Everything We Keep, Di Walker [best pdf reader for ebooks txt] 📗

who quickly led the way across the street. At the grassy edge of the path, Katherine looked around, saw few cars and let Chief go. He ran ahead. By the time she caught up to him he was on the sand, chasing the seagulls.

Katherine and Chief walked along the beach, and while the view of the bay usually took Katherine’s mind to her husband, today she could not stop thinking about the silence that was behind Agatha’s closed door.

Chief ran around and round and then stopped. At first Katherine didn’t seem to notice, but he stayed still for so long that she too stopped. ‘Chief come on.’

He didn’t move.

Katherine took a few steps towards him, and just as she was about to bend down to pick him up, he took off; across the sand and up the steps. ‘Chief!’ Katherine called out and headed towards the steps after him, the deep sand making each step harder. ‘Chief!’

She saw his small body fly along the path, and she looked ahead to see if she could see what he was running towards.

A bright orange suitcase and a lone figure sat on the bench under the plane tree.

Katherine smiled to herself and ran too.

25

‘This as far as I got,’ Agatha said, still looking out to the bay.

‘What time did you . . . ’ Katherine began to ask but stopped. That wasn’t the question she needed the answer to. ‘What have you decided to do?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve been sitting here for ages just waiting for the answer. I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to go to school. What would you do, Katherine, if you were me?’

‘Big decisions are hard to make. Whatever you decide you know I’ll support you. I can’t make the decision for you though.’ Katherine looked out across the bay. They both sat together, with Chief on Agatha’s lap.

‘Why don’t we go home and have some breakfast?’ Katherine offered. ‘Lawson says big decisions shouldn’t be made on an empty stomach. What do you think?’

Agatha shrugged, ‘Okay.’

Katherine put Chief on his lead, and they began to walk towards the path that would take them home. Agatha walked beside her, firmly gripping her suitcase.

Several few minutes later they entered Katherine’s home. Agatha put her suitcase next to the wall by the front door. The clock in the sitting room said 06:57.

Katherine had moved to the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast. Agatha stood at the counter, watching every move. First the cereal, then the milk and yoghurt.

‘Why do you think my mum can’t do this for me anymore?’ If the unexpected question surprised Katherine, she didn’t show it.

‘Why do you think?’ she asked in reply as she sliced a banana on top of the yoghurt.

‘Nell said it’s her way of coping, all the things she keeps, since the accident.’

‘Is that what you think?’

Agatha shrugged, ‘I don’t know. I suppose.’ Katherine handed her a bowl and they both moved to the dining table. Agatha pushed the banana pieces down through the yoghurt and into the milk and cereal.

‘I don’t know about the accident,’ Katherine said, as she too moved the banana around the bowl.

‘Really?’ Agatha’s voice was surprised. ‘Nell didn’t tell you?’

‘No,’ Katherine paused. ‘Do you want to tell me?’

‘It was a long time ago. I only remember bits.’

Katherine waited, taking in a mouthful of cereal and chewing slowly. Agatha did the same. Another spoonful, then another. Finally, Agatha said, ‘When I was seven and a half, in Grade 2, my sister, Nora, was five and she’d just started Preps. Mum would make us breakfast and pack our lunch boxes, every day. She would walk us to school every day. I remember her wearing this one summer dress, it was white with flowers on it. I remember that dress.’ Agatha took another mouthful. She could picture her mother in that dress, out in their garden, where she would set up a picnic for them on balmy summer nights. Agatha could hear her mother’s laugh, and see her dad arriving home from work, taking off his tie, his shoes and socks and joining the picnic.

‘She would walk us to school, talk to the other mums at the gate. She would read in the classrooms, you know, parent helper stuff, and I remember her coming on the bus when my class went to the aquarium. I remember all off that, Katherine.’

‘She sounds like a good mum, Agatha.’

‘She was.’

‘What happened?’

Agatha took in a deep breath, put her spoon in her bowl and sat back in her chair. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, twisted it around, pulling it around to the side of her face before letting it go, finally placing both hands on the table, as if bracing herself.

‘My sister and me, we were waiting at the front of the school. Mum was there but she was talking to some other mums about something.’

‘What do you mean you were talking about cakes?’ Agatha could hear her father’s voice.

‘It happened so fast. . . ’

‘Cakes? I can’t believe you were talking about cakes?’

‘I thought she was with Agatha . . . ’

Katherine put her hand onto Agatha’s, ‘What happened?’

‘Nora, she ran ahead. I called out to Mum, but she didn’t hear me. I told Nora to stop. She just kept laughing, she always laughed when we played chasey. But we weren’t playing. I remember her backpack bouncing around as she ran.’

Katherine’s hand tightened on Agatha’s. ‘Go on,’ she said softly.

‘I called out to Mum again and this time she turned and saw Nora running. She called out to her, but Nora wouldn’t stop She kept on laughing. I ran after her. Mum did too. There was another mum, near me who was putting her kids in her car and she started to run towards Nora too. Someone shouted.’

Katherine felt Agatha’s hand turn over and their fingers entwined. This time, it was Agatha’s grip that tightened.

‘Nora was looking back at me and laughing and that’s when she ran