cupboard doors had some of their leadlight inserts missing and the whole place seemed to be so old and in need of a paint.
The ginger beer was cold and strong and I could tell the jam-centred biscuits came from Mr Green's corner store. Nan sometimes would send Doug or me down to his store to get sixpence worth of broken biscuits as a treat. Miss Kitty's were the dearer unbroken ones. As she continued flouring then dipping the veal slices in egg before crumbing them, I knelt on the chair and watched. With her hair done the way it was, you could clearly see a large port-wine birthmark covering almost half of the left side of her face from the temple, a bit over the eyelid and down over her cheek and ear. Even with the mark her white skin had almost an ethereal glow. At one stage she caught me staring.
"It's a birthmark."
"I'm sorry. Nan says its bad manners to stare." But I wanted to ask her some more things and I guess she felt it because she smiled.
"What's on your mind?"
I hesitated then asked how come she was so white and how come her eyes were a funny red colour. She smiled when I said, "funny red colour."
"I'm an albino. Do you know what that is?" I shook my head. She continued preparing the meal, placing the crumbed veal pieces in a frypan of hot dripping on the stove as we talked.
"Your father has an olivey skin that browns in the sun."
"So does Doug's."
"And you burn if you stay out too long, don't you?" I nodded. "Well, an albino like me can't go out in the sun at all, unless we're fully covered, 'cause we burn even quicker and blister then peel. The thing that makes other people's skin turn brown, albinos don't have. We're also born with reddish eyes that can't stand the glare of the sun. Does that answer everything?"
"What about your sister? How come she's not – ?"
"She's pale, but not as pale as me. She can take a bit of sun."
"How did you go outside and play as a kid?"
"Like you saw me the day you fell off the lattice – gloves and sunglasses and usually a hat. And dresses that covered my whole body. It wasn't very pleasant."
"Why?"
"Well, besides the heat from all the clothing, children can be very cruel. Adults even crueller – when they see someone who looks different. Different to them." She turned the veal over in the frypan.
"What did they do?"
"They called me names. Hurtful things – especially to a child."
"What did you do?"
"I ran inside and hid. I vowed I'd never go out and be laughed at again. Of course eventually I did. Mother put makeup over the mark so I'd look just like everyone else. Except I didn't. I was still an outsider, just not as noticeable."
I could see by her face, that remembering it made her sad. I squirmed in my seat a bit before getting the courage to say what I felt I had to get off my conscience.
"I should apologise too."
"Why's that then?"
"Thinking you were a vampire."
"It's not your fault. You only believed the story you were told. If I chose not to retreat from the world, maybe the stories wouldn't have started up. Who knows?" She gave a weak little smile. I smiled back and her eyes sparkled like the red rubies in Nan's engagement ring. She put the cooked veal on a plate before placing it in the oven to be warmed up later.
"More biscuits?"
"No thanks. I want to leave room for a big slice of pie later. I better go."
"Let yourself out. Thank your Nan for the pie. And Patrick, you're welcome to call in anytime."
"I'd like that. You can call me Pat, if you like." I leaned over and gave her a little kiss on the cheek, right on the birthmark. It took her by surprise. Her white eyelashes fluttered as she touched the spot where I kissed her. She watched as I skipped, tea towel swinging in my hand, back up the hall and home.
Chapter Ten
Our Christmas school holidays only had a few weeks to run. Since our arrival in town, Con's Chicken and Hamburger Takeaway opened, construction had begun on a second bank and a small block of four flats – the first in
The ginger beer was cold and strong and I could tell the jam-centred biscuits came from Mr Green's corner store. Nan sometimes would send Doug or me down to his store to get sixpence worth of broken biscuits as a treat. Miss Kitty's were the dearer unbroken ones. As she continued flouring then dipping the veal slices in egg before crumbing them, I knelt on the chair and watched. With her hair done the way it was, you could clearly see a large port-wine birthmark covering almost half of the left side of her face from the temple, a bit over the eyelid and down over her cheek and ear. Even with the mark her white skin had almost an ethereal glow. At one stage she caught me staring.
"It's a birthmark."
"I'm sorry. Nan says its bad manners to stare." But I wanted to ask her some more things and I guess she felt it because she smiled.
"What's on your mind?"
I hesitated then asked how come she was so white and how come her eyes were a funny red colour. She smiled when I said, "funny red colour."
"I'm an albino. Do you know what that is?" I shook my head. She continued preparing the meal, placing the crumbed veal pieces in a frypan of hot dripping on the stove as we talked.
"Your father has an olivey skin that browns in the sun."
"So does Doug's."
"And you burn if you stay out too long, don't you?" I nodded. "Well, an albino like me can't go out in the sun at all, unless we're fully covered, 'cause we burn even quicker and blister then peel. The thing that makes other people's skin turn brown, albinos don't have. We're also born with reddish eyes that can't stand the glare of the sun. Does that answer everything?"
"What about your sister? How come she's not – ?"
"She's pale, but not as pale as me. She can take a bit of sun."
"How did you go outside and play as a kid?"
"Like you saw me the day you fell off the lattice – gloves and sunglasses and usually a hat. And dresses that covered my whole body. It wasn't very pleasant."
"Why?"
"Well, besides the heat from all the clothing, children can be very cruel. Adults even crueller – when they see someone who looks different. Different to them." She turned the veal over in the frypan.
"What did they do?"
"They called me names. Hurtful things – especially to a child."
"What did you do?"
"I ran inside and hid. I vowed I'd never go out and be laughed at again. Of course eventually I did. Mother put makeup over the mark so I'd look just like everyone else. Except I didn't. I was still an outsider, just not as noticeable."
I could see by her face, that remembering it made her sad. I squirmed in my seat a bit before getting the courage to say what I felt I had to get off my conscience.
"I should apologise too."
"Why's that then?"
"Thinking you were a vampire."
"It's not your fault. You only believed the story you were told. If I chose not to retreat from the world, maybe the stories wouldn't have started up. Who knows?" She gave a weak little smile. I smiled back and her eyes sparkled like the red rubies in Nan's engagement ring. She put the cooked veal on a plate before placing it in the oven to be warmed up later.
"More biscuits?"
"No thanks. I want to leave room for a big slice of pie later. I better go."
"Let yourself out. Thank your Nan for the pie. And Patrick, you're welcome to call in anytime."
"I'd like that. You can call me Pat, if you like." I leaned over and gave her a little kiss on the cheek, right on the birthmark. It took her by surprise. Her white eyelashes fluttered as she touched the spot where I kissed her. She watched as I skipped, tea towel swinging in my hand, back up the hall and home.
Chapter Ten
Our Christmas school holidays only had a few weeks to run. Since our arrival in town, Con's Chicken and Hamburger Takeaway opened, construction had begun on a second bank and a small block of four flats – the first in
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