Breakthrough

  Chapter 4. Yoghurt and Bananas

  ‘Now what?’ demanded Ben. ‘Any more bright ideas?’

  He and Tessa looked at each other helplessly.

  ‘Perhaps if we try exploring that park we might find the juggler,’ suggested Tessa.

  ‘But I can’t go at the moment as I really have to be at the shop to help Mum and Dad. I’m awfully late already. It’s Saturday tomorrow so why don’t we meet here really early and see what we can do?’

  ‘That’s fine for you,’ answered Ben, ‘but what am I supposed to do with Molly? I can’t leave her here on her own overnight.’

  ‘Can’t you take her home?’ asked Tessa. ‘You know your mother always wanted a girl. I heard her tell my Mum she was thinking about fostering or adopting one. Well here’s her chance.’

  Ben looked harassed. ‘I know they’re thinking about getting a baby,’ he said, but that’s all done through government departments and things. They sign papers and it’s all official. I can’t just turn up with a baby and say I found her in the river!’

  ‘The Pharaoh’s daughter found a baby floating on a river,’ remarked Tessa. ‘We learned about it at school in Religious Studies. The Pharaoh let her keep it.’

  ‘Oh, History’, said Ben with contempt. ‘That’s all very well, in those days. People nowadays don’t go leaving babies in rivers – or on church steps,’ he added hastily as he saw Tessa’s face light up with another idea.

  Tessa gave him an injured look.

  ‘I wasn’t going to say that,’ she protested. ‘Actually I’ve had a brilliant idea. You and Molly can sleep in the flat above our shop. Mr Jenkins is away in Australia for a few weeks so there won’t be anyone there. It’s got a bed and kitchen and bathroom and everything.’

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ admitted Ben grudgingly, ‘but what am I supposed to tell my parents. They are expecting me home for tea soon.’

  ‘We’ll ring them up and tell them you’re staying the night at my place,’ said Tessa. ‘After all, it will be true in a way.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ agreed Ben without enthusiasm. The prospect of spending a night with a small child, in a strange place, held little appeal. ‘But the first thing is to get Molly some proper clothes. And a nappy,’ he added gloomily as Molly watched with interest a spreading puddle where she was sitting.

  ‘Don’t touch that, it’s wet,’ he yelled at her.

  ‘Wet, wet, wet,’ said Molly proudly.

  ‘I’ve had an idea about clothes as well,’ said Tessa proudly. ‘I know where there is a huge Teddy bear with a proper shirt and coat and trousers as well. I’m sure the clothes will fit Molly. It’s in the storeroom behind the shop, along with a whole lot of other junk. And you can buy disposable nappies at the service station on the corner,’ she ended triumphantly.

  ‘Wrong, you mean you can buy the nappies’, said Ben. ‘Let’s go to your father’s shop and you can go into the service station on the way past. I’ll pay,’ he added quickly seeing Tessa’s face looking mutinous. He fished in his pocket and found a crumpled toffee paper, two paperclips, a broken pocketknife and a $10 note. ‘That's my bus money for the school trip next week,’ he said. ‘I forgot to hand it in this morning so we’ll use that. See if you can buy something to eat as well, I’m starving.’

  They set off down the street, Ben carrying Molly who was feeling heavier by the minute. It was a slow trip as Ben made Tessa go in front and keep a lookout for Jamie and Sam before he would venture round the corner or across Victoria Street. At the service station Ben stood outside, watching the attendant polishing the windscreen of a flashy red sports car, while Tessa rushed in to buy the nappies. She came out carrying a large plastic bag.

  ‘I bought some yoghurt and a bunch of bananas,’ she explained. ‘They were going cheap as they are a bit soft but I thought you wouldn’t mind.’

  Ben did mind but by that time he was so hungry he didn’t care. He and Molly companionably shared three bananas by which time they were both very sticky. Soon they arrived at the back entrance to Tessa’s parents’ shop.

  ‘I’ll take Molly and dress her while you keep Mum and Dad occupied,’ said Tessa firmly, blocking any protest by peeling a large chunk of banana which she deposited in Molly’s open mouth.’

  ‘Fine,’ agreed Ben and hastily made his way round the corner and into the shop.

  Tessa’s parents owned an antique shop. Actually it was mainly a second hand shop full of a jumble of furniture, china and other treasures. Tessa’s mother had decided that ‘Antiques’ sounded much grander and also gave them the chance to increase the prices on some of the older and more dilapidated pieces of furniture.

  ‘Can I help - oh hello Ben.’ Tessa’s father looked over from the side of the shop, where he was hanging a picture on the wall, and gave him a grin. ‘Have a look around,’ he invited. ‘Might pay to rub one of those lamps on the table. You never know – you might find a genie coming out.’ He chuckled. Ben blushed. He remembered with acute embarrassment the last time he had been in the Antique shop. It was nearly a year ago when he was not as grown up as he was now. He had just finished reading a really exciting book set in the Far East, where a magic carpet had figured prominently. He had unrolled a likely looking old Persian carpet from the back of the shop and was standing on it chanting the Words of Power when Tessa’s father had caught him. Roaring with laughter he had assured Ben that if any of the carpets would fly then he would give it to him for nothing. Ben has hastily muttered he was looking for a present for his grandmother and ended up paying far too much for a hideous orange vase. His grandmother had thanked Ben rather doubtfully for this and put it in a high cupboard out of sight ‘so it wouldn’t get broken, dear.’

  A loud crash from the back of the shop made Tessa’s father look up.

  ‘What on earth?’ he began.

  ‘Um, can you please tell me how much this costs,’ said Ben desperately, grabbing the first thing he could see beside him. It turned out to be a rather unattractive china dog with a chip out of one ear.

  ‘That, oh it’s not worth much,’ said Tessa’s father, frowning as another loud crash came from his storeroom.

  ‘I’d like to buy it,’ insisted Ben wondering if a broken pocketknife would be accepted as a trade.

  ‘Eh, oh you can have it, just take it,’ came the reply as Tessa’s father strode to the back of the shop and disappeared into the storeroom. Ben shot out the front door, still clutching the china dog to find Tessa holding a smartly dressed Molly. A natty waistcoat in black velvet set off a blue T-shirt and green striped trousers. The cuffs of the trousers were rolled up to show her feet in red patterned socks that she was trying to unsuccessfully to remove.

  ‘Well at least they fit,’ said Tessa defensively as she saw Ben’s look of horror. ‘And I found an old pram out the back in the storeroom. I’ve taken it upstairs so Molly has somewhere to sleep and we can push her around in it tomorrow. Dad won’t notice it’s missing. I shoved a deckchair over the space where it was.’

  ‘That explains the crashes’, thought Ben.

  ‘I even rang your Mum and said you were staying with me tonight. Look, I have to go in to Dad now,’ said Tessa. ‘I’ve left the back door unlocked so you can sneak up the stairs while I help Dad shut up shop. I’ll come in first thing in the morning. And I’ll bring you something nice for breakfast,’ she added hastily.

  Miserably Ben agreed to this. Thankfully, after a large meal of yoghurt and banana, Molly was happy to go to sleep wrapped in a blanket inside the large pram that had been in the storeroom. By this time Ben was so worn out that he ate another banana himself and crawled into Mr Jenkin’s bed where he was soon asleep.