by K T Durham
Maddy abruptly fell silent when Victoria sauntered over. “Let’s go kids!” she said cheerfully, taking her daughter by the arm.
Maddy made a face. Let’s talk later, she mouthed to Elly.
After waving goodbye to Miriam, Elly hopped into the back of Victoria’s yellow vintage car, sandwiched between Maddy and Teddy. Elly then noticed some small twigs in Teddy’s hair. Maddy leaned over and plucked them out. “We took Teddy to the local park on the way over here. Teddy still loves going to that park, in spite of everything.”
At this, she glared at the back of her mother’s head. Victoria glanced in the rear-view mirror and sighed. “Darling, if looks could kill, I would be dead right now.”
As they drove along, Victoria put on some classical music and hummed along. Elly closed her eyes, reminded of the minstrels back in Alendria. Whatever faults Maddy’s mother had, at least she had good taste in music.
Maddy was quiet throughout the ride home, a brooding look on her face. When Elly looked at her questioningly, she smiled and mouthed, I’m okay; don’t worry. Just don’t want to talk in front of Mum.
Teddy was looking through a picture book about astronomy, engrossed in the descriptions of the planets. Elly looked out of the window and noticed that the houses they passed looked very familiar. Miriam was right—the Cobbles lived only a few blocks from Maddy!
The O’Briens lived in an old, two-story Victorian house with a shabby-looking front porch. There were no rose bushes here, only some sad, withered shrubs and overgrown weeds.
Teddy went off to his room to finish his maths homework. “He’s pretty rigid with routines,” Maddy explained. “He insists on getting things done by a certain time. Boy, he would make a superb office worker in the future. Meeting deadlines isn’t really my strong suit.”
Maddy reluctantly agreed to join her mother and Elly out in the small backyard, which looked prettier than the front. There was an apple tree smack in the middle of the yard. “Why can’t we just stay inside near the fireplace? It’s freezing out here,” Maddy complained, stuffing her hands into her pockets, her breath coming out in white puffs.
Victoria laughed a little too loudly. “Oh Maddy, do be a good sport! It’s nice to get some fresh air. You don’t mind, do you Elly?”
Elly shook her head and smiled. Miriam had made sure she was dressed properly for the weather; the cold no longer bothered her.
They sat in faded yellow canvas chairs under the apple tree. Victoria put out some hot chocolate and glazed donuts on the rickety low table. “Just bought these at the supermarket bakery. I’m sure they’re nowhere as good as Miriam’s wonderful pastries, but they should be nice enough. I can’t bake to save my life!”
Maddy snorted. “Yeah, no dispute there.” Victoria blushed.
Elly looked at mother and daughter thoughtfully. Why was Maddy so hostile towards her mother? She had been so different with her father.
Victoria crossed her legs and arched her back as she stretched. “Ahhh, it’s so nice to relax on a Sunday!” she chirped, giving Maddy a nervous sidelong glance. Her daughter was nibbling on a donut with a stony expression.
Victoria cleared her throat and smiled. “So, Elly… tell me a bit about yourself. My Teddy obviously adores you, which is rather unusual, as he doesn’t normally connect with people. Even with us, he can be a bit distant.”
Maddy sat bolt upright, her donut dropping onto the ground. “Speak for yourself!” she snapped. “If you hadn’t been so obsessed with your work, if you had spent more time with him instead of jet-setting all over the world for your dratted business trips, he would be closer to you! Dad would’ve been happier with you! And you wouldn’t have done what you did behind poor Teddy’s back when we were away with Dad in Oxford!”
Victoria’s face went white. “Darling, please don’t get into a huff with me in front of a guest,” she pleaded in a low voice.
Maddy went red in the face and stood up. “Look, let’s not pretend we’re having such a smashing time here. I’ve had enough.”
She looked at Elly, who was shifting in her chair uncomfortably. “I’m sorry about this, Elly. I really want to catch up. I’ll be up in my room, just come look for me when Her Highness is done interrogating you.”
She stormed away into the house and bounded up the stairs. Elly could hear a door slam.
There was a silence as Victoria tried to compose herself. Elly felt sorry for her. Victoria smiled wanly, her eyes glassy. “I try, I really do. But it’s not easy being a mum to a teenage girl these days, not to mention a boy with special needs,” she said shakily. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. Elly didn’t say anything.
Victoria massaged her temples. She had a splitting headache. “Maddy’s been so angry with me since her daddy and I separated.” She paused, then looked at Elly. “Are your parents together?”
Elly nodded, her curls bouncing around her face. “Yes. I cannot imagine my parents not being together,” she said truthfully. She thought about Mama and Papa slow dancing at her birthday party, and a lump formed in her throat. She missed them so much.
Victoria smiled sadly. “Poor Maddy. Poor Teddy. I guess it’s true that divorce is always hardest on the kids.”
She looked towards the house, then frowned. “Darn, I keep forgetting… I should’ve thrown out that ruddy cage weeks ago. Seeing that thing just sets her off,” she muttered.
Elly followed Victoria’s gaze. There was a plastic cage with a green lid near the back door of the house. It looked as though it had been outside for some time. It was covered in mud splatters.
Elly stared. Something flickered tantalizingly at the back of her mind. She turned to Victoria. “Excuse me. Do you have a pet in the house?”
Victoria looked at her blankly for a moment before she realized Elly was gesturing at the empty cage. “Oh! We did, but… not anymore. Maddy was furious with me when she found out I had let that little hamster go. Teddy loved that furball to pieces…”
She trailed off when she noticed Elly staring at her. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“What happened to the hamster?” Elly asked, now perched on the edge of her chair. She looked deep into Victoria’s eyes. Victoria blinked, and a dreamy look came over her as though she had been hypnotized. Words poured from her.
“The hamster was a gift from Andy. I’d always warned him not to get pets for the kids. Teddy just suffers from so many allergies. But Teddy adored that little hamster. He would insist on bringing it around with him everywhere. He even talked to it! Fancy that… he barely even looks at me, let alone talks to me.” She sniffled.
“After a couple of months, I became certain that Teddy was having some sort of allergic reaction to the hamster. He started getting these nasty, itchy rashes on his hands and arms, even his face at times. It was a nightmare watching him scratch his skin raw until it bled. Teddy has a low tolerance for physical discomfort of any kind. He’ll cry and scream; it’s just so awful. So I decided the hamster simply had to go.” She buried her face in her hands.
“But… it turns out the culprit wasn’t the hamster after all. I had completely overlooked that I had switched to a new brand of hand soap at around the same time Teddy got the hamster. After Hobbes was gone, poor Teddy was so upset. And to add salt to injury, the allergies continued and got worse. That was when I realized I had made a big, big mistake.” She sighed.
Elly had gone quite still. “What… what did you say the hamster’s name was?” she asked, not sure she had heard right.
Victoria dabbed at her eyes, smudging her mascara. “Teddy named it Hobbes, after the tiger in Calvin and Hobbes, his favourite cartoon. Poor Teddy. A few weeks ago I took Hobbes to the local park while Teddy was in Oxford with Maddy and Andy. He wanted to show the kids where he went for university.” She made a face, as though it had been an absurd venture. “I remember it was on a Friday, because the kids d
idn’t have school due to parent-teacher conferences at St. Catherine’s. Since we had just moved from Manchester, and the kids had just started attending the school, Andy and I were excused from going. After much heated debate, Maddy and Teddy had gone to stay with Andy for the long weekend. So the park was pretty quiet that morning—all other kids were at school. No pets are allowed in Andy’s fancy rental apartment in the city, so Teddy had to leave Hobbes behind.” She bit her lip.
“I even played with the hamster for a while before I left him at the park. I really thought it was the best thing to do. We’d just moved from Manchester, so we don’t really have friends here. Our neighbours didn’t want to take Hobbes either.” She blew her nose on a napkin.
“Oh, the minute I got home and saw Teddy’s room, I came to my senses and turned right back to the park. But by the time I got there, the cage was empty and the food bowl had spilled over. Hobbes was nowhere in sight. I saw this big black dog, a fierce thing, barking up the tree. I was certain that poor Hobbes had been gobbled up already.”
Elly could barely contain herself; she was close to bursting. “Oh, Victoria!” she cried, jumping up. “This will sound a little unbelievable, but please hear me out.”
In a flourish, she explained how she had come across Hobbes at the Berry Grove Park that morning, possibly shortly after Victoria had left, and how she’d taken the hamster to her friend’s house on Cornwall Street.
Victoria’s jaw dropped open as she stared at Elly. “Blimey, you actually kept Hobbes safe?” she cried, tears of relief filling her eyes. “Oh, bless you, dear! Please, oh please, could Teddy have him back? Cornwall Street is just a five-minute drive away from us! He’ll be ever so happy!” She wiped the tears away hastily and laughed. “Oh, I’m a blubbering mess!”
Then she paused with a frown. “But how can you be sure that hamster was Hobbes?”
Elly gulped. She couldn’t very well tell Victoria that Hobbes had told her his name. Giggling, she grinned. “Well, not many chubby, ginger-coloured hamsters get stranded at the park, right?”
At this, Victoria sighed with relief and nodded. “Yes, Hobbes was definitely far too fat for his own good.”
Elly beamed. “Let me tell Maddy, and I will give my friend a call right away. I am sure she’ll be happy to return Hobbes to Teddy. May I be excused?” When Victoria nodded, Elly darted into the house and bounded up the stairs.
Maddy almost fell off her bed when Elly explained the situation. “Crikey! You’re joking! All this time, Hobbes has been several blocks away from us—with Lily?” she exclaimed incredulously.
Then she threw her arms around Elly. “Oh, you’re a champ! See, it’s fate! We were meant to bump into you at Westminster Abbey! Wait till I tell Teddy!”
She dashed into her brother’s room, where Victoria was already filling Teddy in on the good news. Elly could hear him, and it was the first time she detected excitement in his voice. “Hobbes. Hobbes is coming home!”
After Elly found Lily’s phone number in her Royan, she asked Maddy for the telephone. Still very much a stranger to such devices, she pressed the numbers slowly and carefully while Maddy looked on with an amused grin. “Does your guardian usually punch in the numbers for you?” she teased. Elly giggled and breathed a sigh of relief when Lily’s voice came on the line.
Lily sounded just as incredulous as Maddy. “I don’t believe this! What an uncanny coincidence! Does this mean they want Hobbes back?”
Elly nodded into the receiver. “Yes, Maddy’s brother really loves Hobbes. Please understand, it would mean so much to him.”
Lily laughed. “Oh, I’m more than happy to return Hobbes to Teddy! He’s the rightful master. To be honest, Hobbes hasn’t been much fun. He mopes about in the cage like he’s depressed, doesn’t even go on the treadmill much.”
By the time Lily had agreed on a time to meet Maddy and return Hobbes, darkness had fallen. Victoria went to grab her car keys. “Elly, it’s time to get you home for supper! I just gave Miriam a call; she’s expecting you. Give me a second while I freshen up in the powder room. We’ll drop you off on the way to Chinatown.” She winked. “I’m celebrating with the kids at The Dragon Eye. They love Chinese food, so it’s a real treat!”
Maddy was acting slightly more civil towards her mother since Elly told them about Hobbes. “You shouldn’t be too hard on her,” Elly urged Maddy in a whisper. “She was really upset when you stormed off earlier. She was just trying to be nice.”
Maddy nodded reluctantly. “All right, I’ll give her a break. I guess I have been a bit hard on her. I just… I just wish my parents were back together, you know?” Her eyes were suddenly over-bright.
Elly nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry. It must be awfully hard.”
Maddy shrugged. “It’s what it is. Anyway, I’m glad that Hobbes is still alive, and coming back to Teddy.”
Then she sat Elly down on the rug in front of the fireplace while they waited for Victoria. “Look, I’m really sorry about the way I behaved at the school fair,” she said apologetically, shamefaced. “I kind of panicked when I saw you there with Lily, and I was a little embarrassed to be seen with those mean girls. Honestly, I never intended to be mean to Lily. It’s nothing personal. Actually, I think she’s pretty cool—brilliant in English literature, and so talented. Clare didn’t stand a chance at winning the lead role.” She bit her lip and sniffled.
Elly smiled, thinking that in distress, Maddy looked awfully like her mother. “Anyway, several weeks back both Lily and I were the new girls, and I just wanted to fit in so badly. When this popular clique started paying attention to me, it was like a lifeline. I was flattered at first, and joined them because it seemed to make things easier at school. But it wasn’t long before I realized they’re pretty nasty. Honestly, I can’t stand those girls anymore.”
Elly nodded thoughtfully. “I understand now. But I think you should apologise to Lily. She thought you were in league with those girls and making fun of her. Perhaps you can be friends?”
Maddy sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I should apologise. But I’m not sure Lily would want to be friends with me now, not after the way I followed the Space Cadets around and let them treat her like that.” She looked so forlorn that Elly felt sorry for her. She patted Maddy on the shoulder, and wondered whether she would ever be tempted to follow the Three Flamingos around just to be popular. She shuddered at the horrid thought.
Then she remembered that she had been wanting to ask Maddy about blue amber. Had she found out anything about it? Maddy blushed. “Oh Elly, I’m so sorry! It totally slipped my mind! I’ve been so preoccupied with school, and Mum’s been driving me crazy. There’s something about this blue amber that sounds familiar.”
“What are you girls talking about?” interrupted Victoria, who had just walked into the living room. She had changed into knee-high boots and a tight black turtle-neck dress. Elly thought she looked elegant.
Maddy shrugged. “Elly’s been looking for something called blue amber, it’s a really rare gemstone or something.”
She turned back to Elly. “I’ll see what I can find out, for real this time,” she promised. Elly smiled, masking her disappointment. Well, at least she was going to the Dominican Republic with the Cobbles soon.
Maddy turned back to say something to her mother, but Victoria had disappeared. “Mum!” she called out, annoyed. “Where did you go? I thought we were on our way out!”
There were banging sounds as drawers were being opened and closed from the far end of the corridor. “Yes, I’m coming! Just looking for something before we head out!”
Maddy rolled her eyes. “She’s always forgetting something,” she muttered. She took Elly’s hand. “Let’s go wait for her in the car.”
On the way to the Cobbles’ house, Elly and Maddy chattered on about the Cinderella musical at St Catherine’s. “Lily definitely deserves the lead r
ole,” Maddy gushed. “She was fantastic at the audition! The Space Cadets were livid. Clare will make a perfect wicked stepsister.” The two girls giggled. Victoria was humming happily to a song about bluebirds flying over the rainbow. Teddy was playing a video game on a small hand-held device that emitted shooting noises incessantly.
In no time, they arrived at Number Eight, Adelaide Drive. Just as Elly started walking up the driveway, Victoria gave a shout. “Wait, Elly!” She fumbled in her handbag and jumped out of the driver’s seat. Then she enveloped Elly in a tight hug. “I want to thank you, so, so much for being a good friend to my Teddy and Maddy, and for keeping Hobbes safe and returning him back to us! I can’t tell you how much it means to me. You are a very special little girl. I want you to have this, as my gift to you.”
She smiled and held out a necklace. It was dark, but Elly could see it was an oval-shaped pendant on a long silver chain.
Victoria fingered the pendant fondly. “This is my lucky charm. It’s been with me for as long as I can remember. I was younger than you when I went on a trip with my parents to a very exotic place far from here. My father loved to travel and was such an adventurer.” She smiled nostalgically. Elly frowned, perplexed.
Victoria continued. “When I was wandering the marketplace with my parents, I came across an old lady selling hand-made jewellery. She stopped me as we were walking, and she said something to me in Spanish as she held out this necklace to me, but I couldn’t understand. Later, the tour guide told me the old lady said she was enchanted by my bright blue eyes, and said the necklace would keep me safe, and one day would be of great help to somebody. It all sounded so cryptic and exciting, like she was some fortune teller! So I accepted the necklace. It’s supposed to be an extremely rare kind of gemstone, very hard to chance upon, even back in the Dominican Republic…”
Elly’s head snapped up. “What?” she whispered.
Victoria lowered the necklace over Elly’s head. “Yes, it’s quite peculiar. Blue amber, it’s called. I overheard you and Maddy talking about it. It’s something that you’ve been looking for, right?”