Page 11 of Nothing Without You

‘He’s very good at his job. He calmed Mum down and won her over. I sat near the front door, and that’s probably why you didn’t see me. But I could see you. You were sorting things out at a big desk. Then you dusted the shelves and you fell off the chair. Your dad didn’t notice though, because he was still calming Mum down.’

‘I remember the day I fell off the chair. I didn’t think anyone saw it.’

‘I did.’

‘I didn’t hurt myself. Just a couple of bruises. You shouldn’t have poked your tongue at me on that first day of school. I was only in year one.’

‘You poked yours back.’

‘Okay, then we’re even.’

They stared at each other and laughed. ‘Watch out, here come my sisters. They’ll love you because they’ve always wanted a younger sister.’

‘I always wanted a brother or sister, younger or older, I wouldn’t have minded. It’s just me though.’

The girls came up beside them. ‘Nice catch,’ Lily said. ‘Dad will be happy to have some fish for dinner.’

‘Three of them are Evie’s,’ Chris said. ‘We’re even with the fish count.’

‘We’re going back to the house. Let’s get together this afternoon,’ Rose said as she looked in the bucket at the fish. ‘We have ice blocks and cream buns. Our mum won’t want extra kids over though, so if you go to the park, we’ll meet you there.’

Lily was doing cartwheels up the beach and Rose twirled around, running after her younger sister. ‘See ya later,’ she called out.

‘I’d better go too,’ Chris said. ‘Mum wants me home around this time.’ He shielded his eyes from the sun. ‘Meet you in the park this afternoon.’

‘Sure, that’d be fun.’

He packed up his fishing gear and picked up his rod, watching as she tipped the pipis from her bucket into the water. Seagulls squawked loudly, picking up the pieces and flying off with them hanging from their beaks.

‘I’m going up too,’ she said. ‘Hang on, I’ll walk with you.’

Now that she’d caught a fish with Chris, and made a secret pact for a competition, she felt like they were friends. He was easy to talk to and didn’t treat her like she was younger. He wasn’t boisterous and noisy like some of the other boys at school, and she wondered if it was because he had sisters. When she suggested throwing the fish back in, he immediately understood and told her it was her decision. Other boys would have made fun of her and called her a girl, or a sook. Letting the fish go was the best feeling ever. The mulloway had been beautiful to look at and hold, but it had fought hard and been full of life. All she wanted was to see it swim away. To be free.

Chapter Nine

Walking home with a bucket full of fish and a new friend, made the day one of the best ever. They talked as they walked, and she discovered they had a few things in common. Chris liked reading books and would fish all day if he could. He also loved the same sort of music as she did. ‘Your name is the same as the song, ‘Evie’. It’s one of my favourites.’

He waited while she stopped and unhooked the top of her rod from an overhanging branch. ‘I love Stevie Wright and that song too,’ she said. ‘Sometimes my dad and I sing it so loud, Mum walks away and shuts herself in her bedroom.’

He seemed pleased that she also enjoyed what he did. ‘Do you like surfing? I go with my dad and we spend hours out the back there, when the waves are right. It’s the best feeling in the world, gliding across the ocean. I’m going to make my own board. I’ve got a million ideas. Do you surf? How come your dad didn’t come on holiday?’

Pursing her lips as she remembered her father wasn’t here, she shifted the bucket from one hand to the other, grateful for the shade of the trees on the sandy track. It was getting close to Christmas; the days were hot and the nights, humid. Chris stopped and waited for her again as she wiped the sweat from her brow and pushed her hair back behind her ears. ‘Dad went to Sydney for a conference. He goes there a lot for work.’

‘I’ll get my dad to clean the fish for you then. Your mum probably won’t want to do it.’

Evie laughed. ‘No, she doesn’t clean fish. That’s Dad’s job.’

Taking the bucket from her, he adjusted the creel and rod in his other hand. ‘I’ll carry it. It’s pretty heavy with all our fish in there. Do you want to go again tomorrow? Maybe early in the morning? The tide’s good at that time. Rose and Lily don’t like fishing, so it’d be fun to go together. Maybe it’ll be my turn to catch a big one.’

‘That’d be great. Usually, Dad and I go. Mum would be happier if I was with someone. She doesn’t like the beach that much; she just wants to lie around and read books all day.’

They had stopped outside The Magic Fish, and her mother waved to them from the veranda. They both waved back. ‘I’ll drop your fillets back soon,’ Chris said.

Resting the end of her rod on the ground, she smiled at him. ‘Thanks.’

‘Is that Mr McIntosh’s son?’ her mum asked.

‘Yes, his name is Chris, short for Christopher. He has two sisters, and he loves fishing as much as I do. We’re friends now. He wants me to go fishing with him in the morning.’ Evie couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice as she asked her mother. ‘Is that okay?’

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