CHAPTER 64
We sat for a while enjoying the views, comfortable as a family, until Clara spoke up again.

“I got given a pressie before I came over, one for you all”

Maz gestured ‘go on’, and Clara chuckled.

“Diane’s been all hyper recently, with that Tom Edwards man. She says he can’t let anything go, and he’s following one of their current cases as well as digging up old ones. Anyway, he started another documentary, or rather suggested it to a friend at Ess Pedwar Eck. Er, S4C, Welsh channel”

I nodded.

“Joint venture between the Beeb and Channel 4, in Welsh”

“That’s the one. Anyway, it’s a sort of four seasons thing, four programmes where they follow a few people round an area”

I knew exactly the sort of programme she meant, usually called something like ‘Malta: Jewel of the Med’, ‘Sussex: Pearl of the South’, or ‘That Place Which Starts With an L: Hole of the Shit’.

“Which part of Wales?”

“The mountains up North. They’re covering a man who makes gin in Dolgellau, the Alternative Technology Centre in Machynlleth---”

“Bless you”

“Ta, Ishy. A sheep farmer with a perving slab…”

She was grinning now.

“And a man who runs a bunkhouse, his friend who has a pub and his daughter who’s in the mountain rescue”

I looked up, suddenly much more interested, and she was grinning.

“Yes, Enfys. I’ve got a package which they said is the first programme, ‘Summer’. It’s in Welsh, but there are subtitles”

I was grinning now.

“I normally only watch those programmes for a bit of ‘Ooh! Been there!’ stuff, but this might be different. You’ve got it with you?”

“In my case, yeah. Watch it when we get back?”

There was no argument with that idea, and as we wandered round the park, Ish and Clara hand in (good) hand, I was once again counting my blessings.

We had pizza delivered that evening, as well as some of the snacks (not the booze) left over from the barbie, and then, at Maz’s urging, rang the Butts again to offer seats for our video session. They were over in twenty minutes, and once again there were four of them. They came by taxi, sensible people, as the booze did come out once we were sorted for seating before the big screen that Dal, as ever, had rigged after Ish had pointed out how small the subtitles might be.

‘Haf Eryri’ was the title, and we were treated to all the usual contrived dramas that are the meat and drink of such programmes, such as the gin man working on some new flavour before some industry convention, the alternative tech people racing against time to repair a widget before a summer school opens, a sheep farmer lamenting the disruption caused by careless hillwalkers, and Keith Hiatt pulling hair out of a shower drain.

LC squealed, and when Enfys appeared on screen, leading a client up Milestone Direct, her shout of “ENFYS!” was almost painful.

“Why is she speaking like that, Mum?”

“It’s her language, darling. This programme’s all in Welsh, which is what she speaks”

“She didn’t to us”

“Because she’s a nice lady, and she knows we can’t understand”

I was caught up in parts of the programme, especially as their cameraman or director had a real feel for a shot that was both familiar and jaw-droppingly gorgeous. One particularly evocative view was of Crib Goch seen by long lens from Lliwedd, the sun at just the right angle to make the crag glow red and highlight the solid queue of people moving along the ridge. Even with the language problem, the programme was a wonderful gift.

The downer, which couldn’t really be avoided, was a sort-of-reconstruction of an Enfys nasty, alternating ’location’ shots with some of Enfys looking professional in a helicopter and her literally fighting tears as she recounted her part in the events. I almost felt useless as the urge washed over me to rush to her and make everything better, something I still realised I could never manage.

It was rescued by more scenes with the sheep farmer, where it was actually LC who shouted “PERVING SLAB! HANDS AND FEET!”, which naturally led to Melissa asking where that name had come from. Clara, with a grin, explained.

“And sometimes the girls take a picnic out. Sit in the sun, enjoy the scenery…”

“That how you met Ish, girl?”

“Might have been…”

“I think I can see the attraction, ey?”

Clara blushed slightly, but still managed a grin.

“Oh, so could I”

Maz and I were back at work two days later, so we left Clara with one of our keys, taking time out during the day to get a new one cut. We had both agreed that we were well past the ‘Can we trust her?’ stage, so it made sense. Ish had college, LC had school; Clara needed a chance to explore. While we were getting the key cut, I also sorted her a Perth transit pass and put fifty dollars on it.

Our morning job was at Soapy Joe’s, and of course we had a grilling over our trips, future plans, how the kids were, all of the usuals. Sausage sandwiches were consumed, a tweak to his subcontract work suggested, and then we were on the road to three separate pubs, all of whom served food that, to be honest, would probably have left our previous customer considering emigration.

On returning home, Clara was looking anxious.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I went down to your local grocers, and got some stuff for tonight”

“You’re cooking?”

“If you don’t mind”

“Not at all, love. Maz, you mind?”

“I’ll mind if I don’t have a cold LLB in my hand by the time I get these shoes off and my feet up, darling. How did Carolyn get home early?”

Our girl usually stayed in an after-school creche until one of their people carriers could drop her off. Clara was looking anxious.

“Er, I was all on my own, so Ish had said where her school was, and I walked down, and she told the teachers I was her sister”

LC was nodding.

“My big sister. I said she’s with my brother”

Clara was still nervous.

“They wouldn’t let her go till I rang Ish, and he came down… And they say this time, yeah, and can you let them know, confirm?”

“So where is Ish now?”

She was bright pink.

“In the shower…”

I really needed no more information. LC was home and safe, our son was most certainly extremely happy right then, and we had our daughter home early. I rose to my feet.

“Come on, girl. Let’s show you how to make an LLB for Our Lady of the Silly Shoes here”

“Have one yourself while you’re up, Rhodes”

“I abase myself in gratitude, Memsahib”

“You’re still not Kul. Or cool? Doesn’t matter”

Clara’s cooking consisted of what she called a Savoy salad, which was basicallya mixed green salad covered in grated Swiss cheese then covered in hot crispy bacon bits, melting the cheese so that it permeated the salad, followed by a rice dish that was simply stir-fried vegetables and mixed sea food covered in a fish stock and simmered with long-grain rice until said stock was absorbed, all while poaching barramundi fillets on top, like a kedgeree in reverse. It all got eaten, and we were treated to more nerves as she explained how she had emailed Kim to ask for ideas, and, and, and. She was so nervous that I felt my guts clench in sympathy.

“Clara?”

“Yes?”

“Why barramundi?”

“Cause I’d heard of it”

“Who paid for the ingredients?”

“Um, I did”

“Family money from now on, okay? We discuss what we need, and you don’t spend your own cash like that. Once you’re working, getting paid, we find a way to add it to the pot, but till then it’s our job”

She looked down at her plate.

“Okay”

“Anyway, got you this. Public transport in the city centre is free, but everywhere else you pay with one of these cards. You can top them up on a bus or at an transit office, and we’ve put some cash on it for you. Now, we have a personal question, so please understand why we ask it. Carolyn, what do you enjoy?”

Our girl’s grin showed me that she understood the question.

“Hands and feet and jamming and snorkel and big sister!”

“Thanks, love. So, are you allowed to swim?”

“Er, I need to wait another week or so”

So she hadn’t been playing that particular game with Ish, then.

“Well, when you can, we are, as Carolyn said indirectly, rather fond of the beach. Let us know, okay?”

“I like swimming too”

Our son finally found hid voice, gushing details about Espy beaches, while LC ran to the living room to return with the shell from so, so long ago, and a nervous girl gradually settled into our own comfort zone.