Year 1

(This should've come first. Now it's an interlude).

"That's it there. Unit 6."

"Yes, that's it. Unit 6, Ocean View Motels, Kaimoana, our home for the next two weeks. I hope it's big enough!"

"It's big enough. It's their family unit, sleeps 7, at a pinch, according to the brochure."

"Brochures exaggerate, they always do. I'm a bit worried about the 'at a pinch'. Why would they even say that? There are 6 of us after all."

"Yes, there's 6, but the kids are just little. They can double-up if we have to. You worry too much, Cal."

"I'm very good at worrying and if I don't get a good night's sleep this is not going to be much of a holiday."

"You'll get your sleep, Mr. Head-of-the-Household. We'll sort your bed first, and then everyone can fit in around you."

"In my bed? Not likely! I'd never get any sleep."

"You'll get your sleep. I still don't see why we couldn't stay in the camping ground, it would've been much cheaper."

"You get what you pay for. I'm not staying in a camping ground. Been there, done that and never again. Camping is for young people."

"And you're so old? You're just 40, Cal. That's not old. Life begins at 40, don't you know?"

"Life begins? My life is quite full enough, thank you very much! I've got a wife, 4 busy kids and a business to run. There's no room for anything else."

"And that's why we need a holiday. Relax and enjoy. Kaimoana's a great place for a family holiday, we used to come here every year when I was a kid."

"In the good old days. Okay, let's see what we've got here. You kids stay where you are while your mum and I check the place out."

"Dad! We've been in the car for hours and I've got to do wees right now!"

"Don't you always," Cal sighed. "Okay, Carrie, you can come and find the toilet. The rest of you can get out but don't go away. We'll have a look, and then we'll get everyone sorted."

"I've gotta go toilet too!"

"Sure you do, Bobby. You'll have to wait for your sister."

"I've gotta do poos!"

"We don't want to know that. Come on, Carrie, you'd better hurry."

"No worries."

The Kersten family all poured out of their fully-laden and cramped car.

"Hey cool! They've got a tramp." Beau hurried over to the trampoline in the playground area, the parents went inside, closely followed by Carrie and Bobby and Jared stood leaning on the car and looking around.

So this was it, their home for the next two weeks. Looked all right, he guessed, but he was not sharing a bed with anyone else. That was not going to happen, he didn't care what his mother said. He needed his sleep too and he was the oldest, wasn't he? He was nearly 11 years old, the others were all just little. Carrie was the next oldest and she was 3 years younger than him and the boys were even younger.

This was the first time they'd all stayed in a motel and he was looking foward to it. Usually, if they had a holiday, it was just staying with relations somewhere and that was always crowded. Dad had decided that they could afford it. His business was doing well, he had 2 chemist shops, in Christchurch, and if he had to have a holiday, it was going to be somewhere comfortable.

Also, he couldn't quite leave his work behind. He was thinking about opening another shop here, as an agency. It wouldn't have a chemist of its own, they could fill prescriptions and send supplies up from the main shop in Christchurch, it was only a couple of hours away. Kaimoana was only a little town, but they got a lot of visitors. Thousands of tourists came through here every year. A chemist shop should do well with the sunscreens, insect repellents, cosmetics and other crap they sold.

He'd already found a building, an empty shop on the highway, so he was going to check it out while they were here.

All nothing to do with Jared anyway. It was not his problem, he was there to holiday. He hoped that he found some kids his own age to hang-out with. Looked promising, there was one over there already. A boy, black hair, big dark eyes and very white skin, was standing outside the unit opposite theirs -just standing there watching the noisy Kersten family.

"Jared!" his little brother yelled. "Come and bounce with me."

"Yeah, okay. just wait a minute, Beau."

He started across the driveway to say hello to the other kid, but he saw him coming and he went inside and closed the door.

"What? Shy or something?" Jared shrugged. Shyness was not something he'd ever suffered from. He went back to play with Beau on the tramp.

The parents came back and everyone was busy moving in. The kids all helped their father, carrying gear in from the car and the mother told them where to put it all. Jared did get his own bed to himself, but he'd have to share the room with his brothers. They'd better behave themselves! The parents took the other room and Carrie would sleep on the sofa in the living-room, which she complained about but - tough!

Once all that was out of the way, the little ones played on the trampoline and the swings outside. Jared went for a walk, by himself, over to the beach across the road. He was not there to be a baby-sitter for the next 2 weeks.

The beach was a beach. It was nothing startling, there was hardly any sand and what there was was the same gray colour as the stones. There was no-one else around. He wandered along, looking at the sea-weed and stuff - bits and pieces of crabs and things washed-up and deposited along the shore-line.

There was a dead bird. It was probably an albatross, it was too big to be just a seagull. It was disgusting - and yet, interesting. He poked it with a stick and watched in fascinated horror. It was crawling with fat maggotty things - hundreds of them! He supposed that they must be eating it, that was one way of getting rid of it. Good job too, it stunk! They'd already eaten the eyes, they were gone. Disgusting, and interesting!

He went back over to the motels. The kids were still in the playground and the boy he'd seen earlier was sitting on the doorstep outside his unit, watching them. The boy didn't see him coming, so he walked up quietly and sat down next to him.

"Hi, I'm Jared. What's your name?"

The boy swung around and stared at him, all pop-eyed and scared looking.

"We're from Christchurch. We just arrived and we're staying in Unit 6, over there. Do you want to come and play on the trampoline with us?"

"No." The boy stood up. "I, umm, I can't. Sorry." He took off inside and closed the door again.

Damm. What was with that kid? Didn't look like he'd be making a friend there anytime soon. He climbed on the tramp and started jumping. His little brothers loved it when he got on with them because his extra weight made them bounce higher. They squealed with delight.

Carrie was up in the tree and if she didn't stop throwing green plums at them, she was gonna be in trouble! The barrage stopped anyway when the mother came out and yelled at her to cut it out and get down out of that tree!

They ate dinner in the motel. Jared noticed that there was no dishwasher! His mum grinned and said, "Yes there is, we've got 4 dishwashers - one, two, three, four."

Oh, bugger.

In order to get out of that, he took Bobby over to the beach to see the dead bird. Bobby liked disgusting stuff. They were squatting down, examining it, Jared looked up and saw that kid from the motels. He was backed-up against the stone wall below the sidewalk and was being threatened by a couple of bullies. Like, these kids were huge. They must've been at least 13. The boy looked like he was terrified of them.

"Hey! That's not good. We've got to do something, Bobby. You go and get Dad and tell him to get down here quick because I'm in a fight."

"But you're not in a fight!"

"I soon will be. Go and get him, Bobby."

Bobby ran away, back to the motel. For a little kid, he could sure move when he wanted to. Jared walked over to the others.

One of the bullies was saying, "Of course you've got money. Bloody tourists have always got money. Hand it over and we won't hit you."

"Not much, anyway," the other one added.

"Piss off and leave my friend alone!" Jared pushed in between them.

"Piss off yourself. Mind your own," the bigger one said.

"It is my business." Jared hit him as hard as he could. He punched him on the nose. Well, attack is the best defence, isn't it?

"Yoww! You've broken my fucking nobe. You little barftard."

"Good job too." He turned on the other one. "You want some? Come and get it."

Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Trouble was, this one wasn't scared of him at all. He was straight into him, punched him in the guts and, when he doubled forward, grabbed Jared in a head-lock and dragged him to the ground. They rolled around on the stones of the beach, grunting and cursing as theu struggled. There was no room to swing a fist, it was hard to hit at all, but they both tried. Jared thought that he had him when he got on top, but the goon kneed him in the nuts!

It took his breath away. It flaming hurt. (Just as well his balls hadn't dropped yet). It didn't stop him fighting though, it made him mad enough to try harder. Not that it did him much good though, he was losing. He thought he'd had it completely when when the goon sat on top of him and pinned his hands down with his knees.

"Gotcha, you Little Bastard!" He drew a fist back.

Jared was stuck. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow, but it didn't come. There was a thump and the goon fell off him and sprawled on the ground, unconscious. The boy from the motels was leaning over them.

Jared fought his way up and looked around for the other one. He was just sitting on the ground, there was no fight left in him. It was over.

"Wow." He turned back to the boy. "What the hell did you hit him with?"

He grinned and showed his right-hand that was wrapped around a duck-egg size rock.

"Oh, that. I hope you haven't bloody killed him. No, he's moving. Come on, it's time we got out of here."

The boy dropped the stone, Jared took hold of his arm and they went, together, back up to the road at the back of the beach.

"Thanks for that, Kid. I'd lost there and he was going to thump me."

"I had to do something. You only got into the fight for me. Thanks."

"You're welcome. We're neighbours, aren't we?"

"Guess we are. I'm Ethan, Ethan Stone."

"Stone? Good name for a kid with a rock in his hand," Jared grinned.

"Yeah," the boy grinned back. "Maybe that's where I got the idea from."

"A good idea it was too. Where are you from, Ethan?"

"From Carterton."

"Carterton? Where's that? Never heard of it."

"It's up north. North of Wellington, in the Wairarapa."

"Oh. I don't know the North Island. We're from Christchurch."

"Yeah, you said. I don't know the South Island, we've never been here before. Dad said that we were going to have a holiday overseas. I thought that we were going to Oz, or the islands or something and all we did was get on the ferry and come to the bloody South Island!"

"Well, that's overseas, a bit. We are on an island."

"I s'pose."

"Australia's an island too, a big island."

"A bloody big island, it's huge. You could drop New Zealand in there and not even see where it went."

"Yeah, you would. It'd be the green part."

"Might be right. Have you been to Aussie?"

"No, not yet. You?"

"Same."

They crossed back over the road and Jared's father was coming out from the motels. "What's this about you being in a fight, Jared?"

"You're a bit late, Dad. We were in a fight, but it's over now. It's okay, we won. Don't ever join the cavalry, they'd never get there in time."

"You think? Who were you fighting with and why?"

"This is my new friend, Ethan. He's in the Unit across from ours. A couple of big kids were picking on him and I went in to help."

"That's good, I guess. Are you two okay now?"

"Yeah, I think we'll survive. You are okay, aren't you, Ethan?"

"Yeah. Everything's good." (Grins all around).

"What are we going to do now?" Jared said.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Got a Playstation?"

"I have. I brought mine with us."

"Coolness! We had to leave ours at home. Dad, I'm going over to Ethan's for a while."

"Nobody's asked you to, Jared. Are you sure that he wants you to?"

"Well, do you?"

Ethan grinned widely. "Yeah, of course I want you to. That'll be great. Come on over then."

"Great! 'Bye, Dad. Thanks for coming, even though you were too late."

"I was in the bath! You cheeky little sod. Goodbye then. Behave yourself and don't be all night."

"I will and I won't."

Ethan led him over to his motel and introduced him to his mother. His father was not there, he'd gone out for a beer. There were no other kids, none at all. Ethan was an only child. That wasn't planned, it just turned out that way. Ethan's mother was a nice lady. She made him very welcome and said she was delighted to see Ethan with a friend. He didn't make friends easily. She worried about him.

"Mum!"

"Well I do. How long are you here for, Jared?"

"We're staying 2 weeks. Just arrived today."

"We'll be here for 2 weeks too. You come over to see us any time you want to."

"Thanks, Mrs. Stone, I will."

They played for a couple of hours, time just flew past. All too soon, Jared decided, reluctantly, that he'd better get back to his family. It was well after dark out there, but that was no trouble, he only had to walk across the driveway. Ethan stood and watched him go, Jared looked back, they waved and exchanged a smile.

Both of his brothers were in bed before he got there, but that wasn't much help. They were both wide awake, full of energy and being complete pains. They really were going to have to do something about the sleeping arrangements. Two weeks with these two in his room would kill him, if he didn't kill them first! He so envied Ethan, over there with a room all on his own.

Actually, Ethan was lying in his own bed envying Jared with his family all around him. He was lonely.

Jared woke in the morning, still tired and grumpy with it. He got up and complained to his parents. They were no help at all, they just shrugged and told him to get over it. He got some cereal and took it outside to eat in peace and quiet.

Ethan was out there, sitting on his own doorstep. They flashed grins, Jared went across and sat down next to him.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Sleep well?"

"No! Sleeping with my brothers is like having a couple of big fat annoying blow-flies in the room."

"Yeah? They have got a lot of energy."

"They never stop. How about you, you sleep good?"

"Like a log."

"Lucky you. What're you doing today?"

"Mum and Dad are going out on a fishing trip and I so wish I wasn't going with them. I get sick just looking at the water."

"Not fun. We're going to a kids farm-zoo place, and the Mum's taking us for a walk around the Peninsular while Dad goes and does some business. Why don't you see if you can come with us?"

"Could I? That'd be ace! Thanks."

There was no trouble, Jared's suggestion was easily agreed to. Ethan's mother went over to make sure that it was okay with the Kerstens. It was.

They had a great day. Ethan loved being part of the boisterous family group, Jared was thrilled to have an ally in his never-ending battle with the younger ones. When they returned, the two families had a shared barbecue meal, out at the back, next to the kids' playground. Ethan's dad supplied the fresh-caught fish.

After that, Jared and Ethan went for a walk along the beach. The bird had gone. There was no sign anywhere of last night's bullies, so that was good. They went back to Ethan's to battle on the Playstation.

When she brought some supper in for them, Mrs. Stone suggested that Jared could stay the night with Ethan. They thought that was a great idea! They went over and cleared it with Jared's mum, like she was going to refuse with Ethan standing there looking ever so hopeful?

Jared grabbed his PJ's and toothbrush and they went gleefully back to Ethan's room. They showered, separately, and then went to sleep together in Ethan's big bed.

Nothing sexual happened, they were both 10, nearly 11, years old. While they knew, a bit, about 'rude' stuff, they weren't interested and it never even occurred to them. They didn't even touch each other, apart from a bit of pushing, poking and wrestling, until Ethan's dad came in and told them to settle down. It was a great night, they loved it. Jared never went back to share a room with his brothers again.

For the next 2 weeks, they were never separated and there was never a cross word between them. They spent all of their days together, usually with Jared's family, romping and playing like a pair of puppies. They slept every night in Ethan's bed. By the end of the two weeks, they were waking in the mornings cuddled together. Nothing was said, they just quietly disengaged and got back over to their own sides.

Ethan said, and Jared agreed, that it was the best holiday ever - ever, ever, ever! They loved every minute of it.

All too soon, it was over. On the last morning, they all loaded the cars up. The 4 parents, who'd become good friends, said goodbye, and they left for home. They parted at the highway. One car went north and the other went south. Each car had one very unhappy boy in it.

They'd exchanged addresses and they'd stay in touch. Hopefully, they'd all meet again for a holiday next summer, but 12 months was a long, long time. The only really happy person amongst them all was Jared's dad. His business had gone well and the branch store in Kaimoana would definitely be happening. He was dying to get back to work and get things moving.

They went home.