The Tillerman's Gift

by C J Brown

CHAPTER 8

  “Home already,” said Alison when Mia walked in. “I see you made some friends.”

  “Yes.” Mia went straight to the refrigerator. After downing a glass of water she flopped on the sofa bed. “We’re best mates. As long as I don’t show my face outside this hotel I might live to tell the tale.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

  “No, just one girl. She’s so… I don’t know… controlling. The others were okay, I guess. Jimmy seemed the odd one out. He tried to stand up to her.”

  Alison continued towelling her hair dry. “Well, that’s good. Sometimes kids like her don’t realise the impact they have on others. They just act the way they’ve been taught. You can have your shower now if you like. When you’re finished I’ll knock on Nan’s door. We’ll go for a walk before dinner.”

  It was a still evening as they stood looking out across the ocean. The sun setting behind them had painted a blue and pink seascape across the horizon.

  “How far away is your old home, Nan?”

  “Half a kilometre maybe.”

  “That’s not far. Let’s take a look,” Alison suggested.

  As they walked Tess pointed out the buildings that were new, which was nearly all of them, and the buildings she remembered from her childhood. “The school is straight down that road. I used walk to and from every day. Oh,” she said, pointing to the Ocean Street signpost, “Clowder Bay High School – 1.5 kilometres. I see it’s still there!”

  “And Cat Refuge two kilometres,” read Alison. “I haven’t seen that many cats running around.”

  “Oh, there used to be feral cats everywhere. That’s where this town gets its name. Not very romantic is it? Anyway, they seem to be pretty well under control now.”

  “One and a half kilometres to your school!” exclaimed Mia. “You mean you walked three kilometres each day. You were so lucky. You’d never let me do that, would you, Mum?”

  “Well there’s a big difference between a seaside town in the sixties and Sydney today.”

  “Actually,” continued Tess, “I usually only walked to school. In the afternoon I’d run.”

  “You must have been keen to get your homework done, Nan.”

  “No, it wasn’t homework that made me hurry….” Tess paused. Mia looked at her.

  “You okay, Nan?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” She paused again. “I was nearly thirteen when I first saw him.”

  Alison held her breath fearing that her mother might stop. Alison felt entitled to know but didn’t want to force Tess to talk about it. Her mother revealed so little of her past. And Alison wanted answers to Tess’s questions almost as much as Tess did.

  “It was my first year of high school. He was two grades ahead and left school that same year. He was fourteen and hated study. His father ran the Amoco garage so he went to work there. He never noticed me even though I would always insist that my father went to that service station whenever he needed the car filled. Just so I could catch a glimpse. All the girls agreed that he was the most handsome boy in town; tall, muscular with beautiful orange, curly hair. But we never actually spoke until three years later.

  “It was a Saturday in December. I was surfing with a group of friends, body surfing, that is - only the boys had boards. I was swept up by a wave that tumbled me over and over towards the beach. Suddenly I crashed into someone, knocked him off his feet as well and we ended up in a tangle in the shallows. And that was it. I had landed the biggest fish in Clowder Bay.”

  “Actually, Nan, he probably thought he had landed the biggest fish in Clowder Bay.”

  “Well, I think you’re right. He certainly wasted no time asking me out. But my father was very strict. No dating until I was thirty or forty, as far as he was concerned. But we still had fun. Look, here we are! Goodness, such memories.”

  They stood in front of a two-storey dark brick building. The original signage on the front brickwork was still there: Clowder Bay Post Office. The glass panels, however, were stencilled with a different label: Birman’s Book Nook. And there was another impossible-to-miss sign in large red letters: CLOSING DOWN SALE. Another sign gave details of an impending auction.

  “It’s such a beautiful old building,” remarked Alison, “but with all the other development going on it’s a wonder they haven’t knocked it down.”

  “It’s on the Town Plan Heritage Register,” said Tess. “It has to be preserved. I used think it rather special living in a heritage building.”

  Tess cupped her face up to the glass to see what lay within. “I must come back tomorrow and have a proper look.”

  Alison looked across to the water. “Some lucky person will buy it. It has an amazing view.”

  The building was made up of two commercial spaces, sharing a dividing wall. The second shop also displayed the auction information sign.

  “Fresh Seafood,” read Mia. “Too bad it’s shut down. I feel like some chips.”

  “That’s hardly a meal,” Alison frowned.

  “I used love eating there. My father didn’t though.” Tess affected a posh English accent. “I am the Post Master. I am a very important person. I couldn’t possibly be seen eating at a common fish and chippery. So I had to pretend I was buying loads for myself and I’d take his home for him so he could maintain his dignity by eating in the privacy of our own little kitchen.”

  Mia and Alison laughed at Tess’s impersonation.

  “Do you miss him, Nan?”

  “Miss him? It would have been difficult raising me by himself and working at the same time. He was good at his job and was regularly encouraged to apply for more senior positions in Sydney. But it would have meant moving from here and he worried that he’d have to rely on some baby-sitter to be a surrogate parent. And when you were born, Alison, it almost seemed as if he felt responsible for me having to raise you without a father.”

  “But do you miss him?” Mia persisted.

  “I do, yes. I wasn’t the easiest child growing up. A bit of a rebel you might say. He was tough, that’s for sure, and had quite a temper, but I know he always had my best interests at heart. Even when we moved to Sydney despite my protests.” Tess smiled at her daughter. “And he loved you, Ali.”

  “I barely remember him,” said Alison flatly. “Which is good… one less person to mourn.”

  Mia slipped her hand into her mother’s. “It’s getting cold. Let’s walk back.”

  “How about that Asian restaurant we passed on the way.” Alison suggested. “Not sure about chips but you can have prawns.”

  Ten minutes later they stood outside Kim’s Kitchen: Finest Vietnamese Cuisine.

  “Hey, that’s Jimmy!” Mia exclaimed suddenly. From the footpath Mia could see the kitchen door held partially open by a bucket and Jimmy cleaning the floor. The front doors were closed but the tables were set up and candles were lit.

  “There’s nobody eating here. Maybe it’s no good.” Tess tightened her forehead and looked unimpressed.

  “It’s not even open yet, Mum. Look: Opening Hours: Lunch 11am to 2:30pm Dinner 6:30pm to 11pm Monday to Saturday,” read Alison. “It opens in five minutes.”

  Just then Jimmy looked up. A grin filled his face as he squeezed the mop and leaned it against the wall. “Hi, Mia,” he grinned opening the heavy glass doors. “Are you stalking me or do you want to come in?”

  “Hi Jimmy. We’d like to come in if we could. Mum and Nan, this is Jimmy.”

  “Hello, Jimmy. We’re pleased to meet you,” smiled Alison, “and yes please, we would like to come in but I see we’re a little early.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Mum’s just told me to open up anyway.” Jimmy hooked back the glass door and ushered them to a table by the window.

  Alison looked around smiling approval. “I love the décor. It’s very authentic, isn’t it, Mum?”

  “Yes, I suppose so.”

  “Well, Jimmy,” Alison surmised, “since we’ve only been in town for a few hours, I’m gues
sing you are one of the volleyball players.”

  “Sure am. Mia and I make a great team.”

  “Yeah,” added Mia, “we’ve only ever lost one game. So your mum works here too?”

  “This is our place,” Jimmy replied. “Mum and dad own this restaurant. You probably won’t see dad. He does all the cooking. Mum supervises and helps wait on the tables. She’ll be out in a moment to take your orders. I’ll get you some water and menus.”

  A young couple came in and stood near the door breathing in the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. Within ten minutes the restaurant was buzzing with happy chatter. This should make mum happy, thought Alison. This place obviously has a good reputation.

  “Ready to order?” An attractive woman, in her mid-forties by Alison’s estimation, stood at the table with notepad and pencil at the ready. Her nametag read Kim.

  Alison looked up. “Jimmy’s mother?” Kim nodded. “He’s a lovely boy.”

  Kim returned the smile. “Thank you. I think so too.”

  They turned to the serious task of ordering their meal. “We’ll start with some spring rolls. Two each, please.”

  “And chicken satays,” Mia’s stomach was rumbling. “Nan, you pick a main dish?”

  “Oh, I’m not sure.” Tess flipped through the pages of the menu. “Asian food is so spicy. My stomach is not so good with spicy food.”

  “Since when? You’ve always eaten spicy food”

  “It’s okay,” smiled Kim obligingly. “Anything on the menu can be made mild, medium or hot. It’s no problem.”

  Alison reached under the table and squeezed her mother’s hand. “We can go somewhere else if you want.”

  “No, no. It’s fine. Just whatever you order will be okay.”

  “I’ll put a small jug of coconut milk on the table,” said Kim helpfully. “You can just add a little if any dish is too hot for your taste.”

  “Thank you.” Tess closed her menu and held it up. Kim took the menu but found herself staring directly into Tess’s eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologised, blinking her way back to the present moment after an awkward few seconds. “I’m in a bit of a dream. This is your first visit to our restaurant, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, we only arrived today.”

  “I think she thought she knew you, Nan,” Mia said when Kim had returned to the kitchen. “Does she look familiar? Maybe your families knew each other way back in the old days and she might look just like one of them.”

  “Oh no, darling, there were no Vietnamese families in Clowder Bay back in the old days, as you love to call them. Hardly any in the whole country, compared to today.”

  During the evening Alison noticed Kim staring several times at Tess. She certainly sees something familiar in Mum.

  Jimmy was busy most of the night collecting used plates and cutlery and taking them to the kitchen. “Director of Cleaning Services,” he grinned as he cleared their table. “I pretty much run the place.”

  Mia gave him a whatever look.

  By the time they rose to leave Tess had picked her way through almost enough to fill a small sparrow.

  “Thank you. It was all very delicious.” Alison stood at the counter with her credit card ready. “Jimmy and Mia met on the beach today.”

  “Yes. He told me. He was quite excited. He was saying something about how this new girl made Savannah Lowman look foolish. I said I hope you stayed out of it, Jimmy. We don’t want any trouble with her mother.”

  “That doesn’t sound very good.” Alison didn’t feel the slightest bit inclined to apologise for whatever Mia may or may not have done. She trusted her implicitly and if she made a bully feel uncomfortable then, well, that was good! “What do you mean trouble?”

  Kim hesitated for a moment, wondering why she had even said that much to a complete stranger. But she had a feeling she could trust Alison and continued. “We own this business but Doris Lowman owns the building and she wants to sell it. She plans to buy the old post office and fish shop down the road and she will need money to put towards an apartment block development. But we have another two years on our lease and our contract says that she cannot sell this building until our lease if finished. So she keeps putting up the rent hoping that we will go somewhere else, or go broke.”

  “Well, why don’t you…go somewhere else, I mean?”

  “This is the best place for a restaurant. You can see how busy we’ve been tonight. There is only one other suitable building available and it is in a back street. It doesn’t get passing traffic, or these views.”

  Alison looked out towards the beach. A rich butter moon was rising over the ocean, its reflection shimmying all the way to the shore. “Well, maybe she won’t get council approval for her apartment block.” Alison punched her pin number into the credit card machine.

  “Except that she used to be the mayor and you know how it is in politics. Lots of people probably still owe her favours. Despite objections from people in the community, somehow the council voted to take the building off the Heritage Register and the development proposal was approved last year. The bulldozers are ready to move in as soon as the auctioneer’s hammer falls next week.”

  “That’s such a shame. My mother used live there. She will be very disappointed to hear that.”

  “Maybe she should go to the auction and give Doris Lowman run for her money.”

  “On a teacher’s salary? I don’t think so.” Alison put her card back into her purse. “Thanks again. It was delicious. Sorry about my mother earlier. She’ll eat anything usually. She’s just having a difficult time at the moment.” Alison looked around the restaurant. “All these photographs of Vietnam, they are so beautiful.”

  “Thank you. I took them myself.”

  “Really! Do you go back there often?”

  “Only once, when I returned to search for my mother’s grave. That’s when I took these photos. My parents both died during the war.”

  “Did you find her grave?”

  “No. She was put into prison because she had worked for the Australian government. I never found her.”

  Alison hesitated before going on. “My father was killed there as well. That’s why my mother is a bit, you know, anything to do with Vietnam… Even though it was over forty years ago.”

  “I understand.” There was a slight tremor in Kim’s voice. “I’m sorry, I have to clear some tables.”

  “Thanks again.” Tess and Mia were standing outside watching the moon as Alison turned to leave. She stopped. “I’d like to talk some more.”

  “So would I,” smiled Kim.