Zac’s voice spat its poison down the telephone. Salvation? The only salvation he gave Cora was a helping hand to push her right to the bottom.
“Zac,” Skylark said, “protect the world and go put a condom on yourself. Don’t even try to draw any more money out of Mum’s account. Two weeks more of freeloading, you piece of shit. Then you’re out.”
She put the telephone down. Leaned against the glass doors, shivering.
What was this? Arnie was still parked outside on the road. Skylark wasn’t in the mood.
“What are you doing? Stalking me?”
“Me? Stalking you? You think a lot of yourself.”
“You know what I’m talking about. Well, just piss off.”
“Jeez, what’s your problem? What’s with the attitude?”
Skylark levelled a look at Arnie. She thought about Cora and Zac and the notion that her mother might not be able to kick her habit after all. Knew that she would have to be strong for her mother as she had always been. The one who had been there when Daddy dearest left. The one who was always there whenever any of the men left. Poor Cora, who always needed a man in her life because she was scared of ending up alone.
“Do you think I like spending my lunch hour watching out for you?” Arnie continued. “I got orders from Auntie Hoki. She said not to leave you alone.”
“Look,” Skylark said. “I’m big enough to look after myself, old enough to know that the best person I can rely on is myself, and if I ever needed help I’d pick on somebody of my own intelligence.”
“Cut me some slack, willya? You know nothing about me.”
“Even if I did I wouldn’t pick a man, least of all a Muscle Mary, even if you are perfectly formed, who goes to bad movies and idolises a movie star who speaks English with a German accent. Just leave me alone, all right?”
Skylark turned on her heel and went back to the station-wagon. Slammed the door. Floored the accelerator.
“You owe me big time, Auntie Hoki,” Arnie said to himself. He took off after Skylark, tailgating her all the way to the crossroads and the Passion Pit motel.
Skylark however, wasn’t having any of that. She put her foot on the pedal, roared past the motel — and, too late, saw the road to Manu Valley sliding past on her right. In an effort to swing the station-wagon around she put too much pressure on the brake. Next moment, it lost traction and was spinning and spinning off the road.
Arnie watched in horror as Skylark fought to correct the station-wagon; in a cloud of dust, it slewed off the road. He stopped the truck, ran over to the wagon and yanked the door open.
“Are you all right?”
Skylark was grim faced. “Don’t talk to me, don’t even think of saying anything to me, just leave me alone.”
“Hey,” Arnie answered angrily, “I’m the hero, right? I’m supposed to save you from the birds, not from yourself.”
He slammed the door shut and walked back to his tow truck. He watched as Skylark managed to get the wagon back onto the road. She didn’t ask for help and he sure as hell wasn’t going to offer it, not even if she went down on her bended knees. Then he heard the wagon’s ignition being switched off, and looked over.
Skylark walked across to where Arnie was standing. She took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry I hit the roof back there, but I want you to listen to what I have to say and not interrupt me until I’ve finished. Okay? We’re not talking existential truth here, so this is simple. For the past year I’ve been looking after my mother. I was supposed to go to university but she was committed to a drug rehab clinic in February — and I chose to go with her. I’m the only one she has to rely on and she is the only mother I have. It’s been a really horrific time for her, coming off drugs, but she’s managed it, despite the fact that her boyfriend Zac still has his hooks into her. The reason why we’re here is that I am trying to get Mum away from him. My mother always gets mixed up with the wrong men. I have to be strong for her. I’ve always had to be strong for her.” She looked at Arnie, willing him to understand. “I know you want to be the hero but I’m not the kind of girl who has a squeaky Melanie Griffith voice and cries out, ‘Oh save me, save me, I’m so helpless!’ Do you understand?”
Arnie looked at Skylark and then he nodded. “Whatever,” he said.
Which made Skylark so furious, because it could have been an admission that he understood what she had said.
Then, again, it could have been nothing like that at all.
By the time Skylark arrived at Manu Valley, the sun had gone behind the sacred mountains. Dark shadows enfolded the Earth like a wing. Evening’s soft voices were murmuring in the wind. The flightless woodhens were beginning to call. Quails were whirring homeward.
Mac-wer-ta. Mac-wer-ta. Tek-tek-tek.
Skylark parked the station-wagon and suppressed her irritation when Arnie, stubborn as, pulled up behind her. He’d made no secret of following her from the crossroads and, now that he’d blown his cover, didn’t care that Skylark was on to him.
“Why, Arnie,” she said. “Fancy meeting you again. If you don’t watch out I’ll start thinking that you have romantic intentions.”
“In your dreams,” Arnie snorted.
Nor did Bella and Hoki seem surprised when Arnie turned up. Bella was on the verandah of the homestead, tending to an injured pukeko.
“Arnie, can you bring some wood in for the stove?” she asked. “Skylark, your mother telephoned to say she’d be late. Hoki’s cooking, so you’re having dinner with us. And just in case you might think it’s funny to ask me if I still have a hangover, I wouldn’t go there if I was you.”
Skylark felt as if she had been fighting all day. She tried to be pleasant.
“Can I do anything to help?” she asked.
Bella grunted, “No” and glared as if the pukeko’s injury was all Skylark’s fault.
“How did it happen?” Skylark tried again.
“Damn cars and trucks speeding down the coast highway.” Bella gave her a meaningful glance. “If they can’t score little old ladies, they like to use my birds as target practice.”
Skylark just lost it. “Look, I know Mum and I almost clocked you and Hoki, and I know we were speeding and I’m sorry. I’ll be big enough to apologise. But are you big enough to accept it? Because if you’re not, you can stick your dinner.”
Bella bristled and Skylark stiffened herself in preparation for an almighty blast of her anger. But Bella bit back on it, put a sock in it. “Hold the pukeko for me,” she said.
“Does a ‘please’ go with that?”
“You sure push the envelope, don’t you,” Bella said. “Okay, please.”
Skylark nodded and took the pukeko. The bird pecked at her fingers and wriggled as Bella fixed an adhesive bandage to its foot. Then Bella kissed the bird on the head and motioned to Skylark to put it down.
“Go home now,” Bella said to the pukeko. “Return to your wife and to your loved ones.”
The pukeko wobbled. It tried to rip the adhesive off and, when it failed, glared — not at Bella but at Skylark. “Go ahead,” Skylark said. “Join the queue.”
The pukeko hip-hopped and skipped into the trees.
“He’ll get it in the neck when he gets home,” Bella said, amused. “His missus will think he’s been to the pub.” Then she turned to Skylark. “Okay, so you’ve given me your perspective on what happened yesterday when you almost ran me and Hoki down, so let me give you mine. All our lives Hoki and I have protected Manu Valley and all the birds who live here. We’re the only protectors the birds have got. It’s our job, plain and simple, and I don’t want to make a big thing of it, but I’m not about to see it all go up in smoke simply because one day you indulged in a bit of dangerous driving. I rely on my sister. She relies on me. We rely on each other for the strength we need to draw the line in the earth and say ‘No’ to all those people who want to cross it.”