Jessie's Ghosts by Penny Garnsworthy Page A

to their granite ones at home.
    ‘They’re
lovely, Nanna,’ said Sarah as Jessie took her bag up the hall, ‘it’s all really
lovely.’
    ‘I can never
get this hearing aid to do what I want,’ Nanna said, as she fiddled with her
right ear. ‘That should be right now,’ she said a little more softly this time,
‘Well, how is everything?’
    ‘We’re okay,
Nanna. Jess is doing pretty well at school now, passing all her subjects. We’re
coping a bit better.’ Sarah’s eyes started to mist up and she turned away.
    ‘I miss them
too,’ Nanna said, ‘especially your mum.’
    Sarah nodded
and changed the subject, ‘and Jess brought lots of books to read this time, so
she won’t get in your way.’
    ‘Get in my
way?’ Nanna laughed. ‘I want her to have fun, and I always look forward to
having Jessie here, Sarah, I so enjoy her company.’
    ‘Wow,’ Jessie
said as she sat down at the table, ‘you can smell that casserole all the way up
the hall.’ And as Nanna finished scooping a large serving into Jessie’s bowl
she picked up her spoon and took a huge mouthful.
    ‘Yeow,’ she
exclaimed, dropping the spoon. She could feel the casserole burning all the way
down her throat.
    Sarah laughed.
‘You know Jess, it’s always a good idea just to taste it from the edge of the
spoon first.’
    Jessie nodded
and stirred the thick steaming mixture in front of her, hoping the air would
cool it down; it looked so inviting she had just wanted to dive straight in and
try it.
    Jessie
understood that Sarah needed to study at night and didn’t always have time to
cook. At home ate lots of toasted sandwiches and takeaways and only
occasionally Sarah made a stir-fry, usually straight out of a jar.
    But here
Jessie helped Nanna pick her own vegies and she knew Nanna cooked everything
herself. That was the one good thing about staying at Nanna’s – the food.
    ‘That was
great, Nanna,’ Jessie said as she spooned the last of the gravy from her bowl.
    Nanna smiled.
‘How about a cuppa?’
    Sarah put her
spoon down and looked at her watch. ‘I’m sorry Nanna, but I’m going to have to
run – I’m due at the airport at 7pm.’ Pulling a piece of paper out of her
shoulder bag she passed it to Nanna and said, ‘here’s my mobile number again.
And remember, if I don’t answer just leave a message.’
    ‘Of course,
love,’ said Nanna as they all rose from the table. ‘Perhaps next time you could
stay a little longer?’
    Sarah smiled,
‘I’ll do that, when I come back to pick Jessie up.’
    Jessie and
Nanna watched as Sarah’s car disappeared up the drive in a cloud of dust.
Jessie wiped a tear from her eye as she followed Nanna back into the house.

CHAPTER 2
     
    ‘Well,’ said Nanna, ‘would
you like to come and see my vegie garden? It’s a lot bigger than last time. I
even planted some broccolini, sweetie. I know you prefer it to broccoli.’
    ‘Sure Nanna,’
Jessie replied, ‘I’ll just change my shoes.’
    This time as
she wandered up the hall Jessie noticed a large painting that hadn’t been there
the last time she stayed. She stopped and looked up at it.
    ‘Is this a new
painting, Nanna?’
    ‘No Jessie,
that’s a very old portrait,’ Nanna said as she sidled up to her. ‘I did
a bit of a cleanup in the loft and found it up there, hidden behind an old
chest. There’s just something about it, I don’t know what exactly, but I
thought it deserved to be seen,’ Nanna said, her voice fading for a moment as
she too stood staring at the portrait.
    ‘So,’ she continued,
‘I decided to bring it down and clean it up. It belonged to your grandfather
you know. I remember when he put it up in the loft all those years ago. But I’d
forgotten about it.’
    ‘Who are those
people, Nanna?’
    ‘Well,’ Nanna
said, as she pointed to each person individually, ‘this one here is your
grandfather Fred, he’s quite young there, about Sarah’s age I would think. And
that’s his younger brother