Helping the Polonskys by Khaleel Muhammad

Author:Khaleel Muhammad
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kube Publishing Ltd

Everyone – Adam and the dogs chasing him, Che Amran and his bags of rubbish and Sumaya and her galloping Billy goats – stopped dead in their tracks and turned to Leila. She slowly lowered her arms to her sides, turned and looked at each of them.

‘Enough! We are supposed to be here to help get this house shipshape but so far we have only made it worse!’ she said, ankle-deep in soap suds.

Even the dogs chasing Adam whimpered and began to listen. Che Amran peered at her from behind a mound of rubbish and swallowed hard.

‘We need to work as a team if we want to get things done around here. Mr Polonsky do you have that list you mentioned earlier?’

He handed her a small note pad with barely legible writing scrawled on it. Leila examined it for a moment, rolling her tongue in her left cheek.

‘Hmm, okay everyone, stop what you are doing, (chugga chugga) each of us will (chugga chugga) will … (chugga chugga) will … (chug). Oh, that’s it! Hold on one minute please,’ Leila turned round, entered the utility room and shut the door firmly behind her. The chugging, banging and swirling coming from Helga suddenly stopped. The door opened and Leila calmly walked back into the lobby, smoothing down her clothes and then her hijab.

‘Now, as I was saying … doggies?’ the ears of the dogs around Adam pricked up.

‘Woof?’ barked the huge Dalmatian.

‘Get back to your own houses, now!’

‘Woof, woof?’

‘Yes, now!’ she ordered, pointing towards the back door.

With tails tucked between their legs, led by the Dalmatian, the pack of dogs sloped off to the door.

‘Adam, give those rabbits to Sumaya then grab a mop and bucket and start on the leaking washing machine in the utility room. Imran, help Che Amran to move all these bin liners out. I’ll call someone to bring a skip out front where we can throw them all.

The kids set about their tasks like professionals, and that was how it continued.

After a while all the kids began to make real headway in tidying the house. As the day progressed the hallway was clear, the floor polished and the windows cleaned. Leila, who had a great way with electronics, fixed Helga and had her purring like a happy pussycat – which was a great advantage as curtains, bed sheets and clothes had to be washed, ironed and hung in the back garden.

In the garden all the pens and fences used to house the animals were fixed by Adam and Sumaya. Che Amran and Imran threw the rubbish bags in a skip that was parked in the driveway.

On the second day they made a start on the rooms upstairs. It was all done in record time.

On both afternoons at 1.30 and 4.15 the kids stopped whatever they were doing. The first time it happened Mr Polonsky watched curiously as Adam recited something in Arabic before the kids prayed together. He admired the kids’ dedication to their prayers and he could see how they all motivated one another.

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