The Long Way Home Page 8

  Chapter 2

  December 1978

  “You sure you want to do this?”

  Rowena looked up at her sister sitting across the table from her. Gail Anderson was the pin-up model housewife, a stay at home mother of two who always looked as though she had just stepped out of a beauty salon. Light brown hair with permed curls that sat just above shoulder height, she was slim, very pretty and fashionably attired. While her husband Tim, a solicitor, spent all day at work in his Sydney office, she kept their immaculate waterfront home in order. By the time he caught the Manly ferry home in the evening, she had always managed to prepare something wonderful for dinner. Of course having two exceptionally well behaved children made all of this possible.

  “Rowena?” She asked again as she leant across the table and gently placed a hand on her arm. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  Rowena put her cup of coffee down and placed a hand over her sister’s, aware now that her long pause of silence in the conversation could easily have been interpreted as being unsure.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “That’s good. It’s just he’ll be here soon, so I really should be heading off.”

  Three months had passed since Doug had walked out of Gosford District Hospital with his brother, climbed into his car and drove away. He’d spent four nights in hospital recovering from heavy concussion and had left with his head still bandaged, a dozen stitches in his forehead and top lip and two large black eyes. Rowena still remembered standing in the hospital ward holding Simon, tears rolling quietly down her face and his voice replaying inside her head. ‘I’m not coming home with you. I’ll be staying with my brother while I decide if it’s worth giving this thing another try.’

  Only a week later she had to bear the indignity of having two police officers stop by her house, in front of all the neighbours, and escort her to the local police station for questioning. She had prepared herself for the likelihood of a divorce, the assault charge he had filed against her was an added surprise. It was only after much pleading through his solicitor that he agreed to drop the charges. A month later, they had met to discuss divorce proceedings regarding visitation rights with Simon and had ended up having dinner together. By the end of that week they had enrolled in marriage counseling. Now it seemed everything rested on the shoulders of this weekend. Doug was coming to stay for the weekend, and this was her chance for redemption. If all went well they were going to give it another try.

  “You don’t want me to stay, do you?” Gail asked.

  “No, I’ll be alright.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. I just feel so guilty, like we may never get over this.”

  “Guilt is hardly a good reason for getting back together.”

  “I know, but…” Gail stopped her.

  “How can you build a relationship on guilt Rowena? Every time something goes wrong are you going to feel guilty and take the blame for it?”

  “No. It’s just I want to make amends. I don’t want it to end like this.” She tried vainly to defend herself despite her sister controlling the conversation.

  “So let me get this straight. You’re getting back with Doug because you feel guilty for your part in the way it ended. You then plan to live life as a masquerade while you search for a way to end the relationship on your terms. It doesn’t sound like a good plan to me little sister.”

  “It’s not like that!”

  “I thought you said you were sure this is what you wanted to do.”

  “It is Gail.”

  “Then be sure. Don’t fix one mistake with another. You know Tim will help you out again with the legal side of it, and I’m always here for you.”

  “I know. Thanks Gail,” and getting up from her chair she leant forward and threw her arms around her sister, pressing her cheek to hers. Then choking on her tears, she quietly sobbed, “thanks Gail. I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for you. You know I could never go to Mum with something like this.”

  “It’s alright Rowena.” She patted her on the back as she had her breath squeezed out of her.

  Then from the back room of the house came a scream, a baby’s scream that after a short pause was followed by a long painful wail as Gail’s four-year-old daughter Lynette charged into the dining room.

  “Mummy, quick Simon’s biting Justin.”

  Gail leapt from her seat and ran through the kitchen towards the spare bedroom in the back of her sister’s house. She had left Justin asleep there in his bassinette on the floor while his sister played with Simon in his bedroom down the hall. He was still wailing frantically as Gail entered the room to see Simon hunched over the bassinette bringing Justin’s tiny 16 month old arm up to his mouth, poised to bite him again.

  “Simon, No!” Screamed Rowena from directly behind Gail who stood now frozen in the doorway. The yell startled Simon who let go of Justin and clumsily tried to get to his feet. Then pushing past her sister, Rowena grabbed Simon by the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing and pulled him up off his feet before slapping him across his face and sending him sprawling back down across the floor. Gail by now had picked Justin up out of his bassinette and was trying to comfort him. Rowena, from where she was standing, could see the teeth marks and purple bruises already beginning to swell up on his arms, and turned to glare at Simon who was himself crying and trying to get to his feet. Striding across the room she picked him up firmly once more and, after wrestling his arm free, bit down hard on him.

  “There you little brat! Don’t you ever bite anyone again, do you hear me?” She dropped him on his feet and hollering in pain he ran to his own room.

  “There Justin, mummy’s got you now,” Gail desperately tried to comfort her baby. His little face pressed hard into the side of her neck, head resting on her shoulder as his cry wailed throughout the house.

  “Gail, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault Sis.”

  “I told him not to do it mummy, I told him he was hurting him.” Little Lynnie spoke up. Lynette was two years older than her cousin Simon and knew all too well how painful Simon’s teeth could be when her arm was gripped between them. Up until recently, she had been the target of Simon’s biting. Now it seemed he was more interested in hurting her little brother Justin.

  “It’s alright Lynette, can you do mummy a favour? Go and get your things ready, we’re going home.”

  “But I didn’t bring anything mummy.”

  “Then go and wait in the lounge room for mummy okay.” She pleaded and with her one free hand, she gently pushed her towards the bedroom door.

  “Can I get anything?” Rowena finally spoke up.

  “Do you have any ice, and a towel to wrap around it?”

  “I’ll get some.” Turning to leave the room, she repeatedly cursed Simon in her head. She knew he’d had difficulty teething when he was only one year old. She remembered how driven he was to put everything within his reach into his mouth when his first two teeth had come through. Now that he was two and a half years old, he possessed not only a set of front teeth but also a near uncontrollable urge to inflict pain upon other children with them. It was embarrassing.

  There was no ice in the freezer, so she grabbed a packet of frozen peas and her apron that was hanging over the oven door handle.

  “This will have to do.” She said, returning to the spare bedroom. Justin’s crying had eased to more of a steady whimper and she could see clearly that of all the bite marks on his arm only two or three were big enough to leave a noticeable bruise by morning. Gail continued to rock Justin back and forth while on her feet.

  “It’s not the first time Rowena.”

  “I know. I’m so sorry Gail. I just keep waiting for him to outgrow it and it only seems to be getting worse.” She gently pressed the frozen peas wrapped in the apron against Justin’s arm and immediately the crying intensified again.

  “Poor baby,” Gail gently cooed. “That’s going to be sore for a whi
le isn’t it?”

  “Mummy, mummy,” Lynette shouted as she charged into the bedroom, her face beaming with pride. “Someone was at the door and I let them in.”

  Gail and Rowena stood alarmed as they faced each other. A momentary look of panic crossed their faces as they each looked for reassurance that this wasn’t entirely the worst thing a four-year-old girl could have done.

  “Hello.” A man’s voice called from within the hallway.

  Silence as the two sisters remained startled, aware that there indeed was a man inside the house. Again the voice called out, and then a look of absolute relief washed over Rowena as she recognized who it was.

  “Doug? Is that you?”

  “Yeah, what are you doing back here?” He asked back, appearing from the hallway as he stepped into view.

  Gail and Rowena tried not to giggle with relief. The thought of a stranger being in the house had scared them to the point of almost taking years off their lives.

  “Is everything okay? I could hear someone crying from the front door, I tried to call out but I couldn’t get anyone’s attention.”

  “It’s okay Doug,” Rowena replied. “We just had an episode where Simon decided to bite his little cousin.”

  Then as if suddenly aware that he was being rude to have not acknowledged Rowena’s sister, he turned to face her and offered his hand in an awkward attempt at a handshake. “Hi Gail, how is the little one?”

  Gail who had gone back to rocking Justin back and forth managed to make both hands look inseparable from her baby in a polite brush off. “It’s alright Doug we can spare the formalities, I’ve just settled Justin. He’s okay now, he’ll have a few nasty bruises but he’ll be okay.”

  “Doug, you look great.” Rowena leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, you’ve been to the dentist darling. Your teeth look great.”

  “You think so?”

  “Of course I do. You must be happy with the results.”

  “It’s taking a bit of getting used to. You don’t think they make me look different do you?”

  “No Doug, they look great. Your teeth have always looked great. Don’t you think he has a great smile Gail?”

  Gail tried not to appear agitated that for some strange reason the conversation was now all about Doug’s teeth. Let’s forget for a second that she thought their son was a little vampire. Let’s forget that Justin was going home tonight with bite marks all up his arm that she would have to explain to her husband. Let’s forget that it was Tim who helped drop the charges when Rowena knocked his teeth out in the first place. No, let’s just all talk about Doug’s teeth. It was all she could take. She gritted her teeth and replied, “Great.”

  “By the way Gail, I’m sorry for Simon’s biting problem.” Doug apologetically offered. “I’ll have to see what I can do about it.”

  “Oh Doug, there was nothing you could have done. I mean, you weren’t here at the time.” Gail answered.

  “But I want that to change,” he paused and put an arm around Rowena. “I’m going to be here to help out from now on.”

  Gail stopped and had a good look at them standing posed together, ready for a cheesy photograph. Then she noticed his teeth, couldn’t miss them really. That big wide smile just looked wrong. If teeth came in sizes, he had definitely chosen a size too big. Still it wasn’t his fault. If it weren’t for her sister’s uncontrollable temper, he’d still have his own two front teeth. It only made her feel sorrier for Doug. It was hardly a good enough reason to like the guy, and besides, seeing her sister and Doug back together again was like sitting through a painfully awful pantomime. Someone had given them a copy of the script, but nobody had checked first to see if they could act.