Caleb's Song

by Kathleen Ryder

  He knew Maria loved Gabby as unconditionally as he did, but there were times that Nico knew Valentina had been her favourite, there were times when Gabby knew it too. The curse of being an old man stuck inside a wheelchair was that it gave Nico way too much time to simply think and to reflect on all of his past mistakes, and there were days when the numbers were simply too great to bear. He knew that he and Maria had failed Gabby, that night when Valentina came to them pregnant and gloating, the benefit of hindsight. He sighed deeply. He wished he could go back, undo all of the things he had gotten wrong. If only there was a way to make everything right, to give Gabby the life she deserved, to get her away from this small town, to give her the opportunities that she missed out on. He wished that he could get Maria on board, wished there was a way to soften her reserve when it came to Gabby. He knew she hated being so harsh with her, he knew she wanted to be involved in her life, he also knew that she just didn’t know how.

  For now, though, Gabby was happy, that was all that Nico could ask for. Tomorrow, well, tomorrow would have to take care of itself.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Laughing, Caleb turned to look at Sam, his eyes twinkling. “See,” he couldn’t help teasing the other man, “I knew you would have a good time tonight Sammy.”

  “I always have a good time with you little brother,” Sam ruffled Caleb’s perfectly lacquered hair, deliberately squashing the rock star ‘ruffled fresh from bed’ style that Caleb had spent hours perfecting earlier that night. “But we can’t all be irresponsible rockstars now can we, Callie?” Sam used the childhood nickname he knew Caleb detested so much, knowing it would get a rise out of him. “Some of us actually have to work to earn a living!” It was the same banter that always existed between them, the ribbing and poking fun that was laced with the love that comes from being part of a family.

  “Work?!” snorted Caleb, “Ha! As if! You’re a partner in a law firm Sammy, how much work can you possibly do? Don’t you have a staff of people all waiting to jump to your command?” Caleb’s raucous laugh mingled with Sam’s deep chortle.

  “Staff? That’s your department brother dear, how many do you have now? Eighteen? Ninete-”

  “Watch out!” Caleb’s panicked shout interrupts Sam, and he blinks once, surprise etching his features. The unrelenting screech of bare metal tyre rims on bitumen reaches a crescendo before fading into silence, the world turning black.

  Caleb moaned softly, pain radiating from his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, then opened them, blinking rapidly until the stars overhead came into focus. He turned his head slightly, eyes searching in the half-light for Sam. Where was he? With momentous effort, Caleb hauled himself into an upright position, ignoring the trickle of blood running down his face, waving away the concerned faces hovering in front of his. He looked around, why was everyone moving so slowly? Where was Gabby?

  “Mum?” Why was him mum here, had she come to the wedding? Standing at the edge of the road, watching him, smiling in expectation, were his parents. His dad waved at him. What were they doing here? Where was Sam?

  Caleb turned towards the small crowd that had gathered in the middle of the road, a short distance from the chapel. Everyone was out of focus, nothing made sense. Did someone drug him at the reception? Sam should be here. He looked down, his hands were covered in blood, so much blood. He blinked, looked down at the road, saw Sam’s sneakers sticking out from the crowd gathered. Funny, Caleb didn’t remember moving. The crowd parted, Sam laid on the road, hands linked behind his head, boyish smile etched on to his face.

  “Sam, what are you doing, this is a road, you can’t stay here, we’ll be late.”

  “Look at the stars little brother,” Sam flicked his hand in the direction of the night sky. “You’re a star, you know that right? You’re translucendal Cal, translucendal.” Sam drew the last word out, slowly enunciating every single syllable.

  “What are you talking about,” Caleb’s voice sounded so far away, even to his own ears. “That not even a word Sam, you just made it up.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s a word little brother, and if not, it should be.” Sam smiled up at Caleb. “It’s what you are, Caleb, don’t forget that. Translucendal.”

  “Sam, enough,” Caleb frowned, consternation etching his features. “Why are you lying here? What are we doing, come on, we need to go.”

  “Cal.” Sam only called him that when he was being serious, which was a rare thing. “We are already here.”

  “What are you talking about, you’re not making any sense.”

  “Don’t you remember Cal? You killed me. I died a slow and painful death, that’s why you are all alone now, everyone left you Cal, everyone”. Caleb looked up, he was surrounded by ghostly images, vague memories of people he once knew, nothing solid to hang on to.

  Caleb sat bolt upright, sweat dripping from his brow. Darn it, he thought he had already endured the worst of the nightmares, thought he had reached the point where he had them under control, where they no longer plagued him night after night, where they had become more infrequent. Obviously, he was wrong. As much as Caleb wished he could feign ignorance, he couldn’t, he knew why the nightmares had amplified in the last few weeks. It was almost a year since Sam had gone, twelve months of waiting for him to walk back through the door, of scanning faces in the crowd, hoping to see his trademark grin. Caleb knew that he would have to face it head on, at some point he was going to have to take responsibility for his actions, would have to eventually go to his parents and seek their forgiveness. He just wasn’t ready yet, he needed more time, was that too much to ask for? He honestly didn’t know.

  When Caleb downstairs for breakfast he was surprised to see Gabby at the table with Lucia and Sofia.

  “Good morning ladies,” he announced his presence, winking at Gabby and earning giggles from Lucia and Sofia. “No work today?” He asked Gabby, helping himself to a coffee scroll.

  “On Friday’s I open the bakery up a little later.” Gabby smiled at Caleb over her mug of steaming coffee. “We stay open later to compensate, on Friday nights there is a street market of sorts here in Beryl Creek, all the stores stay open later, some of the local farmers bring in their produce, there are usually stalls run by local kids selling lemonade, there are craft stalls and cake stalls and the vet will have a stall for people to adopt stray animals,” Gabby fixed Lucia and Sofia with a hard stare, “which we will not be taking advantage of. Anyway, it is always fun, the local Lions Club will do a barbeque and the money raised goes to a different charity each week. Tonight, the money goes to the local school, they are trying to fund the purchase of some new musical instruments. You should come with us tonight; it will be fun.”

  “Does everyone in town go?” Caleb had to admit, it did sound like fun, but he was hesitant to commit to going, he didn’t want to impose on Gabby and her family, especially after yesterday at the bakery.

  “The whole town,” Lucia replied around a mouthful of pancake, stretching her hands wide to emphasise her point.

  “Goodness, that sounds like a fun market to go to.”

  “Yup, it is. Plus,” she added thoughtfully, “they have balloons you can buy if you’ve been good.” Gabby and Caleb exchanged a sideways glance, it was obvious that Lucia was hoping that she had been good enough to be able to get a balloon tonight.

  “Okay then, I would love to come with you ladies, if you’ll let me accompany you?”

  “If you want to come with mum and dad and the girls, we’ll meet at the bakery a little after five o’clock this afternoon.” Gabby downed the last of her coffee, rising from the table and kissing the girls.

  “What happens to the bakery?” Caleb remembered that Gabby had said that she kept it open late for the crowds.

  “Mum and I will take it in turns to work in the bakery and head out into the market with Lucia and Sofia.” Gabby paused in the doorway. “Dad will help out too if he feels up to it. So, I will see you all later, have a good day.” Gabby t
ried not to sound too excited at the prospect of spending more time with Caleb, after all, he was a guest, that was all. She wasn’t a teenager with a silly little crush for goodness sake, she was a grown woman with twin daughters, she was not going to lose her head, or her heart, she was more sensible than that, wasn’t she? As long as he didn’t kiss her again or look at her for that matter. If that happened, well, she had no chance of remaining her self control, she knew that for sure. If the kiss at the bakery yesterday was anything to go by, she would be completely lost.

  Gabby found herself humming to herself as she went about baking and prepping the bakery for the day. There was a lightness about her today, something that she had not felt for so long, perhaps ever. She whipped up her usual breads and pastries, biscuits and pies, cakes and tarts, and then having an hour to spare until opening, she made a special batch of novelty shaped meringues, knowing just how much Sofia and Lucia loved them. The day was busy, as well as her usual customers, there was the added foot traffic of the tourists in town for the weekends camel races. Being busy certainly made the day go faster, and it wasn’t long before Lucia and Sofia were bounding through the door, excitedly exclaiming over all of the treasures that they had already seen, and which they absolutely had to show her. Gabby laughed and allowed herself to be led out of the bakery by little hands eagerly clutching hers, Caleb following behind, her mum and dad assuring her that they would hold down the fort at the bakery and that there was no reason for her to hurry back.

  The four of them all but ran down to the end of the main street, Lucia and Sofia determined that they needed to start the market at the very beginning. Gabby tended to agree, she and the girls hated to miss out on any aspect of the local markets. As she had predicted, Lucia and Sofia led them straight to the local vet’s stall with all the cutest of puppies and kittens in desperate need of a forever home.

  “Look mama, isn’t it adorable?!” Lucia gently picked up a tiny kitten, cradling it close to her chest.

  “Yes, Lucia, it is very cute,” Gabby agreed, watching her daughter snuggle with the kitten. She had to admit, it was a sweet thing, a ginger longhair. Gabby sighed and touched her daughter’s shoulder. “Come on Lucia, pop him back now, there are other people wanting to look at the animals too.” Gabby didn’t miss the crestfallen expression on her daughter’s face, she knew how much Lucia wished there was a cat in the house.

  “Don’t be sad Lucia, you can always cuddle Bella,” Sofia took her sister’s hand, trying to comfort her.

  “Bella is your dog, not mine,” Lucia answered sullenly. “Nanna got her for you, not me.”

  “I don’t mind sharing her; besides, she loves cuddles.” Sofia thought this made perfect sense. It concerned Gabby, the fact that Lucia believed that her nanna had purchased a pet for her sister, but not for her. The girls wandered off ahead, Gabby and Caleb following more slowly behind.

  “Is what she said true?” Caleb asked Gabby softly. “Did Maria really buy Sofia Bella?”

  “It was correct enough, but the reasoning behind it was not as clear cut as Lucia thought they were. There was a time when Sofia was incredibly anxious, she would barely leave the house, she suffered with horrid nightmares. Bella was suggested by her therapist, and she has helped enormously.”

  “So now Lucia is feeling a little lonely?” Caleb guessed.

  “Yes. She was too young to understand why Sofia got Bella, she only understood that her sister got a dog and she didn’t. Suddenly, instead of going and doing everything with her twin, she was left out of the loop, it was Sofia and Bella going everywhere and doing everything together. Mum didn’t mean for Lucia to feel left out, it was just that at the time, mum did was she thought was best.”

  “Would it be completely impossible for Lucia to get that kitten?”

  “Caleb,” there was a warning in Gabby’s voice. “Do you know who would end up looking after the kitten? The same person who looks after Bella. Me.” Gabby shot Caleb a sideways glance. “It wouldn’t be impossible,” Gabby sighed. “Okay, I’ll go and see how much they are wanting for the little fluffball.”

  “Let me go,” Caleb surprised himself by offering.

  “Okay, just remember to haggle. Oh, and Caleb,” Gabby turned back to Caleb. “I don’t want to have to spend more than fifty dollars.”

  Caleb didn’t know how much kittens, or any type of animal for that matter, cost, but he was surprised to think it would be as much as fifty dollars. He jogged back to the vet stall, waiting patiently while the lady ahead of him discussed the pros and cons of possibly adopting a Great Dane. When she was finally finished, Caleb pounced on the vet.

  “The ginger kitten there, how much are you hoping to get for it?”

  “It is open to offers sir, all the animals are. We want them to go to good homes, so we ask that you only pay what you can afford. We would rather the animals have food, toys and a bed, if you spent too much on the adoption, they wouldn’t get the best you can give them, would they?”

  “Where does the money you raise from the sale of these animals go?”

  “All proceeds go to funding our shelter, we are a no kill shelter, and costs do add up.”

  “I will give you one thousand dollars for the orange fluff ball.”

  When Caleb caught up with Gabby, Sofia and Lucia, he had a huge grin on his face, and a furry orange fluff ball sticking out of his coat pocket.

  “Hey, mister Roman, it is that kitten I saw,” Lucia spotted it right away, her voice wistful.

  “It is. Actually Lucia, I asked your mum if it would be okay, and she said it would be, so I went back and bought him, for you. I would like you to have him, as a gift.” Her unexpected shrieks caused more than a few people nearby to jump in alarm, Gabby hurrying to shush her young daughter. Lucia all but swooped the kitten out of Caleb’s hands, holding him to her face and smothering him with soft kisses.

  “Lucia, what are you going to name him?” Gabby nudged.

  “Jellybean”, Lucia didn’t hesitate with her answer, making Gabby wonder just how long she had been wishing and hoping for a pet of her own.

  With Jellybean firmly in her grip, Lucia was content to simply follow Sofia as she pointed out all of her finds to Gabby, not interested in anything now that she had Jellybean. Gabby and Caleb made it a point to check in on Lucia and Jellybean frequently, but she proudly declared that they were fine together and that she could take care of him all by herself. Gabby purchased herself some fresh produce from a local farmer’s stall, and a couple of books for her father from the local primary school stall, Caleb finding a stack of old vinyl records and paying the local hospital ladies auxiliary a staggering amount of money by way of a donation to their fund. Gabby thought it was an exorbitant amount to donate, the way he winked at her when she softly chided him about it turned her insides to mush and caused a light blush to flood her cheeks. Her only blessing was the falling darkness, although she was pretty sure that Caleb had seen it, by the way his wink turned into a full-throated laugh.

  They stopped for burgers with the lot, the size of dinner plates, with hot chips on the side, carrying their bags back to the bakery and spreading their feast out on the kitchen table with Maria and Nico. They left the bakery open, Gabby happy to pop in and out of the kitchen to serve customers while they ate their feast. Lucia barely touched her burger, too enamoured with her kitten, both her nanna and her poppy having inspected him, declaring him a fine kitten, with a fun name. Sofia had no such issues, happily chowing into her burger, she was like her mama, when she asked for the lot, she meant the lot. There was bacon, egg, beetroot, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, steak, cheese, and cucumber oozing out the sides, with a generous amount of tomato sauce smeared across her face. Luckily Gabby wasn’t nearly as messy. They closed the bakery up shortly before ten o’clock, the noisy group walking back home together, bags of purchases distributed evenly except for Jellybean, still tucked tightly in Lucia’s arms. As everyone said goodnight and made their way to bed, Gabby smiled at
how nice the evening had been.

  Laughing, Caleb turned to look at Sam, his eyes twinkling. “See,” he couldn’t help teasing the other man, “I knew you would have a good time tonight Sammy.”

  “I always have a good time with you little brother,” Sam ruffled Caleb’s perfectly lacquered hair, deliberately squashing the rock star ‘ruffled fresh from bed’ style that Caleb had spent hours perfecting earlier that night. “But we can’t all be irresponsible rockstars now can we, Callie?” Sam used the childhood nickname he knew Caleb detested so much, knowing it would get a rise out of him. “Some of us actually have to work to earn a living!” It was the same banter that always existed between them, the ribbing and poking fun that was laced with the love that comes from being part of a family.

  “Work?!” snorted Caleb, “Ha! As if! You’re a partner in a law firm Sammy, how much work can you possibly do? Don’t you have a staff of people all waiting to jump to your command?” Caleb’s raucous laugh mingled with Sam’s deep chortle.

  “Staff? That’s your department brother dear, how many do you have now? Eighteen? Ninete-”

  “Watch out!” Caleb’s panicked shout interrupts Sam, and he blinks once, surprise etching his features. The unrelenting screech of bare metal tyre rims on bitumen reaches a crescendo before fading into silence, the world turning black, the only sound an incessant beep, beep, beep.

  Breakfast was a noisy affair, Caleb, unable to fall back to sleep after his nightmare, already had the makings of a headache. Sofia and Lucia were fairly dancing in their chairs, as they excitedly told him, today was day one of the local camel cup. As endearing as they both were, Caleb thought they were way too excited over the prospect of watching a bunch of camels racing around a track, although he would never have told them so. To be honest, he had never actually seen a camel race, but the thought of it was beyond him. What on earth was so appealing about seeing camels running around a racetrack? Then again, Caleb had never been overly interested in racing in any form. He just simply did not see the point. Despite his reservations, he could feel a sense of curiosity starting to churn in his stomach, no doubt a side effect of being exposed to Sofia and Lucia. It promised to be an interested day, and then of course, there was Gabby...