Wellington by Kate Camp

Author:Kate Camp [Kate Camp]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781927147368
Publisher: Exisle Publishing Pty Ltd
Published: 2011-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

He is lying on his back in a peaceful ward. It’s early evening. An unseen transistor radio is lisping in a corner, hospital dinner smells drift in from the corridor. Greer’s not hungry. He’s been given morphine. Surfing a particularly fierce wave, he smiles crookedly to himself as Sylvia, puffy-eyed in her business suit, wobbles towards him. She returns the smile but immediately breaks down. ‘Oh God, Greer,’ she brushes tears aside with the tips of her fingers. ‘I thought you were dying.’ She kneels at his bedside, picks up his hand and presses it to her forehead. ‘I was sobbing all the way. The taxi driver thought I was nuts.’

He sighs, joyously, and concentrates on his wave. After a while it begins to ease off. He strokes her hair.

‘I’m not dying.’

‘Well, the children are – to see you. I’ll bring them tomorrow. I left them with Ken, just in case.’

‘Who?’

‘Ken. He drove you to school.’

‘I never asked his name.’

‘Well, it’s Ken.’

‘Ken …’

‘He’s such a nice guy.’

‘A prince.’

‘Thank God he was there when it happened. The kids adore him.’

‘Do they?’

‘He had them set up in one of the units. Happy Meals all round.’

‘Which unit?’

‘Four.’

Greer ponders. ‘Harbour view?’

‘Christ, I wasn’t thinking about the view. I thought you were dying, Greer. I dropped in, saw the kids were okay and came straight on here. Ken said not to worry, they’ll be fine. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I thought we should say thank you. I could get him a bottle of Moët on the way back. What do you think?’

‘Lindauer.’

‘Sweetheart …’

‘Yes, sweetheart?’ There’s another wave gathering.

‘I’m sorry about today. I was thinking. We could make a go of that house.’

‘No.’ He takes her hand. His eyes rolls backwards in his head. ‘Wow …’

She sits forward, anxious. ‘What is it?’

‘Nothing.’ He smiles crookedly.

Sylvia smooths his hair. ‘I won’t go to Auckland. I had a word with them, they’ll send someone else. I’m taking the week off and your mother’s coming down to help with the kids.’ She starts to cry again. ‘Just think, if you’d died, our last words would have been words of anger.’

‘Hey,’ says Greer. He takes her hand. ‘Chill.’ And kisses it. ‘Chill, man, chill.’

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