Belly Flop (11 page)

I didn't know what to say.

Dad grinned.

‘Next time,' he said, I'll leave my shoes on for better grip.'

I tried to smile.

‘Few more lessons,' said Dad, punching me in the shoulder, ‘and you'll be diving like a champ.'

I was trying to think of a way to tell him that we'd both be better off without the lessons when he put his arm round my shoulders.

‘You and me,' he said.

I think I knew what he was gunna say next because my insides suddenly felt like they were doing a reverse double somersault off a thousand-metre cliff.

‘We don't need any dopey old wizards, gremlins or angels,' he said, ‘do we mate?'

Sorry, Doug, that's what he said.

I could hardly breathe.

I waited for my mouth to stop having spasms of indignation so I could tell him how not only did you just save his life, you're pretty close to saving the lives of six hundred sheep.

He didn't give me time.

‘Mitch,' he said, ‘I want you to stop filling your head with nonsense about this Doug character.'

‘Sorry Dad,' I said, ‘I can't do that.'

His arm dropped away from my shoulders.

I'm not asking you,' he said. I'm telling you.'

I didn't say anything.

I was wondering whether angels are allowed to adopt kids.

‘Well?' he said.

His face was going as dark as his bruise.

I could see it was pointless trying to argue.

I just shook my head.

‘Jeez,' exploded Dad. ‘Why won't anyone listen to me?'

He grabbed my shoulders and squeezed them hard.

‘I forbid you,' he shouted, his face very close to mine, ‘to talk about Doug, think about Doug, play with Doug, draw pictures of Doug, write letters to Doug, dream about Doug, invite Doug to your birthday party or have diving lessons with Doug.'

Then he got in the car and drove off.

It's the pressure, Doug.

The pressure of being the most hated man in town.

It's getting to him.

It's only natural.

My legs have almost stopped shaking.

When they have I'm gunna go home and talk to him.

I reckon he'll calm down when I remind him that if it wasn't for you, people would probably have just stood around this arvo and watched him drown.

When I got home, Mum and Gran were in the kitchen.

Mum went gastric.

‘You can be a very selfish boy, Mitch,' she yelled.

Gran stood up for me.

Except because she's old she did it sitting down.

‘Don't blame him,' she muttered through a mouthful of muesli.

‘I am blaming him,' yelled Mum, ‘because he knows the pressure Noel's under and he still carries on with these ridiculous fairy stories.'

Gran had a small coughing fit.

I think it was mostly guilt.

‘Where is Dad?' I asked after I'd banged Gran on the back.

‘He's taken a Panadol and gone to bed,' said Mum.

‘Hopeless,' muttered Gran.

Mum gave a big sigh and pushed me down into a chair next to Gran.

‘Mr Grimmond from the bank is coming up from the city day after tomorrow,' she said. ‘Dad reckons Mr Grimmond's coming to give him the sack.'

The kitchen spun a bit.

I could see why Mum had sat me down.

Even Gran looked shocked.

‘Why?' I managed to ask.

Mum sighed again.

‘Dad wrote a report on the Fiami property,' she said. ‘Mrs Fiami owes the bank a heap of money and she's going broke and can't pay them. Dad knew the bank'd take her farm if they found out so he left it out of the report.'

‘Good on him,' said Gran.

I thought so too, but I was puzzled.

‘Why did he do that for the Fiamis,' I asked, ‘when he's never done it for anyone else?'

‘He's done it a bit for other families,' said Mum, ‘but he went further for Carla and her mum because he didn't want you to lose the only friend you've got.'

I stood up to go and give Dad a hug.

I'd been feeling numb since he disappeared into the water this arvo, but suddenly I just wanted to throw my arms round him.

Then a thought hit me.

‘With all this on his plate,' I said, ‘why did he try and give me a diving lesson today?'

Mum sat down and closed her eyes, but I could still see tears squeezing out from under her lids.

‘Because,' she whispered, ‘he's your dad.'

That's when my own eyes started to get hot and drippy.

Mum pulled me onto her lap and put her arms round me and we sat like that until Gran lit a cigarette and inhaled a piece of muesli.

OK, Doug.

I know this is the point where you'd normally leap into action.

But this time I don't want you to.

You've had enough interruptions and it's more important you finish the drought job.

I'll take care of this bank bloke.

After Mum had gone to look after Dad, I asked Gran for a hand.

‘It'd be a tragedy if Dad got the boot now,' I said, ‘before the drought breaks. He'd be remembered forever as a mean and nasty person.'

Gran agreed.

‘What we need to do,' I said, ‘is get hold of Mr Grimmond between the airstrip and the bank and keep him somewhere till it rains.'

Gran stared at me.

‘The roof of the school hall,' I suggested.

Gran coughed and spluttered so hard that muesli pinged off the microwave.

‘That's kidnapping,' she said.

‘OK,' I said desperately, ‘we could bribe him.'

‘What with?' said Gran. ‘Empty soft drink bottles?'

I had an idea.

‘Your savings,' I said. ‘Dad'll pay you back once the drought's broken and the bank can afford to give him a raise.'

‘Sorry,' said Gran. I'm skint.'

I knew why.

‘Dumb cigarettes,' I said. ‘They shouldn't make 'em so expensive.'

Gran looked hurt and took a deep wheezy breath.

She started to say something.

‘It's OK, Gran,' I said gently. ‘You don't have to make excuses. We'll kidnap him.'

Gran put her spoon down.

‘In my experience,' she said, ‘there's something that works better than bribery or kidnapping.'

I hoped she wasn't gunna say murder.

‘Friendship,' she said.

I thought about it.

I thought about Carla and how good that was while it lasted.

I reckon Gran's right.

This is just to let you know, Doug, that everything's under control.

I won't be going to sleep tonight till I've figured out how I can get to be such good mates with Mr Grimmond that he'll keep Dad in the job and give him extra money to lend Mrs Fiami to keep her going till you've ended the drought.

 

 

 

 

Just a quick update, Doug.

I was awake most of last night, but I couldn't crack it.

The idea didn't come to me till this morning at school.

Even then I was so tired I almost missed it.

Ms Dorrit made the announcement in assembly and it just rolled over me like mineral water off a duck's back.

Then all the other kids started cheering and yakking to each other excitedly.

‘Swimming carnival!' they were saying. ‘We're having a swimming carnival!'

Suddenly I was listening so hard I could hear the sheets of paper rustling in Ms Dorrit's manila folder.

‘. . . very fortunate,' she was saying. ‘The council were going to close the pool from today on account of the filter being clogged by Saturday night's dust storm. However they've agreed to leave it open one more day so tomorrow we can have our first school swimming carnival for eight years.'

Everyone cheered again, including me.

‘So,' said Ms Dorrit sternly, ‘make the most of it.'

That's exactly what I'm doing, Doug.

I worked on the idea all day at school, and as soon as I got home I put it to Dad.

‘Invite Mr Grimmond to the swimming carnival,' I said. ‘Then, after I've won the diving and he's mega impressed and wants to be my friend, we can tell him about my future diving career and how I'm available for sponsorship.'

As Dad put his cup of tea down he knocked the spoon out of the sugar bowl so I could tell he was interested.

‘If the bank's sponsoring me and I'm gunna be getting them top publicity all over the world,' I said, ‘they're not gunna sack you, are they? Plus if I offer to put their logo on my swimmers I reckon they'll be nicer to the folks round here.'

‘Brilliant,' said Gran.

Dad didn't say anything.

Mum put her hand gently on my arm.

‘What if you don't win the diving, love?' she said.

I didn't want to mention your name, Doug, and get Dad ropeable again.

So I just tried to look very confident.

‘I can do it,‘ I said. ‘I know I can.'

‘He'll have a punt,' said Gran. ‘You can't ask more than that.'

Mum didn't look convinced.

Dad didn't say anything.

My insides sagged.

Then Mum put her hand on Dad's arm.

‘Wouldn't hurt, Noel, would it?' she said. ‘If Mr Grimmond sees what a top little community we've got here, he might be easier on all of us.'

Dad thought about it.

‘Worth a punt,' he said.

Gran nearly choked on her tea.

I've just done a few practice dives off the wardrobe and I haven't lost the knack, Doug.

So I won't need to bother you again till I'm up on the diving board tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

This is gunna be the best day of my whole life, I just know it, Doug.

It is so far, and I've only been awake four seconds.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I spotted was Grandad's medal on my pillow.

I stared at the gleaming metal diver soaring over the writing and my insides soared too.

Then I glanced out the window.

I don't reckon I'd have known for sure what I was seeing if Dad hadn't been yelling in the front yard.

‘Clouds! Clouds!'

I'm dragging on my swimmers and rushing outside.

Jeez, there's lots of them.

Ten, fifteen, twenty at least.

They're huge.

One of them's covering the sun.

There's one that looks like Gran blowing smoke out of her ear.

Doug, you're a genius.

Everyone's out in the street in their pyjamas, pointing and shouting.

And arguing.

Daryl the postie's telling Gran clouds don't mean anything, there were clouds here six years ago and they were dry as a wombat's washer.

Gran's telling him not to be such a misery.

I reckon she knows, Doug.

Even though she has spells when she loses her grip, I reckon she knows you're on the job and you're gunna crack it.

She's offering to lend Daryl her umbrella.

Daryl's getting so worked up he's not even paying attention to his job.

He's just lobbed a letter into our postbox and missed and now it's blowing across the front yard.

I'd better grab it.

I hope this isn't gunna be the worst day of my whole life.

It was going great until a minute ago.

Everyone in town's come to the swimming carnival.

I know that's probably so they could get out of work and stare up at the clouds, but at least they're here.

Most important of all, Mr Grimmond's here with Mum and Dad and Gran.

That's him down there in the suit and tie telling Gran he doesn't want a chocolate crackle.

Nobody's staring up at the clouds now, but.

They're staring up at me.

And pointing and yelling and carrying on.

They've been doing it ever since Ms Dorrit announced the diving would be first and I jumped up and sprinted for the diving board.

I didn't wait for her to explain that the diving would have to be off the side because the water's too shallow to use the high board.

I jumped on the ladder and started climbing up before anyone could stop me.

I was gunna wait till I reached the board before I gave you a hoi to watch out for me, Doug. You know, so I could dive without hitting the bottom and having my brains leak out into the pool.

I'm not there yet but I've just realised something.

It's such a dopey thing to have done, I'm almost ashamed to admit it.

I've got Gran's letter in my swimmers.

When I picked it up in the front yard earlier Gran was busy yelling at Daryl the postie. She gets really irate if she's interrupted when she's arguing, so I stuck the letter down my swimmers for safe keeping.

And forgot it.

Until now.

I don't know what to do.

The envelope's got a window in it so I can tell it's important.

If I dive it'll get sodden.

If I leave it on the board it'll blow away.

Mr Tristos and the other teachers are climbing the ladder.

I'm on the board now, but I can't think straight with the noise of the kids down there cheering and the parents yelling.

I'm opening the letter. I'm reading it so at least I can tell Gran what was in it.

Except it isn't a letter, it's a receipt.

From a transport company.

To Gran.

Thanking her for the money.

The money for the three tankers of water.

Oh, Jeez.

Doug, I need to know something really quickly now because Mr Tristos is nearly halfway up the ladder.

Did you make Gran send the water?

Or did she do it all by herself?

I'm confused, Doug, and I don't want to be.

I've got a crook feeling in my guts and it's not just cause I scraped my tummy on a step climbing up.

I need to know it was you who sent the water, Doug.

I need to know you're still looking after me.