Page 138 of The Pearl Sister
Camira nodded. ‘Now, I mustum cook duck.’
* * *
Charlie walked towards the hut just before midnight and put out a hand to tap on it gently, but before his skin touched wood, Camira opened the door.
‘Here.’ She passed Charlie a brown paper package tied with a ribbon he’d once seen in Cat’s hair. ‘Happy birthday. Congratulation! You-a man now, no longer littun boy.’ Camira smiled at him tenderly. ‘I helpum you grow.’
‘You did, Camira, and I am grateful for it.’ He stared down at the package in his hands, then up at her once more. ‘You are not worried about your daughter?’
‘I trust, Mister Charlie, she too grown now. What choice I have? Please.’ She placed her hand on his, and her palm was warm. ‘Dis your day. You-a earn it. Please, enjoy. Me an’ Cat wanta you to.’
‘I will try, but you have to know—’
Camira put her finger to her lips. ‘Dun be sayin’ those words. I know ’em already.’ Camira stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead. ‘You my boy too. I yourbibi.I proud o’ you.Galiya.’
She closed the door, and Charlie walked back to the house. Sitting on his bed, he tore off the brown paper, all his hopes pinned on what he would find inside. A clue, a trail he could follow,anythingto lead him to her.
Having unwrapped the many layers that held the small present within, he sat with a small painting framed in driftwood that had been carved with delicate lines to shape roses. Holding it to the light, he saw that she had painted the two of them sitting together in the rose shed, his lighter head bent towards her dark one. Their hands were entwined in such a way that he could barely distinguish their individual fingers.
He closed his eyes, the painting still in his hand. And as the night wore on until morning – twenty-one years since he’d uttered his first cry – he slept.
* * *
Charlie would always look back and try to remember the day of his twenty-first birthday, but it passed in a blur of faces, presents and champagne, which he accepted far too freely to drown his agony. He went through the motions, acting as if he was a fully formed human being, even though every part of him cried out for Cat.
There was dancing after dinner at the Roebuck Bay Hotel and Elise Forsythe partnered him often, showing her perfect dimples as she giggled at everything he said, even if it wasn’t remotely funny. She told him she was an ‘Hon’, which was English-speak for being of aristocratic breeding, and he could see she wore it well. Charlie accepted she looked lovely in her midnight-blue evening gown, with her blonde hair and pale complexion like creamy milk. When it was time to blow out the candles on his extravagant three-tiered birthday cake, the crowd burst into applause, and Kitty glowed with pride. Charlie listened to her generous speech, his eyes downcast in embarrassment and despair. Three cheers went up for him and everyone raised their glasses in a toast.
Alone in his bedroom later, after thanking his mother profusely for such a wonderful party and for the watch by an expensive Swiss jeweller, Charlie thought he’d never been so grateful to get to the end of a day. He was due in the office at nine the next morning, as he would be every day for the rest of his life.
‘How can I bear this without you?’ he murmured, and fell asleep with Cat’s ribbon clasped in his hand.
* * *
‘I have made a decision, Charlie,’ Kitty announced at breakfast the following morning. ‘In a month’s time, I will be taking a trip to Europe.’
‘For work?’
‘No, that is your job now. I wish to see my family back in Edinburgh. It is five years since I last travelled there, and even then it was only a brief visit. I shall stay with them for a few months – I have nephews and nieces I haven’t even met. I also feel it is important that I leave you to find your own feet here, make a clean break, so that everyone knows you are in charge.’
‘Mother’ – a surge of panic ran through Charlie – ‘do you think that’s wise? I barely know what I’m doing. I need you here with me.’
‘We will have a month together, which is plenty of time for you to learn. Don’t you see, my dear boy? If I stay, all the employees will continue to come to me rather than you and they have to understand that you are the boss. There are changes you might wish to make – ones that may not be popular with our employees. I do not wish to be the listening ear for a stream of disgruntled staff who believe I have some sway over you. No, it is far better that I go. And besides,’ Kitty said, letting out a sigh, ‘I am not getting any younger and I am tired. I need a holiday.’
‘You are not sick, Mother?’
‘No. It seems God gave me the constitution of an ox, but I wish to keep it that way.’
‘You will come back?’
‘Of course – the freezing Scottish winter will provide the spur.’ Kitty shivered at the thought. ‘I will sail back to Adelaide before Christmas and celebrate the festive season at Alicia Hall. I hope you can join me and we can pay a visit to the opal mine and the vineyard to make sure the mice aren’t playing while the cat’s away.’
The Cat’s away . . .
‘Even though I understand you wish to take a break, I’m very concerned I don’t have the wherewithal to run the business alone.’
‘And I am perfectly sure you do. When your father left, I had no choice but to plunge in head first. I was completely alone with no one to ask for advice, except dear Mr Donovan, who will be there for you too. He knows everything there is to know, although he will reach his sixtieth birthday this year and I am aware he eventually wishes to retire. He already has someone in mind to take over from him – a bright young Japanese man who can speak fluent English. With the number of Japanese we employ, he will be able to communicate with our crews better and will be an enormous asset.’ Kitty rose from the table. ‘Right, let’s get to work, shall we?’
* * *
