Read Online Henry’s Daughter by Joy Dettman - Free Book Online

and you’re Eddy. Am I right?’ They cringe, don’t know what a ‘mollydooker’ is. He keeps it up for a while but he can’t get a word out of them.
    Mavis is staring at them now. She’s eyeing Eva too, sort of like a cat eyeing a rat, sort of disdainful, like the cat isn’t hungryat the moment, thank you, but she’s got that rat right where she wants it.
    And the rat knows it too, it’s getting flittery, jittery. Like Eva can’t sit still for a second. She’s fiddling with her hair, her sleeve, glancing at the twins, at Henry, who is getting more meat off those two roast chickens with his knife than Mavis could get off them with her teeth. She’s done the weather bit and nowshe forces her mouth fast into a fake smile and asks Henry when he learned to cook. She hasn’t tasted his cabbage yet or she wouldn’t ask. Then the smile gets sucked back fast into wrinkles and her cheeks look like one of Bert Matthews’s wormy apples that’s been off the tree too long. She looks at Mr Watts, at his briefcase. It’s probably got the adoption papers in it and maybe some money for Mavis.Eva gave her money before when she thought she might get the twins; that’s how Henry had enough to pay for getting the kitchen extended.
    â€˜Are those two brain damaged?’ Mavis says.
    Eva flinches, looks where Mavis is looking. ‘ Very bright. Both exceptional students, darling. And your boys?’ No one mentions girl. No one sees girl.
    From her chair at the head of the table Mavis has a good view ofthe room. She’s got her back to the louvres and she’s the closest to the back door, so she’s feeling any breeze that might stir. She’s eyeing the bread now and wanting a slice or six. Can’t do that today so she lights a cigarette instead. It’s a contagious disease, because Greg goes outside to have a stolen smoke and old Alice takes out her packet, lights up. Eva doesn’t like the smoke. She stands,walks to the pram where Matty is pig-grunting and getting ready to bawl again.
    â€˜You dear little pet,’ she says. ‘He is gorgeous , Henry.’ He’s not gorgeous. He’s probably the fattest, ugliest, baldest baby in Willama. ‘What did you name him?’
    â€˜We give them numbers up here,’ Mavis says. ‘He’s Number Twelve.’
    Eva reaches out a finger to touch Matty’s fat little leg. He bawls. She steps back buthe keeps on bawling.
    â€˜I can smell him from here. Change his napkin, and put him on our bed,’ Mavis says. She’s talking to Martin but Eva flinches, moves back to her chair fast, looks at the hand that might actually have touched the shitty baby, looks at the sink, purses her lips, then takes a handkerchief from between her boobs – which are pretty much not there – pretends to wipe her nose, rubsthe perfumed hanky across her palms while stretching her mouth and cheek wrinkles flat. She glances at Alice, her eyes talking a secret, silent language. They are like Greg’s eyes, pale blue and glinting greedy.
    The twins haven’t moved; they’ve got to be retarded. Or maybe Alice is a mad scientist who’s got a laboratory where she does lobotomies. Lori watches a lot of television and videos. OnceMartin hired One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and by the time everyone got to see it it was nearly worn out, but by then Lori knew all about nuthouses and lobotomies and she was only about seven.
    Mick walks in and Eva stares at his rubber leg in its metal contraption. Her mouth and cheeks screw into their puckered pout as she watches his throwing walk.
    Then the twins stand. Together. Walk toher chair. Together. ‘How much longer do we have to stay here?’ one says, and the other one adds, ‘When are we going to the party?’ No wonder Henry wanted to kiss them. They talk like posh poms.
    Eva aims a single kiss between the two clean heads.