I CALLED IN TO VISIT Dad but he’d been discharged. I rang Mum to tell her I’d be late because I wanted to see how he was.
‘If you paid me a quarter of the attention you give to That Man, I’d die a happy woman,’ she said, ice spiking from her words.
No you bloody wouldn’t. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Well, don’t expect me to prepare a meal for you.’
So, nothing had changed. The odds that Gwennie would ever be able to show me how to get along with my mother weren’t high.
Iris, by contrast, greeted me with an enveloping hug — balm after Mum’s tanty. ‘Come in, love. Your dad’s itching to talk to you. How was your weekend?’
‘Great, thanks. It wasn’t too scary, once I got started. I’ve got another appointment next week. Iris going to help me with Mum.’
Iris squeezed my hand and led me out to the deck where Dad was sitting at the table, podding a basin of peas.
He shoved back his chair and sprang to his feet, all energy and zest, just like the Dad he used to be. I got the breath-depriving hug, then he started issuing orders. ‘Sit down. Sit down. Fill me in on the factory. How was Auckland? You left the men to themselves on Friday?’
‘Charlie! Stop!’ Iris bent forward, arms akimbo, glaring at him.
‘All right, all right. Damn it, woman! No need to go off like a banshee. I’m just asking a few questions.’ He sat down, though.
‘Now listen to me, you big dope,’ she said. ‘Bess is in charge. If she thinks the men won’t destroy the place if they’re left to their own devices for a day, you’ve got no business even hinting that she shouldn’t have done it. Understand?’
Dad rubbed a hand across his hair, down his face, tugged his nose a couple of times, grunted and mumbled, ‘Sorry, Bess. It’s hard, letting go the reins after all these years.’
‘You can start picking them up again if you want.’ I shook my head at Iris, knowing how she’d feel about that. ‘There’s a few things it’ll be best if you do. Like this new guy …’
He sat up as if he’d been electrified. ‘What new guy? We don’t need anyone else. God almighty, Bess — I can’t even pay the men I’ve got now.’
‘Dad, shut up and listen.’
Iris sat down beside me so that he was faced with both his glaring women. ‘We’ve got these new orders, so we need a finisher. Bernie’s training up a sulky kid who can’t stand females. We don’t know yet if we’ve got a winner or a dud. But it’ll be best if you do any contract stuff with him. Okay?’
But did my father fall on my neck with cries of gratitude for his wondrous daughter? Nah.
‘Beverly Maketawa will foreclose the second she hears about this!’
‘No, she won’t, actually. She gave me all the paperwork. Advised me to take him on for three months, renewable if both parties are happy after that.’
Iris got up, picked up the pea bowl with one hand and swiped the other across Dad’s head. ‘Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Charlie Grey.’ She stalked off to the kitchen.
My unrepentant father leaned back in his chair, grinning at me. ‘Well, well. My little girl. Who’d have thought it, eh? You bring that young lad to see me, Bess. We can settle the business between us.’
‘You need to do it at the factory, Dad. Have a look at his work. Really examine it. Don’t say anything at all while you’re looking at it. Then, if you’re satisfied, you do the man-to-man thing, shake his hand and say you’d like to have him on board for a three-month trial.’
I waited while he rolled all that around in his head.
‘Humph,’ he said, after a solid minute of cogitating, ‘you could be right. Young blokes can be sensitive about their manhood. When should I turn up?’
‘Give Bernie a ring. He’ll be able to tell you if he thinks Jason will be a winner or not.’ I went inside for the phone. ‘Here. Ring him now. I’ll give Iris a hand with dinner.’
Iris, though, was banging cutlery onto the table. ‘Stubborn, pig-headed man. And,’ she wagged a fork at me, ‘you know what really gets my goat? You’re saving his ungrateful hide, and he still sees you as his little girl playing factories.’ Thump, bang, slam.
‘Stop! You’ll be having a heart attack next!’ I straightened up the place settings, replacing the tablespoons with dessert spoons. ‘I reckon if you weren’t here, his attitude would bug the hell out of me. But you understand what I’m doing, so somehow it doesn’t bother me. Slightly ironic, wouldn’t you say?’
She burst out laughing. ‘Bless you, Bess. Sounds like we’re keeping each other sane, in that case. Go and tell Charlie dinner’s ready.’
We had to wait while Dad finished his shouting conversation with Bernie. He sat down at the table, looking well pleased.
‘Bernie says we’re onto a winner in young Jason. He’s got the eye. Likes being one of the men. He’s—’
‘You’ve forgotten something, Charlie,’ Iris said.
‘Don’t be daft, woman. I’ve not been near the place for days.’
She did the arms akimbo stance again. ‘No. And who’s been running it for you? Who’s dragging the place out of the mire, inch by inch? Think about it, Charlie.’
I got busy carrying food to the table — a huge salad, lean steak, steamed potatoes with a touch of olive oil.
‘Um, err,’ Dad said. ‘Bess, Bernie says the men reckon you’re the best thing since sliced bread.’
He seemed to think that was enough. Iris pointedly didn’t send any of the food in his direction. I was stoked to have her, gloves on, fighting my corner.
Dad came up trumps, though. He turned square to face me. ‘Bess, I owe you. If the factory pulls through, it’s all because of you.’ He choked up a bit, but ploughed on. ‘You’ve surprised me, got to admit that. But damn it, girl, I’m that proud of you I could bust.’
I leapt at him, almost landing in his lap as I hugged him. Iris calmly served up the meal.
‘Well done, Charlie. Now let’s eat.’