A Home Away From Home and Other Stories
By Lynne Roberts
Copyright 2014 Lynne Roberts
ISBN 978-1-927241-23-3
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Contents
Many Happy Returns
A Home Away From Home
The Chime Child
Many Happy Returns
'You need to improve your prospects, Dominic. It is very important in life to have good prospects,' advised Uncle Edgar as he reached for the marmalade.
Dominic watched resentfully as Uncle Edgar liberally spread marmalade on a thick piece of toast that was already dripping with butter. He wasn't exactly sure what prospects were but they were bound to be unpleasant and involve work for him.
Uncle Edgar was full of good advice. He had moved in with the Garret family several months earlier and from the day he arrived he had seen it as his duty to instruct Dominic. Dominic was not grateful for this. In fact he spent most of his time trying to avoid Uncle Edgar, while complaining bitterly to anyone who would listen, which generally turned out to be Minka the cat.
‘I knew he was bad news as soon as he got here,’ Dominic muttered. He started by taking my bedroom,' he added bitterly. 'And what's more, he's still got it.'
Minka flicked her tail and began daintily licking one of her back paws.
'But where will I sleep?' Dominic had spluttered when his mother told him to give up his room.
'I'll put the folding bed up in the laundry for you,' Mrs Garrett said soothingly.
'It will only be for a couple of nights,' she added hastily as she saw an expression of horror cross her son's face. 'Your Uncle Edgar needs somewhere to stay for a few days while he gets his affairs in order. He's been overseas for such a long time that there is no one else he can stay with.'
'But the laundry! That’s not even hygienic,' Dominic protested.
'There's nothing unhygienic about my laundry,' bristled his mother.
'But it can't be good for me sleeping next to people's dirty washing,' Dominic argued.
'I'll make sure I keep everything clean and tidy. It will probably be cleaner than your bedroom. Talking of which, you can go and tidy your room up right now so that Uncle Edgar doesn't have to trip over your mess.'
Dominic had grumbled but did as he was told. That had been six months ago and Uncle Edgar showed no inclination to move on.
'I'm making inquiries,' he would say airily, if anyone broached the subject of him leaving. 'I have to find the right position for someone with my talent and qualifications. Then I'll get my own place. It's not easy, you know. But at least we are all family together,' he would beam,' ignoring his sister's forced smile and her children's seething resentment.
'His right position seems to be horizontal on the couch in front of the television,' Anna muttered under her breath.
Dominic gave a snort of laughter then hastily turned it into a cough as Uncle Edgar's disapproving gaze fell on him.
Anna did not like Uncle Edgar any more than her brother. At fourteen she considered herself far too old and mature to make a fuss about something she couldn't change so she gave Uncle Edgar the silent treatment. She walked past him as if he wasn't there and refused to reply to any of his remarks or questions. To her annoyance, Uncle Edgar approved of this.
'Young ladies should be seen and not heard,' he was fond of saying. 'I must say, Lou, that you have brought Anna up very well.'
Mrs Garrett would smile and accept the compliment while looking askance at Anna. She knew her daughter was sulking but wasn't prepared to instigate a screaming match with her.
'It's all right for you,' Dominic had moaned as they hastily made their sandwiches one morning. 'Uncle Edgar thinks you are perfect. He thinks I need improvement.'
'Just ignore him like I do,' Anna shrugged. 'He'll go away eventually.'
'You're not the one sleeping in the laundry,' Dominic sighed.
Dominic did not like sleeping in the laundry. He had to admit that there were never piles of dirty washing lying around, but the washing machine appeared to go constantly. It rumbled and whirred in clouds of steam that left all his schoolbooks damp and soggy. But the worst part was the freezer in the corner. That definitely held a monster. Dominic had never seen it but he was sure it was there; lurking beneath the racks of frozen vegetables and unlabelled plastic containers. A monster with long hairy fingers lying in wait to grab an unwary hand and drag it down to the icy depths. Dominic could hear it grumbling and sighing along with the rumble of the motor, and kept as far away from the freezer as he could. Part of him knew that at his age there couldn't possibly be such a thing as a freezer monster, but part of him still believed in it. It was enough to keep him awake at night, long past his bedtime, wondering if this would be the night the monster learned to lift the lid of the freezer by itself.
Dominic shuddered and buttered a piece of bread.
'No marmalade for you, my boy. Not good for your growth.'
Uncle Edgar whisked the jar away from the table. He seemed very concerned about Dominic's growth.
'I'm not small. It's just that I haven't started growing yet,' Dominic would argue, but to no avail. Uncle Edgar had decided that Dominic must have strengthening food and not eat anything that would stop him growing. So there was no more marmalade for Dominic. Or jam or in fact anything that Dominic might actually enjoy eating, especially if it was something Uncle Edgar liked. Fortunately Uncle Edgar didn't seem partial to peanut butter so Dominic was able to spoon vast quantities of this onto his bread without too much opposition.
'Maybe prospects are those big muscles in the arms that body builders have,' Dominic thought. He had seen a programme on television where they had a competition with large oiled men showing off their bodies to the audience. 'I wouldn't mind growing prospects like those. Then I could throw Uncle Edgar out of the house for good.'
'Have you found somewhere else to live yet, Uncle Edgar?' Dominic asked politely.
His Uncle put down the real estate section of the newspaper and frowned at him.
'I'm not looking to move, young man. I was merely seeing what opportunities there are around here for a man of my talents. But nothing presents itself. But then, there's no hurry. After all, you need a man around the place.'
'No we don't,' Dominic said quickly.
'Don't be impolite to your uncle,' his mother protested weakly.
'No, no. That's quite all right,' Uncle Edgar said heartily. 'It's only the sort of behaviour I expect. A boy needs leadership; a hero to look up to.'
'I look up to my father,' Dominic said fiercely.
'Ah, but he's not here, is he? Dear me, no.' Uncle Edgar shook his head sadly and Dominic felt his fingers clenching with the urge to hit him.
Unfortunately, Mr Garrett had gone to work one day as usual then never returned. The police had done all the usual checks, ranging from dredging the local lake in case Mr Garrett had drowned to making inquiries from all the neighbours.
'They asked if he'd been seeing another woman,' a scandalized Anna told her mother. Nosy Mrs Holden from down the street had bumped into her outside the dairy and informed her of this in a loud voice. Anna had felt like sinking into the ground as she fiercely defended her father's reputation.
'But we don't know where he is,
' she had complained to her brother one morning. 'And they don't even seem to be looking for him any more.'
'It has been six months now,' Dominic pointed out. It was actually 6 months and five days. He knew that exactly as he kept a record in the back of his school science book. He would never forget the date as it had happened on his birthday.
'But he's not dead. I know he's not. He'll come home one day.'
Dominic sounded more confident than he felt.
Their mother was very weird about the whole thing. After her initial alarm, she seemed to have sunk into a state of acceptance. She still cooked the meals and did her part time job helping Mr Painter the accountant in his office three days a week, but she never mentioned her husband at all.
'It's like she has shut off part of her head,' Anna had explained to a bewildered Dominic. 'She can't look in there because it would upset her too much so she pretends he's just gone off for a holiday and will soon be back. That way she can cope. We must stay positive.'
Dominic had tried to stay positive but it wasn't easy with Uncle Edgar dominating every aspect of his life. School became a sanctuary; somewhere to get away from Uncle Edgar for a few hours each day.
'Maybe you could poison your uncle, ' his best friend Nathan suggested as they ate their lunch one day.
'What with?' Dominic brightened then slumped down in despair. 'We don't keep poison in the house. And if I did it I'd end up in jail and that would be even worse