The Enumerations

by Máire Fisher

  He sits in the swivel chair and spins round until he’s looking down on the harbour, the blocky reds, greys and blues of the cargo on the container ships, the sea a dark sheen in the afternoon sun.

  The youngest man to ever hold such a senior position at Goodson & Stander, and soon the youngest man to be made full partner. Goodson, Stander & Groome. Dominic climbs and climbs, and on the way he meets Kate Cilliers. Beautiful Kate, with her blonde hair and her long limbs and her quick smile.

  She’s several years younger than him, but Dominic, who’d long thought of himself as a permanent bachelor, turns his back on the single life. He’d never bargained on children either, but soon they form part of the picture too. Dominic Groome, top-flight executive, husband, father, all-round family man. The sort of man people want to photograph in his home, interview in lifestyle magazines. ‘What’s the secret of your success?’ they always ask, and Dominic always gives the same answer: ‘Hard work and tenacity.’ He never says anything about the rags, and he’s reticent about the riches.

  207.

  Kate hears Mr Bill’s rolling laugh as he tells her about Noah’s escapade in the garden. ‘He was just standing there, in the spray, drenched. Surrounded by birds. It was like a scene in a movie. He looked happy, Mrs Groome, so cool.’

  Kate smiles. Would your skin feel cool too, she wonders. Would it be chilled by sweat, or warm, alive, ready to burst into flame?

  Her thoughts are smashing against each other. Kate has to get a grip. She has to return to the main topic and ask about Noah, what his foray into the garden means, is it a good thing that her son acted so impetuously, and so very out of character? Instead, she finds herself asking, ‘Five thirty in the morning? You must have to leave home at sparrows to get here so early.’

  ‘It’s not too bad,’ Mr Bill says. ‘I live just around the corner.’

  Kate is embarassed by her presumption that he’d be living somewhere further away, like Khayelitsha, or Langa, and have to get up at four in the morning and catch a taxi and then a train and then another taxi.

  ‘That’s convenient,’ she manages to say.

  ‘Yes,’ says Mr Bill. ‘My wife and I moved here last year. It makes everything so much easier.’

  Kate looks down at her fingers, interlaced on her lap. Her hands are swollen from the heat and her wedding ring bites into her flesh. She is suddenly lightheaded, thrown by the words he has just spoken. She can’t speak, can’t give herself away by asking about Mrs Bill.

  Juliet’s standing now, sauntering over to them. ‘Mr Bill,’ she’s saying. ‘May I have a bathroom pass?’

  ‘Sure, Juliet.’ Mr Bill digs into his pocket and pulls out a sheaf of the laminated cards. His wallet falls out and lies open on the grass. Kate’s hands tighten, her wedding ring bites deeper as she sees a photo of a young woman, a small baby and a tall, dark man behind them.

  208.

  In the envelope Gabriel’s holding there’s a photograph of a woman holding a baby, a small bundle of blanket. Gabriel can’t see eyes or a nose or a mouth but he knows it’s Harry. The tall, dark-haired woman holding Harry is his mother, Martha. Gabriel runs the name over his lips, letting the ‘m’ hum and sting a little before he releases it. He does it again, this time allowing it to form the word ‘Mum’.

  My mum, Martha, he says as he strokes the small square of paper, as if he might get the sleeping child to wake at his gentle touch and turn her face to him. My sister, he says and the letter ‘s’ hisses in his mouth.

  My mum, Martha, and my sister, Harry, and who knows what became of Joe?

  It’s taken Gabriel Felix months to find his sister. He’s on the doorstep of a house in Kenilworth and his hand is raised, ready to lift the knocker.

  209.

  14:47

  Maddie and Noah are hurrying; no time to count steps, no time to stop at corners.

  Maddie skips at Noah’s side to keep up. ‘Does that mean I can come, Noah?’ she asks breathlessly. ‘Can I?’

  ‘No, Mads.’ He looks at her seriously. ‘Saying you were coming to my room just means we can get away more easily. It gives us more of a head start.’ He slips his hand into his pocket. A slide of metal, the slick of plastic casing, his mother’s car keys, and in between, his pebbles.

  His sister’s face begins to crumple, but he has to stand firm. Valuable seconds are ticking away. Noah doesn’t look at his watch – he promised Juliet he wouldn’t.

  ‘I’m sorry Mads, I told you. And besides …’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Well Juliet says she can drive, but I’m not so sure. I don’t want to put you in danger.’ He touches her arm, but Maddie’s too upset to notice.

  ‘Mom won’t expect you back immediately, so take your time,’ he tells her. ‘And then, when you get back to her, just say I had to go to the toilet.’

  ‘Sure.’ Maddie lunges forward and hugs him. ‘I love you, Noah.’

  ‘Love you too, Mads. See you when it’s over. Now go.’ He watches her run off, then he turns and walks to the car park. Juliet’s there, leaning against the car.

  ‘Ready?’ she says.

  Ready? Of course you’re not ready. Turn around right now.

  Noah doesn’t have time to listen; there’s no time for anything except sticking to their plan.

  He hands her the keys. ‘Are you sure you know how to drive?’

  Juliet grins. ‘Sure as I’ll ever be. C’mon, Noah, let’s do this.’

  A single bleep of the remote and they’re in and on their way.

  210.

  Broekie lace and a deep stoep, a door painted red with a gleaming brass knocker. Cheerful flowers in a deep planter.

  Gabriel lifts the knocker and lets it fall.

  He hears footsteps approaching. The door opens. Gabriel finds himself staring into eyes the same colour as his – a deep, deep green. This woman’s hair is blonde though, and she’s far shorter than he was expecting.

  May I help you? she says, and Gabriel’s stammering. He’s rehearsed this often, in front of the mirror, putting out his hand and saying, Hello, Harriet. My name is Gabriel Felix.

  Those are the words that finally come out. Then Gabriel remembers his hand. He puts it out and it stays there, awkward, waiting for the woman standing in the doorway to shake it and say—

  Excuse me?

  Gabriel hasn’t rehearsed this part, what does he do when she doesn’t shake his hand or recognise his name? And why should she? She lost hold of the name Felix a long time ago.

  I’m sorry, he says, and his hand falls to his side, I shouldn’t have bothered you.

  This is a terrible, terrible mistake. Months of searching, of paying Sebastian Crown to move from province to province, and putting him on a healthy retainer … only for it to end on the doorstep of a woman who is looking at him with suspicion.

  Walking down the passage towards her is a pleasant-faced man.

  Harriet, who’s this?

  She didn’t lose her birthname, or ever feel the need to change it. She’s still Harriet, even if this man doesn’t call her Harry, like Mum and he used to when she was a baby and Gabe would feed her and change her and make her laugh, because he was Mum’s Little Man, and he was in charge of making sure his sister was happy. He did the best he could, but he wasn’t able to hold his family together.

  The woman who is definitely Gabriel’s sister is saying, Gavin, this is …

  She looks at Gabriel enquiringly but his tongue is in a knot.

  Can we help you? asks Gavin. He looks from Harriet to Gabriel, frowning.

  I … Yes. Yes, please. You see, the thing is … I’m Gabriel Felix. Your brother.

  Gabriel looks directly at Harriet. He wants to smile, but instead his eyes fill with tears. I’m your brother, he says again.

  Harriet steps back and her husband puts his arms around her, holds her safe from the stranger making this ridiculous claim. But then Gavin looks at him carefully. Yes, Gabriel hears him saying. Yes. I can see that you might
be.

  Gabriel’s legs are struggling to hold him up. He’d like to sink to the ground, let the tension of months of looking and hoping drain away, down into the small patch of grass in front of the house.

  You’d better come inside, says Harry.

  211.

  14:49

  Noah opens the passenger door. He should be sitting in the back, behind his mother, like he always does, but this is a day of sudden and unexpected changes. Like asking Maddie to come with him to his room, for the maths. ‘Stroke of genius, Noah,’ Juliet says when he tells her about it. ‘Now keep quiet for a while, I need to reverse this baby without hitting anything.’

  He looks back nervously and she laughs. ‘Relax. I won’t damage your mom’s car.’ She swings the wheel deftly and manoeuvres the car out of the parking space. ‘Like I said, I’ve been doing this since I was twelve. Good thing you hooked up with a delinquent, Noah. We’re a regular Bonnie and Clyde.’

  Her voice is reckless, excited and Noah wants to tell her to calm down. He knows who Bonnie and Clyde were. Juliet and he are hardly on their way to a heist. No shotguns in the boot, no small-time grocers to rob, just an old lady in a retirement village to spring a surprise on – a happy one.

  He sits next to her, his shoulders stiff. Soon Maddie will be finished in his room, on her way over to …

  But no, clearly not. There’s his little sister, stepping out into the driveway, standing in front of the car, hands on her hips.

  ‘I’m coming,’ she says loudly. ‘And if you don’t let me in, I’m going to scream. Really loudly, Noah. So you better—’

  Juliet laughs and turns off the central locking. ‘Come along then, Mads.’

  Maddie grabs the handle and bounces onto the back seat before he can say a word.

  ‘I told him,’ Juliet says. ‘I said it wasn’t fair to leave you behind, not when you’re the reason we’ve even got this far, but he was adamant.’

  Looks like little Maddie’s putting a spoke in the works. Why you even thought this would work—

  ‘Quiet!’ Noah’s voice is loud, almost a shout and the Dark’s squawking turns into silence.

  Juliet shoots a sideways glance at him. ‘Nobody’s talking, Noah.’

  ‘I know,’ he mutters.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine. It’s just …’ His fingers start their nervous rattle ‘We can’t waste any more time.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Noah. We’re still on schedule.’

  He clamps his jaw shut. Soon the man on duty at the gate will be back at his post. Soon someone will see them and it will all be over before it’s even started. His fingers reach for his pebbles.

  Juliet said be quiet and that’s what he’ll do, give her peace and quiet while she drives the car to the boom. He stares straight ahead. The driveway out of Greenhills is long and straight and visible from the lawn. Soon his mother will look up and see her car vanishing.

  They’re at the guardhouse. ‘Quick as a flash, Noah,’ Juliet reminds him and he jerks the car door open. Quick as a flash to the boom, to push down on the heavy end, hold it while Juliet drives through to the magic spot marked x that will make the gates swing open.

  There’s the guard, walking up the drive … and now he’s lumbering, and shouting, but Noah can’t hear his words. He’s back at the passenger door.

  The man is closer now. ‘Hey! Hey, you! Hey!’

  ‘Go,’ Noah pants, flinging himself into his seat. ‘Go!’

  ‘High five, Noe,’ says Maddie from the back seat and a triumphant grin spreads across his face.

  ‘Good work, dude,’ Juliet says, and then she’s pulling away and the gates are opening. They’ve got less than a minute, 30 seconds if that, before the man gets to the guardhouse, comes up with a feasible excuse for letting 2 of Greenhills’ residents escape, lifts the phone and raises the alarm. But they might have a little more time, while the staff figure out who’s gone (unless Noah’s mother realises it’s her car that is missing). A little more time before everyone realises that Noah Groome’s done the impossible: deliberately smashed every single one of his rules. He looks over his shoulder. No one there. He glances at Juliet and she grins.

  ‘Ready?’ she asks.

  Noah pushes back the urge that says Stop and Check. Stop and Plan and Stop and Time Each Part. stop. He feels for his notebook, and there it is, tucked into his top pocket. Later, he’ll find time to break down the events of today into hours, minutes and seconds … He allows himself a wry smile. He doesn’t have a clue where to start, how he’ll possibly be able to make sense of it all, let alone impose any sort of order onto a day like this.

  Right now, though, he has other things to focus on. Juliet has the indicator on and they’re waiting at the intersection. There’s a gap and she turns left and joins the steady stream of traffic.

  212.

  Kate sits on the green bench, the slats hard against her back, looking up at the leathery green leaves of the oak tree. Her gaze is caught by a bank of solar panels on the red brick tiles of the roof.

  ‘Greenhills is going green, I see,’ she says to Mr Bill, breaking the easy silence between them.

  Kate doesn’t normally feel comfortable with silence. It’s her duty, her need, to fill the gaps. Just like she fills the gaps in her day with busy work. But with Mr Bill beside her she can let her mind rest; while Noah is under his wing, she can relax.

  She glances over to the car park. She and Maddie need to go soon.

  Only they won’t be able to. Because her car isn’t there.

  213.

  Gabriel’s inside Gavin and Harriet Davenport’s house now and she’s asking him, But how? and he tells her of all the time and money he has spent tracking her down.

  I’ve been looking for you for nearly two years. I tried through the adoption agency, but they told me you didn’t want any contact with your family.

  They didn’t tell me I had a brother, or that you were looking, Harriet says. They said family member and I just assumed they meant—

  Mum? asks Gabriel.

  Yes. I didn’t want to have anything to do with her. And then there’s my mom, the one who’s loved me since I was a baby. I didn’t want to hurt her. If I’d known it was you. If I’d known I had a brother … I’m sorry, Gabriel.

  I found her, Gabriel says. I found Mum. She’s not well, Harry. Harriet.

  Harriet’s face hardens and Gabriel wonders how he’s going to explain it all to her. How he found their mother, how she tried to find them but wasn’t allowed to have any contact with them, how he discovered what had happened to their father.

  Harriet’s face is white and Gavin’s massaging her hands, as if that will bring some colour back into her cheeks.

  I’m sorry, Gabriel says. It’s a lot to take in. I should have phoned, but I didn’t want to take the chance …

  That I wouldn’t want to see you? But I do, Harriet says. I do. It’s a shock, that’s all.

  Maybe if you come back another time, Gavin says. Gabriel likes the way he holds his wife, the love in his eyes when he looks at her. He’s glad she has a good man, that she’s living in a comfortable house, sitting on a comfortable couch with bright cushions behind her and a warm carpet under her feet.

  The fireplace is bricked up, a huge vase of daffodils filling the alcove. There are a number of framed photographs on the mantelpiece. Harriet and Gavin on their wedding day, pictures of babies and those same babies growing up. All safe, all smiling into the camera. Harriet has a family. Two children. A boy, he’s the older one in the pictures, and a younger sister. Not such a big gap between them though. Not like nine-year-old Gabe looking after his little sister.

  Gabriel looks around, spots a tell-tale plug. You have an electric heater? he asks.

  Harriet looks at him curiously. Yes. I hate real fires. They scare me. I don’t know why.

  Me too, Gabriel says.

  She still looks puzzled.

  It might be a good place to start
, Gabriel says, when you’re ready to listen to my story.

  214.

  ‘My car,’ Kate says stupidly. ‘My car. It’s gone.’

  But it hasn’t quite gone, not yet. There it is, her zippy little Polo, almost at the end of the long driveway. It all seems to happen in slow motion: the gates slowly opening, the guard puffing up the drive, his hands waving. She can’t hear what he’s saying, but she knows he’s in trouble. He left his post, he wasn’t at the checkpoint with his clipboard. And on top of that, someone has just stolen her car and driven away. But who?

  Kate slips her hand into her bag. Her keys are there. Then she realises how this has happened. She strains for a last glimpse of the car. Of course. It has to be. Maddie looking back, Juliet in the driver’s seat and Noah next to her. The three of them have just driven out of Greenhills and there’s no way to find out where they’re going.

  But there is. Of course there is.

  Kate thanks God for Dominic, for his absolute insistence on security at every level, the house with electric fencing, its alarm systems, the cars, each armed with a tracker. Ever since the home invasion, safety has been an imperative for him. For all of them, really. There must be a way to log in to that tracker, work out where Noah and Maddie are going, and catch up with them. Moments later she’s on the phone, gabbling to her husband, telling him what’s happened and asking him to find their children.

  215.

  When Gabriel phones Harriet to set up another meeting, her voice is polite but edgy. Yes, she says, she would like to see him again and Gavin would like to be there too. Would that be in order and what time and date would suit Gabriel.