Andrew, 5

Mr. Black arrived home, tired and dirty, and he was introduced to Andrew and told of the scheme. He looked at the nervous, pathetic, broken boy and he pursed his lips. He did need help around the place, but he wouldn't hire this one. He didn't look like he'd be any use at all.

However, he kept his mouth shut. He knew who the boss was around there, and it was not him. They'd see how he went and, if he was no good, he'd be gone.

He cleaned-up and had a shower and a think. He finished, dressed and went outside to where the boys were sitting outside the cottage that would be Andrew's.

"All right there, Boys. How's that foot? Any pain?"

"It's not too bad, thanks. It hurts a bit but I've got painkillers for when it gets too bad."

"You can't live on painkillers. Maybe you'd better rest a few days before you start doing any work."

"That's what I've been telling him, Dad. Andrew, you've got to get yourself right first. The work can wait."

"There must be something I could do."

"No, there's not."

Mr. Black said, "I hear you know something about painting?"

"I've done some. My father is a painter and I used to help him."

"A good way to learn. Have you ever done any farm-work?"

"No, never, but I'd like to learn. I'll try hard."

"I'm sure you will. We can't ask for more than that. How about a water-blaster, for the painting, ever used one of them?"

"Oh yes. Water blasting is fun!"

"Fun? For some, I guess. I've got one at work, I'll bring it home so that you can get started, but not for a few days yet. My workshop is down the back there. Cameron will show you where. Have a rummage through there for any tools you can use and let me know what else you'll need."

"Yes, Sir. I'll do that now."

"You will not. Start tomorrow, but only if you feel up to it. Andrew, my name is Liam. We're going to be working together. Don't call me Sir."

"Okay, thank you, umm, Mr. Liam."

"Mister? That's a start I suppose. Do an honest day's work and we'll get on fine."

He went back to the house. Cameron grinned, "Relax. No-one expects too much of you, just do what you can. My dad's a hard task-master but he's fair."

"Thanks, Cameron. Thanks for everything. I can never pay you back, but I''ll never forget what you've done for me."

"You're okay, Andrew. Just get well, be happy and be my friend, that's all I want."

"You've got a friend for life!"

"Cool."

The workers' cottage was old and musty, it hadn't been used for years. Originally built to house the workers when the place used to be a complete farm, before it was sub-divided into lifestyle blocks and hobby farms, the cottage was older than the house. Cameron's grandmother had lived in it for a while, but she found the life too quiet and she moved back to the city. That was years ago. Since then, it had sat empty.

There was no view from the front windows, it sat across the backyard facing the back of the house. The outside of the cottage was mostly covered by a shaggy overgrown vine with big, green leaves. It grew up the walls, covered some of the windows and even sprawled thickly across the roof. There was a small covered porch along the front wall.

Inside, once they got the sticking door open, there was one large bedroom/living-room with a small bathroom and a kitchen/laundry out at the back. There was an open fireplace, but they wouldn't dare light a fire because the vine outside had grown over the chimney. It was even growing inside the cottage, pale and sickly-looking for lack of light. The roof had been leaking at one end of the main room, mould on the ceiling and rotten carpet on the floor. At least it was at the far end from the bed.

There were rat droppings on the linoleum floor in the kitchen. The whole place was dark, dirty, dusty and musty. They stood looking around and Cameron shook his head.

"No. This is no good. You can't live in here. The place is disgusting! Wait here and I'll get Mum to come and have a look."

"Don't, Cameron. It'll be all right when I clean it up."

"You sure? It's gonna be a huge job."

"I'm sure. It'll be a challenge and something to do with my spare time."

"But it's awful!"

"No, it's not. It'll be a great place. It's a thousand times better than nothing and that's all I had."

"Well. . . if you're sure? I'll help you clean it up."

"No, you won't. It's my room and I'll clean it."

They opened the windows that they could. Three of them wouldn't open, 2 were covered in the vine and 1 was just plain stuck. The back-door wouldn't open either. The power wasn't going and there was no water on in the kitchen and bathroom.

"It's a dump!" Was Cameron's verdict.

"It is not! For a beggar, it's a palace."

"You're not a beggar, Andrew."

"You think?"

Cameron showed him where all the cleaning materials were, in the laundry at the back of the house and they took towels, linen, pillows and 2 duvets to fix the bed up. The mattress was a bit damp, but Andrew said not to worry, he'd put it outside in the sun tomorrow.

Once that was done, Cameron showed him where the workshop was and around the other buildings - garages etc. He met Cameron's brother, Jonas and sister, Lennie. ("It's Leonie really, but we call her Lennie") and they ate with the family.

At the table, Andrew was quiet, unlike anyone else. He answered questions, but that was all he said. He said that the cottage would be great, thanks. It just needed a bit of cleaning up.

"Just a bit!" Cameron exploded. "Mum, you've got to go and have a look at it. It's a mess and it's a dump. Nothing works - the power, the water, the windows - nothing!"

"It'll be fine," Andrew said. "I'll clean it up and fix what's wrong. It's really not a problem."

"As long as you're sure, Andrew," Mrs. Black said. "I think the curtains for the windows are in the linen cupboard somewhere. I'll get them out tomorrow."

"Curtains are the least of the problems," Cameron snorted. "The backdoor and half the windows won't open and the roof leaks."

"The roof leaks?" Mr. B. said. "We'd better see to that then. That vine will have to be cut back off it first. Actually, we could cut it right down. It can't be doing the building any good and it'll have to go if we're going to paint it. Cut it down and pile it in the paddock, over the fence. Once it dries out, we'll burn it. Help yourself to any tools you need, just don't leave them lying around. Put them back when you've done with them."

"Thak you, Mr. umm, Liam. I'll start tomorrow."

"You're meant to be resting!" Cameron said. "The most important thing is to get that foot right and don't you forget it."

"I won't forget it." He looked down at the cast on his leg. "It won't let me forget it. Thank you again, Everybody. I think I'll go to bed now. Good night."

Cameron stood up. "Will you need any help?"

"No, Cameron. Thanks, I'm fine."

He didn't want to watch TV and, no, a walk over to the beach would be a bit much at the moment. All he wanted was to go to bed, he was SO tired. He hadn't been sleeping much lately. He put his dishes in the dishwasher, thanked Mrs. Black for the meal and went out to bed, leaving Cameron feeling a bit lost and alone.

Mr. Black said, "Don't baby him, Cameron. It's good that you want to help, but he's got to do what he can for himself. I'm still not sure what you've got us into here. I don't mind helping a kid in trouble, but he has to pull his weight. The look of him doesn't give me much confidence. I don't think I would have employed him, but we'll see how it goes."

Lennie grinned. "Is Andrew going to be your boyfriend, Cameron?"

"Shut up, Lennie! No, he's not. He's my friend and that's all."

"I hope that is all," said his mother. "I realise that, one day, you will probably have a relationship with somebody but, well . . . I think you could do better, that's all."

"Mum, don't." Cameron blushed and he went to his room.

His parents were horrible people. What was wrong with them? There was nothing wrong with Andrew, well, apart from his foot and that would get better.

When he went out the backdoor next morning, Liam Black stopped and looked at the old cottage. It was the same as usual, except that the frontdoor and one of the windows was open. Usually, he tried not to look at it, it was a mess! It hadn't been touched since his mother-in-law had moved out and that was, what? 6 years ago?

He hated mucking around with old buildings. It'd be easier to bowl it and build a new one. But, that'd cost a fortune and they didn't really need it anyway. Well, they didn't need it until now. Now, it appeared, they had a worker to house.

He guessed that it would do for now. The boy probably wouldn't be staying long anyway. Heaven knew, he needed help around the place, there was so much that needed doing, but he needed a man, not a boy who'd blow over in a decent wind. They'd give him a chance, but he expected that the boy would be useless, he was just a kid.

He got into his ute, backed it out of the tractor shed and turned to leave for work. The boy, Andrew, was down on his hands and knees with his head under the vine on the back-wall of the cottage. He pulled over, stopped and leaned out of the window.

The kid turned and smiled at him. "Good morning, Mr. Liam. Sleep well?"

"Good morning, Andrew. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thanks. Very well."

"That's good. What are you doing there?"

"I'm just trying to work out where to start on this vine."

"Where to start? Just cut the whole damm thing down. Lop it off at ground level and get it out of the way. It'll soon grow back. You'll find a pruning saw, lops and shears in the workshop. Make a start on clearing it. Cameron can help you when he gets home from school and I'll get the chainsaw on to any trunks that are too big to cut by hand, I'll do that when I get home from work. Do what you can and look after that foot. Have you had any breakfast?"

"No. It's okay thanks. I don't usually eat breakfast."

"Well now you do. A man can't do a day's work on an empty stomach., you need some fuel in you. Go inside and Mrs. Black will feed you. I'll call in and see our accountant later. We've never had a full-time helper around here before, we're going to have to work out what we're going to pay you."

"Pay? You're going to pay me?"

"Of course we are. What did you think?"

"I thought I'd be working for food and somewhere to sleep. That's all I need really. I'm not worth much."

"Of course you're worth more than that. Didn't your father ever pay you?"

"No. But I went to school and just helped in my spare time. I got pocket money."

"Every kid should get pocket money whether they're working or not. You do a day's work, you get a day's pay."

"That'd be great. Thanks, Mr. Liam. Then I'll be able to pay Mrs. Black for my room and board."

"Andrew, you don't pay for them. They're on top of whatever wages you get."

"Really? Really??"

"Yes, really. Know something, Boy? I think that when your father threw you out, he lost more than you did. Okay, I'm going to work. I'll be home about 5, hopefully. Do what you can and we'll see how it goes."

"Goodbye then, Mr. Liam."

"Bye, Andrew. Go inside and eat!"

Cameron emerged from his room, late as usual. "Morning, Mum."

"Hello, Son. You're late again."

"Yeah, and I hate hurrying in the mornings. Seen Andrew?"

"Get up earlier and you won't have to hurry and, no, I haven't seen Andrew. Go and tell him to come and get some breakfast."

"I'll tell him on the way out. I'm going to miss the bus!"

"You'll be walking if you do."

"Damm, damm, damm!"

He left the house, school-bag in one hand and toast in the other. "Andrew!" He looked out from the cottage door. "Mum says you're to go inside and eat. I've gotta go, I'm late! See you this afternoon."

"Goodbye, Cameron. Have a good day."

"You too, and look after that foot." He left, running down the drive. The bus was coming down the highway.

Andrew carried on with what he was doing.

When they returned from school, Cameron, Jonas and Lennie were talking and joking as they walked up the drive. They got to the back of the house, looked at the cottage and stopped, speechless.

"Wow!" Lennie was the first to recover. "Look at the cottage! Ohmigosh."

The three stood and stared. The cottage was bare, Cameron could never remember seeing it so exposed. The vine had gone completely! There was no trace of it anywhere.

"Well," he said. "Andrew's been busy."

"It's over there," Jonas pointed. The green vine was in a big heap in the paddock over the fence. "Not bad work for someone who's meant to be resting."

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "He'll be worn out. I'll go and see him."

The kids went inside, Cameron went into the cottage. It was opened up again, the mattress from the bed and the old armchairs were outside in the sunshine and Andrew wasn't there. "Damm. Where are you? In the house?"

He wasn't there either, the mother hadn't seen him. "Andrew hasn't been inside all day. He only stopped for lunch because I took it out there and sat while he ate. The boy's a wonderful worker, but he'll never keep this up. Have you seen what he's done to the cottage?"

"Yeah. The vine's totally gone and all dumped out in the paddock. Would've taken me a week to do that much."

"It would. At least a week."

"I'll go and look for him in the sheds out back."

"Change out of your school clothes, Cameron."

"Yeah, yeah. In a minute, Mum."

He dropped his bag and ran down to the sheds at the back of the yard. Andrew was in the workshop, next to the tractor shed. Cameron raced in the open door, stopped and looked around.

"Whoah, Andrew. What've you done?"

"Hey, Cameron. What do you mean? I'm just cleaning the place up a bit."

"A bit? It's never looked like this. Look at all the floor area!"

"I was putting the tools away and thought I'd straighten the place up a bit. It was a mess in here and impossible to find anything."

"Yeah, it was a mess, it always is, but Dad says it's an organised mess and he knows where everything is. I dunno if he's going to like this."

"He's not? Damm. I've stuffed-up, haven't I? Trust me. My first day in my first job and I've ruined it already."

"Hey. It's not that bad. He'll get over it."

"But it's his workshop and his tools. I should've left things where they were. I've stuffed-up."

"No you haven't. Dad might know where everything is, but no-one else does. He told you to use his tools, didn't he?"

"He did, but he didn't say to move everything around. Where does Giles live?"

"Giles? He lives on their farm, about 7 kilometers up the road. Why?"

"He said that his father might have some work for me. I'll pack my bags and go and see him."

"You what? You will not!"

"Yeah, I will. I'll do it now."

"And how are you going to get there?"

"Walking."

"Seven kilometers?"

"It's not that far. I can do it. It's better to go now. If I hang around and wait to get fired, it'll make it harder to get another job."

"You're not going to get fired. Dad wouldn't sack you for cleaning up his mess."

"But it was his mess. You said he liked it like that. I should've left things as they were."

"Okay, maybe you should have, but it's not that bad. Hell, Andrew. Everyone makes mistakes. It's not a big deal."

"It's a big deal for me, I can't afford to make mistakes. Your dad's not that happy about me being here anyway. It wasn't his idea."

"Has he said something to you?"

"No, but he doesn't have to. I can tell."

"You're too hard on yourself. Sometimes I think he doesn't like me being here either."

"That's totally different. He's your father and you're his son. My own father doesn't want me, why should anyone else's?"

"Because your're worth it! Fuck, Andrew. Your father is nothing but a pig. I hope I meet him one day. I'll tell him he's a wanker. Please don't go. At least, wait and see what he says. He's going to be so impressed that you've cleaned that vine up already. No-one expected you to do half of that today. Why aren't you resting anyway?"

"I'm not getting paid for resting. Your dad said he was going to pay me for working, so I have to work."

"We might have to have second thoughts about that then." The boys both swung around at the voice behind them.

"Dad! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. I came home early to start cutting that vine down and, my god! you've done it. Well done, Boys. Thank you."

"It wasn't me, I went to school. I got home and Andrew had done the lot."

"On his own? Damm, Andrew. You were meant to make a start on it, not finish it in one day."

"It wasn't hard and it was fun to do. I'm sorry about your workshop, Mr. Black."

"Sorry? What for?" He looked around. "It's way past time that it was cleaned up. I've been meaning to do it but never got around to it. Just keep on doing what you're doing, and thanks. And don't call me Mister!

"Sorry. Thank you Mr. . . umm, Liam"

"That's better, but next time try just saying Liam. I've got some spare time then, I'll have a look at that roof and find where it's leaking."

"You don't have to, I've done that."

"You've found the leak?"

"I've fixed it. It was just some sheets of iron being lifted by the vine. I nailed them down and, well, no more leaks."

"Let's hope it's that easy. We'll find out next time it rains, I guess."

"It won't leak, it's fixed. I've been up on the roof with a hose and no water got in at all."

"You've tested it as well? Damm, Boy. Did you sit down at all today?"

"Yes, I did. I sat down for lunch. Mrs. Black said I had to."

"Quite right too. Okay, knock off for today, you've done more than enough. Go and put your foot up. Tomorrow, you could carry on in here and, maybe, see if you can get the rest of the windows and the backdoor in the cottage open. They'll need sanding down so they'll fit. We'll get an electrician and a plumber in to look at the power and water.

I'll have the water-blaster here by Friday, until then you can just potter around and let the foot recover. Okay? Time for a drink, I think."

"Thanks, Mr. Liam. I thought I'd ruined everything."

"Ruined? You've ruined nothing. Damm, Boy, you won't be able to keep this pace up, but you do half of what you've done today and you'll still be the best worker I've ever had. Go and do nothing. Cameron, you make sure that he does."

"Sure, Dad. I will."

He didn't. He gave up trying to stop him and finished up helping clean the inside walls and ceiling of the cottage until it was time to stop and eat.

After dinner, Andrew didn't want to sit and watch TV or play games. He had to put the mattress and chairs inside and fix his bed up. Cameron helped him to do that, and then he went inside to do his homework and stuff while Andrew carried on cleaning until it was too dark to see. Then he went to bed.

Next day, Andrew was left alone there as Mrs. Black had a day in town. She had a meeting to go to, some shopping to do and accounts to pay. He hadn't been in for breakfast again, so she left him a tray with lunch on it and told him to bloody well eat it!

When the kids got home from school, he'd fixed the doors and windows and put some primer/undercoat on the sanded edges so they wouldn't swell again. He'd got the power going in the cottage. ("No problems, it was just blown fuses."), and was working on the water supply. There was a blockage in the pipe coming out from the house.

That had been cleared, the water was running by the time the parents came home and he was busy cleaning the shower and bathroom in the cottage.

Mr. B greeted him when Cameron brought him in for dinner. "Well, Andrew. Did you have a good day?"

"Oh, yes. I had a very good day, thanks."

"I see you've finished cleaning the workshop up. Thanks for that, it's never looked better. Did you get the doors and windows open?"

"Yes, I opened them, fixed them and painted the edges. They're all fine now."

"Finished? What else have you done today?"

"Not a lot. The power and water are going, and there's this. . " He passed a folded sheet of paper over the table.

"What's this then?" Mr. B. opened and looked at it. "Tools and supplies needed for painting. Turps, putty, sanding discs, scraper blades, undercoat and topcoat. Looks like you've got everything here."

"I can't think of anything else. I know it looks a lot, Mr. Liam, but that's for the house, all of the sheds and the fences around the yard. You do want them painted, don't you?"

"Yes, of course, if you've got the time. You don't have to do everything yourself, you know. Cameron and I will help you and I might send a couple of the guys from work out for a few days."

"You don't have to do that, I can do it. Thanks anyway."

"You think you'll do the lot? You're not Superman you know."

"I know I'm not, but I can paint. That's one thing that I do know. If you think it's too much, take out what you think and I'll make-do."

Mr. B. passed passed the page back to him. "I'll trust you. Mrs. Black will take you to town tomorrow, to the hardware store. Get whatever you want and tell them to put it on my account. Make sure you get everything you need."

"Everything?"

"Yes, everything. There won't be any waste, what you don't use, we'll use on other jobs. No worries.

"Okay," Mrs. Black brought the meals over. "Enough talking. Forget about work now, the day is over. Eat."

When the meal was finished, Jonas and Lennie were told to clean up. Cameron asked Andrew if he wanted to watch TV. Andrew said, no thanks. He never watched TV.

"Never?"

"Never! Rots the brain, you know. Besides, if you watch TV, you get ads."

"True, but there's no ads on Sky, not many anyway."

"Still too many."

"What do you do with your spare time, Andrew?"

"Sleep mostly. I'm definitely ready for sleeping tonight. I think I'll go to bed early. Thanks for the meal, Mrs. Black. That was great."

"You're very welcome. Pleased you liked it."

"I did, a lot. I'm going to bed now. G'night Everybody."

"Bye Andrew."

He left for his cottage and Cameron went to his room. Damm. He'd brought Andrew home because he was in trouble and needed help, but there was more to it than that. He liked him and wanted to get to know him. They were both young, gay and single and now they were living in the same house. Who knew what could happen? He kinda hoped that it would. Not straight away, of course. The boy was broken in more ways than one, but, given time, he'd get better.

He could see that his parents were impressed all ready. He was timid, shy and scared, but that would pass with proper care and he was sure that they would give him that. His parents were good guys, unlike Andrew's.

He wasn't bad-looking either. He'd look a lot better if he smiled. Could he smile?