The Corner of a Circle Read online

The Corner of a Circle

  Copyright 2014 Marie Bertolini

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  James

  Margie

  Sheryl

  David

  About Marie Bertolini

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank all those who helped me throughout the process of writing this short story. Especially to my family and boyfriend for not getting annoyed at me for making them read this over and over.

  Prologue

  The school bell rings. The hoards of children run out yelling and shrieking. The end is here. The end of the school year is finally here. Some cry, some hug, some just get the hell out of there without looking back. James Pricket, is one of those children.

  James is an eight-year-old boy with curly blonde hair. He longs for these holidays so he can spend more time playing. He quickly waves to his friends and jogs out of the school gate with a heavy bag on his back.

  He walks home with a grin on his face. There are so many things to look forward to. Ice-cream on the beach, go karting, soccer matches, days in the park and making new friends. The endless list makes his heart beat faster.

  Loud sirens pierce through the moment. ‘What siren is it?’ He wonders. It gradually gets louder, he can see flashing lights coming towards him. He stands and watches an ambulance speed down the street and cut the corner near his house. As he dashes around the corner and suddenly stops; confused and numb.

  The ambulance is parked outside his house. The lights and sounds blur his thoughts. Screaming and crying make the birds of the street fly away in unison. Paramedics carry out someone on a stretcher.

  What happened? James bolts towards his house.

  James

  Beep, beep, beep.

  I yawn. I rub my eyes and jump out of bed. I yank my uniform out of the cupboard.

  I run down the stairs, ‘Last day of school!’ I blare. I skip into the kitchen where Dad is making pancakes and Mum is sitting drinking coffee. ‘Awesome, pancakes my favourite!’ I sit on my chair, knife and fork gripped in my hands. Dad slides a pancake onto my plate and sits next to me.

  ‘Sweetie, are you excited for your last day of school?’ Mum says sipping her coffee.

  ‘Yes Mum! Hey Dad, can we go to the Go Karting place during the holidays?’

  ‘Of course son, we can do whatever you want.’

  I couldn’t hide how happy I was and ate my pancakes in two big mouthfuls.

  ‘Here you go, you can have mine as well!” Dad slides his pancake onto my plate.

  ‘Wow, two breakfasts? Thanks Dad!’ I gobble down the bonus pancake.

  ‘Oh and this year your grandmother is coming to visit!’

  ‘So we aren’t going to New Zealand for Christmas? That’s okay, it will be fun to have Granny visit.’

  I look up at Dad, usually he was a morning person, but today he seems tired. His face is prickly and dark circles are under his eyes. Hopefully he gets a good nights sleep so we can have fun during the holidays.

  Mum grabs my school bag and places my lunch box inside.

  ‘Come on sweetie, you don’t want to be late for your last day!’ she smiles.

  Cough, cough.

  Dad grabs a tissue from his pocket and coughs into it, he shoves it back in. Mum quickly turns the tap on and pours some water into a cup. She hands it to Dad and kisses him on the cheek.

  ‘Alright, we are off. Have fun at work, call me if you need me.’ She walks out the door.

  ‘Bye Dad! Thank you for the pancakes!’ I say hugging him and running to follow Mum.

  Mrs Hamilton, my teacher, hands everyone a cupcake. ‘No thank you,’ I said, ‘I had two pancakes this morning.’ We began to decorate Christmas baubles. Hang on, we haven’t put our decorations up yet! Dad always puts them up at the beginning of December. Maybe, it’s because Granny is coming over this year?

  ‘…What are you going to get for Christmas this year James?’ asks my friend Jimmy.

  ‘Oh my Dad said I can have any toy I want!’ I open my lunch box to all of my favourite food. Lollies, chips, even cheese and biscuits with a note that said:

  Have a great day at school. Love Daddy.

  Dad has never done anything like this before. I love my Dad, I don’t know what I would do without him.

  Margie

  Ring, ring, ring.

  I wake up to the annoying sound of a telephone. I reluctantly get up, put my glasses on and waddle to the phone, struggling to find the answer button.

  ‘Hello?’ I clear my throat.

  ‘Hey Ma, it’s David.’

  ‘Oh hello darling. Why are you calling me so early? You know I like my sleep ins…’

  ‘…Yeah I know, well, we want you to come over this year for Christmas…’

  ‘…What? But you always come over here! I am too fragile to go on a plane anymore, I just put my decorations up and I will never be able to bring all the presents I bought…’

  ‘Just come please? Presents don’t matter, we want your company.’ I get up to make a cup of tea.

  ‘...Okay I can do that, but why the sudden change? I talked to Sheryl a few days ago and she didn’t mention any of this… Is she okay by the way? She sounded very tired on the phone…’

  ‘…Yeah she had a cold for a few days, she is over it now.’ I take my cup of tea and sit down gently, trying to avoid spilling it.

  ‘Ah okay, I am glad she is feeling better…’ I grab my TV Guide and begin to flip through the pages.

  ‘Also, do you know where Grandad’s watch is? I am planning on giving it to James.’ I look up from my guide.

  ‘Yes, I can find it, but don’t you think he is too young? It’s been in our family for generations, are you sure?’

  ‘Just find it and bring it when you come, Mum.’

  ‘…Okay, but if he breaks it we can’t replace it…’

  Cough, cough.

  ‘You sound like you have Sheryl’s cold!’

  ‘I will call you when I sort out your flights.’

  ‘Alright, I will go and find the watch. Take care of yourself! Eat lots of soup…’ David hangs up.

  ‘He seems to be getting ruder and ruder lately.’ I say out loud.

  I slowly stand up from my chair and walk down the hall into David’s old dusty room. ‘Where could that watch be?’ I look around opening drawers, boxes, cabinets and finally, open the cupboard. I find a box labelled To David, inside is a note and the watch.

 

  David, as you know I am gone now. Please take care of your mother for me. I love you both very much and you will never understand why I had to do what I did. Be with you always, your father.

  I throw the note back into the box and grab the watch.

  Sheryl

  Crack, crack, crack.

  I adjust my neck and force myself awake. I look over to find David is not in bed. I walk into the kitchen and turn the coffee maker on. I over hear David talking on the phone. I sneak up behind him and gently place my hand on his back, making him jump. He hangs up and looks up at me.

  ‘Did you tell her?’

  ‘No… I just said we want her to come over for Christmas. She will look for Grandad’s watch for me.’

  ‘What time is your appointment today?’ I say, continuing to rub his back.

  ‘In twenty minutes: when you take James to school, I will go.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?’

  ‘No, it’s fine.’ He smiles and walks into the kitchen, I follow.

  ‘Alright, well let me make you boys some breakfast.’ I pull down the porridge oats. David gently places his hand on mi
ne.

  ‘No, I will make the boy some pancakes for his last day of school.’ He starts pulling out the ingredients. I sit down and sip my coffee.

  ‘Last day of school!’ Blares across the house. James runs down the stairs.

  ‘Awesome, pancakes are my favourite!’ He sits on his chair. David slides a pancake onto James’ plate and sits next to him.

  ‘Sweetie are you excited for your last day of school?’ I say.

  ‘Yes Mum! Hey Dad, can we go to the Go Karting place during the holidays?’

  ‘Of course son, we can do whatever you want.’ I stare outside.

  My mind begins to wander, this last month has been completely insane, and everything is changing. How will James cope? I hate that my only child will receive a burden like this at such a young age. How long will his sweet and innocent nature last?

  I shake my head and grab James’ school bag from the rack and shove his lunch inside.

  ‘Come on sweetie, you don’t want to be late for your last day!’ I put down my coffee cup and grab the car keys.

  Cough, cough, cough.

  I quickly grab a cup and fill it with water. I hand it to David and kiss him gently.

  ‘Alright, we are off. Have fun at work, call me if you need me.’ I smile.

  I return home to the sound of a phone