Interned by Pamela Rushby

Author:Pamela Rushby [Rushby, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760653071
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

We went straight back to the hotel – there seemed no point in dragging our luggage there if we were just going to have to take it to the house. I told Pa what we’d done, and Franz told him how awful, just awful, the house really was, and Pa said he’d better go and have a look. So he did. When he came back, he agreed with Franz that it was awful, but said it was all there was, and that Franz would be surprised how a little work would soon lick it into shape. Then he smiled at me.

“You did well, Tilly,” he said. “Such a clever girl my little mäuschen has grown into! Now, if the two of you can take your Ma to see this Mr Annett, we will pay him some money and you can get the key.”

“Aren’t you coming, Pa?” asked Franz.

“I think I might be too German for Mr Annett,” said Pa.

Ma had been much restored after a rest and some tea, and she managed Mr Annett very well. She paid the rent money, asked for a receipt, and took the key.

We met Pa back at the house, and he had already collected our luggage from the station.

“Which house is it?” asked Ma gaily as we approached. “Let me guess! The one with the white gate? The one with the rose bushes?”

“Um, this one,” I said.

“Oh,” said Ma. “Oh. Well. Never mind. I’m sure it will be fine. Just a little work, a little clearing, a little gardening. And at least we will all be together.”

That was when it all fell apart again. The afternoon was getting late, the sun would soon be going down. And Pa had to explain to Ma that we would not be together, not for the night at least, because he had to be back in the jail at 5 pm.

“You can’t stay with us?” said Ma, bewildered. “Are you leaving us again?”

“I will be back at nine in the morning,” said Pa. “I can stay with you all day, every day.”

“But not at night?”

“No. I must be in the jail at night. It’s the rule.”

“He’ll be in trouble if he doesn’t go back, Ma,” I tried to explain. “Big trouble.”

But all Ma seemed to understand was that Pa would be leaving us. Every night.

Pa and I gave up for the moment. We had to see what was in the house. There was some furniture. That was good. There was a lot of dirt and dust and spiderwebs. Not so good. A stove, which Pa managed to light. Even some lamps. So we had heat, and light. Pa ran back to the jail and managed to find some food, a couple of blankets, and some newspaper.

“Newspaper?” I said.

“Put it under the blankets. It keeps you warmer.”

And then he had to go.

“In the morning. First thing, I will be here,” he told Ma.

She stood on the verandah and watched him go, and she looked as if she would never see him again.

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