He was glad now he’d tried to be as busy as possible over the past few weeks. Packing. Burying Easter eggs. Making trips to the mainland with Mum and Dad to enrol in the local school and find a motel.
He’d tried not to think about Gwen, and mostly he hadn’t. Except for those times Mum and Dad left him in milk bars for hours while they went off for business meetings or something. Then he’d thought about her a lot. Even double thickshakes hadn’t taken away the pain then.
He’d thought about something else too.
What Mum had meant by ‘it’s happening again’.
What had seeing Gwen and Mabel reminded her of that had happened before?
And why is it, thought Jake now, staring at the dark outline of the receding island, that I get a funny feeling whenever I ask myself that?
Perhaps I did get brain damage under the water.
Or bubblegum poisoning.
His thoughts were interrupted by Mum and Dad coming to the back of the boat. He could see they were feeling good about leaving the island, and he knew they wanted him to as well.
He tried to smile, but his face felt harder to stretch than the cold bubblegum in his pocket.
Mum and Dad weren’t having that trouble. Their faces were stretching all over the place. Dad was juggling a grin and a frown. Mum was looking happy, worried and excited all at once.
‘Jake,’ said Mum. ‘We’ve got some news.’
Jake looked at her and put all his effort into a smile. The new bedspreads for the motel must have arrived.
‘I’m going to have a baby,’ she said.
Jake stared at her.
‘Mum’s pregnant,’ said Dad.
Jake stared at him.
‘Actually,’ said Mum, ‘I’ve been pregnant for a while, but we wanted to make sure it was all OK before we told you.’
‘And is it?’ asked Jake. His voice was trembling.
Mum nodded, eyes shining.
‘It’s twins,’ she said. ‘We found out yesterday. Girls.’
‘Girls?’ said Jake. ‘Two girls?’
Mum nodded again.
Jake’s heart was suddenly chugging faster than the diesel engine under his feet.
Mum took a deep breath and glanced at Dad. Jake saw Dad squeeze her hand. Mum looked to Jake like she was preparing herself to say something. Something she was a bit nervous about Jake hearing.
‘We’ve decided,’ said Mum, ‘to call them Gwen and Mabel.’
Jake stood in the spray, his insides churning harder than the water at the back of the boat, and thought about this for a long time.
Mum and Dad were watching him closely, anxiously.
Finally he understood.
‘It’s happening again?’ he said. They both nodded.
Jake took a deep breath.
‘Is that what happened with me?’
They both nodded.
For long seconds they were all frozen.
Then Jake decided to leave his past in the past.
He flung his arms round them both and hugged them as hard as he could, tears of joy running hot down his cheeks.
His Mum and Dad.
His new Mum and Dad.
His best Mum and Dad.
And after Mr Goff had yelled that the hot chocolate was ready, and Mum and Dad had gone up front, Jake gazed at the water and thought about his new sisters.
Two girls with dark eyes and the best smiles.
He’d have to keep at least one of them away from bubblegum until she was old enough to chew.
Who knows, Jake thought. I might even see Crusher again.
Then he raised his eyes for one last look at the island.
And saw that the silhouette had changed.
Instead of smooth rounded hills against the pink sky, Jake saw the outlines of figures, tiny in the distance.
Hundreds of children, waving goodbye.
Jake waved back.
He waved until the island had disappeared, and all his old friends too, and the sky had faded.
Then, whistling happily, he went to join Mum and Dad in the front of the boat.
Also by Morris Gleitzman
PIZZA CAKE
Save ten lives with a paperclip, make a new friend in a garbage bin, rescue your dad from a dog and a spider, eat a pizza that makes you fearless, and imagine a world where teachers earn more than a rock star . . . Funny stories with the lot.
GIVE PEAS A CHANCE
Surprise your mum with a chainsaw, save the world with a plate of veggies, rescue your family with a tomato, do a good deed with a bag on your head, upset your auntie with ten kilos of chocolate, swap a bomb for ice-creams on a train . . . Funny stories you’ll gobble up.
DOUBTING THOMAS
Thomas has an embarrassing secret. Is it a rare and special gift or the worst thing that could happen to a boy? A story about best friends, surprising adventures and itchy nipples.
EXTRA TIME
A young Aussie soccer genius and his 10-year-old manager take on the world. And win. For a time.
TOO SMALL TO FAIL
What do you do when your mum, your dad and sixteen camels are in trouble – and only you can save them? The sometimes sad but mostly funny story of a boy, a girl, a dog and four trillion dollars.
GRACE
In the beginning there was me and Mum and Dad and the twins. And talk about happy families, we were bountiful. But it came to pass that I started doing sins. And lo, that’s when all our problems began.
LOYAL CREATURES
They were loyal creatures, the men and horses of the Australian Light Horse, but war doesn’t always pay heed to loyalty. This is the powerful story of a 16-year-old volunteer and his horse in World War One and the journey towards his own kind of bravery.
ONCE
Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad. Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house. Once I made a Nazi with a toothache laugh. My name is Felix. This is my story.
THEN
I had a plan for me and Zelda. Pretend to be someone else. Find new parents. Be safe forever. Then the Nazis came.
AFTER
After the Nazis took my parents I was scared. After they killed my best friend I was angry. After they ruined my thirteenth birthday I was determined. To get to the forest. To join forces with Gabriek and Yuli. To be a family. To defeat the Nazis after all.
NOW
Once I didn’t know about my grandfather Felix’s scary childhood. Then I found out what the Nazis did to his best friend Zelda. Now I understand why Felix does the things he does. At least he’s got me. My name is Zelda too. This is our story.
SOON
I hoped the Nazis would be defeated. And they were. I hoped the war would be over. And it was. I hoped we would be safe. But we aren’t.
BOY OVERBOARD
Jamal and Bibi have a dream. To lead Australia to soccer glory in the next World Cup. But first they must face landmines, pirates, storms and assassins. Can Jamal and his family survive their incredible journey and get to Australia?
GIRL UNDERGROUND
Bridget wants a quiet life. Including, if possible, keeping her parents out of prison. Then a boy called Menzies makes her an offer she can’t refuse and they set off on a job of their own. It’s a desperate, daring plan – to rescue two kids, Jamal and Bibi, from a desert detention centre. Can Bridget and Menzies pull off their very first jail break, or will they end up behind bars too?
BUMFACE
His mum calls him Mr Dependable, but Angus can barely cope. Another baby would be a disaster. So Angus comes up with a bold and brave plan to stop her getting pregnant. That’s when he meets Rindi. And Angus thought he had problems . . .
WORM STORY
Wilton likes swimming and farming, but he’s lonely. He wants to find a friend. Not easy when you live in a tummy.
ARISTOTLE’S NOSTRIL
Aristotle just wants to be happy. Is that too much for a germ to ask?
TOAD RAGE
&n
bsp; The epic and very funny story of one slightly squashed cane toad’s quest for the truth. You can also hop into Toad Heaven, Toad Away and Toad Surprise.
GIFT OF THE GAB
It’s a normal week for Rowena Batts. A car full of stewed apples. A police cell. A struggle to keep Dad off national TV. Then her world turns upside down.
WATER WINGS
Pearl needs a gran and she needs one now. Luckily she’s got Winston to help her. You can do anything when your best friend is the world’s brainiest guinea pig. Well, almost anything.
TEACHER’S PET
Ginger is allergic to cats. And possibly to her family as well. She’s also not keen on the cat food in her breakfast bowl or the school principal trying to kill her best friend. The question on everyone’s lips is - will Ginger snap?
SECOND CHILDHOOD
Mark’s father has always wanted him to be a Somebody. But unless Mark picks up at school, it looks like sheep’s poop is where he’s heading. Then Mark and his friends discover they’ve lived before. Not only that – they were Famous and Important People!
THE OTHER FACTS OF LIFE
Ben stared at the images on the TV screen half in fascination, half in horror. He had never seen anything like this. It was incredible. It was awful. He needed answers . . .
The author would like to thank Mary-Anne Fahey, James McFadyen, Isabel Angus, Jane Angus, Anna Fienberg, Laura Harris, Christine Alesich, and the Port Augusta School of the Air.
PUFFIN BOOKS
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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies
whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2001
This edition published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2015
Text copyright © Creative Input Pty Ltd, 2003
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover design by Tony Palmer © Penguin Group (Australia)
Cover illustration copyright Jeremy Ley, 2015
Colour separation by Splitting Image Colour Studio, Clayton, Victoria
puffin.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74228-491-0
THE BEGINNING
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