering. I had a similar ‘friend’ when I was Ruby’s age, though mine was flesh and blood, rather than a big piece of bronze.”

  Now it was Jeremy’s turn to frown and Virginia chuckled at him.

  “He was a dog—a mongrel—the kind you normally wouldn’t pay too much attention to. Except that there was something about him—an intelligence, a knowing. He wouldn’t leave me alone. I talked to him in much the same way. He was by my side practically from the moment I first met him. Until…”

  Her voice drifted away and they continued to watch Ruby in silence. Jeremy sensed that he knew what she meant by her ‘until.’

  “Those sorts of friends can be vital,” Virginia added softly. “Especially if you feel alone.”

  Jeremy nodded in understanding and felt a familiar twinge of guilt assail him before Virginia squeezed his arm reassuringly.

  “She’s not alone—thank the Lord. None of us are…really.”

  Virginia checked her watch and shook her head.

  “But she might be if she doesn’t hurry it up.”

  Ruby listened to the breeze as it gently rustled through the boughs of the surrounding jacarandas. She practised her breathing exercises and ran through the imagery of each of the compositions in her head once more.

  “You look lovely in your dress,” Sir Walter remarked from above her. “Your grandmother has helped you, I take it.”

  “Yes…and Jeremy and Asher—even Aunty Belle. She bought the dress.”

  “Well that is something. It appears this journey of yours has brought your family together in ways not expected.”

  Opening her eyes, Ruby looked across to where her grandmother and Jeremy stood.

  “I guess it has,” she mused.

  “It is a fine thing. Regardless of what happens today, in a way, you have already won. Your gift has sustained you and your family—given them hope. It’s given you hope…don’t you think?”

  Ruby nodded as a realisation came to her.

  All of the people in her life who mattered were here with her today. They were her family, her people and in that moment, a feeling struck her—a sense of family, of belonging that she hadn’t felt before—ever—and it made her feel good. It no longer mattered what came before, what she or they had endured or suffered or battled. They were, for all of their experiences, a family, they were together and they were happy—perhaps for the first time in a long time.

  From that powerful realisation, Ruby felt strength flow through her that rose like a wave for several moments before settling back, as her focus turned toward the recital. From somewhere nearby, the sound of a clock chimed across the boulevard and Ruby began to feel a twinge of nervousness. It was midday—an hour until her first performance of the recital.

  “There’s still a long way to go,” she muttered.

  “I’ve no doubts that you will prevail, child.”

  Ruby craned her neck up at Sir Walter’s figure and squinted.

  “You love using those big words all the time, Sir Wally,” she said.

  “How many times have I asked you not to call me that?”

  Ruby giggled under her breath and stood from the base of the statue.

  “You like it,” she quipped daintily. “You know you do.”

  Ruby turned to face Sir Walter and, from out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure approaching from across the lawn in front of Elder Hall.

  It was Khalili.

  Dressed in a suit and sporting a ruby red rose in his lapel, Khalili had spied Ruby before she’d noticed him and he was smiling as he approached.

  Jeremy and Virginia stepped out onto the pavement and joined Ruby at the base of the statue.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” Khalili quipped as he stopped before Ruby and studied her proudly. “Well, well—look at you. You look every inch the young performer.”

  Ruby grinned bashfully and acknowledged her grandmother and Jeremy.

  “Shall we walk together to the Town Hall?”

  “That would be great,” Ruby nodded.

  “We better get a move on,” Virginia said, tapping her watch yet again.

  “Indeed,” Khalili agreed. “We’ll need to register and make sure we’ve submitted everything—and you’ve still not told me what that third piece is yet.”

  Ruby smiled conspiratorially and pursed her lips tightly.

 
“I’m not saying—I told you that already. You’ll just have to wait.”

  Belle, Cherie and Asher appeared from across North Terrace and joined up with the others by the statue. Asher looked lovely in a floral print dress and slip on shoes; her hair was braided to one side and tied with a ribbon.

  She smiled warmly at Ruby, clearly excited for her.

  “Let us go then, shall we?” Khalili said, gesturing toward a nearby pedestrian crossing.

  Together the little group began to walk from the statue when, suddenly, a high pitched chirping cause Virginia to stop and turn back.

  From the trees above, a little bird flitted down and landed on the statue’s shoulder, pausing there and singing cheerily.

  Ruby too, stopped and looked back at the bird, going over to stand by Virginia, who seemed entranced by the bird’s song.

  It was light, happy, a pleasant sound that made Virginia smile.

  “What is it, Nana?” Ruby asked inquisitively.

  “A Mingka bird,” Virginia answered sweetly. “It’s a messaging bird. One that brings news.”

  “What news has it got right now?”

  Virginia closed her eyes and listened closely to the little bird as it fanned out its tail.

  “Hard to say exactly,” she responded. “But my guess is that the news is good.”

  Virginia opened her eyes and gazed down at her granddaughter with a comforting smile.

  “Let’s go and see you play.”

  Ruby nodded and turned away once more.

  Virginia lingered for a moment longer, until the bird flapped its wings and took flight again, disappearing above the boughs of the trees.

  Finally, she walked slowly from the statue. As she did so, a voice—soft but strong—sounded.

  “Good luck.”

  Virginia turned, but all she could see was the statue there, standing solitary under the mighty Moreton Bay fig. Her eyes narrowed and she looked up into the face of Sir Walter Hughes.

  Shaking her head, confused, she turned away for a final time.

  Adelaide’s town hall was already filling with people when Ruby arrived, accompanied by her family. Passing under the tall arches of the building’s entrance and filing in to the resplendent foyer, Ruby felt her heart jump as she took in her surroundings. It was like Elder Hall in some ways, but in others it was a much more imposing environment.