The Old Balmain House

by Graham Wilson

  Chapter 18 - 1908 - Sophie and Matty

  In June 1908 Sophie turned eight. Without her Gran her birthday seemed flat, but then she took her first Holy Communion. Her mother had sewed for hours and hours to make her dress. It was pure white with fine white lace and brocade around the edges. And cleverly sewn across the top were the tiniest pale blue beads, which sparkled in the light. After communion was over a man with a big flash camera took lots of photos of them all and her father bought several, one for his mother and father, others for themselves. A small one in an oval frame was to go on the mantel in Sophie’s room. She felt proud and very grown up.

  Life was mostly good but she had taken to arguing over the silliest things with her Mum and neither could help themselves. Sophie had reached an age where she thought she knew almost everything about everything and, when she thought someone else said something she did not think was right, she could hardly help herself from saying so.

  And as well her Mum was a little bit sad. She had tried to have another baby late last year, after they buried her Gran. But at the end of summer her waters broke and the baby was far too tiny to be born. So a melancholy had settled over her mother. It seemed she was often cross with Sophie over the smallest of things. Her Dad stayed patient and understanding and he tried to keep her Mum’s spirits up, but she would get suddenly cross at him too, even when it was hard to see why. Sometimes that made Sophie really mad and she would get cross with her Mum on account of her father, even though he always told Sophie not to interfere.

  But the really good thing was Matty and she were best friends again. He had come up to her at her Gran’s funeral and been so nice to her, as if to try and make up for the bad things he had said and done to her last year. Well not really bad, but a bit mean, like saying she was too little to join in with him and his friends. Just before Christmas he had come round again and brought her a beautiful little bird he had carved and painted. Sophie just loved it and decided to bring it with her wherever she went. When Matty gave it to her he said to her he was sorry for being mean and nasty and it was a present to say he really liked her.

  He also told her about his family and the bad things that were happening there. His father was drunk a lot and had started to hit his Mum more and more often when she screamed at him. And, just after New Year, he had gone to jail for two weeks for getting in a big fight when he was drunk; beating up another man who had to go to hospital. The magistrate said it was provoked because the other man had called him a “useless drunk layabout”, but even so he said he still had to send him a message about controlling his temper. The magistrate warned his father that if he did it again he would go to jail for much longer. Since then his Mum was often cross with Matty too, telling him to do more work to make up for his useless father, and screaming at him when he forgot things.

  So often Matty and Sophie would go off together, just the two of them, and sit somewhere. They would talk and daydream about what they would do and the places they would go after they grew up; it was as if they both assumed that, whatever they did, they would do it together. Often, as they sat in these hidden places, along the cliffs where the heath bushes grew, they would see little birds with the bright blue markings, just like the one that Matty had carved for her, flitting through the bushes. These became their symbol of happiness together. They always felt better when they saw one.

  Sophie’s greatest treasure was the perfume bottle her Gran had given her. She often told it her happy stories and, with her mind, she gave it her memories to hold. At the moment it was mostly full of her doing happy things with Matty. Once, when she had found her Mum sitting in the corner crying, she had gone up and sat on her lap and taken one of her Mums tears and a few drops of her Mums perfume and put them both in the bottle together. Then she told her Mum that she loved her and wanted her to be happy again, and the bottle would help it happen.

  Her Mum hugged and kissed her and said. “Oh Sophie, I love you all so much and I want to be happy too. But sometimes, when I think of my tiny little baby, too small to be born, I find myself crying and I sit in a chair all day unable to do anything. When your Dad comes home from a hard day’s work, and is tired, I still have not washed the clothes or the plates or cooked any dinner. Instead of complaining he sets to work and does it all himself. Then I find myself getting angry with him too, even though I know I am wrong.”

  Her Mum stood up and looked straight down at her daughter and said, “It’s funny, just saying it to you, and you with that funny little bottle to hold your secrets, makes me feel warm and happy. It makes it all easier to bear, at least for a little while.”

  About two months after her birthday Sophie woke, one morning, to hear her Mum screaming at her Dad. She rushed out and told her Mum to stop, then shouted at her that she was always cross and unfair.

  Her Mum slapped her hard across the face. It was the first time she had hit her, ever. Sophie ran out of the house shouting “I hate you”.

  Her Dad tried to chase her but then went back to try and calm her Mum. Sophie waited down the road, crying quietly until the sting faded. She knew it would get better one day and when she went back home that night it would most likely be forgotten.

  But for now she was mad as she could be, even though, deep down, she knew it was not really her Mum’s fault. When the shouting stopped she went quietly back into her room, dressed quickly, packed her bag and, making sure she put her little blue bird in, left for school.

  She was almost crying, but made herself hold it in as she walked down the street to meet Matty. They always walked to and from school together now. Matty had a face like thunder but he knew straight away she was upset too. So they sat on a step and she told him what had happened, and he told her the same for him, another fight with his Mum because of his Dad. They both felt better and walked up the street holding hands; truly they were best friends forever now.

  At times during the day, in a daydream, the picture of her Gran and her sitting in that cave together came into her mind. She wasn’t angry anymore. She remembered too that her Gran had said it was alright to show it to one special friend.

  So, after school was finished, she came up to Matty with a cheeky grin and said. “I have a surprise I want to show you.”

  “What is it?” he said.

  “It’s a special surprise and I can only show it to one special friend. I want to show it to you.”

  She took his hand and led him down the path going the opposite way from home. He cocked his head and looked puzzled at her. “Really, tell me what it is?”

  She emphatically shook her head. “No, perhaps I will blindfold you, so you don’t even know the way. You have to trust me.”

  They went on down the path, mostly side by side and sometimes he had to follow her. As she came near the point where the cave was she could see someone had cleared some of the land on top. But the path led down the side, hidden below the cliffs and no-one could see them there. When she came to the part where they had to climb up the rocks she had to think a bit to remember clearly, but soon her mind had it right. There was the place, behind the bush behind that rock. She pushed past it and saw the hole.

  She decided she would quickly go inside and call him to see if he could find her. She called out, not too loud, “Matty.”

  “Where are you?” he said.

  “You will have to find me” she called back. For a minute there was the sound of scrabbling on the rocks.

  Suddenly, he was in there with her. “Wow, this is great” he said.

  She unpacked her bag. As soon as she had this idea, earlier at school, she decided to save her lunch for this place; a sandwich, two biscuits and an apple. She tore the sandwich in half and passed Matty his half and a biscuit. “I brought a picnic to share,” she said, feeling shy.

  “Why thank you,” he replied and doffed his hat with mock gallantry.

  They both laughed. Sophie told him what her Gran had told her about her friend, Ruthie, the two of them coming here all th
ose years ago. She pointed showed him the things left from way back then that were still here; the chest, the bottles, and other mementos.

  Matty nodded, “Amazing, it is hard to believe it is all so old.”

  Sophie rummaged in her bag and found the blue bird he had given her, so like the blue wrens she saw in the garden. ”I think I should leave this here” she said. She placed it on top of the small chest. “It will be the mark of our special place.”

  Then she looked at him with her serious, serious eyes and said. “You must promise not to tell anyone else, and not show it to anyone else.”

  First he looked at her in a slightly amused, mocking way, as if to say. Don’t be silly. But the force in her eyes silenced him. He nodded, “I promise.” He spat on his palm and rubbed it around, then held it to her and she joined her palm to it. It was a deal, stronger even than cross your heart.

  Almost shyly he took her hand and put his arm around her shoulder. He gave her a half hug, saying. “I like you so much Sophie. I am glad you showed me. When our parents are mean to us, we can come here together and no one else will know”.

  She nodded wisely, “It’s a deal.”

  Up above two men were working. Their job was to build a tank on the headland. Below would be a jetty where the ships would come to pump out oil into the tank. I would be used for other ships and for the new cars that were coming to the streets.

  First they had to get the top land level so the tank could sit flat. There were some big rocks, too big for their crowbars to lift. They unpacked sticks of dynamite to use to move the large rocks. They pushed explosive sticks down into gaps alongside the rocks until they were buried below the ground. They started next to a big rock close to the edge. As they worked, once or twice they thought they heard a faint voice, like a child.

  “Did you hear that?” said Joe to Fred.”

  Maybe” Fred said back. So he looked over the side. Nothing was there. He shrugged.

  “Must have been a bird,” he said to Joe

  They ran out the fuse, across to the far side of the clearing where the ground fell away. Joe lit the two fuses and for a few seconds they watched the fire flare and snake across the top. Then, as it got close, they ducked down the side, behind the rock shoulder. There was a dull thump as the first charge went off. A few seconds later came another thump as the second charge followed. The rock cracked and dropped below the ground surface.

  Fred said, “That’s good. We can level off the ground without moving that rock now.”

  Below Sophie and Matty paused for a second in their serious talking. Suddenly there was a loud crashing thud and some of the roof came down next to them.

  Matty grabbed her hand and pulled Sophie towards him. After a moment of hesitation he said. “We must go”. They moved towards the entrance.

  There was a second bang, but they barely knew, as the whole roof crashed down on them.

  Sophie felt an instant of fright as she saw the roof coming. Then there came a sudden white light. She and Matty pulled out of their bodies and rose above the cave, still holding hands.

  She could see her Gran smiling and beckoning to her. She brought Matty with her, across to her Gran. Her Gran wrapped them both in her arms.