Australian Affairs: Wed. Barbara Hannay

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СКАЧАТЬ would be lovely. I’m sure he’s a dear little boy, just like you were.’

      It was hard to know how to respond to this, especially as his throat had tightened painfully. ‘He’s a cute kid, all right. Gets up to mischief.’

      ‘Oh, the little sweetheart. I can just imagine. Joe, we’ll still get to meet Jacko, won’t we? Even though you’re divorced?’

      ‘Yes. I’ll make sure of it.’ Somehow. Some time. Joe added silently. He wasn’t sure when. But it hit him now that it was important for Jacko to meet his side of the family.

      He imagined the boy meeting the raft of Madden uncles and cousins—meeting Joe’s parents. It hadn’t occurred to him till now, but he wanted the boy to know the whole picture. It was important in shaping his sense of identity.

      Hell. He’d been so busy carving out a new life for himself that he hadn’t given his responsibilities as a father nearly enough thought.

      Now, he thought about Christmas at Ridgelands. He could picture it clearly, with the long table on the homestead veranda groaning beneath the weight of food. There’d be balloons and bright Christmas decorations hanging from posts and railings. All his family around the table. His parents, his brothers and their wives and their kids...

      They would have a cold seafood salad as a starter, followed by roast turkey and roast beef, all the vegetables and trimmings. Then his mother’s Christmas pudding, filled with the silver sixpences she’d saved from decades ago. Any lucky grandchild who scored a sixpence in their pudding could exchange it for a dollar.

      There would be bonbons and silly hats and streamers. Corny jokes, family news and tall stories.

      When Joe had first arrived back from Afghanistan, he’d been too distanced from his old life to feel homesick. Now, he was seized by an unexpected longing.

      ‘Oh, well,’ his mother was saying, ‘for the time being, you’ll have to give Jacko an extra hug from me.’

      ‘Will do.’ Joe swallowed. ‘And I’ll make sure I come to see you before I leave for the new job.’

      ‘Oh, yes, Joe. Please do come. It’s been so long. Too long.’

      ‘I know. I’ll be there. I promise. Give my love to Dad, and everyone.’

      ‘Yes, darling. We’ll speak again. Can we call you on this number?’

      ‘Sure.’

      ‘And you give my love to—’ His mother paused and ever so slightly sighed. ‘Perhaps I should say—give my regards to Ellie.’

      ‘You can send Ellie your love.’ Joe’s throat was extra-sore now, as if he’d swallowed gravel. ‘She’s always liked you, Mum. I’m her problem.’

      ‘Oh, darling,’ An unhappy silence lapsed. ‘I just hope you and Ellie manage to have a stress-free Christmas together.’

      ‘We’ll be fine. Don’t worry. We’re on our best behaviour.’

      Joe felt a little shaken as he hung up. While he’d been a soldier on active duty, his focus had been on a foreign enemy. With the added problem of an impending divorce hanging over him, he’d found it all too easy to detach himself from home.

      Now, for the first time, he began to suspect that avoiding his family had been a mistake. And yet, here he was, about to run away again.

      He’d barely put down the receiver when the phone rang almost immediately. He supposed it was his mother ringing back with one last ‘thought’.

      He answered quickly. ‘Hello?’

      ‘Is that Joe?’ It was a completely different woman’s voice.

      ‘Yes, Joe speaking.’

      ‘Oh.’ The caller managed to sound disappointed and put out, as if she was wrinkling her nose at a very unpleasant smell. ‘I was hoping to speak to Ellie.’

      ‘Is that you, Angela?’ Joe recognised the icy tones of his ex mother-in-law.

      ‘Yes, of course.’

      ‘Ellie’s out in the shed, hunting for Christmas decorations. I’ll get her to call you as soon as she gets in.’

      ‘So where’s Jacko?’ Angela Fowler’s voice indicated all too clearly that she didn’t trust Joe to be alone with her grandson.

      ‘He’s taking a nap.’

      ‘I see,’ Angela said doubtfully and then she let out a heavy sigh. ‘I rang, actually, because I heard about all the rain up there in Queensland on the news. There was talk of rivers flooding.’

      ‘Yes, that’s right, I’m afraid. Our local creeks and rivers are up and Karinya’s already cut off.’

      ‘Oh, Joe! And you’re still there? Oh, how dreadful for poor Ellie.’ Ellie’s mother had always managed to imply that any unfortunate event in their marriage was entirely Joe’s fault. ‘Don’t tell me this means... It doesn’t mean you’ll be up there with Ellie and Jacko for Christmas, does it?’

      ‘I’m afraid we don’t have a choice, Angela.’

      There was a horrified gasp on the end of the line and then a longish bristling pause.

      ‘I’ll tell Ellie you called,’ Joe said with excessive politeness.

      ‘I suppose, if she’s busy, that will have to do.’ Reluctantly, Angela added, ‘Thanks, I guess.’ And then... ‘Joe?’

      ‘Yes?’

      ‘I hope you’ll be sensitive.’

      Joe scowled and refused to respond.

      ‘You’ve made life hard enough for my daughter.’

      His grip on the phone receiver tightened and he was tempted to hurl the bloody phone through the kitchen window. Somehow he reined in his temper.

      ‘You can rest easy, Ange. Ellie has served me with the divorce papers and I’ve signed on the dotted line. I’ll be out of your daughter’s hair just as soon as these rivers go down. In the meantime, I’ll be on my best behaviour. And I hope you and Harold have a very happy Christmas.’

      He was about to hang up when he heard Ellie’s footsteps in the hall.

      ‘Hang on. You’re in luck. Here’s Ellie now.’

      Setting down the phone with immense relief, he went down the hallway. Ellie was on the veranda. She’d taken off her rain jacket and was hanging it on the wall hook, and beside her were two large rain-streaked cardboard cartons.

      ‘Your mother’s on the phone,’ Joe told her.

      A frown drew her finely arched eyebrows together. ‘OK, thanks.’ She was still frowning as she set off down the hall. ‘I think Jacko’s awake,’ she called back to Joe. ‘Can you check?’

      ‘Can СКАЧАТЬ