The Malloys, 3

"Tommy Malloy, this boy is yours. He's staying here and you are damm well going to be a father to him."

"Me? Nancy, you know I'm no good at that sort of stuff."

"You're good for nothing! We all know that. It's about time you did the right thing for once in your life. He's staying here!"

"Don't I get any say in this?" Tommy was only half the size of his wife, but he wasn't cowered by her.

"No you don't."

"I don't know where he's going to sleep."

"He can go in the sleep-out with Big Mike. There's plenty of room in there. TJ and Red shared it for years, now these two can. Big Mike, take your brother to your room."

"Nancy! I don't want him in there."

"Well, tough! You've got him, like it or not. No-one asked for your opinion."

"Sheesh! It's my room. Anyway, he's gay."

"So, bloody, what? So are you and we let you sleep in there, don't we? Now get! Tommy, you can get around the back and take those filthy overalls off before you come into my house."

Nancy went back inside and Sarah followed. Tommy walked away to the back of the house, complaining loudly to nobody.

"There y'go, Brother," Big Mike grinned. "Told you that you're in. Welcome to our happy family."

"I don't feel welcome. I don't know if I should stay, no-one wants me here."

"Sure we do. Don't listen to Tommy, that's just the way you have to deal with Nancy. If you want something, tell her the opposite, works every time."

"Well, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure. Where else are you going to sleep anyway, under a tree?"

"I was thinking about it."

"That's just dumb. We're nothing flash here, but there's always room for one more. Come and see our room, it's in back of the garage."

Big Mike led the way up the drive to the back of the house. Tommy was scrubbing-up in the sink by the back-door. He'd dropped the overalls to his waist, baring his white and skinny torso. He looked up and grinned as they passed.

"Welcome home, Son. Always remember, no means yes."

"Well, umm, thanks, Dad."

"Dad? Nah. No-one calls me that, my name's Tommy. Keep going before Nancy sees me talking to you. If she knew we'd conned her, she'd throw us all out."

The sleep-out was not big. It was one of the old relocatable railwaymen's huts. It had one door and two windows, but one of them was useless because it was hard-up against the back wall of the garage. Inside, there was a built-in wardrobe, drawers and cupboards. There was a fold-down table between the two beds, which were also built-in. One had been slept in, the other was covered in clothes, books and stuff.

"Home sweet Home," Big Mike announced "What d'you think?"

"Looks good to me. Mike, are you sure you don't mind me being here?"

"That's Big Mike, don't forget the Big. Do I get a choice? No, I don't mind. Two Michael Malloys! That'll be fun. Interesting times, as they say."

"It's not going to cause a scandal for your family in the town, is it?"

"Sunshine, nothing the Malloys do is going to shock this town, they've seen it all before. Anyway, sorry to have to tell you this, but you're family too."

"Sounds good to me. Any family is better than none."

"Don't be too sure about that. You can take the weight off your foot, sit on my bed while I take the junk off the other one. I'll drop all these clothes in the laundry and somebody might wash them, with a bit of luck."

"Don't you do your own laundry?"

"Nah. Woman's work, My Son. Don't tell Nancy that! Or Sarah either, come to think of it."

He sat waiting on the unmade bed while Big Mike cleared the other one. He had a million questions, but they could wait. It was going to take a while to sort-out how this family worked. It was like no other family he'd ever seen. One question though, was going to have to be asked.

"Mike, sorry - Big Mike, did Nancy say that you're gay?"

"Yeah, that's right. I'll just get rid of these clothes. Be back in a minute."

Wow. When Michael told his mother that he was gay she went off like a rocket. Seemed like it was no big deal around here, everyone was so matter of fact about it. He said that to Big Mike when he came back, he agreed, no big deal.

"No sense in getting all worked-up about it. If you're gay, then you are. No-one can do anything about it."

"People try though, don't they? To cure it, I mean.'

"Religious nutters try. What's to cure? Look, I've got blue eyes. I could hide them, but I couldn't change them. They're blue and that's all there is to it."

"Well, yeah, but it's not the same. Is it?"

"Bloody is. Think about it."

Michael sat and thought about it while Big Mike finished clearing the junk off the other one and tidying it up. Blue eyes the same as being gay? No. What a load of rubbish! They were two different things. Weren't they?

"There y'go." Big Mike turned and faced him. "And that's the last time I fix your bed up. From now on, you do it."

"Thanks, Big Mike."

"You're welcome, My Brother. Now, get off my bed!"

They swapped beds and both stretched-out and relaxed. Big Mike was feeling good. He couldn't even remember what he was so mad about before. 'Oh yeah, bloody Harri laughing at my dick! That'll keep, Cheeky Beggar.'

Whatever, he had other things to think about now. This was going to be so cool, having a brother all of his own. He had other brothers, of course, but that was different, they were groan-up, they didn't live at home and they weren't gay. This one was. Way cool!

Well, time to get to know him. He wanted to know everything about him. "Michael?" He glanced over at the other bed. Dammit, the kid had gone to sleep already. He thought about throwing something at him to wake him up, but, no, that'd be mean. He must be knackered.Where had he come from anyway? He said it was a long way.

Michael woke-up with a start. Whoah! He didn't mean to go to sleep. What would his new brother think of him? He turned-over and looked at the other bed. It was empty. Damm. What was he going to do now? He didn't like to just go wandering into their house. When that Nancy saw him, she might change her mind and throw him out again. He didn't want that.

Nancy was obviously the boss around there and he didn't want to cross her. That would not be wise.

What about Tommy then? His father was certainly different. He was such a weedy little guy, not at all like he'd imagined his father would be. They said that Tommny was a dead-beat, but he must have something about him, obviously. He was sleeping with two women at the same time, and they'd both named their babies after him. Kind of.

Sarah was nice - bossy but nice. He liked Sarah.

He swung his feet down on to the floor and stood-up carefully. Okay, they weren't too bad, he'd survive. Having his ankle tied-up had definitely helped. That was good. How long had he been sleeping? Not long, it was still daytime.

He hobbled over and tried the door, but couldn't open it. It was locked! There was no other way out of there, except for the window and that was way too small and too high. Dammit. What would they lock him in for? Maybe it was just stuck? The hut was old. He tried the door again and rattled the handle, but it wasn't moving.

"Hold on. Hold on!" Big Mike's voice came from outside. The key clicked in the lock, the door opened and Big Mike grinned at him.

"There y'go. What's the panic? I just locked the door to keep the kids out. Sleep well?"

"Ah, yes. I guess I needed that. Feels better now. How long was I out for?"

"Not long. Only about an hour or so. I didn't want to disturb you. You were rattling the windows, you were snoring that much."

"I was not! I don't snore. Do I?"

"Yeah you do. You were nearly lifting the roof off. Wasn't he, Harri?" He appealed to the girl sitting on the fence behind him.

"No he wasn't, I didn't hear a thing. Don't listen to Big Mike. You can't believe a word he says and the mouth is the biggest part of him."

"Hey! Love you too."

"Course you do. Hello Michael Malloy. I'm Harri and I'm the best friend Big Mike's got."

"Well, maybe," Big Mike grumbled.

"Ah, yeah," Michael grinned. "Hello, umm, Harri?"

"Yes, Harri. It's short for Harriet which stupid, girly and old-fashioned. It might've suited my grandmother, but it doesn't fit me."

"Yeah," Big Mike nodded. "Harri is much more butch."

"Watch it, Boy! Behave yourself or I'll sit on you. Right, Mike the Second, come and tell us all about yourself."

"There's not much to say really. I'm just ordinary - what you see is what you get."

"Come on, Boy. Nobody's ordinary and we don't know what we're looking at, do we? So where are you from?"

Harri slid down off the fence and sat below it. The boys sat down, facing her, while they talked. Michael told them about his boring life so far. No, he didn't have a boyfriend, he never had. If he had designs on Big Mike, he could forget it, because he did have a boyfriend, thank you very much. Whatever.

A little maori boy stood there looking at them, his thumb in his mouth and big, brown eyes peering out from under his over-grown fringe of black hair. He didn't say a word.

Michael waited a couple of minutes, nobody was saying anything, so he had to ask.

"Who's the kid?"

"Oh, that's Hori," Big Mike replied.

"That's not nice. Hori is an insulting term for a maori, isn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe, but that's what he is. His name is Hori, it's maori for George. He's Sarah's boy. Hori, this is your new uncle. His name's Michael."

The kid just stood there looking.

"Hello, Hori," Michael smiled. "Nice to meet you." There was no reply. He looked back at Big Mike.

"He doesn't say much, does he?"

"He never does. Hori doesn't talk, he's a dummy."

"A dummy? Damm, Big Mike, that's not nice either."

"Maybe not, but that's what he is. He's nearly 4 years old and he's never said a word in his life. He's a dummy."

"That's rough. The poor kid. Is he deaf?"

"No, he hears every word you're saying, he just doesn't talk. There's nothing wrong with his vocal cords either, upset him and he roars like a bull!"

"I'll try not to do that then."

"Yeah, it pays not to. Nancy says that he'll talk when he's good and bloody ready. He's not stupid, just dumb."

"Must be hard, going through life and not talking."

"Yeah, it must be. I'd bloody hate it," Big Mike grinned.

"You couldn't do it anyway," Harri said. "Maybe he just doesn't want to tell anyone that Tommy's his granddad."

"Yeah, he might still be in shock after finding that out."

Michael said, "We're talking about the boy like he's not here. I'm pleased to meet you anyway, Hori. I'll be happy to be your uncle."

The thumb came out of his mouth and he smiled - a dazzling white smile in his dark face. He was a handsome kid. Michael smiled back and Hori ran into the house.

"Harriet Nelson! How many times have I told you to stay away from that bad boy over there?" A stern-looking policewoman frowned over the fence.

"About a million," Harri looked-up and shrugged. "Got bad news for you, Mum. They've got another one. Meet Michael - Tommy's other boy."

"Another one? Oh, Good Lord! Just what we need. Hello Michael. I'm Ronnie and I'm Harri's mother. What's your other name?"

"Umm, Malloy. Michael Thomas Malloy."

"Trust Tommy to have two boys with the same name. And you'll be living here now?"

"I think so. I hope so. If they let me stay."

"Oh you're staying," Big Mike said. "Nancy said you are, so that's that."

"Heaven help us," the policewoman said. "Well, I live right over here and I'll be watching, so behave yourself."

"I'll make sure he does," Big Mike grinned.

"You? You're the biggest villian of the lot of them."

"She loves me really," Big Mike grinned. "When are you going to marry me, Ronnie?"

"Marry you? Not likely! And don't you think about it either, Harri. Nice to meet you, Michael. Be good and we'll get on fine."

"Ah, yeah. I'll try to anyway."

"You do that. See you later, Kids."

She left and Michael turned back to Harri. "Your mum's a cop?"

"Sure is. Dad's a cop too, they both are. Actually, so was my granddad. I come from a long line of cops. Maybe I'll join-up too."

"They wouldn't have you," Big Mike scoffed. "Anyway, if you were a cop, that'd be us finished."

"You mean you're not going to marry me?"

"Not bloody likely!"

"Yeah? I wouldn't want to marry a girl anyway."

"I'm not a girl, I'm a boy!"

"Just."

"Shut up, Harri."

Michael grinned as he watched them. He liked these guys, they were fun. Living here might be all right.

"Big Mike, Michael!" Sarah called them. "Your dinner's on the table, come and get it. You eating with us, Harri."

"Thanks, Sarah, but no, not this time. I'd better get home."

"Okay, go away then. Come on, Boys. Hurry up."

"Coming," Big Mike answered. "See you later, Harri."

"Yeah, much later. 'Bye Boys and be good. No rude stuff in that sleep-out tonight or I'm telling Max."

"As if! Bugger off."

"That's what I'm worried about, innit? No buggering."

"We'll bugger you."

"In your dreams."

"Nightmares maybe. 'Bye Harri."

She climbed the fence and was gone. Michael looked at Big Mike.

"Who's Max when he's at home?"

"Maxie's my boyfriend. I'll go and see him later and tell him about you before somebody else does. Let's go eat."

"Hah. Who knows I'm here anyway?"

"Probably half the town by now. Come on."