Against The Odds (24 page)

“
I don’t think so. He is worried that we will become like you
and Clayton. He keeps saying he wants to be sure that there are no
creatures. I was very bad the other night. He woke me up to ask me
if I was alright. I was so angry that I told him that I thought he
was my Protector. He completely freaked out. He was so angry when I
started laughing. You should have seen his face, shocked horror,
that his precious back might be beaten. It was too
funny.”

“
You are so wicked. That is the most frightening thing for
him. Oh, how could you?”

“
I will do it again if he doesn’t back off. How is
Clayton?”

“
Fine. Out bonding with my father. They have been gone for
hours. I don’t even want to think about what they are talking
about. But it is lovely out here. I feel very relaxed.”

“
Good, you needed that. How is your Mum?”

“
Very well, she is out in the garden, talking to her plants.
Tell Jono that.”

They laughed and Jackie said, “yes,
when you get back, we will have dinner, so we can torture him
together.
It will be great fun.
Call me again, please, so I will feel sane.”

Rebecca
went to the garden to join her mother.

“
Mum, shall we cook? It is getting late.”

“
Yes, sure, start. I will join you in a minute.”

Rebecca
went into the kitchen and watched her mother through the window.
Will she cope as well as her mother did? The way she accepted her
life, without too much anxiety?

While
her mother helped her in the kitchen, they gossiped about Rowena’s
witch friends. They laughed about spells they had tried that had
gone wrong.

“
Mum, I crossed over.”

Rebecca
said it, the simple statement she had tried so hard to
deny.

“
What, darling, what do you mean?”

“
That night, I crossed over and could not find my way back.
That is why I do not want to do it again.”

“
Rebecca, Rebecca, what are you saying? That you
died?”

“
Yes, Mum. Yes. I have not been able to say that, to myself
and to Clayton.”

“
Rebecca, baby, why did you not tell us?”

She went over and held her child.
She had died?
Oh my word, it had been much
worse than she had imagined. The poor thing.
How could this happen to my
child?

“
Oh, my baby.”

They
stood there, in the kitchen, holding each together and crying. When
Rebecca eventually told her mother everything, she felt so much
better. Her mother, however, felt a lot worse. She had never
anticipated that her daughter would go through so much.

When
Clayton got into the car with George, he was concerned. Was he
wrong to have told her father? He seemed so lost now, so far
away.

“
George, I am sorry I told you about this. I just think you
need to understand what she has been through.”

“
Clayton, my boy, there is no need to be sorry. I am glad you
told me. We would have just pushed her into doing more, when she
was not ready. That would be far more dangerous.”

“George,
I don’t want to deal with this today. I want her to be ready to
talk about it, to share with me or you. I can’t even imagine how
she will feel when she realizes what happened to her. You know,
when she was up there, she was just smiling. There was no fear, no
anxiety, but her body was crying. I don’t want to push her right
now. Please, can we do it some other time?”

“
Yes, I don’t think I am ready to talk about it too. Let us
leave it alone. Anyway, her mother needs to know and she will not
deal well with it. She has spent years feeling guilty and helpless
and this has been her greatest fear. Anyway, I am too drunk now. I
need time to find a way that this will be okay.”

“
Yes and I will get through to Rebecca. Thank you for
listening. I have never really been able to say it, out loud
before. It just clung in my mind all this time. Now that I have
said it, I think I can speak to Rebecca too. Let’s leave it for
now.”

When
they got to the house, they were greeted by the beautiful aroma of
food and Clayton, always hungry, was ready to eat. They ate
quietly, hardly speaking.

You know, don’t you?

Yes, she told me this afternoon.

God, Rowena, how can she sit so calmly there, as if nothing
happened?

Because she is still too scared. She needs time. Clayton told
you?

Yes, he is devastated.

I can see. What shall we do?

Nothing, my dear, nothing. Clayton says he wants to deal with
it, his way

Okay, but ......

“
Can you two please stop that? You have guests,
Mum.”

“
What, darling?”

“Mum,
please. Give it a rest.”

“
Rebecca tells me you went to see Nana’s house today. How was
it?”

Clayton
tried to distract her, because he could tell Rebecca was getting
agitated.

“I still
feel odd about seeing other people there. There are three kids who
play outside all the time. They moved in about six months ago. The
woman, Chloe, seems to like the house and the garden looks great.
My mother would have been proud.”

“
Yes, I liked seeing the kids there. That is the way Nana
always liked it. Tons of kids running around there, making a noise.
I would come back from school to visit her and there would be kids
entertaining her. I would get so jealous sometimes. My special
Nana, and all those strangers.”

After dinner, George and his wife went off to bed early.
Rebecca thought
, she is going to tell him now. I hope he does not make a
scene and get all fatherly possessive.
But neither George nor his wife emerged from their
bedroom.

“
Clayton, you look a little tired. Are you okay?”

“
Yes, a little drunk, I think. I need to go to bed, all
alone....”

“
Oh stop that, we are leaving tomorrow, so it is only one
night.”

“
Come, let me tuck you in, okay?”

“
Okay, but do you promise to behave, Clayton?”

“
I guess I have to.....”

She fell off to sleep, with Clayton rubbing her back with
his right hand. However, she woke up in the middle of the night,
unable to sleep. The mood around the house had been different, a
bit sad, and she knew that Clayton was trying to help her.
I miss him. I can’t
sleep without him tonight.
She went into his bedroom and he was asleep. She climbed
into the bed and curled up against him. He woke up and held
her.

“
What are you doing here?”

“
Hmm, looking for some company. I thought you might enjoy the
surprise.”

“
Yes, nice. Are you trying to charm me?”

“
Yes, no. I could not sleep.”

“Why do
you need to charm me? Have you been corrupt?”

“
Yes, I have been. I have been difficult these last few weeks.
I’m sorry.”

“
Relax, it’s been okay.” He hugged her closer, “But you must
sleep now or I won’t behave, okay?”

“
Okay, okay...”

Clayton was fast asleep again.
He must be really
tired
, she
thought,
because I am the one who usually falls off to sleep
first.

But Clayton was not asleep. He did not want to talk to her
now because he knew himself well enough to know that he would have
insisted that they talk about her experience and they would
fight.
Not
now, I can’t fight now
,
he thought.

In
the morning Clayton had packed his things and was sitting in the
garden with her father when she finally woke up. She
reali
zed that they were
talking about her because they suddenly kept quiet when they saw
her making her way to the garden.

“
Good morning. What are you are up to so early in the
morning?”

“
Good morning, Sweetpea. In case you haven’t noticed, it is
ten already. We’ve had breakfast and your mother has gone over to
see one of her friends. Go, get some breakfast and join
us.”

“Oh, I
didn’t realize it is so late already.” She went into the kitchen
and Clayton followed her.

“Good
morning, Princess,” and he held her.

“
Now, go and sit with your father, I’ll get you
something.”

“
I like this, you serving me.”

“
That’s alright because you will definitely serve me later
when we get home.”

His blue
eyes were shining.

When he
brought the breakfast, Rebecca was laughing with her father.
Clayton looked at her and clearly visualized himself ripping her
blouse off.

She got
a shock and jumped up, clutching her blouse.

“
What is the matter, Princess?”

“Oh,
ur
..
Nothing....”

Clayton and the George looked at each other and
smiled.
Good, let her suffer
. His mind games were just beginning.

*****

While they driving back, Clayton was quiet. He had learnt
to shut her off and he was doing so very nicely. He wanted them to
get home, sit down and finally talk. He was not prepared to let
these silences stand between them. Anyway, she seemed a bit nervous
about something.
She wants to say something, but does not know how
to.

“
Clayton, I have a confession to make.”

“
Really, what have you done?”

“
Well, it is not something I have done exactly. It is what I
haven’t done.”

His phone was ringing.
Shit
, she thought,
not now
.

It was
Jonathan, bemoaning his wife’s unreasonable carelessness about
their baby.

“She
wants to go to the attic in that old house they are decorating, to
‘see for herself’ what the place needs. I mean, that is why she
employs all those people to do those things. Why can’t she send
someone up there?”

“Jono, these women are really full of nonsense.
Tell
her that she is not to climb
those stairs. I have been in that house. It is awful. It looks like
it is going to fall apart any day. Jono, take control. That is much
your baby as it is hers. Nonsense. Put her on the
phone.”

Rebecca was staring at him.
Has he gone mad? Who would ever
tell
Jackie what to do?
He was as bad as Jonathan. Was Jackie to stay in bed for nine
months?

“
Jackie, what’s this nonsense that you are going inside the
death trap attic?”

“
Hello Clayton. I’m fine thank you. I am going to have a look
at the design, because I have some ideas. What’s the big
deal?”

“
The big deal, my dear, is that your husband will never
forgive himself if anything happened to you. Be reasonable, Jackie,
that place is awful. Send someone else, okay?”

“
No, Clayton, I can’t stop living now. I am only a few weeks
pregnant. What do you expect me to do? Stay at home for nine
months? I want the baby as much as he does, you know that. But I am
not ill or anything.”

“
Jackie, listen to me. This is not the time to assert yourself
with him. Look, try to see his perspective. He can’t do anything to
help, so he watches from a distance.”

“
What do you want me to do? You guys are crazy.”

“Okay, calm down. Listen, how about this. Let someone else
deal with the attic and you get the rest of the house. Or, Jono is
right, they can tell you what is up there and you can work on
it
from the
ground
. Think about how
helpless he feels right now. If you fight him, he will just get
worse and then you
will
spend the
next nine months in the house. Just show him you understand his
fear and he will be okay.”

“
But Clay, he won’t let me do anything.”

“
Yes, because you have not shown him that you are willing to
accept his help and concern. Make a concession so that he knows you
are being responsible. You know he will back off. Come on, J, give
the man a break.”

“
Okay, you sound just like Rebecca. Fine. I won’t go into the
attic but I will go shopping and everything else.”

“
That’s my girl. Just show consideration for him. This is not
easy for him. I’ll get him to back off on the other stuff,
okay?”

“
Okay, thanks. How was your visit?”

“Very
good. We are almost back home now. It was wonderful and relaxing.
Rebecca says hello and she will call you later, privately. Put your
husband on the phone.”