CHAPTER 70
I had a very specific idea indeed; I didn’t speak to Rod about the lessons, but about that particular part of the plan. Maz dug out a driving school, while I rode up to Canning Vans.

“G’day, mate! Didn’t know we were due for a meet-up”

“Not what I’m here for, mate. Got a personal query”

As I talked him through things, his face lit up, and I saw yet again how much the engineer in him shone out when he got a chance to play.

“You’ve done it again, you bastard!”

“Done what?”

“Found another bloody niche in the market for me is what. LLB?”

We got Ish started on his driving course as soon as possible, and to no surprise on our part, he passed his test first time, which was not something either Maz or I had managed. I had been delighted to discover that WA added a Hazard Perception Test to the UK’s theory and practical parts, and that set Ish laughing.

“I can just see you doing it, Dad. You’d be pinging it for every single BMW that appeared on screen”

“And utes with roo bars and rooflights, son. Don’t forget the utes”

“Yeah, yeah. Not so many Beemers outside the city, anyway. Just need to get some practice in”

“That’s been sorted son”

His face lifted, a smile breaking out, so I shook my head.

“No, son. We’re not buying you a car. Remember that old BMW I was riding?”

“Dad, I can’t ride bikes. Anyway, you gave it back to Rod the Van”

“Yup. But he has a Toyota hatchback that he’s lending us instead”

His smile stayed that time, as I explained that he would need to sort out his own insuranceso perhaps, you know, some part-time work, save those pennies…

We did help him with the cost, of course, but it was essential to get him driving as much as possible before his birthday. In the end, he was driving to and from college, often via the ferry port for Clara’s job, and when we were in, driving ‘the ‘rents’ to the supermarket or the whole family to the climbing wall or Statham’s.

LC’s birthday was celebrated in our back yard with what seemed like half her school, in a bedlam of noise and scampering children as we delighted not just in that date but that we were now coming up to two years of freedom from those bastards.

That was the day we put Maryam’s plan into action. We spent ages discussing which photos to send. Ish had suggested putting them on a disc, so we had, but Maz insisted on prints for several of the more important or potentially offensive pictures.

“She opens the package, realises it’s from us, sees a CD and never plays it. Put some hard copies in, and she can’t avoid seeing them”

“You’ve thought this through a bit, then”

“I’ve never stopped thinking about it since the first day they put me in that hole, darling. I don’t just want her to hurt, I want her to ache forever. You could have been here, you could have known your grandchildren, but you never, ever will”

So we printed our wedding photo, and Ish leaping and with bridesmaid, little girl with snorkel and with dog, Dad and Lad singing while holding pint glasses, Kul and Geeta helping LC to oversee the barbie, with plentiful pork products and seafood in shot. I thought a traditional English snark, and then had to explain why I was laughing.

“Just something that came to mind, love. Traditional put-down, sort of”

“Explain, Mr MRB”

“Well, you know sometimes people sort of outdo somebody, they might say ‘Read ‘em and weep’?”

“Yes”

“Well, there’s a similar meaning in what I thought, but it also applies when someone gets a surprise, like a job suddenly getting extra work, that sort of thing. We say, ‘Pick the bones out of that one!’; sort of saying ‘best of luck in getting that sorted’. It’s just that I was looking at the barbie picture”

“But that doesn’t make sense, darling”

“Think sarcasm, love”

“Like most English humour, then. Not actually funny”

I spotted the twinkle hiding behind her poker face, so I thought, ‘sod it’, and kissed her.

Two years didn’t make up for the six years of loss, but she was there, and so was I, and our family was healing. We sent the package off from our office, using a typed address label, so that its source wouldn’t be quite so obvious. Let the old witch be the ambushed one this time.

We were now most definitely past the halfway mark on Clara’s time with us, and the lad was starting to fret, which was painful to watch. Both of us were pushing hid driving, including using him as a work taxi for solo jobs, and as all three of our girls were either shirt in height or slim of body, fitting five into his borrowed car was fine. I fitted it with some roof bars, and the boy drove us all the way to Cowaramup for a long weekend of sea and sea cliff, most of our camping kit carried on a roof rack. He proved to be a patient driver, rather than a boy racer, and once again I was mentally slapping myself, for wasn’t this the same lad who had held me together while our family was apart? What else should I have expected from him?

His birthday duly arrived, as it did every year, of course, and I called the family together to hand him his cards and congratulations. Maz sat down by Clara.

“End of your contract soon, sweetheart”

She nodded.

“Going to miss the boat runs. Been like a dream, being here. Pity… I know it has to end, but, well. I’ll cope. No choice. Anyway, work ends next week, the boss says, gives me time to do some travel, but, here I am. Where I want to be”

Maz took her hand, just before the girl started to weep.

“Tissue please, Carolyn”

“Why is Clara crying?”

“Because her time with us is nearly over, darling. She has to go back to Wales”

“Why?”

“Because she has to go to school there”

“Are you coming back?”

Clara took the proffered tissue and dabbed her eyes.

“I don’t know, love. I hope so, but I can’t be sure”

“Why?”

“Because sometimes life can be unkind”

She tried to smile at me.

“Don’t mind me. Make the last bit the best bit?”

I cleared my throat, as I heard the engine outside. Right on time.

“We had a little idea about that, your mother and me. And I do believe our idea’s just been delivered”

Rat-tat on the door, and Maz let in a grinning Rod.

“Told him yet, Mike?”

“Nope. Waiting for you, mate”

“Ripper! Ish, come and have a decko”

We all followed Rod out onto our driveway, where he started hu=is usual over-explanation.

“It’s a Mazda station wagon, estate, ey? Everything’s out of her but the front seats. Back seats are gone; that’s now a storage space. Camp kitchen inside the rear hatch, with a mini-fridge, water cans, gas cooker. Now, this is a small car, not one of the big ute-size types, so it’s not long enough for someone your size to sleep in the back, and I hate those roof-tent set-ups. Anyway, there are solar panels on the roof, to keep your stuff charged without needing to plug in or run the engine. In here…”

He opened the back door, to show a number of packages.

“Bloke down at that camping shop Maz has the in with knew some people who can sew and fit material to a frame. Tent there that can attach either to the back end or to the left side, with these fittings on the roof bars. We just add sleeping bags or dooners, and there’s a double air mattress with an electric pump, driven from the solar. Mike’s idea, this. Big enough for a couple without needing to have something the size of a van. Much easier to drive, and a bloody sight easier to park”

Ish was astonished.

“You’ve already lent me the Toyota!”

“Not lending you this one, son. This is a hire; keeps the insurance and rego a lot simpler. And you’re my guinea pig. Just need you to drive me back to my place, with your driving licence ready, and then we can see what tweaks it needs before you bring it back here”

“How long am I hiring it for?”

“Ah, your Dad’s sorted that one out, so I’ll say happy birthday now. It’s… Your Dad and Mum told me when this young lady’s going home, so you’re covered till then”

“Dad?”

“Rod? Fancy a cuppa?”

“Wouldn’t say no, mate!”

“Come on, then”

We went back in, Clara heading straight to the kitchen, and once she had delivered the drinks, I waved at Ish.

“What Clara said earlier, Ish. About travel. That’s why I pushed your driving, and why I had the idea of a micro camper. Clara should take her chance and travel while she’s here, but Mum and me thought she’d appreciate, that you’d both appreciate time just for the two of you. Everything we’ve done with you has been as a family, and we are a family, and we always will be, but we really thought you could use the time for a proper chance of being a couple, without us always looking over your shoulder. Sound like a plan? And, once again son, happy birthday”