Finn clenched his jaw and willed his hands to stop shaking. Lowered the mask over his eyes, steadied the torch, applied it to the join and squeezed the trigger. The mask snapped to black as molten metal spat and splashed in eerie electric green. The dreaded replay of images that welding always prompted was just beginning when a sharp sting and the smell of burning made him jump back, dropping the torch.
The weather was too hot for full protective gear and a piece of hot slag had hit and rolled down his bare arm, searing a path. As Finn pushed back the mask, the metal lump fell to the floor and he grimaced at the stink of burned hair. He’d have a streak of blister now, and his concentration was shot.
His concentration was non-existent anyway. Finn peered at the weld line. He could barely remember why he was trying to join those two pieces of metal. He rubbed his eyes, breathed in and out a few times. Fought down the livid images by focusing on his burned arm.
Somehow, with Tom’s help, he’d finished the first commission and sent it off. What remained of Dragon Sentry was now gone from his life. This new piece was the commission for the barrister, in lieu of the first raft of legal bills. He needed this one, and more, to pay those costs and have any chance of getting his family out of here. And, irrationally, it felt like if he got the sculpture done, he’d ward off the risk of jail.
He heard the pool gate click. Tom had promised to help again. It wasn’t that he needed help, but it felt like nothing bad could happen if Tom were there, and Finn was less likely to regress into memories. Tom, sensing this somehow, had set himself the task of sorting Finn’s scrap metal by size and type, the bigger pieces into crates, the smaller into a wooden type-drawer Finn had found at a long-ago garage sale. It was a slow, steady job Tom was obviously spinning out. Finn was grateful.
‘Hello, Finn?’ a woman’s voice called.
Finn stepped to the door. Tom was walking across the pool area, followed by his mother, Angela. She smiled as they drew close.
‘Good news,’ she said. ‘I wanted to tell you in person.’
As Finn peeled the safety mask off, Angela nudged Tom. ‘Go put some coffee on while I talk to Finn.’
She waited until Tom reached the far gate. ‘There’s been another offer. A good one.’ She named a figure not far below the price Finn and Bridget had paid.
‘But …’ Finn couldn’t take it in. ‘When did they see it?’
‘Didn’t need to,’ she said. ‘Investors. It fits their formula and they’re happy with the building report. But they’re hard-nosed. They’ll buy if you exchange today and waive the cooling-off period. So you need to be sure.’
Finn’s legs felt weak. ‘Can we sit?’
Angela followed him through the pool area and onto the verandah. Finn lowered himself to the couch and waved her to a chair.
Angela sat. ‘I hope this isn’t too much pressure. You haven’t changed your mind, have you?’
Finn shook his head. ‘Christ, no.’
‘Good. They haven’t asked for any special conditions, just vacant possession, but I won’t be able to hold them longer than today.’
‘We can do it,’ Finn said, his mind starting to race. Could he find them a house in Tasmania before the trial? They could rent, he supposed, but something in him wanted to anchor the family while they recovered. Renting a home was just setting up something they knew they’d leave. No, they needed to buy something. Especially if he was going to end up in jail; he needed to know they were settled and safe.
He remembered, suddenly, how it had felt to find the purple house the previous summer. A home full of colour and promise, like life opening up in new directions.
‘Tom will miss you,’ she said. ‘He and Jarrah have become good friends.’
Finn saw the car pull up outside, heard the familiar sound of its door. Bridget, home at lunchtime on a weekday for some unfathomable reason. The moment of relief he’d felt at Angela’s news disappeared. He didn’t want to break the news to Bridget in front of someone else.
Bridget walked into the garden, glanced up and visibly started at seeing them.
‘Perfect timing,’ Angela called out, standing.
Finn waited until Bridget was on the verandah. ‘We have another buyer. Almost the full price.’
Bridget literally whitened as he watched.
‘They’re serious,’ Angela said. ‘The only thing is, you’ll need to act today.’
‘Right,’ Bridget said.
Angela gathered her bag. ‘I’ll leave you two to discuss it. The contract is with your solicitor ready to sign. You’ll need to do it by – oh, say, three pm – so the exchange can go through.’
She called through to Tom and he came out of the kitchen, handing over Finn’s coffee, then joining his mother to walk across the lawn, out to the free world where people laughed and life went on.
‘Bridget.’
Her face was turned away from him. ‘I don’t know how much more I can take.’
Desperation rose in Finn. ‘We’ve got to go somewhere safe.’
‘Is this what you think Jarrah wants?’
‘He wants to leave this house. He told me. Anyhow, just look at him – he won’t even go into the pool area. He can’t live like that. None of us can. And anyway, he needs us to be the parents and make the decision. He’s still a boy.’
‘What if you go to jail?’
‘All the more reason to go back. You and Jarrah can be somewhere familiar if the worst happens. My family will help. Anyhow, we won’t know for ages. We can’t wait here all that time.’
It seemed to Finn that Bridget shuddered. ‘I don’t know if I can stand the Brennans’ help, Finn. And what about my mother?’
‘We’ll move her back too. She doesn’t know where she is. She won’t even know she’s been shifted after a few days.’
‘I just …’ She wrapped her arms around herself.
Finn fought down panic. ‘You heard her. The deal’s only on the table today. If we take it we could afford to buy back into Hobart.’
‘Or pay your legal fees.’
He reached out and took Bridget by the shoulders, forcing himself not to shake her. ‘This isn’t about my fucking legal fees! This house is destroying us!’
She stared at him, eyes wide and shocked. He wondered if he’d frightened her, but there was no fear on her face. Just a vast distance. Like he was holding a stranger.
He dropped his hands. ‘I don’t know you any more.’
Her face crumpled and she buried it in her hands. Finn almost staggered with the pity that washed through him. He took a deep breath. Reached out again, gently this time. She let him fold her into his chest.
‘We can get through this,’ he said, his mouth against her hair.
‘What sort of people are they?’ she asked.
‘They’re investors. I don’t know much about them, and I don’t want to. At least they’re not trying to screw us.’
He felt her shift against him and lift her head. She laid it on his shoulder, her face looking in the direction of the pool. He didn’t dare move. How long since she’d come to him?
Then she took a shuddering breath in his arms and drew back. ‘All right.’
‘All right we can sell?
She nodded. ‘As long as we can settle after Jarrah’s school term finishes.’
Finn stared at her, hardly believing it. Relief started to wash through him. Was she coming back? Was it possible?
He glanced at his watch. They still had a couple of hours, but he couldn’t risk her changing her mind. ‘We should go and sign.’
‘What about Jarrah?’
‘We’ll tell Jarrah tonight. We’ll involve him in whatever comes next, but you and I are making this decision.’
‘Investors won’t care about the house,’ she said, picking up her bag.
‘Not the way we did,’ Finn said. ‘Maybe that’s for the best.’ He put a careful, gentle hand to the small of her back, a light touch, encouraging her to move. ‘Shall we go?’
She took a step, and another. And allowed him to take her hand.