Careful What You Wish For (27 page)

Oblivious to the noise, the crowds of people, the cars and trams, and with no clear idea where she was, Ruth walked quickly through the streets. When she turned a corner she could see the city skyline not far away, so she headed in that direction. Soon she was hurrying down the street with dinner-goers and film patrons, and families on their way to walk along the river. She flew in and out around people, then across roads onto the pavements, past hoardings, shops, cafés and churches, acting like she knew exactly where she was going … when she didn’t at all.

She was waiting for everything to become clear.

When she came to a big wide bridge, she slowed down and looked back at the tall lit-up city buildings and down at the web of pretty lights along the river. The lovely church just over the bridge, with its high pointy spire reaching right up into the pink-and-grey clouds, looked awesome. No one seemed to be noticing her much now. She stopped, leaning on the side of the bridge for a rest. The new watch, along with all her television clothes, was back in the hotel room, so Ruth had no idea of the time until she saw the town-hall clock.

Five minutes to six!
Her old life was almost finished.

She walked over to the church and sat down on the steps. When she looked up, to her complete astonishment, she saw her own face on an enormous electronic billboard opposite. The words
Will She Win?
were scrolling across continuously under the image, along with news items about sports stars, the economy and celebrities – all of them underneath her face!

So this was it! Her new life. The show would go to air. Her family would be humiliated and Ruth would become a star.
This is what she’d wished for.

Except it wasn’t. Not really.

In one sudden blast Ruth realised that she didn’t want it at all. She wanted a lot, but not this. In spite of … everything, she really did love her family. And she missed them! Impractical, loud, messy, what did it matter? She didn’t want to see them hurt or humiliated.

Ruth stood and ran down the steps and around the side of the building where she remembered seeing the red door earlier that day. She hesitated only a moment before giving the door a sharp jab, and shut her eyes.

It was amazing how much slid by in two seconds. She saw herself on television, winning the national championship. She saw herself with all her fantastic new clothes, and all that wonderful stuff, her face on billboards around the city.

It had been so exciting. And fun. Everyone would think she was crazy. But Bianca was right. Going with her heart was what felt good.

The red door swung open immediately and a swish of warm, dank air washed over her face. Ruth threw herself through the opening and plunged down into that dark space.

23

R
uth fell through a cloud of gritty air for what seemed like ages, but was probably only a minute, before landing heavily on the riverbank – this time on her back. Shaky and uncertain, she sat up and slowly looked around.

The pale sunshine had been replaced by long shadows, which meant it was late afternoon or early evening, and grey clouds were piled up along the horizon. Ruth smiled. She’d made it back in one piece.

She got up quickly, shook herself down a bit, then sat down on a nearby rock. Her skin was itchy inside her clothes and there was grime and cobwebs all over her coat, but she was filled with relief. What a day! So much had happened. Ruth looked over at the place where Howard had lain down to sleep. The note she’d left under the rock had gone. She walked to the bridge and stood resting her elbows on the railings and looking down into the water. What if he was still fishing nearby?

‘Howard!’ she called loudly. ‘Hey, Howard! You ready to go?’

She stood still, listening for a reply, and when there was none called again.

‘Howard! I want to go home.’

There was the far-off buzz of a chainsaw and the rustling of the leaves on the nearby trees, but no human sound at all apart from her own breath.

Ruth picked up her bag and positioned it on her back to begin the long walk into town. She didn’t blame Howard for leaving, but the trip home wasn’t going to be much fun.

She hadn’t got far when she heard a shout behind her.

‘Hey, Craze!’

Ruth turned around in surprise but couldn’t see anyone. Who else but Howard called her
Craze
? She walked back along the track towards the river and, sure enough, there was Howard running across the bridge towards her.

So he hadn’t piked on her! They’d be able to go home together
.

‘Wait!’ he shouted. ‘You’re not going to believe this!’ He was holding something quite big high up in the air, yelling excitedly as he ran towards her. ‘Wait!’

‘I
am
waiting, Pope, you idiot!’

‘You are not going to believe this!’

‘You caught a fish?’

‘Better!’

Ruth had never seen Howard run before, or sound so animated. He was across the bridge now and still running. Ruth finally saw what he was holding.
No. This was too weird.

‘I found him, Craze!’ Howard rushed up to her. ‘See, I found him!’

He thrust a battered, dusty Rodney into her hands and then collapsed on the ground to catch his breath.

Ruth stared at the rat. One eye was missing and the other was hanging by a thread. His jacket was half rotted away and he’d lost both boots. His whole right side was covered in thick dry mud. Ruth couldn’t speak.

‘It is him, isn’t it?’ Howard asked, scrambling to his feet. ‘That’s your rat, right?’

‘Yeah, it’s him.’

‘I found him in a dry eddy upstream from the bridge,’ Howard explained. ‘I thought it was an old shirt or something and I didn’t take any notice of it until I was about to go home. Then, when I picked it up, well … I ran all the way back.’

‘Thanks.’ Ruth was still too confused to respond properly.

‘The poor little guy,’ Howard mumbled, scratching off a bit of mud from his boot, ‘no one’s taken care of him for a while.’ He looked up at her. ‘I told you we’d find him, didn’t I?’

‘You did, Howard.’ Ruth smiled at her pale, odd-looking friend and hugged his thin shoulders quickly and fiercely. ‘Thanks.’

Howard shrugged her off but his face had coloured with pleasure.

‘You going to take him home?’ he asked gruffly.

‘Of course I am.’ Ruth undid the strap of her bag and gently put Rodney inside.

* * *

The four-kilometre walk back from the bridge into town seemed much longer than the trip out. Only one car passed, without even slowing down. A number of times Ruth was on the verge of telling Howard about all that had happened to her that day, but it seemed too big somehow, a little too crazy.

By the time they reached the bus stop, Ruth’s feet were aching so much she thought there was a chance they might fall off. She and Howard were thirsty as well as hungry. Not to mention cold. They tried to joke as they waited for the bus, hopping up and down to keep their toes warm, but it was a long, chilly wait and the jokes petered out.

Eventually the bus came. Ruth and Howard slumped into a double seat halfway down. Howard took the window seat again but Ruth didn’t mind much. She had a pretty good view from her seat.

‘I found the rat too,’ she said quietly, once the bus was on its way.

‘How do you mean?’ Howard turned to her, puzzled.

‘This afternoon, I found Rodney.’

Howard stared at her. ‘What?’

‘It’s a long story.’

‘Do I look like I’m busy?’ Howard gave one of his sudden grins, which made Ruth smile back immediately. She really liked the way his face could change so quickly. He was a weird little old man-boy until he smiled. Then he turned into a normal kid.

Ruth ended up giving Howard a detailed account of what had happened to her that day. He kept very quiet most of the time. Occasionally he grunted or sighed or looked agitated in a way that made her think he might be finding it all a bit too much.

‘Howard, I’m not making this up,’ Ruth felt compelled to say a couple of times.

‘Didn’t say you were,’ he said sharply. ‘So this happened when I was
asleep
?’

‘Partly. Then when you went fishing.’

‘I’m
not
a nutcase,’ she said, when she’d finished talking and he still didn’t make any comment. ‘I wouldn’t believe it either, except it happened to me.’

‘Not saying you are a nutcase,’ Howard mumbled.

‘So what do you think?’

But he only shrugged. She tried not to care.

They both sat back and stared out the window.

After a while Ruth relaxed a bit. She liked the feeling of skimming along the black road, with the rush of lights as the turn-offs were announced. It was a clear evening, the moon was up already and they were cocooned in a warm tin can that was hurtling along in space.

Ruth’s spirits soared with it. Telling Howard everything had loosened the anxious knot that had been with her most of the day and, quite inexplicably, she was
excited
to be going home.

24

W
hen they rounded the corner across from her house Ruth noticed that the porch light was on. Did that mean the family was home or … not? The place really didn’t look so bad. Sure, the roof sagged and her father had left a large piece of machinery on the verandah, and even from this distance she could see the shabbiness of the peeling weatherboards, but – maybe just because it was night-time and the darkness softened the impact – the whole place looked so sort of …
friendly
.

Together, Ruth and Howard walked up to the front door. Ruth took out her key and tried act normal, but her heart was beating and her mouth was dry. She was so glad to be home, but what would she say? What
could
she say? The truth would sound way too crazy and yet … how could she not tell the truth? She walked down the hallway, Howard behind her, took a deep breath and pushed open the kitchen door.

‘Hey, everyone! I’m back,’ she yelled. But there was no one there. The kitchen was empty and cold, just as she’d left it that morning. Ruth didn’t know whether to be pleased or not. It meant that at least for now she didn’t have to explain herself but … she’d been looking forward to seeing them.

‘So where are they?’ Howard asked.

‘Not back yet.’

‘Any food?’

‘I’ll have a look.’

But there wasn’t much to eat, no bread left in the tin and no pies in the freezer, and they’d taken all the cheese and the fruit with them that day. There was nothing for it but to heat up an old can of celery soup and eat it with some dry biscuits.

They were both still hungry at the end of their meal. Ruth could tell by the way that Howard was shifting around in his seat that he was also still sore from the beating his father had given him, so she suggested a bath with some of her mother’s soothing bath oils. To her surprise, he agreed and seemed quite intrigued by the idea. Ruth ran the bath, and then left him to it. She went out the back door and stood looking at the backyard. The sky was clear now, and cold. She sat down on the back step and patted the dog.

* * *

Howard was still in the bath when Ruth heard the car pull up outside. There was a loud horn blast and then a succession of slamming doors, wild whoops and shouts. The front door burst open and her brothers ran in, followed by her parents.

‘Hello, Ruthie!’ Mrs Craze called cheerfully. ‘You hungry, love?’

‘Yes!’ The delicious aroma of fish and chips hit Ruth’s nostrils. When she spied the two steaming packages in her mother’s carry bag her mouth began to water. She hugged her mother and then her father, who was holding bottles of milk and soft drink. Marcus was taking off his shoes and dumping his coat on the floor but when he saw Ruth he stopped.

‘You should have been there today, sis!’ he boasted. ‘You missed the race of a lifetime!’

‘Did you get into the side?’

‘Do one-legged ducks swim in circles?’

‘Hey,’ Ruth said with a smile, ‘congratulations.’ For the first time in ages she really meant it.

‘Can we eat now, Mum?’ Paul whined. ‘Before we have to put stuff away?’

‘Good idea,’ Mrs Craze laughed, ruffling his hair, ‘let’s do that.’

‘I could eat a horse and chase the jockey!’ Marcus shouted.

Suddenly the unmistakable sound of splashing came from the bathroom. They all turned to look at Ruth.

‘Who’s in there?’

‘My friend Howard Pope,’ Ruth said. ‘He’s got sore legs.’

‘Is he that new boy from school?’ Mrs Craze asked with a frown. Ruth nodded.

‘His father beat him really badly, so I told him he could have a bath,’ she said.

‘Oh, that’s a good idea, Ruthie,’ her mother said, looking worriedly at her husband.

‘I pinched your special healing oils,’ Ruth confessed.

‘That’s fine, love,’ her mother sighed. All the excitement had drained from her face. ‘I’ve heard things about that boy’s father,’ she said quietly, ‘up at the school. Ken, we’ve got to do something. Help him in some way.’