shipshape for Ma and Dadâs return. On that last day she was attempting to make a cake and a roast and a pudding, all the while trying to watch the twins and keep the house in some kind of order. I was grateful, then, when she handed me a shopping list and asked me to go into town for her.
âNot in school today, Billy?â Mr Dalhousie the grocer asked me.
âNo, sir,â I said. âMy dadâs coming home today.â
âSo Freddy McAuliffeâs finally coming back, eh? Yes, Iâd heard that.â He scooped out some sugar into a paper bag and made a kind of clicking noise with his tongue as he adjusted the weights on the scales. Then he took his pencil from behind his ear and wrote some numbers on a scrap of brown paper. âItâll be good to see him around here again, top bloke like him.â
âYes, sir,â I replied.
âMust have missed him, eh? Most of us thought he was dead, if you want the truth. I can tell you that now, canât I?â Mr Dalhousie put a line through a couple of items on the list. âStill no soap flakes, tell your grandmother. Tea we can do, if youâve got your coupon handy.â
I passed over the coupons for the tea and the sugar.
âIs that all for today, Billy?â he asked as he crossed off the tea. âIâll just stick it on the account, all right?â
âYes, sir,â I said.
âWait up,â said Mr Dalhousie as I turned to go out the door. He went to the big square biscuit barrel, took off the lid and picked out a few of the broken pieces of biscuit, which he put in a small paper bag for me. âThese are for you,â he said with a wink. âAnd tell your dad to come and say gidday, wonât you, just as soon as heâs feeling up to it?â
âYes, sir, I will,â I said.
Nanâs mood was no better by the time I got back to the house, but I had chores to do anyway so I made myself scarce. My first job was to clean out the mareâs stable. I was just coming out with a full bucket when I heard a voice behind me.
âHey, Billy-o.â
I turned around. Stan Whittaker was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall and smoking. âOh, gidday, Stan,â I said.
âWhat, no âMr Whittakerâ? Become the big man on the farm and suddenly you call grown-ups by their first names, eh? That how it works?â
âSorry, Mr Whittaker,â I said. âI didnât think.â
âNo harm done,â he said. He dropped his cigarette in the dirt and ground it out with his boot. âItâs just manners, thatâs all.â
âYeah, sorry, Mr Whittaker,â I repeated. âUh, Granddadâs not here, and Nanâs a bit busy. I think sheâs around ââ
âYour granddadâs in Devonport, yeah? Mum coming home tonight, I hear. That right? With your dad, yeah?â
âYeah, thatâs right,â I said.
âHow about I come over tomorrow, say gidday to your old man? Been a while.â
âHe might need a few days,â I said. âJust to kind of get used to the place again. Maybe next week ââ
âYeah, I reckon Iâll see him tomorrow,â he said. âAnd thereâs one more thing.â
âWhatâs that?â I asked.
âTell your granddad to be nice, eh? Tell him Iâm only being neighbourly.â
âWhy canât you tell him that yourself?â I asked.
He spoke slowly, like I was thick or something. âBecause itâs better coming from you. Right then. Bye, Bill y-o.â He turned and sauntered away with a quick glance towards the house.
I thought no more about Stan Whittaker. I was far too busy helping Nan get everything totally right for the Big Arrival, as she kept calling it. I wanted to ask her why it was that after a week or so of tidying, cleaning and re-cleaning, she should decide on the very last afternoon to do it all over again.
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