Page 78 of The Vanishing Place
“Exactly.” A smile pulled at the corners of Blair’s mouth. “A good old dollop of time and patience. Your favorites.”
“Great.”
“I reckon some chocolate wouldn’t go amiss either. Most kids can be bought with chocolate.”
“Time and chocolate.” Effie shook her head. “You really are a rare font of wisdom.”
A beeping sounded in the distance and Blair tapped at her phone.
“Right,” she said. “That’s me. Break’s over. Best get back to the trenches.”
“Miss you.”
“Love you.”
Blair blew a kiss into the screen and hung up.
March 2005
There was noAsher the next day. Or the day after that.
Without realizing it, Effie found herself on the deck, listening out for the sounds of him—the silly voices he put on for Four, and the crack of twigs when he played chase with Aiden. Effie hated herself for it, and she scuffed at the ground with her foot. She was sick of waiting. For Asher. For dad. Never knowing when some stupid man might show up and decide not to be a twat for half a minute. She kicked at one of her dad’s shoes and it rolled off the deck and onto the grass. She wasn’t meant to saytwat. June said it was unladylike. But then, June didn’t have to live in the stupid hut with rats crapping in her bed. June didn’t know shit. Effie wasn’t meant to sayshiteither. But fuck it.
She picked up a twig off the deck and hurled it at the darkening bush.
“Stupid. Stupid.”
It was her own stupid fault for waiting for good things to grow from the dirt and the rot. Dark was dark and Dad was Dad.
End. Of. Story.
Besides, she didn’t even want Asher to come back. It was good that he was gone. She didn’t even know if she liked him. Sheprobably, definitely, didn’t. Asher confused things. He put ideas in her head about Dad, ideas that didn’t do any good. Dad wasn’t the best dad in the world.Obviously. But Dad needed her. He wasn’t bad. Asher was wrong about him.
“Effie.”
She turned at the whisper of Four’s voice. He was three now, almost three and a half, his red hair like Effie’s and his dark eyes just like Mum’s.
“Come here.” Effie reached down and scooped him up onto her hip. “Did you brush your teeth?”
“Tia did it.”
Effie kissed his head. “Good boy.”
“Has Asher gone?”
“I think so.”
“I miss him.” Four tucked his head under Effie’s chin. “Will he come back?”
Four looked at her, needing her to lie to him.
Effie smiled and squeezed his cheek. “You’ll get to see Lewis in Koraha next month,” she said.
“Will Lewis play with me?”
“Lots. Lewis loves playing with you.”
Four smiled. “Lewis holds me upside down sometimes. Like a bat.”
