The January Stars
Page 3
Those were both true statements, thought Clancy. And Tash hadn’t actually said that Polly was at work today.
Belinda raised her thinly plucked eyebrows. ‘Let’s make sure. Lorraine?’
‘Just checking,’ said Lorraine hastily, tapping at her computer keyboard.
But before she could find Polly’s number, there was an interruption.
‘Sp-sp-sp?’
Clancy spun to see Pa in his wheelchair, rolled into the foyer by one of the staff, a cheerful-looking young African woman whose name tag read Neneh.
Pa waved his hand at the chaos in the foyer, the residents milling in confusion, staff rushing in and out. ‘Sp-sp-sp?’
‘There was a breakout,’ Tash told him. ‘Kind of slightly our fault.’
Clancy could have hugged her for using the word our.
Neneh shook her head at Pa. ‘Oh, Goffrey, you in trouble again? Belinda throw you out this time for sure!’
Clancy gasped.
‘She can’t do that!’ cried Tash. ‘It had nothing to do with Pa!’
‘I will be speaking to your daughter,’ said Belinda to Pa. ‘I can’t let this pass without consequences.’
Pa gave an indignant, wordless roar.
‘Pa doesn’t want to stay in your stupid home anyway!’ Tash’s black eyes blazed, her chin jerked up, and in the next instant, she’d grabbed the handles of Pa’s wheelchair and thrust him toward the doors. One of the staff was just guiding Myrna back inside with his hand on her walking frame. Tash shouted, ‘Clancy! Door!’
Instinctively, Clancy sprang to obey. She heard Neneh burst out laughing, and Belinda shout, ‘Wait a minute!’
But it was too late. Pa and Tash were already halfway down the drive. Clancy sprinted after them, and the doors hissed shut behind her.
‘What are you going to do now?’ panted Clancy. She had to jog to keep pace with Tash, who was marching Pa swiftly along the pavement, her face flushed with rage.
‘Dunno,’ said Tash shortly. And she muttered something that sounded vaguely swear-ish.
Clancy glanced over her shoulder. ‘Tash! Someone’s coming!’
‘What are they going to do? Arrest us?’
‘You shouldn’t have taken Pa. That’s kidnapping!’
‘It’s not kidnapping when the person wants to come with you.’
‘Sp-sp-sp,’ agreed Pa.
‘Wait! Wait!’ called the person thumping heavily along the footpath toward them.
‘It’s one of the nurses,’ said Clancy. ‘The smiley one. Neneh.’
Neneh thudded up beside them, gasping for breath, but still smiling. ‘Hoo! You go fast!’ She clutched at her side. ‘Hoo!’
‘Sp-sp-sp,’ said Pa firmly.
Tash folded her arms. ‘We’re not going back there.’
‘No, no, you have some – time out, yeah?’ Neneh beamed at them. ‘Okay, Goffrey? Let Belinda calm down?’
‘Sp-sp-sp!’ said Pa indignantly.
Neneh laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. ‘I know, I know. You have little quiet time, yeah? Stay tonight with Polly, maybe?’ She thrust a folded string of small plastic packets into Tash’s hands. ‘Goffrey’s pills. Tonight, next day, you come back. No rush, yeah?’
Tash pushed the pills into her pocket. ‘Maybe.’
‘When you ready.’ Neneh stood with her hands on her hips, still huffing for breath. ‘Maybe Belinda not let you come back at all!’ She wagged her finger at Pa, kissed him on the cheek, gave them a cheery wave, and strolled back down the street toward The Elms.
‘Huh.’ Tash gripped the wheelchair handles and pushed, more slowly than before. Clancy wondered if she should offer to help, but wheeling Pa was hard work. He wasn’t a big man, but he was surprisingly heavy. Tash was better at that kind of thing.
Clancy trotted behind them. ‘That Neneh seems pretty nice,’ she ventured.
Tash snorted. Clancy heard a strange, strangled sound coming from their grandfather.
‘Pa? Are you okay?’
But it was all right. He was laughing.
‘It’s not funny,’ warned Tash. But the scary, murderous expression had faded from her face, and Clancy felt safe to walk beside her.
Pa’s hand shot out toward a little bird perched on a twig in someone’s front garden. ‘Sp-sp-sp!’
‘What’s that?’ asked Clancy politely. ‘A sparrow?’
Pa clapped his hand to his forehead in disbelief at her ignorance. ‘No!’
‘A willie wagtail?’ guessed Tash.
‘Ha! Sp-sp-sp!’
‘I’ll Google it when we get back,’ promised Clancy.
‘Birds are everywhere, you know,’ said Tash. ‘Every part of the world.’
‘What about Antarctica?’
‘Penguins?’ said Tash scornfully.
‘Oh, yeah, of course.’ Clancy flushed. ‘But penguins don’t count. They can’t fly.’
‘What?’ said Pa.
‘What’s the point of a bird that can’t fly?’ Clancy protested.
‘Emus say hi. Ostriches. Kiwis.’
‘Yeah, well, they’re pointless, too.’
‘Really? All of them?’
‘Okay, okay.’ Why did Tash always have to be right about everything?
When they reached Polly’s house, they remembered the front steps, which of course the wheelchair couldn’t go up. The passage at the side of the house was too narrow to wheel Pa around to the back door.
‘Bugger!’ said Pa.
‘We’ll have to stay out here,’ said Tash. She pushed the chair into the shade on the tiny square of artificial grass that was Polly’s low-maintenance, perfect front lawn, and spread out the doona from Clancy’s bed for the girls to sit on. They brought out rice crackers and orange juice and jam and bananas and instant noodles, and had a weird but satisfying picnic. Pa needed a little help peeling bananas and spreading jam, but he coped pretty well with one hand. Clancy was impressed, but she thought if she’d had four years of practice, she’d probably have learned to manage all right, too.
‘Mrs Christie next door is watching us,’ she whispered.
Tash spun round and poked out her tongue.
‘Tash! Rude!’
‘I don’t care. She should mind her own business.’
Clancy borrowed Tash’s phone to look up the mystery bird. Tim and Harriet had promised Clancy a phone of her own when she started high school. If her parents hadn’t gone to New Zealand, maybe Tim would have bought it this week. Clancy did want a phone, but she wasn’t looking forward to what a phone of her own represented: responsibility, independence. Danger.
‘Don’t get jam on my phone,’ warned Tash.
Clancy hastily licked her fingers, and wiped Tash’s garish yellow phone cover on the doona. ‘It was a fantail,’ she announced in triumph, and held up the screen to show Pa.
‘It could have been anything,’ said Tash.
‘Sp-sp-sp!’
‘No, I’m right. See, Pa agrees with me.’
‘No, he agrees with me!’
The sisters glared at each other.
‘I’m right,’ muttered Clancy, determined not to let Tash have the last word this time. ‘I saw its tail.’
‘Pfft!’ Tash rolled onto her stomach and plucked out blades of fake grass. ‘This would be a nice day for birdwatching if there were any interesting birds round here.’
Mine was interesting! Clancy wanted to say; but she knew Tash would scoff, so instead she pointed to a grey bird sidling at the edge of the lawn, eyeing their spilled crumbs. ‘There’s one.’
‘A pigeon,’ said Tash with deep scorn. ‘I’m talking about birdwatching with real birds, like the ones that live at Rosella.’
Clancy said, ‘There were a ton of birds at Rosella, weren’t there, Pa? Do you miss it?’
Pa let out a long breath, tapped his chest, waved his hand into the distance and laid his hand on his heart.
‘Of course he misses it, peabrain.’ Tash sat up. ‘Would you like to
go back and see your house, Pa?’
‘Yes!’ Pa cried, then whispered under his breath, ‘Yes, yes.’
‘It’s a long way to push him,’ said Clancy.
‘I could call one of those, you know, maxi-taxis.’ Tash scrambled to her feet, eyes gleaming. ‘We’ve got the emergency money.’
Polly had left them fifty dollars, just in case.
Clancy looked at Tash. ‘We couldn’t go inside. The house is rented out. People live there.’
‘I know. But we could look at the garden, we could walk around the streets. It would be something to do. Do you want to, Pa?’
Pa sat bolt upright in his chair. ‘Yes!’ he roared, and let out a stream of word-ish noises, which was the closest he could come to talking in sentences since his stroke. ‘Sp-sp-sp!’ he finished vehemently.
Clancy gave Tash a worried look. ‘Are we allowed to? Do you have to be over eighteen to order a taxi?’
Tash was already searching for a number on her phone. ‘Anyone can order a taxi, if you can pay for it.’ She held the phone to her ear. ‘Hello? Can I book a taxi, please?’
Clancy gasped. Pa was smiling. Tash gave Polly’s address, and the address of Pa’s old house in Rosella. ‘Okay, thanks.’ She hung up. ‘It’ll be here in an hour.’
‘We’re really going? Seriously?’
Clancy was half excited, half terrified. If she’d known how far they would end up travelling before the weekend was over, she wouldn’t have wasted her energies being frightened of a taxi trip to Rosella.
‘Of course we’re going. Why not? Clancy, you’ve got to stop being scared of everything.’
‘I’m not,’ muttered Clancy furiously.
Tash opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment Pa waved at her and indicated that he needed to use the toilet.
Clancy leapt up. ‘What will we do? Will we have to take him back to The Elms?’
‘Oh my God, Clancy, this is exactly what I’m talking about! Don’t be so pathetic! It’s no big deal. I can handle it. I’ve done it at The Elms before.’
‘No way, gross!’ cried Clancy, before she could stop herself.
‘It’s easy. If he only has to use a bottle, he can do it all himself. Otherwise, he just needs a hand getting on and off the seat and back into the wheelchair.’ Tash leaned closer to whisper, ‘And he wears a pull-up, just in case.’
‘You mean – a nappy?’
‘Just in case of accidents. It’s not like he ever actually needs it.’
‘Sp-sp-sp!’ called Pa urgently, and Tash hurried over.
By the time she had wheeled Pa into the garage so that Mrs Christie couldn’t see what was going on, and Clancy had gulped down the last of the orange juice so Pa could pee into the bottle, and Tash had taken the bottle away and disposed of the wee while Pa hitched up his tracksuit pants, and they’d rolled outside again, and everyone had washed their hands, or in Pa’s case, used Polly’s antiseptic wipes, Tash had completely forgotten that she’d been in the middle of telling Clancy how hopeless she was.
Clancy decided not to remind her.
The big yellow taxi took more than an hour to arrive, but Clancy thought it was worth the wait – firstly because it was from Comet Taxis, which was a most excellent name, and secondly because the driver was spectacular.
He was called Sidhu, and he wore a turban and shoes with long pointed toes, and a luscious black moustache. Sidhu had a big cheerful laugh, and he was making Pa’s wish to go home come true. If Sidhu could grant a wish for Pa, maybe he could organise a couple of wishes for Clancy, too?
It probably wasn’t polite to ask for wishes from someone you’d only just met. Safer to wish upon a star instead, decided Clancy; or a comet.
If she could wish upon a star and have that wish come true, what would she wish for? To make her first year at high school go well? To be as bold and brave and smart and popular as Tash? She’d never be able to tell Tash that wish.
Maybe it was better to wish that she didn’t have to start high school at all. She could wish that nothing ever had to change. Then she’d never have anything to feel scared of. An end to entropy – that’s what she should wish for!
Although altering the fundamental laws of the universe was a pretty big wish for a single star to handle …
‘Clancy! Are you coming or what?’
‘Coming,’ said Clancy hastily.
The driver let down a platform at the back of the van and pushed Pa’s chair onto it, then the platform lifted up so the wheelchair rolled straight inside. Sidhu showed Tash how to fasten the web of hooks and straps and buckles that held Pa and the chair firmly in place.
‘You have the card?’ asked Sidhu. ‘The taxi card? For claiming your discount?’
Clancy and Tash didn’t know what the taxi driver was talking about. Pa knew, but he couldn’t make Tash understand, and in the end they just gave up. Much later they found out that Polly had a special government card that meant that Pa only had to pay half-fare for a maxi-taxi.
‘O-kay!’ cried Sidhu, when they were all buckled into their seats. The Comet taxi purred like a lion and drew away from the kerb, and they were on their way.
‘Ha-ha!’ cried Pa, beaming, and he clutched at Tash’s hand, which was his way of saying thank you.
Tash could be super annoying, thought Clancy; but she had to admit that her sister made things happen.
The big yellow taxi trundled out of Tutt’s Flat and up into the hills, along the highway and past the shops, under the railway bridge and past the entrance to the national park, then turned off the main road and into a maze of short, steep streets.
Clancy could vaguely remember some landmarks, like the fire station, and the red house on the corner. But Tash was confidently calling out directions to Sidhu – ‘Left here. Next right.’ – even though he had a GPS and paid no attention to her, just laughed his big hearty laugh and sang out, ‘O-kay!’
The drive took about twenty minutes. Clancy was facing forward, so she could see the meter ticking over, chewing into Polly’s emergency fifty-dollar note. She wanted to warn Tash, who was facing backward, that this trip was going to use all their cash; but she told herself that it would only worry Pa, so she kept quiet. This was Tash’s adventure, so looking after the money was Tash’s responsibility, not Clancy’s business. There had to be some advantages to being born second.
Pa peered intently through the windows with bright blue eyes. At last the taxi swung down a narrow street and Pa whispered, ‘So-it-is!’
The sprawling brown-brick house that he and Nan had built, and where they’d raised their family, lay half-hidden inside a thicket of trees, much more wild and overgrown than Clancy remembered.
‘What’s that?’ cried Tash sharply.
A large For Sale sign was standing by the letterbox.
‘Sidhu, stop here!’ Tash called, and she jumped out of the taxi and ran down the driveway for a closer look.
‘Sp-sp-sp?’ Pa twisted round to stare at the board.
‘Did you know they were selling your house, Pa?’ asked Clancy. ‘Did Polly tell you?”
Pa shook his head. ‘Nah, nah.’ He pointed to Clancy and raised his eyebrows in a question.
‘We didn’t know either.’ Clancy wrung her hands together. ‘But it’s your house! How could they?’
Tash ran back up the drive and called out, ‘There’s no one here! The house is empty! Can you drive down to the front door?’
‘Sure, sure.’ Sidhu backed the taxi carefully down the driveway’s gentle slope.
Pa was silent as the platform lowered his wheelchair onto the gravel, carpeted with dead leaves. Clancy grabbed the handles while Tash paid Sidhu with Polly’s fifty-dollar note. He gave her back a twenty and then a five; so they’d have just enough to take Pa back to The Elms. Clancy let out a private sigh of relief.
‘What time would you like me to return?’ asked Sidhu, as if he’d read her mind.
‘I’ll call you,’ said Tash grandly.
The taxi zoomed up the drive and left them standing there in the cool shade of the trees.
‘I can’t believe they’re selling your home!’ Tash burst out. ‘Without telling you! That rat Polly didn’t even mention it!’
‘Dad must know, too,’ said Clancy. ‘And he didn’t say anything either.’
‘Yeah, well, that is deeply disappointing. He’s a rat, too.’
‘Sp-sp-sp.’ Pa hunched over in his chair, his face suddenly old and sad.
Clancy hovered uncertainly behind Pa’s shoulder while Tash cupped her hands to peer through a window. ‘Definitely no one here,’ she reported. ‘How cool would it be if we could get inside?’
Suddenly Pa straightened his back. ‘Sp-sp-sp!’ He mimed inserting a key into a lock and opening a door.
‘Yes, but we don’t have the key, Pa,’ said Clancy.
‘Ah!’ Pa tapped the side of his nose, and a mischievous expression lit up his face. ‘Sp-sp-sp!’
‘What, you’ve got a key?’ said Tash. ‘In your pocket?’
‘Pfft!’ Don’t be silly. Pa gestured for Clancy to push him to the side of the house.
‘I can’t take you down that path, Pa. It’s too steep,’ said Clancy in alarm. ‘We’d crash!’
Pa gave an exaggerated, exasperated sigh, and jabbed his finger in the same direction.
‘Down there?’ said Tash. ‘Something around there? The back door? The deck?’
‘Under the house?’ guessed Clancy, and Pa swung round in excitement.
‘Yes!’ He mimed opening a door, and groping above his head. He held up a small invisible object. ‘Aha!’
Without another word, Tash leapt down the path by the side of the house. Clancy heard a bang as her sister threw open the little door and vanished inside, then some muffled swearing.
‘Sp-sp-sp!’ Pa urged Clancy.
‘You think I should go and help her?’ Clancy hung back. She’d always been scared of the dark, dank, creepy cavity beneath the house. ‘I think someone should stay here with you.’
‘Pfft!’ Pa reached down and firmly applied his brake. ‘Sp-sp!’ He waved her on her way, and reluctantly Clancy edged down the path. She reached the door just in time to meet Tash as she emerged, brushing cobwebs from her hair.