My alarm woke me at 5.30. I yawned. Stupid o’clock again.
Mr Vine did his usual grunt. I sang as I swept and mopped. This morning’s song was ‘The Wheels on the Bus’. I kept my mouth shut when I cleaned the toilet, even though it didn’t stink any more.
I finished with ten minutes to spare so I dusted the shelves in aisle one. I would guess that he never moved anything when he dusted. The front was clean, the rest wasn’t.
He paid me without making any nasty remarks. I was polite. ‘Thanks, Mr Vine.’
Mick was getting out of his truck as I left the shop. ‘How’s it going, Ruby?’
I smiled at him. ‘It’s going fine. Thanks to you.’
He cocked his head in Mr Vine’s direction. ‘He’s behaving himself, then?’
I whispered, ‘Still as mean as shit. But he pays me without the drama now.’
Mick went inside, laughing.
The kids for the Brazil trip got congratulated in assembly. The principal said he was sorry we all couldn’t go. ‘But know that you’re all winners, even if you didn’t get chosen.’
Yeah? Like how?
I told the girls the latest Max story.
Tia shook her head. ‘Man! He sure holds a grudge.’
‘Squeezes it to death,’ said Carly.
Megan said, ‘I so wish you were going. Maisie’s okay, but she’s not you.’
After school, I picked Davey up and we caught the bus into town. He sang, ‘On Top of Spaghetti, All Covered with Cheese’.
I joined in. We weren’t exactly quiet.
A woman in front of us turned around and snapped, ‘For heaven’s sake — if you must sing, at least have the proper words.’
Davey was surprised. ‘These are the proper words! My teacher told us.’
The woman turned back. ‘Really! What’s the world coming to?’
Davey’s teacher had taught them six verses. We sang the whole lot three times. Nobody else growled and some people laughed.
The library didn’t have any magazines for sale. We were nearly outside when I stopped. ‘Davey, I’ve just thought of something. Let’s go back.’
We went up to the information desk. The woman smiled. ‘Can I help you?’
Probably not. I asked anyway. ‘I want to learn Portuguese. I want to go to Brazil. But I don’t know how. To find out how to learn, I mean.’
She looked surprised. ‘Well, good for you. We’ve had a lot of requests lately for information about Brazil. All from kids from your school.’ She waved a hand at my uniform. ‘But you’re the first one to ask about learning the language.’ She stood up. ‘You got accepted for the trip, then?’
I shook my head. ‘But I want to go anyway. When I leave school.’
She pointed to a wall. ‘See over there? That’s where our language CDs are. You need the Brazilian Portuguese one.’
‘Um, could you help me find it?’ I took a breath. ‘I can’t read. Not very well.’
She’d think I was dumb. She’d wonder why I thought I could learn another language. But she came out from behind the desk and walked towards the CDs. ‘Learning from a CD is a good way for you to start, in that case.’
She found it for me. ‘Take it to the desk. You’ll have to pay to get it out. And good luck!’
She was nice!
When we left the library, Davey tugged my hand. ‘Ruby — don’t go to Brazil!’
I bent down and hugged him. ‘I can’t go for ages and ages. Not till I leave school.’ He still didn’t look happy, so I said, ‘How about we get an ice cream and walk by the sea?’
I thought he’d forgotten about Brazil but soon he asked, ‘Can I learn Brazil too? I can go with you then.’
I dabbed my ice cream on his forehead. ‘You can learn but I’m not promising about coming too.’
We finished the ice creams. We walked by the sea but not near the waves. There were mean waves on this beach. They’d pulled people under and some had drowned.
It was too soon to go home. I wanted to make sure Calvin would be there. ‘Okay, Davey. We need another shop.’
We went to the secondhand bookshop. They had a pile of magazines. I found two that had fashion spreads. Not a bad day.
Calvin and Theo were cooking when we got home. ‘Max didn’t show?’ I asked.
Calvin looked grim. ‘No.’
He showed up in a dead heat with Mum. Mum and Calvin glanced at each other. Calvin shook his head. Mum sighed, and it looked to me as if she was searching for some backbone. She found it. ‘Max, you’ll have to make your own dinner.’
He sat down and smiled at her. ‘Come on, Mum! You don’t mean it — that’s child abuse.’
Mum ignored him. ‘Set the table, would you Ruby? But Max won’t need a place.’
‘Mum! I’ve been working my butt off all day. I need food. You’re not being reasonable.’ He was calm and he sounded confident.
I carried five plates to the table. Davey got the cutlery without being asked. I gave him the thumbs up. This was where Mum always caved with Max. He just had to say how hard he worked and bam! he got what he wanted.
But she sat down across the table from him, stretched out her hands and took his. ‘Max. Look at me. I asked you to cook the dinner.’
He snatched his hands away. ‘Mum! You know I don’t do that stuff. That’s Ruby’s job. She does what she can do. I do what I’m good at. It works. Don’t try fixing what ain’t broken.’
I couldn’t believe it. ‘You louse! You utter and total arrogant louse.’
‘Ruby!’ Mum snapped. ‘Keep quiet.’ But she snapped at Max too. ‘Your values are all screwed up, Max. It’s my fault. I’ve spoilt you. Well, that can’t be helped now. But things do need fixing. And we start with you becoming a contributing member of this family, not just a taker.’ Her voice shook and she looked away from Max. ‘Calvin, could you please serve the meal now. Max can get something from the pantry.’
Calvin set the dish on the table. Then he put his hand on Mum’s shoulder. She lifted her hand and held his. I dished food for Theo and Davey. Max sat and glowered while we ate. Nobody said much. I don’t know how he did it, but he sent currents of fury right through the room without saying a single word. He waited until we finished before he made himself four slices of toast and heated baked beans in the microwave.
He trashed the bench making it. There were crumbs, smears of butter and the empty bean tin. He left the bread and the butter on the bench as well.
Calvin said, ‘Clean up your mess, Max, and then you and I are going for a walk.’
Max put both hands on the table. ‘I don’t have to. You’re not my father.’
Mum burst into tears. ‘I’m ashamed of you, Max Yarrow. So ashamed I could die. Calvin must be glad he’s not your father. If I’d let him discipline you, you’d be a much better person.’
Calvin hugged her and looked over her shoulder at Max. ‘Do as you’re told, Max. Now.’ His voice was calm and even, but I would have leapt to do what he told me if he’d used that tone with me.
Max thumped his fist. ‘Oh, all right! Don’t stress. Far out! What a fuss about nothing.’
Calvin watched him and kept his arms around Mum. Theo ran to her, threw his arms around her legs and wailed, ‘Don’t cry, Mummy, please don’t cry.’
Davey’s eyes switched from Mum and Calvin, to Max and then to me. I gave him a small smile and put a finger to my lips. He nodded and sidled closer to me.
Max chucked the dishcloth into the sink. ‘Satisfied? Can we get this charade over with? I’ve got work to do.’
‘Tessie, it’ll be all right,’ Calvin said. ‘Let’s go, Max.’
Max heaved one of his Hollywood sighs and stomped out the door.
Mum collapsed onto the sofa. She was still crying. The boys huddled beside her. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t gone looking for my backbone, Mum wouldn’t be howling her eyes out, Calvin wouldn’t have to deal with Max, the kids wouldn’t be upset. And I’d have no life.
‘Mum. I’m sorry.’
She didn’t look up, just kept sobbing with her head in her hands. ‘It’s all my fault. I’ve spoilt him.’ She could hardly get the words out. ‘Calvin kept telling me, but I wouldn’t listen. I’m the one who’s sorry, Ruby.’
I didn’t know what to do. She cried as if her heart was breaking. Davey looked at me and whimpered, ‘Ruby?’
Theo sucked his thumb. He’d stopped doing that a year ago.
I picked him up and sat down beside Mum with Theo on my knee. ‘Don’t cry, Mum. You’re a good mother. You are. Please don’t cry.’
She stopped. It was a superhuman effort, but she did it. ‘I need to blow my nose,’ she mumbled.
Davey leapt up and raced for the box of tissues.
When she’d mopped herself up, she wrapped the three of us up in a hug. ‘You’re such good kids. I don’t deserve you.’
‘You do! We want you.’ Theo wriggled off my knee onto Mum’s.
She looked exhausted. ‘Ruby, love — I could murder a cup of tea.’
I made her one. She was a good mother. I wouldn’t change her. I poured the water into her favourite big mug, took her the tea and said, ‘Mum — you were only two years older than I am now when you got pregnant with me. You were so young.’
She took the mug and wrapped her hands around it. ‘It’s not the best way of doing things, Ruby. I wouldn’t want you to do the same.’
Not much chance of that. No boy even looked at me.
Mum drank the tea then read to the boys. I did the dishes and wondered how Calvin was getting on with Max. I’d give my current bank balance to be able to listen in. No, I wouldn’t. I’d earned that money and I wasn’t going to waste it.
We put the kids to bed. Theo was clingy. Davey was quiet.
Mum and I watched telly. Well, we turned it on, but neither of us could concentrate. ‘They’re such a long time!’ Mum said.
The kids had been asleep for ages by the time they came back.
Max came into the lounge. ‘Sorry, Mum.’ Then he gave me a lightning glance. ‘Sorry, Ruby.’ He scuttled off to his room, his head down.
I stared after him. His eyes were red. Max had been crying?
Calvin sank down on the sofa beside Mum. He stretched out and closed his eyes.
Mum took his hand. ‘Calvin? Are you okay?’
He opened one eye. ‘That lad of ours, Tessie, is hard work.’
That lad of ours. We were so lucky to have Calvin.
Mum’s mouth wobbled, but she didn’t cry. ‘Max …?’
‘Max will be okay, Tessie. He’s just been pushing the limits. He’s found out where they are now.’ He yawned. ‘We’ll see how he goes.’
I went to bed.
The next day was Friday. When Davey and I got home after school, Max was there. He growled, ‘Calvin’s making me cook tonight, so you can stop the I do all the work act.’
I sighed. Whatever had made him cry last night had worn off. ‘Grow up, Max.’ We left him to it. I put one of the Portuguese CDs in my player. Before dinner that night, Davey and I learned how to say excuse me, thank you, and I am an American man. That would be useful. Not.
We didn’t tell anybody else what we were doing.
Max yelled at me to set the table.
I switched off the player. ‘Come on, Davey. Let’s show him what stars we are.’
We had that table set before Max could yell a second time. It pissed him off. I wished we could be friends. He hadn’t been nice to me once since I found my backbone.
I shook my head. Who was I kidding? He hadn’t been nice to me before then. He’d been nice to Max.
The meal wasn’t great, but we ate it. ‘I want Ruby to cook,’ Theo said.
Max scowled.
Life in the Diamond–Yarrow household limped onwards.