Cassie (7 page)

‘No, it doesn't,' said Ivy. ‘No way are you doing these dishes.'

Holly

Raph McDonald turned up for the twelve-thirty showing.

One minute Holly was doing an EFTPOS transaction for an elderly couple who had chosen to see a very violent road movie and the next Raph loomed, like a vision, on the other side of the counter. Holly's mouth dried up and her tongue turned rubbery and died. She stared blankly at him for a moment or two, doing a terrific impersonation of someone hit round the back of the head with a baseball bat. He smiled at her and his teeth glinted.

‘Hey!' he said. ‘How are ya, Hayley?'

Being directly addressed by Raph McDonald jolted the dead muscles in her tongue back to life. Like those medical shows where they stick a couple of plates onto someone's chest and go, ‘Clear, pow!'

I like the name, Hayley,
thought Holly
. It's a good name.

‘Hi, Raph,' she replied, heart thudding. He was with a few of his mates from the school basketball team. Like him, they were tall, lean and muscled. But they weren't in his league. Holly had tried out once for the girl's basketball team at school. She'd discovered she'd need a stepladder to get even close to shooting a basket. ‘What can I get you?' she asked.

Raph bought tickets for a movie Holly had watched the week before. She'd only watched it because she'd seen everything else on the program. It was about a group of boys who stuck their heads down toilets and rode down main streets in shopping trolleys and lit their flatulence in amusingly inappropriate places. Holly didn't find it funny, but the rest of the audience did. They screamed with laughter. As she was the only girl in the entire place, she put it down to the gender divide.

Raph bought enough popcorn and coke to sustain a third world village for months. Holly leaned over the counter and glanced from side to side, as if checking for spies.

‘Would you like a free choc-ice, Raph?' she said.

‘Sure,' he said. ‘That would be cool.'

Holly laughed. What a witty guy! Raph kept a dead pan face.

‘Only for you, though,' she said. ‘I can't do it for your mates. It could cost me my job.'

‘Sure,' he repeated. ‘Thanks, Hayley.'

Holly watched as Raph and his mates staggered to the cinema entrance under their load of consumables. He glanced back at her once, then said something to one of his friends and laughed. She sighed as she dug into her purse for a five dollar note.

The prices at the candy bar really were outrageous.

Fern and Ivy bought bread and a variety of dips and nibbles from a deli in the city centre and walked to a park, just up from the river. They spread a blanket on the grass, put the food onto plastic plates and arranged plastic cutlery and foam cups. Fern poured milk into one of the cups and raised it to Cassie's lips.

For a while no one spoke. The park was beautiful, the trees bowing in a gentle breeze, the river winding and glittering, people sprawled out in relaxation or simply wandering along the paths. A fountain drew a gathering of children who ran into the edges of the wetness and shrieked with pleasure.

It was Ivy who broke the silence.

‘So what's first on the agenda, then?' she said. ‘Now you're here.'

Fern sighed. ‘Too
many
things on the agenda,' she said. ‘Job, house, getting Cass into school. That's the priority. We'll start first thing in the morning, won't we kiddo?'

‘What sort of a school? A special school?'

Fern tossed an olive into the air and caught it in her mouth. Cassie shrieked with laughter. Fern smiled.

‘Gets you every time, doesn't it sweetheart?' She turned back to Ivy. ‘Yes, it should be a special school. It should have special teachers, a special principal, special students. I don't want anything less for Cass. What about Holly's school? Is that any good?'

‘It's got a good reputation.'

‘Well, we'll try there first, then. Interview them. See if they're special enough. Hello!'

A child hovered at the edge of the blanket. He was about six. Soon he was joined by another child, maybe a year younger. Judging by their faces, they were brother and sister. The boy stuck a dirty finger up his nose and twisted. He pulled it out and rubbed the slimy ball between his thumb and index finger. But he didn't take his eyes from Cassie. The girl stared with large, round eyes.

‘Why's she in a wheelchair?' the boy said suddenly.

‘Cassie can't walk,' said Fern.

‘Why not?'

‘Cassie has something called cerebral palsy which means her body doesn't do what she tells it to do.'

‘Why does she wave her arms around?'

‘Same reason.'

‘Can she talk?'

‘Yes. She's talking now.'

The boy twisted his face up and considered this for a moment.

‘She's not. She's yelling.'

‘That's her way of talking.'

‘I don't know what she's saying.'

‘I do. You have to learn it. If you were around Cassie long enough, you'd understand her as well.'

‘So what's she saying, then?'

‘That you've got snot on your fingers.'

The boy looked down and wiped the snot on his shorts.

‘Is she stupid?'

‘No. Cassie is very smart.'

‘Oh. Okay. See you.'

‘Bye.'

The boy toddled off back towards the fountain. The girl stayed where she was, so the boy came back and yanked her by the arm. Ivy laughed.

‘Do you get a lot of that?'

‘Yes,' said Fern. ‘Kids just ask. And when you give the answers, they accept them.'

‘And adults?'

‘Ah, adults. Well, they're the real problem.'

Holly

My name is Holly Holley and I hate going into a movie when it's already started. Even if it's just the pre-show with all those dumb ads and annoying previews.

Amy is late. I keep checking my watch and tapping my foot. Neither seems to help. Finally, she bursts into the foyer, all sweaty and dishevelled.

‘Holly, I'm so sorry I'm late,' she pants.

‘It's okay,' I lie.

‘Mum was running late.'

‘Whatever.' I head for the entrance. ‘Let's go in.' I've already picked up popcorn and drinks.

Amy scampers at my side. She takes the two cardboard drinks containers while I fish out the tickets.

‘What's the movie?' she asks.

‘A romantic comedy. Kate Hudson is in it.'

‘Isn't that the one you said was absolute garbage last week?' ‘It gets better on second viewing.'

‘But this is my first time. And how do you know it gets better if you've only seen it once?'

We stand outside Cinema 3. It's dark in there and I can hear the low rumble of dialogue.

‘Look Amy,' I say. My foot is tapping again. ‘You want to see this or not? I mean, it's not like you're using your own money.'

She flinches at that, but doesn't say anything. We enter the cinema just as the opening credits come up. I suppose I should be grateful, but actually the pre-show entertainment is better than the film. I hated it last week. I loathe it this week. It seems to me that something billed as a romantic comedy might contain a suggestion of romance and a hint of comedy. Maybe I'm old-fashioned.

This turkey has neither. It's worse than I remembered.

Not that Amy seems too disappointed when we finally emerge blinking into the foyer lights.

‘That was okay,' she says. ‘But the plot was kinda lame.'

‘Yep – about the same entertainment value as having a tooth filled,' I reply. ‘Look, do you fancy a burger? I haven't eaten anything except popcorn all day and I'm starving.'

Amy glances at her watch.

‘Well …' she says. ‘It's a bit late and I have homework to finish. Shouldn't you be getting home as well? I mean, your new guests and everything?'

‘I told them I'd be late. They're not expecting me. Come on, Amy.' I don't even try to keep the irritation out of my voice. ‘Live a little.'

She shifts from one foot to the other and checks her watch again.

‘Well … I suppose …'

‘Good,' I say. ‘And you're buying.'

I got the popcorn
and
the tickets, after all.

Holly

Holly turned the key in the front door and Ivy pounced on her.

‘I've been going mad with worry,' she said. ‘Why are you back so late?'

Holly manufactured a look of surprise.

‘Mum, I texted you. Said I was going to catch a movie with Amy and then have some food afterwards.'

‘You know I never check my mobile. Why didn't you ring the landline?'

It was true. Ivy had a mobile phone, but she wasn't comfortable using it. She'd told Holly that it had rung once while she was driving and the panic almost caused her to take out a long line of elderly people at a bus stop. Since then she kept it mostly turned off. Holly thought it was the world's most expensive paperweight.

Now she put her hands on her hips and glared at her mother. ‘It's not my fault you never check your mobile,' she said. ‘And I couldn't ring the landline because I've only got about fifteen cents credit left. What's the point of having a mobile if you never look at it, Mum? It's crazy. I left a message and it's not my fault you didn't get it.'

‘I tried ringing your mobile, but it was turned off,' said Ivy.

‘Yeah. In the movies, Mum? Hello?'

If they'd been alone, Ivy would have blown up. But Holly knew she was conscious of Fern and Cassie in the kitchen.

‘All right, chicken. Okay. But I was worried. That's all. Come on in and talk to Fern and Cassie. We've saved you some dinner.'

‘Thanks, but I've already eaten, Mum.' Holly wasn't keen to go into the kitchen. She glanced longingly towards her bedroom but followed her mother into the kitchen and sat at the table. Fern was at the sink drying dishes. Cassie was in her wheelchair, crooning softly. Holly caught her eye then looked away.