by Ron Thomas
‘Fed, it’s starting to rain on your seats!’ Federico immediately bolted for the door. ‘Yum, I smell bolognese,’ Claudia added as an afterthought. A few seconds passed, then she came into the room. For a moment, Meggsie was stunned. It was the first time he had ever seen her in clothes other than her school uniform, and she looked very grown-up and very alluring indeed. Her hair was combed to a sheen and her heady perfume followed her into the room. Meggsie noticed that she was carrying a large box of popcorn.
‘Oh, hello. I wasn’t expecting you, Gilbert,’ Claudia said. There was none of the giggling that he’d experienced when they first met. ‘I do hope my big brother is looking after you. I’m so pleased to see you again.’
‘Yes. You look very pretty.’
‘Why, thank you, Gilbert. I’ve just been to the pictures. Would you like some popcorn?’ Meggsie was about to say no, but she moved closer to him.
‘Hold out your hand,’ she said, and Meggsie immediately complied. She filled his cupped hands to overflowing.
Claudia sat down on one of the kitchen stools and fed herself popcorn-puffs. ‘Did you see Papa today?’ she asked.
‘Yes. There doesn’t seem to be any change. The nurse said sometimes these things go on for a long time.’
‘It’s already been a long time,’ Claudia complained.
Meggsie nodded. ‘How was the picture?’
‘It was lovely. It was called the Love Parade. Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald were in it. Do you like movies?’
‘Yes, but I don’t go very often.’ Meggsie could hear voices from outside, and a few seconds later, Federico and Therese arrived. Federico had his arm around his mother, and from the look of her, she’d been crying.
‘Gilberto,’ she said. ‘My Federico tells me that you have been living in that old truck. That’s no life for a boy. My Benito would not put up with it, and neither will I. You will have to come and live here. That’s all there is to it.’
‘I don’t mind the truck so much. It’s only for a while,’ Meggsie replied.
‘Mama Mia! I’ll make you up a bed and you will stay here. I won’t have you living in that old truck.’ She threw her arms in the air. ‘Benito would kill me,’ she exclaimed dramatically. ‘And if he left you there, I would gladly kill him.’
Meggsie knew when he was beaten. ‘I’ve got some of my study things in the truck, and a few clothes. I’ll have to go and pick them up. My exams are coming up soon, and I’m a bit worried about them.’
‘Perhaps I could help you with all that, if you like. Anyway, it would be easier for you to study here than in the truck. At least there’s decent light. We could take a run down there now in the G, if you like, and pick up your things,’ Federico suggested helpfully.
Meggsie didn’t need to be asked twice.
Chapter 30
The Miracle of Tawny Cough
Despite his bed on the sofa, it was the best night’s sleep Meggsie had experienced for some months. Therese promised that in the long term, she’d make better arrangements, but to Meggsie, that sofa was as comfortable as any feather bed.
The following afternoon, Eastern Suburbs were playing South Sydney at the SCG, and Meggsie desperately wanted to watch the match. Throughout his childhood, he’d had little choice. His father would really have killed him if he’d followed any other team but Easts. Now he was free to choose, perhaps to spite his father, he was fast becoming a Souths barracker.
Alas, he knew it wasn’t possible. He needed to get his head down and spend the weekend with his nose in the books if he was to have any chance of passing his exams. He’d promised himself weeks before that Benito would wake to find that Meggsie had passed. Today though, he felt that it was an awful sacrifice. With great reluctance, he began to unpack his books.
‘What’s your weakest subject, would you say?’ Federico asked.
‘Maths and physics,’ Meggsie replied. ‘At least that’s what I think I need to study. I’m pretty much on top of English, I think.’
‘Well, I reckon I can help you, mate. I’ve got the morning free, so let’s get at it.’
At first Meggsie accepted Federico’s help a little reluctantly, but as the morning progressed it was clear that Federico would make the difference between success and failure. They spent another couple of hours after lunch, by which time they were both flagging.
‘You’ve done well, but I reckon we’re both about done, don’t you mate? A couple of hours off might be an idea. How about we jump in the G and go down and visit Dad, then we’ll have a pie and a milkshake. After that, if we feel up to it, we’ll give it another crack.’ Meggsie thought a ride in the MG was just what he needed.
***
Nothing had changed. Benito was as he’d been before. At first, they took turns at talking to Benito. Federico told him about the social life at university and of the drive home in the MG. Meggsie proudly told him of the progress he was making with his studies. Both found it hard with no response, and conversation flagged. For a while they both sat engrossed in their own thoughts, slowly being beset by boredom.
‘I thought you said there were car magazines,’ Federico said. ‘I could do with something to read.’
‘They keep them out in the waiting room. There aren’t many about cars. Most of them are about cooking, you know, ladies stuff. I should have brought my physics book.’
‘Perhaps we should buy some magazines and bring them with us next time.’
‘I was just thinking about what you said earlier. You know, about the fruit business,’ Meggsie said.
‘I don’t suppose that can come to anything, the more you think about it, the more difficult it is.’
‘I was just thinking that a new Benny’s Fruit Market would do really well. I’m sure Benito’s customers would all support it. When I was in here, just down the corridor, one of our customers, Mrs Worthington came and visited me. She brought in cheesecake and told me that she hated going all the way up to that shop in Liverpool Street.’
‘I suppose that’s right. But there’d be a huge cost to get it started. I spent most of my savings on the G, so there’s not much we can do, Gilbert. Perhaps I shouldn’t have raised your hopes, because I can’t see how we could get it started. The rebuilding cost alone would be huge. I’ve got a bank account and a jar of coins,’ Meggsie replied. ‘Maybe twenty or thirty quid’s worth.’
‘We’ll need a lot more than that to get started,’ Federico said glumly.
A small, rasping cough from the still figure on the bed had them leaping to their feet.
‘Tawny cough,’ Benito said in a voice barely audible. The words were followed by a succession of coughs, as though he was trying to clear his throat.
‘Papa!’ Federico said in a voice shrill with excitement. ‘We’re here! Gilbert and I are here. Can you talk?’ Benito’s lips moved almost imperceptibly, but no sound emerged.
‘Say that again,’ Federico said and put his head close to Benito’s mouth. For a few seconds, he remained there, then turned to Meggsie, ‘Gilbert, go and get the nurse! Quickly!’
***
When Meggsie and the nurse arrived, Federico was still desperately trying to induce his father to speak again. Both Meggsie and the nurse stood quietly by the door for a full minute, watching and hoping, but there was no response from Benito.
‘You say he actually spoke?’ the nurse asked.
‘Yes, he spoke,’ Federico replied.
‘What did he say?’
Meggsie and Federico glanced at each other before Federico replied. ‘I thought he said something like ‘tawny cough’. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but he coughed just before he spoke.’
‘I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he has a sore throat. He inhaled a lot of smoke. Perhaps that’s it. Whatever he said, it’s a very good sign. I’ll inform Doctor Jarvis right away. I’m sure he’ll want to know.’
***
‘Hello young man,’ the doctor said to Meggsie as he entered th
e room, preparing his stethoscope for action. They shook hands briefly. ‘I believe we’ve had a breakthrough.’
‘Yes,’ Federico interjected. ‘My father spoke, briefly.’ It was only then that the doctor noticed that Federico was there.
‘Oh, I’m pleased to meet you. Your mother told me about you. You’re the lawyer. My name is Doctor Paul Jarvis. I’ve been treating your father’s burns. They are healing very well indeed, and we are due to begin removing dressings in the next day or two. Now, if he’s spoken, that is a great step forward.’
‘He seemed to be trying to say he had a cough,’ Federico explained.
Jarvis smiled. ‘Now that wouldn’t be any great surprise. Your father’s had a pretty rough trot, believe me. For a long time, we doubted that he’d pull through. But he’s making progress, and that’s as much as we should expect. I’m going to have to take all his vital signs and tidy up his dressings, so it might be just as well if you let him have a rest now, before I do that.’
‘Thank you Doctor,’ Federico replied. ‘We’ll do that. I can’t wait to tell my mother. She’s been so concerned. No doubt she’ll want to come in a little later.’
‘She’d be welcome. The more family he sees, the more likely it is that he’ll start to communicate.’
Federico and Meggsie were about to leave the room, but as they reached the door, they heard Benito’s voice again. His words were the same as they had been previously: ‘tawny cough’. They immediately ran back to the bed, but couldn’t prise a reaction from the patient and eventually, they were forced to leave him in the hands of the doctor, who promised he would report all developments.
***
Federico drove the little MG a little faster and a little more urgently on the way home, and when they arrived, they hurried inside.
‘Mama, Mama! Papa spoke!’ Federico shouted from the front door. Therese and the girls suddenly appeared from various parts of the house and all at once the family was in an excited group hug. Therese noticed Meggsie standing back and signalled with her hand for him to join in. Meggsie found himself in a situation he’d never experienced, and it brought a surge of joy that overwhelmed his senses.
Finally, it was Therese’s curiosity that broke up the hug. ‘What did he say?’ she asked.
‘He said ‘tawny cough’,’ Federico explained, bringing a frown to his mother’s brow.
‘Why would he say that?’ she asked. ‘Tawny cough? What’s that?’
‘The doctor said that he had a sore throat. You know, with the smoke.’
‘Well I’m going down there immediately. Perhaps he’ll talk to me. Perhaps I can make him say something sensible. Tawny cough!’
‘I’ll take you in the MG if you like,’ Federico offered.
Therese pondered on that for a moment. ‘Yes, yes. But put the hood up, and I’ll wear a scarf.’
***
Alessia and Claudia cooked eggs for dinner, but with exams looming for them all, they were soon engrossed in study. Meggsie tried hard to concentrate, but he continually found his mind wandering back to events at the hospital, and the words ‘tawny cough’. The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that the words were Benito’s way of reporting a sore throat. It would be more likely that he would simply say the obvious words, “sore throat” or perhaps just “throat”. Tawny just didn’t seem like a word that Benito would use. To Meggsie it just didn’t seem right, and although he tried hard to give his science studies his full attention, it niggled at him until he decided to take a walk around the block, in the hope that the cool night air might freshen him up.
Meggsie walked down to the waterfront, and sat admiring the recently completed arch and the stubby decks beginning to inch their way from each bank. Still, he was dogged by a little voice that told him he was missing something obvious. Not long after he turned his steps towards home, he began trying to recall the events of the hospital visit from the beginning. By the time he rounded the corner and saw that the MG was parked outside the house, he’d begun to wonder if Benito’s words had something to do with the conversation at that moment. That had given birth to a strong feeling that he was onto something. But with Therese and Federico back, bringing the chance that they had managed to elicit some reaction from Benito, his thirst for news drove all other thoughts from his mind.
***
Meggsie could sense their disappointment the moment he walked into the room. It was clear that Therese had got her hopes up, but they’d been dashed and she was barely managing to fight back tears.
‘It’s still progress, Mama,’ Federico was saying. ‘We can’t be disappointed. Doctor Jarvis said that we can’t expect him to just suddenly be well. If he makes a little bit of progress each day that is a miracle.’
The answer came to Meggsie when he least anticipated it, abrupt and astonishing.
‘I know what he was trying to tell us,’ he said quietly, as he tried to rationalise the thoughts that brought him to his conclusion. The others all turned to him in their surprise, and no one spoke. There was quite a long pause as Meggsie gathered his thoughts.
‘Fed, do you remember the conversation we were having when your dad spoke to us?’ Meggsie asked.
‘Of course. We were talking about a new Benny’s Fruit Market. You told me about Mrs Worthington and the other customers.’
‘That’s right. And Benito heard every word.’ Meggsie declared. The note of certainty in his voice left no doubt of his firm belief. Once again, he was greeted by a drawn-out silence. It was Federico who asked the question on all their lips.
‘How could you possibly know that?’
‘Do you remember the words you said immediately before he spoke?’
‘Um, I think I said I’d spent all my money on the MG, and I wouldn’t have much money to put into it. Something like that, anyway.’
‘Then you said, ‘I shouldn’t have raised your hopes, because I can’t see how we could get it started, and you mentioned the building cost. Do you remember saying that?’
‘Yes, I think so, now you mention it. You said about the coins, and I said we’d need more than thirty quid.’
‘And your father replied?’
‘Tawny cough?’ Federico’s voice made it clear he was becoming confused.
‘Not exactly. What he said was ‘Thornycroft’. He was telling us that the truck is the solution. What he was trying to say was that we could start the business with the truck. We drive it down to the markets in the morning, get what we need, park it where the shop used to be and start selling. The Thornycroft can be our shop, and that keeps costs right down. I’m sure that’s how we can start to rebuild the business. I can’t drive the truck, at least not legally, but you can. I know how to buy the right things. I know all the customers. The rest we can work out as we go along.’
‘Gilbert, you are a genius!’ Federico shouted. ‘You just have to be right!’
Therese made a sudden dash for Meggsie, and before he could say another word he was clasped to her bosom, amid a flood of tears. Suddenly they were all involved, and Meggsie was crushed in the centre, barely able to breathe. He simply didn’t care.
***
The family’s excitement was palpable. Studying was forgotten, and they sat around the table drinking tea and reacting to hope reborn.
‘We would have to clear the whole place out before we could start,’ Federico proposed. ‘Then we could get some display stands and arrange them around the truck. After that … ’
Meggsie interrupted him. ‘My idea would be to just clear enough space for the truck at first and have a sign held up by the half-burnt timbers, saying ‘Benny’s refuses to die’. Later on, of course we could clear everything out, but there’s no great hurry for that. But I have another idea. It may be silly, but tell me what you think. We don’t plan what we are going to do here: instead we do it at the hospital, where Benito can hear every word. I think there’s a chance he will want to have a say again. I reckon if we plan something he disag
rees with, he’ll speak up.’ From the corner of his eye Meggsie could see Therese nodding.
‘Good God, Gilbert. I reckon there’s a chance you’re right again! Let’s go down there tomorrow, and this time, we’ll have something to talk about. We won’t need those motoring magazines after all. You’ve certainly thought this through, mate. You can’t have got much study done.’
‘No. I couldn’t do some of those maths examples. I’ve probably missed something. I gave up, but I’ll have another go at them tomorrow.’
‘Let’s do that. I’ll go through them with you first thing; then we’ll go down to the hospital and see if we can get a response. If we are going to make this shop thing work, we need my dad to get better, and you to get your intermediate certificate. But it’s been a big day, and we all need to get some shut-eye first.’
Chapter 31
The Meanest Bear
It was the rowdiest, least controllable parliamentary house in the country, or most other countries for that matter. The New South Wales Legislative Assembly was known by visitors and legislators alike as The Bear Pit. Sir Daniel Levy saw himself as the biggest, meanest bear in the pit. Some ten years previously, political expediency and a consequent deal had led to his appointment as Speaker of the house. Despite being a nationalist, he’d been offered the position by James Dooley’s Labor government, because they needed the numbers and Levy took his chance to grab some power. The appointment had, as he’d anticipated, provoked outrage from a horde of disappointed aspirants from Dooley’s own party. Levy had toughed that out against the odds, and made the position his own. In the intervening ten years, he’d developed a hide like a rhinoceros, a waspish tongue and a reputation for ruthlessness. Daniel Levy was also fiercely but scrupulously independent. Despite all this, one look at the day’s agenda told Sir Daniel that his morning would be both interesting and challenging.
***
‘The chamber will come to order!’ Speaker Levy announced, but at first, his voice barely carried over the babble of the members. He rapped his gavel and repeated his words more loudly. The members of His Majesty’s Legislative Assembly meandered to their benches. Another rat-a-tat-tat gavel-rap and the house quietened.