Suddenly One Summer by Fleur McDonald

Author:Fleur McDonald [Fleur McDonald]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2017-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

In the inner sanctum of the minister’s office, Dave ran his fingers along the spines of the books that lined the walls. The books were large and thick, with old, cracked spines of faded red.

‘Do you know what year you need?’ Chris asked.

‘Starting from 1947, I think. The year Guy was born. Children were born almost year after year in those days.’

Chris reached up to a high shelf and took down a book, opening the front cover. ‘Nineteen sixty-five. Nope, need to go back further.’ He walked along counting the spines until he came to 1947. ‘If Guy’s birth isn’t recorded here, then it would be safe to say the other siblings won’t be either.’

‘Well, he was definitely born in the area. He told me his mum had him in the back room of their house.’

‘I’ll leave you to your searching, then. If you need anything more, just call.’ Chris nodded his head and left the room.

Dave tilted his head to take in all the books, then looked around the room. The walls were uneven and painted white, and hung with framed pictures of Christ and quotes from the Bible. Carefully he took the book Chris had given him and placed it on the desk. Opening the first page, he felt how thick and creamy the paper was. The writing was beautiful old-style cursive, loopy, neat and easy to read.

1 January 1947: The start of the new year. A fresh year, just like the Lord gives us every day. I pray that for every one of my parishioners and people in the mid north, it’s a good, healthy, God-fearing year. Today, being a Wednesday, the church is quiet, except for Mrs Martin who came to say her daily prayers.

2 January 1947: Again, Mrs Martin was the church’s only user.

5 January 1947: Sad news reached us today of the 1 January hailstorm in Sydney. It has caused a million pounds’ worth of damage, but the human cost was more, with over one thousand people injured. A public holiday and many people were on the beach, making the toll more than it might have been.

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