Runner by Robert Newton

Author:Robert Newton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742281360
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
Published: 2005-12-21T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

That night, after dinner, I left Ma and Jack in front of the fire, loaded the trolley full of wood and called on the Redmonds next door. It would take a lifetime to repay the Redmonds properly for all their kindness. But now, with a free hand at the wood yard, I was at least able to give them something. Out the back, Mrs Redmond was hovering excitedly over a gramophone she had set up on a table on the verandah.

‘Dadaaaah!… What d’ya think, Charlie?’ ‘Struth, must’ve cost a fortune. Where’d ya get it?’ With a skipping rope draped over his shoulders, Mr Redmond moved up beside me.

‘It was the wife’s idea, Charlie. I’m tellin’ yer right now, I had nothin’ ta do with it.’

In these parts, a gramophone was as rare as hens’ teeth and quite frankly I was a little surprised by Mr Redmond’s confession.

‘What are ya talkin’ about?’ I said. ‘It’s a beaut! You two’ll be dancin’ yer boots off.’

Next to me, Mr Redmond took a step back.

‘Us two?’ said his wife. ‘It’s not fer us, Charlie. It’s fer you.’

‘Me? What would I want with a gramophone?’

‘Footwork, Charlie. It’s ta help yer along with yer footwork.’

Suddenly I understood the reason for Mr Redmond’s odd behaviour.

If I’d needed any further reason to quit boxing, then this was it.

‘Look, it’s very kind of ya ta go ta all that bother,’ I said. ‘And it’s not like I’m ungrateful or nothin’, but I’ve got somethin’ I need ta tell ya.’

This time Mr Redmond took a step forward.

‘What is it, Charlie?’

‘I’m retirin’ from the boxin’.’

‘Ya what?’

‘I’m retirin’.’

‘Retirin’?… It’s the nursery rhymes, is it lad?’

‘Nah.’

‘It’s the gramophone then? I knew it were a daft idea.’

‘It’s not the gramophone.’

‘But ya can’t be retirin’, we haven’t even started on the bag yet. Come on, we’ll hit the bag.’

‘It’s nothin’ about the trainin’, Mr Redmond. I just ain’t cut out fer the boxin’, that’s all. Runnin’s me game.’

For a few moments, the three of us stood quietly, surveying the training equipment. Finally, it was Mr Redmond who broke the silence.

‘Ya sure it weren’t the gramophone?’ he asked.

‘I’m sure. But it does seem a bit of a waste. D’ya think I could borrow it fer a couple a nights, Mrs Redmond? I’ve someone that needs a little cheerin’ up.’

‘Course ya can, Charlie. Take it fer as long as ya like. There’s a record there, too.’

As was her habit of late, Mrs Redmond raised her hand up to her mouth and half-smiled before disappearing inside. It saddened me to see her behaving this way. Like Ma, she too had lost her smile. So conscious was she of her rotting teeth that now, whenever there was company about, she hid them behind her hand. And, on those occasions where her hands were full and something tickled her fancy, she’d kill her smile by forcing her lips shut.

With her gone, Mr Redmond and I began unloading the wood from my trolley. He too looked glum.

‘Yer still runnin’ fer Squizzy Taylor, I ’ear.

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