Page 43 of Summoning my Grumpy Demon Boss

“That’s right.”

Dad’s behind me. I can’t see his face, but I know he’s got his head down, avoiding the topic.

“Must be something important to go all the way to Sydney.”

He grunts.

When we reach the back, I turn and pin him with a look I hope says I’m not going to just leave this alone. “Dad, we’re worried about you. Me and Jack and Noah.”

“Wanna start on that side, I reckon.” He points at the side of the stump where the rain has eroded the soil around the roots.

“Dad!”

He sighs and puts the barrow up against the house. “It’s nothing. Just a lump. This is why I told your mother not to tell you boys.”

My mouth goes dry and the spade thunks to the dirt. “A lump?”

“It’s nothing, Lukey. Damn doctor wants to stick a tube up me clacker.” His face turns a deeper ruddy shade, closer to the deep russet shade of red he turns when he shifts. He scuffs the ant nest under the window with his boot.

I laugh despite myself, and he scowls.

“Not nervous are you, Dad? Surely by your age you’ve had a few doctors go up there.”

“Don’t you start.” He waves his finger at me, but I see the smile cracking the corners of his mouth.

“Nothin’ to worry about, Rob. Happens to all of us.” A beat up old gardening glove appears on the top of the fence. Moments later, Mr Parker’s bald head pops into view. He leans on the top of the fence, and I have the urge to dash around to his side to check if his step ladder is stable. The last thing he needs is a fall right now.

Dad groans. “I’m begging you. Both of you. Can we please stop talking about this?”

Mr Parker waves a glove-encased finger at Dad. “Now, Rob, no harm telling the boy the way of things. It’s important to have your prostate checked regularly.”

Dad pinches the bridge of his nose. “I assure you, Carl. My prostate is just fine. How are your roses?”

I snigger at my father’s discomfort, but I get it. I’d be wanting to change the subject, too, if it were me. “Got some oldsleepers, here, Mr Parker,” I cut in. “What about I make you up a new garden bed out front?”

“You’re a good boy, lad. Raised him right, Rob.” Mr Parker gives me a nod. “I’ll take you up on that, Luke. I could do with a new project. Elsie won’t let me do the gutters or the windows anymore. Gotta keep busy.” He climbs down off his ladder and his head disappears below the line of the fence.

Dad pats me on the shoulder. “Just you wait. This will be all over town by the end of the week.”

I laugh. “Come on, Dad. They’re not as bad as that.”

He gives me a long look, but he doesn’t need to say anything more. I know they are. News travels like a bushfire on a windy summer day in Kraken Cove.

“Look. Don’t go blowing this up, OK?” he tells me. “Your mother’s forcing me to go see the specialist. I can tell you right now, there’s nothing wrong, but she won’t leave it alone.”

I pick up the spade and wedge it into the dirt, planting my boot on top. Dad gets the chainsaw, and we work without talking for a while. The sun is getting lower in the sky and it's getting colder.

Eventually, Dad switches off the chainsaw and wipes the back of his arm across his forehead.

“I’m glad you’re getting it checked out, though,” I tell him.

He pats me on the shoulder in the way that still makes me feel about five years old. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see. Nothing to worry about.”

After Dad leaves, I shower, wondering if it’s too full on to go round to Mia’s again tonight. Probably.

As I’m towelling off, a message pops up on my phone.

Mia: did u talk to your dad? Everything OK?

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