Chapter 3: Chocolates

Chapter 3: Chocolates

 

After church we drove straight to the hospital. Mum snuck in some food.

“Nothing worse than hospital food,” she said.

We ate our stir fry together, partly in silence. I etched to tell Dad what I had inside the folder, but he never indicated towards it. Mum and Dad seemed to have something on their mind. Will sensed it too. He placed our paper plates in the bin.

“Come on Kingsley and Jade, I’ll buy you some chocolate for dessert. You want anything, Dad?”

“A Boost, please.”

“Sure. Mum?”

“No thanks.”

“Ok, whatever. Come on you two, let’s go.”

We left the room, me following the even numbers I’d worked out yesterday. Will seemed to lag behind while Jade ran on ahead.

“Slow down, shorty,” I said.

“Don’t call me shorty,’ came the reply from ahead. ‘When I’m your age I’m going to be taller than you!”

I sighed. Didn’t she realise that I’d grow more than my 166 centimetres? I remember the time on my 8th birthday that she proudly proclaimed when she turned 9 she’d be older than me. I laughed at her.

The hospital was trying to bring in healthy vending machines in their front foyers. Will had discovered one yesterday, away from the central area, tucked outside a door that said “No entrance”. I wondered if it were for the staff. Maybe the staff needed lots of chocolate to work in a hospital.

I know I would.

“I want a Freddo and a Caramello,” demanded Jade.

“Well, I don’t enough money for both.”

“Yes you do. Mum’s not having anything.”

“I’m gonna buy her something anyway. We both know she’s going to eat it later when it’s all mushy. Anyway, if you want both, you’ll have to buy it yourself.”

“I didn’t bring my purse with me.”

“If you call it a purse.”

“What?”

“Well, it’s not full of money. It’s got dolls and so many useless bits.

“Will, stop it,’ I said. ‘Just because she likes playing with dolls.”

“I’m not playing with dolls! I’m accessorising!”

Will laughed. “Accessorising? Do you even know what that means?”

“It’s playing with different bits and pieces and matching them so the, umm, dolls, look their best.”

“Looks like you need a bit of accessorising yourself.”

Jade punched Will in the arm.

“Mum wouldn’t let me wear my pink shoal. She said it looks weird.”

“It does, makes you look old.”

Jade poked out her tongue, her cheeks the same colour.

“You can talk. All you wear is your stupid football and cricket shirts. Everyone knows you go for the Strikers; there’s no need to tell us all about it.”

“Shut up you two!”

They both turned to me, wide-eyed.

“Oi!”

“Careful!”

I closed my eyes and gulped in some air. “Sorry, just Dad’s in hospital. He nearly, well, died, for crying out loud. And here you two are fighting over what you wear. It’s…”

“Petty?” I had the knack for numbers. Will preferred words.

“Yeah.”

“Sorry, Kingsley, you’re right. Just a Freddo, then, Jade?”

“Sure.”

Will carefully placed the money in the vending machine.

$2. $4. $6. $8. $9. $10. 50 more cents should do it. He punched the numbers, Number 23 for me, Michael Jordan’s number. Number 12 for Dad’s Boost, and Number 3 for Jade’s Freddo. Mum always loved Turkish Delight. She said she always related to Edmund from Narnia. Will got two, one for himself.

Did CS Lewis helped boost the sales of Turkish Delight? Hehe, boost. Dad would like that joke.

We slowly returned to Dad’s room, Will taking the lead and walking as if in a muddy field where each step was carefully planned. At one stage Will was going to turn down the wrong corridor. I coolly told him which direction to take.

“How do you remember?”

I didn’t respond. How do I explain to a supposed wordsmith how numbers work?

Will led the way from there, quicker this time. We returned to the room. Mum rose from the only seat there.

“Come on kids, say goodbye to Dad. I’ve got things to do at home.”

“But we’ve only been here half an hour.”

“I know, but I really have to get going.”

I realised I still had the black folder under my arm. Dad saw it and beckoned me closer.

“Is that what I asked for?”

“Yeah,’ I said loudly. ‘It’s our stats book for the season.”

“Honey, I wish you wouldn’t spend time on the stats for the boys. You need your rest.”

“I can rest tonight, dear. If I can’t teach Kingsley how to checkside, the least I can do is finish up his and Will’s stats for the season.”

“Okay, but don’t spend too long on it.”

“Sure. Maybe Kingsley can stay and give me a hand.”

“How’s he going to get home?”

“You could come pick him up in a couple of hours.”

“Do you realise what has to be done today? The washing. The ironing. I have to look at how to pay some of the bills. Then there’s Easter next week.”

I wasn’t sure why Dad would want me there. Though he generally told us about cases he was working on, he was careful not to tell any specific details. I wasn’t sure my presence was needed as he sifted through the Pet Disappearances.

“It’s okay, Dad, I’ll come by tomorrow after school. I doubt we’ll have any homework this week, being the last 4 days of the term and all.”

Dad looked at Mum. She seemed agitated. She looked at me.

“Well, that’s that settled. I’ll bring him round tomorrow after school.”

“I wanna come too!”

“No, you have piano lessons. We’ve paid for them already.”

“Aww.”

“That’s not up for discussion. How about this, I’ll bring Kingsley here. Then after piano, we’ll pick Will up from home and come straight here. How does that sound?”

“Splendid!”

“Good, that’s settled. Rest up, honey.” She leant over and pecked the top of his head. He closed his eyes and wet his lips with his tongue.

“See you, kids.”

“Bye Dad,” we all said in unison. I waited, careful not to overcrowd him. Hugging him was strange; it was as though his hug lingered longer than usual. I had let go but he hung on. Eventually our bodies parted, and we moved out the door, back into the real world.