See Ya, Simon by David Hill

Author:David Hill [Hill, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780143770701
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2013-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

Eleven

My week down with Dad wasn’t exactly a great success.

As I suspected, he’s got a new girl friend. Her name’s Emma, and she’s quite nice. But she was trying to impress Dad, and Dad was trying to impress her, and they were both trying to impress me, and it just didn’t feel very natural.

The time I enjoyed most was near the end, when Dad and I spent a day wheelbarrowing a big truckload of firewood into the garage of the place where he’s living. We got more relaxed and did some proper talking then.

‘Dad, why did you and Mum split up?’ I suddenly asked him. I’d been planning to for months, but it still sounded awkward and strange when it came out.

Dad stood there beside the woodpile in the garage, looking a bit lonely. ‘It’s hard to put into words, son. I’m still very fond of your mother, but … well, people can grow apart without understanding it themselves. Perhaps …’ Then he shut up, stared vaguely at the two bits of wood he had in his hands, wandered outside and threw them back on the heap in the drive instead of stacking them in the garage.

‘Grow apart’! I’m still trying to think of ways for Brady and me to grow together.

I sent Simon a postcard of the gorilla in the city zoo, with a message asking, ‘Seen Alex Wilson round town?’ And I sent him the latest Northern Spews headline: TEENAGE BOMBSHELL’S END-OF-TERM ROMP, with a message asking, ‘Seen Brady West around town?’ I bought Fiona the Moaner a giant rubber in the shape of a dog. Maybe it’ll help her remember when it’s her turn to take him for a walk.

Dad gave me a present to take home for Fiona, too – a huge white stuffed monkey whose eyes go round and round when you pull a cord in its back. I thought it was absolutely gross, and I made him put it in a plastic rubbish bag before I’d take it on the bus. Fiona squeaked and drooled over it, of course.

Dad also gave me some money for myself, which I didn’t put in a plastic rubbish bag, and he gave me a big thick letter for Mum. She didn’t say what was in it, but she spent a lot of time in her room over the next couple of days.

Simon went off to the disabled kids’ home the day before I arrived back, so the second week of the holidays was pretty boring. Haare was away, too. Mum said he’d rung while I was down with Dad, and told her about getting his braces from the orthodontist, except Haare kept calling him an ‘awful dentist’. I had one role-playing session with Todd and Jason. I walked the dog past Brady’s place a few times, but I never saw her. I even played cards with Fiona the Moaner and thrashed her.

Simon sent me two postcards. One was a picture of part of the town where Paritai Home was.

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