Damm! He was beautiful. Big, wide and innocent blue eyes, sun-bleached blond hair and a golden tanned skin. The Australian sun had been good to Cade. Very, very good.
Jayden knew that Cade was never going to love him like he loved him but for now, he was just going to enjoy being with him. He was cashing-in on their old childhood friendship and their families' connections, but he didn't care – he had this weekend.
He did wish that Cade would stop looking at Karen Fairhall, up the aisle, but she'd soon be gone and he'd have him all to himself for two glorious days.
Damm. He was beautiful!
The bus stopped several times to disgorge kids, rushing away for their two days of freedom. They arrived, at last, and it was their turn to get off. Jayden alighted with Cade and the Caldwells and they walked in towards the house.
Cade was chattering excitedly. “The track to the beach is down there. We'll go there later. Usually I go to my room and get changed first, but we'll go in and tell Mum that you're here for the weekend.”
“She already knows, Cade. Her and my mum talked about it when she was out here the other day.”
“They did? She knew you were coming? Nobody told me.”
“No. Well, it was meant to be a surprise.”
“Yeah? That worked. A good one too! Come inside anyway and we'll tell her that you're here.”
“Mrs. Caldwell smiled when they walked in. “Jayden! Welcome. It's so good to see you in our home again.”
“Thanks. It's good to be back – wrong house but the right people. I've missed you all too.”
“And we've missed you, haven't we, Cade? Get yourselves a snack, if you want, but don't eat too much. I've got a roast for dinner tonight.”
Cade said, “Sit down, Jayden, and I'll get us something. You're the star guest today.”
Jayden sat at the table and Angel sat opposite him. “So, you're the famous Jayden. I don't remember you.”
“No? I remember you but you were just a little kid when I saw you last.”
“And now I'm not. Where's he going to sleep, Mum?”
“With me of course,” Cade answered. “Just like we always used to.”
(Jayden thought, 'Oh, Cade! I don't know if we should – I might get carried away, and then you'd hate me.')
“No, I don't think so,” the mother said. “I mean, you can if you must, but you're not little boys any more and it's not a big bed. I've made-up the bed in the spare room and Jayden will be much more comfortable in there.”
“Thanks, Mrs C. That sounds good to me.”
“No, dammit. It doesn't sound good to me!” Cade objected. “He came here to stay with me, Mum. How are we going to talk all night if we're in separate buildings? Okay, Jayden will sleep in the guestroom and I'm going in there with him. There's a decent-sized bed and there'll be plenty of room for the two of us.”
“Okay,” his mother sighed. “If that's what you want. But you two are not little kids now, you're growing up. It's normal for little boys to sleep in the same bed, but when they get to your age, not so much.”
“I don't care if it is or not. We're doing it. I've missed out on years of being with him and there's still heaps of catching-up to do.”
“If you're sure. Jayden, are you happy with that?”
('I'll manage. If we can sleep without touching.') “Yes, of course, Mrs. C. I'm happy with that.”
“Good. That's sorted then,” Cade nodded. “Eat up, and then we'll go and see my room.”
The father was late home from work – again. They didn't wait for him, there was no point in letting everyone's meals be ruined. Jayden, Cade and the rest of the family were almost done eating around the table when Ian came in.
“Evening all. Sorry I'm late – trouble at t'mine. And Jayden is sitting at our table! Now I really know we've come home. G'day, Boy. Nice to see you again.”
“Good to see you too, Mr. C.”
“Mr. C? Nah – call me 'Ian' – you're nearly a man now.”
“Of course he is,” Lance agreed. “He's older than me and I'm a man.”
“In your dreams, maybe. My dinner's in the microwave? Thanks.”
They all sat around talking until Ian had finished his meal. Most of the talk was reminiscences of the old days, before they went to Australia. Angel was impressed, she didn't know that Cade had so much mischief in him. Also, she was peeved because she couldn't remember anything from those days. She changed the subject.
“Dad, when will my pony be here? I've been waiting forever already.”
“Ah, yes. Good news and bad news on that front. Mrs. McGowan is delivering the pony on Sunday. She'll be here in the afternoon sometime.”
“That must be the good news, so what's the bad?”
“The bad news, as you well know, is that we haven't finished building the shelter-shed and that really should be done before she gets here.”
“That's not a problem, is it?” Mrs. Caldwell said. “Everyone can go down and help. We've got all day tomorrow and half of Sunday to get it done.”
“Yes, but I've got to go into work for a couple of hours tomorrow. Know anything about building sheds, Jayden?”
“Yeah, I do – a bit anyway. I've helped Dad and Granddad do some stuff out at our place.”
“Excellent! You can be our Foreman then. We'll make an early start and be in town by 8am tomorrow morning to pick-up some more timber from the Timber Yard, and call into the dump on the way back and get the iron I've ordered from the recycling centre. I'll drop you all back here, and then go to the mine.
You lot can unload the trailer and make a start before I get back.”
“That could work,” said Mrs. Caldwell. “Just make sure that you're not late home again.”
“I'll try not to.”
“Ian, it's Saturday, you won't be getting paid and you are the boss, after all. You can do what you like.”
“Within reason, I can.”
Lance said, “I was planning on going to see a girl, but that can wait, I guess. How much are we getting paid for our labours?”
“You'll be paid in love and kisses and our everlasting gratitude. We might even carry on feeding you for a bit longer. This is for your sister, Lance. The time will come when you need us to help you out. What goes around comes around.”
“Like 'Karma' and shit? Okay, fair enough.”
Mrs. Caldwell said, “Jayden, are you sure that you're happy to help? It's not your sister's pony.”
“No, but it's Cade's sister. Of course I'll help. I'm not sitting watching everyone else working.”
“That's good and thanks, but you make sure that you don't overdo it. Stop and rest if you have to.”
“I'll do that. I'm very good at stopping and resting,” Lance said. “You get fed tomorrow night if you work, Jayden.”
“Shut up, Lance,” Cade frowned. “Jayden won't be going hungry. He's the guest here. I wish we didn't have to work all weekend, Dad.”
“Yeah? I wish that too, but it's got to be done. That's settled then. Early night for everyone or you'll all be useless tomorrow.”
They were all in bed and the lights were off by 10 o'clock – unheard of on a Friday night! Cade and Jayden weren't sleeping, and probably wouldn't be for hours. They were both wide-awake, on opposite sides of the big bed in the guestroom, loving and hating it, and wishing that they were somewhere else.
Cade thought about going out to his own bed, to sleep by himself. But he couldn't do that, not after the big fuss he'd made about sleeping together again. It was funny how much he'd wanted it and now that they were in bed together – he hated it. It was too hard!
That's not all that was hard either. His mind knew that he daren't touch Jayden, but his body yearned to do just that. So he lay well separated and face-down with his boner hidden against the mattress and waiting for sleep to come. If it was ever going to come.
Jayden lay on his side of the bed, also with a stiff dick and wishing that he wasn't there. He was such an idiot! He should never have come out there. He should've know how hard it was going to be, being with the boy he loved and not being able to hold him like he dreamed of holding him.
It wouldn't happen again. He'd get through this weekend, somehow, and make sure that if he ever came back again that they had separate beds. Separate rooms would be even better. How was a body supposed to sleep when he could hear every breath that Cade breathed?
But, they were both still young and inexperienced enough that being in bed was for sleeping. Not only that, of course, but mostly for sleeping. So – they slept.
Six am Saturday morning, only just after daybreak and Ian was up and waking everyone in the house, including Lance out in the sleepout.
He had wondered what he'd find when he flicked on the light in the guestroom. He was not stupid and he'd seen the looks they were giving each other when they thought no-one was watching.
However, there were no problems or embarrassments. The covers had slid down in the night and the two pyjama-clad boys lay sleeping, facing away from each other and as far apart as it was possible to be in the big bed. Not that it would've worried him much if they weren't!
“Come on, Boys. Rise and shine. There's no time to waste if you want to eat before we go.”
“Ahh! Okay, okay. Damm, Dad, it's way too early!” Cade sat up, grumbling.
Jayden opened his eyes and stretched his limbs before he moved any further. “ 'Morning, Mr. C.”
“Good morning to you. Come on, move it, Boys. Breakfast is already cooking.” He closed the door and left them to it.
“You're right. It's so early!” Jayden swung his legs out and sat up on the edge of the bed.
“Way too early.” Cade did the same on the other side. “But we'll have to go.”
“Yeah. Do we shower now, or leave it until tonight?”
“Leave it, definitely. It's more important to eat and we'll be getting grubby if we're working all day.”
They dressed, shyly facing away from each other, and then staggered out to the kitchen to devour their cooked breakfasts.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Brownsville Tales, Jayden & Cade, 10
“Can we meet-up somewhere in the weekend, or what?”
“Ah,” Jayden replied with a smile in his voice. “Vee shall see!”
“See what? C'mon Jayden, I hate riddles and I'm not good at waiting.”
“Suck it up, I'm not telling you, but I've got a plan. Have you got anything on?”
“On? Yeah, of course I have. Oh – you mean anything planned for the weekend? No, I haven't.”
“Good then. Keep it that way and I'll surprise you.”
“Jayden! Why can't you tell me now?”
“Because I don't know if it's happening yet. Be patient, Little One.”
“Little One? Hah! I'm bigger than you.”
“Taller maybe, but that's all. Cade . . umm, I'm glad you're back.”
“Cool. Me too. Really glad. I've missed my best friend.”
“So have I – heaps. I've gotta go, Cade, Granddad's calling me.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
“Not if I see you first! Bye, Friend.”
“”Bye, Jay. Sleep well.”
“No problems there, Mate – none whatsoever. 'Bye.”
He disconnected and Cade sat looking at the phone in his hand. What did he mean by that? Who knew?
He was delighted with his phone. He'd wanted one for years, but this was the first one he'd ever had. Just a little thing but he could reach-out and touch the world with it. With the touch of a couple of buttons, he could lie on his bed and talk to Jayden and he was miles away!
He was delighted with Jayden too. Well, mostly he was. Things were not quite the way he'd dreamed they'd be, but – Hey! He was home and back with his best mate and that was good.
He'd always loved Jayden, ever since he could remember, and he always would. But, he'd gone past that now – he was in love with him and that's way more than just loving him as a friend.
Jayden would never love him like that. That was not the way he was and there was nothing Cade could do about that. He'd just have to be happy with what he had, take what Jayden could give him and force himself to smile. If he cried, when he cried, he'd do it in the rain, like clowns do.
Next day, Wednesday, was much the same again at school. They spent what time they could together and even managed to sneak away from Kristal, for a while, at lunchtime. Cade said nothing, but he thought that Jayden would be with her more if he was as rapt as he said he was. However, he wasn't complaining. He'd take what he could get.
The afternoon was given over to sports. Cade played touch rugby, first time he'd done that in years. Jayden didn't play anything. He just sat and watched. Cade asked him why, he shrugged and said, “Can't be stuffed.”
Funny that the teachers let him get away with that.
Karen Fairhall saved a seat for him on the bus on the way home, so he sat with her again. That was good.
Even better was that she got off the bus at the Caldwell's house. Cade was surprised at that but she said she was coming to hang-out for a while. It was good having someone her own age as a nearly-neighbour. She'd get a ride home with her dad when he was going past after work.
“Seems like everyone up the Coast Road works in town, or near it.”
“Yeah, they do – those that work. There's no jobs out here, except for a couple of small farms.”
“Lance said, “There's jobs further up the road, at the hotel, the pub and cafes and stuff.”
“There is, plus a few DOC jobs. Funy thing though, most people who work out here live in town and commute from there.
So, the old McAllister house is now your house. Have you found the beach yet?”
“Of course!” Cade grinned. “We did that the first day. Come in and meet Mum and we'll have a drink and get something to eat.”
They trooped into the house and a strange lady was sitting, drinking coffee, across the table from their mother. ('So that's where the strange car came from.')
She looked around and smiled, “Hello, Cade. Don't you remember me?”
“I, umm . . Mrs. Curtis! Wow. You've dyed your hair. Great to see you again.”
“Good to see you too. You've grown so much! Straight and tall and a fine healthy-looking boy. And, Yes,” she touched her head, “I have dyed my hair. There was too much gray coming through. My dad says that gray hair is hereditary – you get it from your children. He should know, he's got plenty.”
“Does Jayden give you worries, Mrs. C?”
“More than you know. But, he always has and now his partner-in-crime has returned!”
“We weren't that bad, were we?”
“You were,” his mother said. “You were boys. Who's your friend?”
“Oh yeah. Karen Fairhall, this is our mum and Jayden's mum, Mrs. Curtis. Karen lives up at the 12 Mile. Shes going to hang with us and catch a ride home with her dad, later.”
“That's fine. Hello, Karen. There's leftover pizza in the fridge if anyone wants it.”
“We'll force ourselves.” Lance put the pizza in the microwave and Cade poured cokes.
“If the hordes have been released from school,” Mrs. Curtis stood up, “I'd better be going home. There shouldn't be, but ring me if there's any problems in the weekend.”
“Yes, of course,” Mrs. Caldwell followed her out to the car.
Jayden didn't come to school next day. Apparently he did that sometimes. No-one knew why and they weren't worried, except for Cade. They might be all used to it but he wasn't.
He tried ringing him but got no answer, so he left a message asking if he was okay. He would've liked to say more but didn't. It was not like he was his girlfriend or anything.
He tried ringing again when he got home and again in the evening after dinner, but still got no reply. He'd be worried by now if he didn't know that Jayden lived with a big family who loved him.
There was a thought! He went into the house and asked his mother if she had Mrs. Curtis' number?
“Yes, of course I do. What do you want it for?”
“I want to ask her about Jayden. He wasn't at school and hasn't answered his phone all day.”
“And so you're worried – about nothing, I'm sure. Okay, the number is in my phone. Put it back when you're done with it.”
“Thanks, Mum.”
Mrs. Curtis told him that Jayden was sleeping. There was nothing to worry about, he just gets tired sometimes and needs a rest - probably too many late nights!
“Are you sure he's okay, Mrs. C? I mean, it's not normal for a kid to sleep all day, is it?”
“It's, ah, it's nothing to worry about. I'll let Jayden fill you in when you see him.”
“Okay, I guess. Will he be at school tomorrow?”
“Probably. If he's not, he's going to the doctor and he wouldn't like that.”
“Right. Thanks Mrs. C. Tell him I said to get his butt back to school.”
“I'll do that, but I don't know how much notice he'll take. Goodbye, Cade. Thanks for ringing.”
“'Bye, Mrs. C.”
When he arrived at school next day, Cade's bus pulled in just before Jayden's one. He knew it was his bus beause he knew the kids getting off it, like Mella and Mike Storey, but Jayden wasn't among them.
Kristal was standing there looking too. Their eyes met and they both grimaced and shrugged; Jayden wasn't there again. Cade went inside, thinking that Kristal wasn't so bad really. He just wished that she'd get herself another boyfriend.
Jayden showed up in the second period and slid into the seat across the aisle from Cade who whispered, “Where've you been?”
“Missed the stupid bus. Granddad brought me in.”
“Jayden!” Mr. Erickson growled.
“Sir?” he replied innocently.
“Be quiet, Jayden. You can talk later, right now it's my turn.”
Shows how much he knew – they didn't get a turn to talk all day, worse luck. Fate was against them it seemed. It wasn't just Kristal; she wanted to talk to Jayden, but so did everyone else. He was surrounded by people all day long and Cade never got a chance to talk to him.
Jayden grinned and shrugged every time their eyes met, but that wasn't much help.
By lunchtime, Cade stopped trying and, when he wasn't playing touch, he sat and talked to some of the giggling girls who, it seemed, all wanted to know all about him. Karen was kind-of pushing them away, but that was only because she wanted to be with him.
If she thought that she was going to be his girl, she had another think coming. He didn't want to offend her though; he quite liked Karen as a friend, just not as a girlfriend. They'd have to sort that out sometime when they could talk privately. Maybe he could do that on the bus on the way home? That didn't happen either; but that was a good thing.
As usual, when he returned after taking a day or two off, far too many nosey-parkers wanted to know why Jayden had been away. Like he was going to tell them all of his private business? Not likely. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
It had never really worried him much, but that was before Cade came back. It was nice to have friends and all, but Cade was the only one he really wanted to talk to and he didn't get a chance all day long.
From what he could see, it wasn't worrying Cade much – he was busy and surrounded by people too, mostly girls of course. He'd known that this was going to happen, the gorgeous new-kid-in-town was in huge demand. Looked like he was loving it too.
It was most likely Karen Fairhall who was going to win out in the end. She had a huge advantage because she lived near him, up the Coast Road, and they travelled to and from school on the buses together.
She wasn't getting it all her own way though. There were lots of others who'd like to be the love of Cade's life. More than he knew. Jayden wasn't worried, he knew something that no-one else knew – he had a plan.
The long day finally came to an end. (Why is Friday always the longest day of the week?) The townies left for home and the country kids went out to wait for their buses and other rides.
Jayden was carrying an extra bag when he joined a group and he grinned widely when Cade greeted him with a question. “Jayden, aren't you getting on the wrong bus?”
“No, Bro. This is the one I want today. I'm coming out to your place.”
“You're coming out to ours? That's great! How long are you staying for?”
“Trying to get rid of me already? I'm not even there yet.”
“Yeah, nah,” Cade grinned widely. “Stay as long asd you like. For the whole weekend would be good.”
“Chur, Bro.” Jayden matched his grin.
They got on the bus and sat together. Karen didn't look too pleased about that. But – whatever.
She sat alone until they picked-up the primary school kids. Lance got on and flopped down next to her. “How come the prettiest girl on the bus is sitting here all alone?”
“Must be waiting for you,” she smiled.”Your big brother's busy today. He's down the back, sitting with Jayden Curtis.”
“Jayden?” Lance looked back and waved. “What's he doing on our bus? Sheesh, he's changed! I wouldn't have known him, but it is 5 years since I saw him, I was just a little kid.”
“Still are, aren't you?”
“Hey, not so much! You want to feel in my shorts and see how big I am?”
“Lance Caldwell – behave! No, I do not want to feel that.”
“You'll have to take my word for it then. But, it's huge and getting bigger by the minute!”
“Yeah, right. I can't believe that a kid not even in Highschool could be so cocky.”
“Cocky?” Lance grinned.
“Okay, not a good choice of words,” Karen laughed.
Down at the back, Cade was busy telling Jayden all about their new home and its surroundingsa, but he was also keeping half an eye on Karen and his brother. She'd got over her grumpy mood real quick. It looked like she was enjoying the company of Young Lothario.
That was a good thing, wasn't it? He didn't want to get really involved with Karen. It was never going to happen, but there was only one person he really wanted to be with like that. He turned his full attention back on Jayden.
They might never have any more than this weekend alone together, so he was going to make the most of it
Brownsville Tales, Jayden & Cade, 9
They went in for their next class, different room, different subject, same teacher – Mr. Erickson. When he had a chance, Jayden whispered, “Meet me by the gates at the main entrance when we break for lunch.”
“Sure,” Cade replied. “Are you going somewhere?”
“We both are. We'll go and talk where there's no interruptions. We've got years of catching-up to do.”
“Sounds good to me,” Cade grinned and nodded.
Usually, lunch was the high-point of a schoolday, but not today. They met by the gates and neither of them had stopped to collect their lunch. They'd have to eat on the bus on the way home. Catching up was way more important than eating right then.
They went over the road, through the carpark at the Supermarket and around behind the high hedge on the far side. It wasn't exactly private, sitting by the side of the backstreet, but it was out of sight of the school and that was good.
All they did was talk, but they had a great time there and neither wanted to go back when the hour was over. Jayden suggested cutting school for the afternoon, but Cade refused.
“Hell no. I'd like to, but we can't do that. It's my first day here and we'd be missed. I can't afford to get in trouble on my first day.”
“Yeah, you're right. We won't get away tomorrow though.”
“Why not?”
“Kristal will never let me sneak away two days in a row. She'll be ropable by now.”
“So who's the boss in that relationship?”
“I let her think that she is – it's worth it. Kristal's hot.”
“Do you love her?”
Jayden shrugged, “Dunno. Probably. Have you got a cell-number yet?”
“Not yet. Mum is fixing that up today. What's your number? I'll call you tonight.”
Jayden wrote his number on Cade's arm and they went back to school, late but not too much. Kristal insisted on Jayden sitting with her for the afternoon classes.
“He doesn't need you holding his friggin' hand, does he?”
So, Cade had to find another seat. He didn't have to sit alone though. Every unattached girl in the class was signalling him to sit with her. He made a choice and sat with a girl with short, blonde hair because she looked the opposite of Kristal who, he decided, he didn't like.
After school, Jayden led Cade around to where the buses were loading passengers.
“Here y'go. This is where we say goodbye for today. You go north and I go south.”
“There's a lot of buses!”
“There is. About 20 all together, I think. Something like that.”
“How do you know which one to get on? There's no signs.”
“'Course there isn't. We don't need signs. It's the same bus, same driver and same kids everyday.”
“But the buses all look the same.”
“They do, but you'll soon get it sorted. This one's mine. Karen Fairhall, over there, lives out your way – at the 12 Mile, I think – so you'll be on her bus. Go stand with her.”
“Okay. I'll ring you tonight, okay?”
“Yeah, of course but wait until about 7 o'clock. I'll be busy until then, with chores and stuff.”
“Of course you will. Your dad's still a slavedriver then?”
“He thinks he is. Laters, Cade.”
“Yeah, see you laters, Jayden.”
He went over to the other queue and Karen Fairhall greeted him like he was a long-lost friend, which he might have been, but he didn't remember her. She was pretty cool though, nice to look at and nearly a neighbour, she only lived about 5 k's away, so he made an effort to be nice.
The bus seemed to take forever to get out of town. They loaded-up at the Highschool, went around to the Primary school and collected more kids, and then to the Catholic High and Primary schools for more.
There wasn't an empty seat left when they finally went across the bridge over the river and out of town. Some kids were jammed in, three to a seat, but it wasn't long before they were stopping and dropping people off.
They stopped outside their home at the 9 Mile and Cade, Lance and Angel hurried off the bus. The door was closing and the wheels turning as soon as Angel's feet hit the ground. No-one else got off at their stop, so they had no kids for neighbours. At least they got door to door service.
Angel raced into the house to tell their mother all about her day. Lance and Cade went to their rooms first, to drop their bags and get out of the dorky school-clothes, then they went inside.
The mother was not long at home herself. She'd been in town all day and they were having pizza for dinner. No-one complained about that! The best news was that she had their new cellphones, so they sat around the table entering all the family's numbers in their phones.
The only other number that Cade had was Jayden's. He'd ring him later. Lance had a whole list of numbers to enter. He was a fast worker.
The internet wasn't working yet, she couldn't be in two places at once, and a man was coming tomorrow to sort that out.
“Are we getting wireless?” Lance asked. “I'm hoping to access it from my room.”
“And I'm hoping that you won't. When you're on-line, we'd rather you were in the house where we can see what you're doing. That applies to you too, Cade.”
“Of course it does,” he shrugged, resignedly. (He'd just have to look at the naughty bits after they'd gone to bed. Lance was probably thinking the same thing, but different bits.)
Lance went down the hill with Angel. She wanted to show him the horse paddock. She didn't have a pony yet, but he went anyway. It was something to do. Cade wasn't asked and wasn't interested. He couldn't care less about horses, he'd rather have a car.
He went for a walk as well, down the cliff to the beach.
There was no cellphone reception down there, which was no surprise, but there was a beach, at last. The tide was out and a long, flat and gray beach was exposed. It was mostly sand, broken by a few long low ridges of rock.
It was not the most exciting beach in the world, but not too bad. It was private – no.one had access to it apart from them and their elderly neighbours. He couldn't imagine Mr and Mrs Stuart running up and down the cliff-track. They were way too old for that.
He poked around in the rockpools for a while, but they were boring so he went home.
It was their family's habit to have the evening meal at 5pm. The mother said that that was not too early. “That's the way I was raised and that's the way I like it. Once dinner's over and done with, then you have the whole evening free. Some people don't eat until 8pm. That's stupid. Half the evening is spent waiting and it's time to go to bed when it's over.
Cade didn't mind eating early, it made sense to him, but he was especially glad that night because he'd be free to talk to Jayden. Maybe the Curtis's ate early too? He hoped so.
Cade was lying on his bed, with his new phone, by 6pm. He had a whole hour to wait, but that was okay. The door was locked and the drapes were closed so there'd be no interruptions. Seven pm came, at last, and he waited another 5 minutes so he wouldn't look too anxious.
He speed-dialled Jayden's number and he picked-up on the first ring.
“Welcome to Underground Airways. How can we help you?”
“Shut up, Jayden. You Dork!”
“A Dork, am I? It takes one to know one. It'll be a weird phone-call if I shut up – you'll be talking to yourself.”
“Okay, don't shut up then. Talk to me.”
“Anything you say.”
They talked for over an hour, which was good but it'd be expensive. It would've been free if he'd used the landline, but too bad. Landline calls had to be made from in the house where everyone could hear them talking.
They had no big secrets, but it was a private conversation, just like they used to talk in the old days – all about anything and everything but mostly nonsense, just for the fun of it. It was SO good to be home!
Even after so many years, they easily slipped back into the roles they'd always had. Cade was always the sensible one and the brainbox of the pair, but it was Jayden who was the leader. He was still, probably, the stronger one and more reckless and adventurous.
Cade objected, sometimes, but usually followed along. Jayden was always looking for fun and adventure. That hadn't changed but, unfortunately, where he was looking had.
He was into girls, really into girls. They were all he wanted to talk about. He had Kristal and she was the best, but he could still look at others. No? There was no harm in looking, they weren't married.
Who did Cade like, apart from Kristal of course? He'd pretty much be able to have any girl he wanted, Jayden had seen the way they were all looking at him. Good looking and new in town, he had it made! So, who?
This was not going the way Cade had hoped it would. He didn't want to talk about bloody girls. Finally, to shut him up and so he wouldn't think he was a total loser, he told him that he had a girl back in Australia.
“Two girls actually. Lyndie and Louisa they're identical twins and totally gorgeous. They're way hot – long and leggy and long blonde hair. They were our next-door neighbours.”
That was a mistake. Now Jayden was fascinated and wanted to know all about them. That wasn't hard to do, he knew them really well, just not as girlfriends. At least that shut Jayden up about the local girls.Yeah, he had photos of them, heaps of photos, but he didn't know how to send them on his phone.
Jayden would show him in the weekend. No worries.
That sounded good. How and where were they going to meet in the weekend? No, he was not walking all the flamin' way to Jayden's place!
Brownsville Tales, Jayden & Cade, 8
Jayden walked out into the bright sunshine in the quad outside the locker room and stopped.
Metaphorical lightning bolts, thunder crashes, or whatever – he felt thunder-struck for sure. There, in the bright sunshine and framed by the shadowed wall behind him, all alone and looking around, was a vision, a kid, a boy. A new kid in school – he hadn't seen him there before, but he'd seen him a million times, in his dreams, because he was kind-of like Cade must look now.
Years ago, Cade Caldwell was his mate, his best friend ever. They met, way-back, somewhere around the time when they first started school and they were as thick as thieves until they were torn apart at about 9 years old. That much he remembered clearly and wished he didn't because it still hurt even though that was years ago.
Cade. He hadn't heard anything of him in a long, long time. They wrote letters to each other, (by hand! On paper!), when Cade first went away. But that stopped somewhere around the time that the old house burnt down.
It was too hard to do anyway. All writing did was remind him that his best mate was a long way away and never coming back. Not good.
He'd never forget him, but he tried to move on. Life was for living, not just for remembering how good it used to be. It was funny though, he could go all day without thinking about him, and often did, but when he slept Cade was always there, in his dreams. Always.
That was mad, but dreams are like that – they show up everyone's crazy side. Sexy dreams about Cade, often 'wet' dreams, were crazy because they never did anything like that in real life. They used to sleep together sometimes, but nothing like that ever happened, they were just kids.They didn't even cuddle, but he wished now that they had.
Jayden was not gay. He had girlfriends, lots of them, but he'd never actually had all-the-way sex with anyone. Not yet anyway. When he did, it would be with a girl. No way was he interested with a boy, except maybe Cade – in his dreams.
But, that boy standing there . . wow! He was sex on legs. He looked like Cade – like he would if he was older and way better-looking than he ever really was. So, who was he?
“What're you looking at?” An arm draped around him and his current girlfriend, Kristal, was in his face. “Should I be jealous?”
“No, Sweets, you should not. I'm checking to see if there's any better-looking than you – there isn't.”
“Don't you forget it!” She beamed her brilliant smile and kissed his cheek.
'Good save!' Jayden congratulated himself, but they sprang apart when old Mr. Hewitt cleared his throat behind them.
“Yes, well.” He took his glasses off and wiped them on his jersey, peering myopically at them as he did. “School is no place for that sort of behaviour,” he grumbled. “Keep it for the back row of the movies.”
He walked away, banging into a handrail. Jayden and Kristal shrugged and he grinned when she rolled her eyes. “Crazy Old Man. C'mon Boy, time for school.”
He was glad to have her as his girlfriend, anyone would be, but she could be bossy at times.
'Where did the new kid go?' He looked around but couldn't see him. 'Well, he's new. Probably had to go to the office for timetables and stuff.'
The kid wasn't there for the first period, but then came in, led by Mrs. Eakin, the school secretary. She spoke briefly to Mr. Erickson, then said to the kid, “You'll need someone to show you around for a day or two.”
She scanned around the room and smiled when here gaze stopped on Jayden. “Of course! Kristal, move to another seat please. Cade, go and sit with Jayden. He can look after you.”
He went over, sat in the vacated seat and smiled shyly. “Hello, Jayden.”
The penny dropped. Jayden's eyes opened wide, as did his mouth. “Cade? Bloody Hell, it is! Cade! I didn't know you – boy, you've changed.”
“Not really,” Cade replied. “Only on the outside. Good to see you again, Jayden - really good.”
“It is, isn't it?” Jayden grinned widely. “Great to see you too! Where've you been?”
“Okay, Boys – enough.” Mr. Erickson interrupted. “You can talk later, now is my turn. Chapter 3, page 57, Class.”
It was the longest lesson ever. Minutes were like hours and time dragged so slowly. Neither of them was at all interested in the teacher up at the front. All they wanted was to be out of there. There were so many years to catch up on.
They couldn't talk, but no-one could stop them looking. They both sat there, stealing glances and grinning goofy grins. The bell rang, at last, class was dismissed and they were out of there like greyhounds out of the starting gates.
The best place for a private conversation was out in the middle of the netball courts, so that was where they went. Others gravitated to the nooks and crannies where the teachers and prefects watched them closely.
Everything was right in their world – everything! Cade was so excited, he had to stop himself from jigging up and down like a little kid.
They looked different. Cade was tall, well built with wide shoulders and a slender waist. He had short, spiky blond hair, blue eyes and a healthy glowing tan. Jayden was just as tall, but skinny with it. He was all knees and elbows and looked as if the scaffolding was up but the body wasn't built yet.
His neck was swanlike, long and thin, and his boyish face with its ruddy complexion and big brown eyes, still looked like a kid's. As if to compensate, his dark hair was long and shaggy. They were both fine-looking boys.
“You're back and in the Highschool. Does that mean you're back for good?”
“Sure does. Dad's got the manager's job at the mine.”
“Whoa – big time!”
“He thinks so.”
“Good for him. So, where are you living?”
“Up the Coast Road. They've bought a house at the 9 Mile.”
“9 Mile? Damm. We're living out past South Beach. You'll be on the bus going north and I'm on the one going south”
“Yep. We'll still be living a long way apart.
“Closer than Aussie though.”
“Oh yes,” Cade grinned, “Much closer than that and that's all good.”
“Yeah,” Jayden grinned back. “Real good. It's great to see you again. I thought you'd never come back.”
“I was always coming back. Just didn't know when.”
“There you are!” Kristal pushed into the conversation. “No need to babysit the new kid all the time, y'know.”
“He's not a new kid,” Jayden objected. “This is Cade and he's an old, old friend. When we were little, we were as close as brothers. Cade, this is Kristal, she's . . umm.”
“His girlfriend.” Kristal finished for him “Nice to meet you. See you later. C'mon, Jayden, come around to the back of the library, I've got something for you.”
“Umm, yeah, okay. Catch you later, Cade. We've got English next, in room6, it's back down there.
Jayden let Kristal drag him away. He had to really, he had a reputation to maintain. Cade, alone and disappointed, went to see where Room 6 was.
At the corner of the library, Jayden looked back. Cade had been stopped by 4 girls and they were chattering excitedly at him.
Cade looked over at him, their eyes met, he grinned, waved and turned back to the girls.
'He looks at home there,” Jayden thought. 'I guess he would. A stunning-looking boy like him'll be a big hit with the ladies. He's the new kid in town too. They're going to be all over him.”
“Come on, Jayden! We haven't got all day.” Kristal grabbed his shirt and pulled. He had to go with her before he lost all of his buttons. He'd rather be with Cade, but he had a girlfriend, a bossy girlfriend and there was his reputation, so he let her lead him away.
Cade still had one eye on him and he saw Jayden disppear around the corner after his hot-stuff girlfriend. What was her name again? He'd forgotten already. It didn't matter anyway, it was not her he wanted to be with. Lucky Kairau!
'Well,' he decided. 'Not much I can do about that, but I wish it was me with him.' He turned his attention on the girls.
It was quite flattering really, like he was a rockstar or something. He could get used to this.
Metaphorical lightning bolts, thunder crashes, or whatever – he felt thunder-struck for sure. There, in the bright sunshine and framed by the shadowed wall behind him, all alone and looking around, was a vision, a kid, a boy. A new kid in school – he hadn't seen him there before, but he'd seen him a million times, in his dreams, because he was kind-of like Cade must look now.
Years ago, Cade Caldwell was his mate, his best friend ever. They met, way-back, somewhere around the time when they first started school and they were as thick as thieves until they were torn apart at about 9 years old. That much he remembered clearly and wished he didn't because it still hurt even though that was years ago.
Cade. He hadn't heard anything of him in a long, long time. They wrote letters to each other, (by hand! On paper!), when Cade first went away. But that stopped somewhere around the time that the old house burnt down.
It was too hard to do anyway. All writing did was remind him that his best mate was a long way away and never coming back. Not good.
He'd never forget him, but he tried to move on. Life was for living, not just for remembering how good it used to be. It was funny though, he could go all day without thinking about him, and often did, but when he slept Cade was always there, in his dreams. Always.
That was mad, but dreams are like that – they show up everyone's crazy side. Sexy dreams about Cade, often 'wet' dreams, were crazy because they never did anything like that in real life. They used to sleep together sometimes, but nothing like that ever happened, they were just kids.They didn't even cuddle, but he wished now that they had.
Jayden was not gay. He had girlfriends, lots of them, but he'd never actually had all-the-way sex with anyone. Not yet anyway. When he did, it would be with a girl. No way was he interested with a boy, except maybe Cade – in his dreams.
But, that boy standing there . . wow! He was sex on legs. He looked like Cade – like he would if he was older and way better-looking than he ever really was. So, who was he?
“What're you looking at?” An arm draped around him and his current girlfriend, Kristal, was in his face. “Should I be jealous?”
“No, Sweets, you should not. I'm checking to see if there's any better-looking than you – there isn't.”
“Don't you forget it!” She beamed her brilliant smile and kissed his cheek.
'Good save!' Jayden congratulated himself, but they sprang apart when old Mr. Hewitt cleared his throat behind them.
“Yes, well.” He took his glasses off and wiped them on his jersey, peering myopically at them as he did. “School is no place for that sort of behaviour,” he grumbled. “Keep it for the back row of the movies.”
He walked away, banging into a handrail. Jayden and Kristal shrugged and he grinned when she rolled her eyes. “Crazy Old Man. C'mon Boy, time for school.”
He was glad to have her as his girlfriend, anyone would be, but she could be bossy at times.
'Where did the new kid go?' He looked around but couldn't see him. 'Well, he's new. Probably had to go to the office for timetables and stuff.'
The kid wasn't there for the first period, but then came in, led by Mrs. Eakin, the school secretary. She spoke briefly to Mr. Erickson, then said to the kid, “You'll need someone to show you around for a day or two.”
She scanned around the room and smiled when here gaze stopped on Jayden. “Of course! Kristal, move to another seat please. Cade, go and sit with Jayden. He can look after you.”
He went over, sat in the vacated seat and smiled shyly. “Hello, Jayden.”
The penny dropped. Jayden's eyes opened wide, as did his mouth. “Cade? Bloody Hell, it is! Cade! I didn't know you – boy, you've changed.”
“Not really,” Cade replied. “Only on the outside. Good to see you again, Jayden - really good.”
“It is, isn't it?” Jayden grinned widely. “Great to see you too! Where've you been?”
“Okay, Boys – enough.” Mr. Erickson interrupted. “You can talk later, now is my turn. Chapter 3, page 57, Class.”
It was the longest lesson ever. Minutes were like hours and time dragged so slowly. Neither of them was at all interested in the teacher up at the front. All they wanted was to be out of there. There were so many years to catch up on.
They couldn't talk, but no-one could stop them looking. They both sat there, stealing glances and grinning goofy grins. The bell rang, at last, class was dismissed and they were out of there like greyhounds out of the starting gates.
The best place for a private conversation was out in the middle of the netball courts, so that was where they went. Others gravitated to the nooks and crannies where the teachers and prefects watched them closely.
Everything was right in their world – everything! Cade was so excited, he had to stop himself from jigging up and down like a little kid.
They looked different. Cade was tall, well built with wide shoulders and a slender waist. He had short, spiky blond hair, blue eyes and a healthy glowing tan. Jayden was just as tall, but skinny with it. He was all knees and elbows and looked as if the scaffolding was up but the body wasn't built yet.
His neck was swanlike, long and thin, and his boyish face with its ruddy complexion and big brown eyes, still looked like a kid's. As if to compensate, his dark hair was long and shaggy. They were both fine-looking boys.
“You're back and in the Highschool. Does that mean you're back for good?”
“Sure does. Dad's got the manager's job at the mine.”
“Whoa – big time!”
“He thinks so.”
“Good for him. So, where are you living?”
“Up the Coast Road. They've bought a house at the 9 Mile.”
“9 Mile? Damm. We're living out past South Beach. You'll be on the bus going north and I'm on the one going south”
“Yep. We'll still be living a long way apart.
“Closer than Aussie though.”
“Oh yes,” Cade grinned, “Much closer than that and that's all good.”
“Yeah,” Jayden grinned back. “Real good. It's great to see you again. I thought you'd never come back.”
“I was always coming back. Just didn't know when.”
“There you are!” Kristal pushed into the conversation. “No need to babysit the new kid all the time, y'know.”
“He's not a new kid,” Jayden objected. “This is Cade and he's an old, old friend. When we were little, we were as close as brothers. Cade, this is Kristal, she's . . umm.”
“His girlfriend.” Kristal finished for him “Nice to meet you. See you later. C'mon, Jayden, come around to the back of the library, I've got something for you.”
“Umm, yeah, okay. Catch you later, Cade. We've got English next, in room6, it's back down there.
Jayden let Kristal drag him away. He had to really, he had a reputation to maintain. Cade, alone and disappointed, went to see where Room 6 was.
At the corner of the library, Jayden looked back. Cade had been stopped by 4 girls and they were chattering excitedly at him.
Cade looked over at him, their eyes met, he grinned, waved and turned back to the girls.
'He looks at home there,” Jayden thought. 'I guess he would. A stunning-looking boy like him'll be a big hit with the ladies. He's the new kid in town too. They're going to be all over him.”
“Come on, Jayden! We haven't got all day.” Kristal grabbed his shirt and pulled. He had to go with her before he lost all of his buttons. He'd rather be with Cade, but he had a girlfriend, a bossy girlfriend and there was his reputation, so he let her lead him away.
Cade still had one eye on him and he saw Jayden disppear around the corner after his hot-stuff girlfriend. What was her name again? He'd forgotten already. It didn't matter anyway, it was not her he wanted to be with. Lucky Kairau!
'Well,' he decided. 'Not much I can do about that, but I wish it was me with him.' He turned his attention on the girls.
It was quite flattering really, like he was a rockstar or something. He could get used to this.
Brownsville Tales, Jayden & Cade, 7
The car stopped, he got out and stood there looking in unbelief. “But. But where are they? What happened? Dad? Mum? Where's Jayden's house?”
“Not here, obviously,” his mother replied. “We've been gone a long time, Cade, and life goes on. Changes happen all the time.”
“But houses shouldn't disappear!”
His dad got out and stood up. “Maybe not, but this one did. From the look of that old tree at the side there, I'd say that there's been a fire here. The house probably burnt down years ago.”
“Burnt? No! What about Jayden? Where's Jayden and them?”
“Cade, we don't know any more than you do. There's old Perc Cutbush, mowing his lawns. He probably knows; go and ask him.”
“Mr. Cutbush. Yeah, he'll know. I'll ask him and he'll tell me.”
He hurried next-door, jumped the front fence and stood waiting for the lawn-mower to come back. Mr. Cutbush walked up, stopped, turned the mower off and lifted the ear-muffs from his head. He hadn't changed, he looked just the same as Cade remembered – maybe a little older and a little smaller and he was still not smiling. Still a grumpy old man then.
“Mr. Cutbush?”
“Yes? Can I help you?” he frowned. He obviously didn't know him.
“I hope so. What happened to Jayden and his family? Their house has gone. Was there a fire?”
“The Curtis's?” He looked at the section next-door. “Oh yes, there was a fire all right – a huge fire. It's a wonder it didn't burn my place down too, it blistered my paint and I had to replace all the PVC spouting along that side. It melted in the heat That was a while ago. It must be 4 years already.”
('About when Jayden stopped writing!')
“But what happened to them, to the family, were they all right?” Cade was so worked-up he was almost hyper-ventilating.
“Settle down. You'll blow a gasket. They were all fine. They weren't even home at the time – away on holiday or something.”
“But where did they go?”
“They're still around. I see them sometimes. They bought a place out at the south end of town,. Somewhere past South Beach.”
“South Beach? We drove in through there. I didn't see anybody.”
“Not surprising, is it?” Mr. Cutbush looked over at the car. Cade's mother had got out of it too. “Wait up. Ian Caldwell? It is! Good Lord, are you Cade Caldwell?”
“Yeah, that's me.”
“I can see that now. I didn't know you. Boy, you've grown! How old are you now?”
“I'm nearly 15.”
“The years go by. You've got so big! Are you back on holiday?”
“No, we're back for good. Dad's got a job at the mine and he's bought a house.”
“Fancy. I thought you'd gone forever. Well, welcome home. Stay out of my fruit trees. You're far too big to be climbing them and stealing plums now.”
“We . . umm.” Cade remembered and blushed. “Oh yeah, we did that. Did you know?”
“Of course I did. I always knew. You could've come and asked and I would've given them to you. But it was more exciting to pinch them, wasn't it? I was a boy once too you know.”
“I guess you were. Well, thanks, Mr. Cutbush. I'll find them soon.”
“You will. It's not a big town. Tell your parents welcome back and, if you want any plums, come and ask.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
He went back and climbed into the car. His parents got into the front seats and turned around to look at him.
“You were right, Dad. Their house burnt down. No-one was hurt, they were away on holiday. They bought a new house, somewhere out at the south end of town.”
“That's unfortunate,” his dad replied. “Our place is 9 miles out in the opposite direction. You won't be walking around the corner to see your friend again.”
“I guess not. But we'll work something out, if I've still got a friend.”
“If? Why wouldn't you?”
“I dunno. Like you keep saying, it's been a long time and people change. We haven't been in touch for years. Jayden's probably got a new best friend by now. He might not even remember me.”
“People don't change that much!” His mother said. “Of course he'll remember. You two were like Siamese twins.”
“Were.”
“You'll find out. But not now – tomorrow, maybe, or when you start at school, next week. We've mucked around enough for today and time is getting short. We need to buy some food, and then we'll go and find our house and sort out some beds for the night.”
“Right,” Ian agreed. “There's work to be done, so we'd better get started.”
The Supermarket was still there, in the same place where it always had been, but it had grown – it was twice the size that it used to be. She didn't buy a lot of food. Just the bare essentials and enough for a day or two. Then they started the last leg of their journey.
They went down through the town, by-passing the main streets, crossed the bridge over the river and headed north.
Lance spoke up. “Dad, why do you keep saying 9 miles out of town? Shouldn't that be 17 kilometers?”
“It probably should be, but the area is known as the 9 Mile. There's a series of landmarks going up the Coast Road and they're called the 9 Mile, 10 Mile, 12 Mile etcetera. That's what they've always been called and always will be, I suppose.”
It was an ordinary-looking suburban type house, not new but not old either. From the highway, it looked neat and tidy with well-mowed lawns and a concrete driveway. The green lawns and thick and lush, clean and green shrubbery, were a welcome contrast to WA's dusty landscape.
There was even a white picket fence along the road edge of the property. But this was no urban suburb – there were only a few houses, mostly hidden in the trees, strung along the west side of the highway with tangled rainforest on the other side, rising steeply to the nearby broken mountains.
There would be spectacular seaviews from the back of the house. The beach was not far away – just behind the house and about 100 meters, straight down. They were on the crest of a hill, on top of a cliff.
The big container, full of their furniture and effects, was a welcome sight, sitting outside on the driveway in front of the three open-fronted garages. They'd have their work cut out, unpacking and sorting everything out, but at least it was there waiting for them.
“Here we are then. Welcome Home, Kids.” Ian pulled in off the road and parked next to the container.
It was not a big house – single storied, (of course), and just a couple of rooms deep, but it was okay. It was in a great place, between the highway and the and the cliff to the beach.
There was an open-plan kitchen/living area and just 2 bedrooms in the house, but there were lots of outbuildings, a triple garage, sheds and a two-bedroom cottage/sleepout next to the driveway. The parents and Angel would sleep in the house and the boys got the outside rooms. Choice! Their own private space!
Angel worried about where she was going to keep her pony, but her dad said, “There's a paddock down the road, at the foot of the hill, and that's ours too. There's lots of room, but we might have to build a shelter-shed down there.”
As soon as they got a chance, Mrs. Caldwell was left on her own and her helpers were out of there. Ian and Angel went down to find the horse-paddock and the boys found their way down the steep and narrow track to the beach.
It was just a small and narrow beach with gray sand and big waves.
“Can we swim in there?” Lance looked dubiously at the surging surf.
“Maybe if we wear lifejackets?” Cade replied.
“Could be. Maybe it's better when the tide is out?”
“Maybe. It must be high-tide now, we'll come back and look in the morning.”
“Yeah, we'll do that.”
Cade looked up at the steep hill. “Now we've got to go all the way back up there.”
“Yeah, let's. I'm hungry.”
“Always are.”
“So are you. I'll race you to the food!”
Most of Sunday was spent unpacking and sorting things out. Mrs. Caldwell supervised her three strong helpers and everything had to be moved and moved again before she was happy with where it all was.
There was only 1 TV channel, dammit. But their dad said not to worry. “As soon as we get the internet and Sky connected, you'll have all the channels you could want.”
“Well, good!” Lance said. “I can't live without at least one sports channel. Will we have cellphone reception here?”
“I don't know. I hope so. You could go and ask the neighbours, they'll know.”
“I just walk up and ask them?”
“Why not? We'll need to get to know them anyway, so you be nice.”
There was just an old couple living next-door. They had no kids and were glad to get some for neighbours. Yes, they had cellphones.
By the time they were free of their slavedrivers, it was high-tide again. So they didn't go down to the beach – they just looked down from the top of the cliff.
“A Hang-glider,” Lace said. “We need a hang-glider. Then we could jump off and fly down.”
“Still have to walk back up,” Cade replied. “And that's the hard part. A parachute would do the same job and it'd be less to carry back up.”
“Probably. Let's check-out the neighbourhood and see where the Ladies are!”
“I don't like your chances.”
“Neither do I.”
There were about a dozen houses in the vicinity. Theirs and the old neighbours' were the only ones visible from the road. The others were all screened by shrubs and trees, some at the top of the hill, more down at the bottom on the flat ground.
Monday, Ian went to work at his new job. The others all went into town to sign-up for the schools and sort-out uniforms and stuff. Lance had to start in the Primary School, with the little kids, because of his age. He was not impressed, but no-one expected that he'd be there for long – he was a bright boy.
When they were done with all that, Mrs. Caldwell said that she needed a coffee and she headed for the nearest cafe. Angel went with her, the boys wandered off to check-out the main streets.
They didn't stay together for long; Lance was only interested in scoping-out the Ladies, Cade wasn't. He was looking around in case Jayden might be in town. There were quite a few kids wandering the streets, probably because it was the last day of the holidays and they were making the most of it.
He recognised a few people, but only the oldies – they don't change much in 5 years, but the kids do. He didn't see any kids he knew at all. That was a worry.
No-one recognised him either – well, they wouldn't, would they?
Then, when he was just about ready to give up, he saw him. Or, he thought he did, he wasn't sure but it might've been him.
A pack of teenagers came out into the MacDonalds' carpark up the road, and headed for a big old car there. There were 7 of them, 3 girls and 4 boys, and they were joking and fooling around as they walked. Well, most of them were.
There was one couple, a boy and a girl, who were only interested in each other. They were kissing, groping and all-but undressing each other. It was pretty obvious what they'd be doing as soon as they got somewhere private.
Cade stood in a vacant shop's doorway and stared. They all piled into the car, the couple were last because they were busy. The car started, circled around and came down the street towards him.
They didn't see him there, standing in the shadows, but he saw them clearly as they cruised past. It was him. He was sure of it – the boy who was snogging the girl was Jayden. He'd changed. He'd grown, with wide shoulders and a slender waist, (no fat belly now!), and his hair was long and shaggy. He was very good-looking. He was gorgeous. Cade had never seen a better-looking boy and he'd looked a lot.
What was he doing with a girl all over him? (She was sitting on him in the back of the car – face to face). No, it was obvious what he was doing. Cade's hopes and dreams crumbled to dust.
Jayden was not like him. Jayden liked girls. One girl anyway. Dammit.
He was so let-down and disappointed that even his mother noticed it and asked him what was wrong, on the way home again, and she was not the most observant person in the world.
His answer, of course, was “Nothing.” She didn't push it, she was an experienced mother.
As soon as they got home, he locked himself in his room and sat on his bed to think. It'd be so easy to cry, but he wasn't doing that. That would be dumb.
Why was he so upset about seeing Jayden was not the same as he was? The chances of that were never good. And, how could he love someone when he didn't even know him and hadn't seen him for 5 years? That was way stupid.
But – he did. So what was he going to do? He didn't know.
He wished that they'd never come back.
“Not here, obviously,” his mother replied. “We've been gone a long time, Cade, and life goes on. Changes happen all the time.”
“But houses shouldn't disappear!”
His dad got out and stood up. “Maybe not, but this one did. From the look of that old tree at the side there, I'd say that there's been a fire here. The house probably burnt down years ago.”
“Burnt? No! What about Jayden? Where's Jayden and them?”
“Cade, we don't know any more than you do. There's old Perc Cutbush, mowing his lawns. He probably knows; go and ask him.”
“Mr. Cutbush. Yeah, he'll know. I'll ask him and he'll tell me.”
He hurried next-door, jumped the front fence and stood waiting for the lawn-mower to come back. Mr. Cutbush walked up, stopped, turned the mower off and lifted the ear-muffs from his head. He hadn't changed, he looked just the same as Cade remembered – maybe a little older and a little smaller and he was still not smiling. Still a grumpy old man then.
“Mr. Cutbush?”
“Yes? Can I help you?” he frowned. He obviously didn't know him.
“I hope so. What happened to Jayden and his family? Their house has gone. Was there a fire?”
“The Curtis's?” He looked at the section next-door. “Oh yes, there was a fire all right – a huge fire. It's a wonder it didn't burn my place down too, it blistered my paint and I had to replace all the PVC spouting along that side. It melted in the heat That was a while ago. It must be 4 years already.”
('About when Jayden stopped writing!')
“But what happened to them, to the family, were they all right?” Cade was so worked-up he was almost hyper-ventilating.
“Settle down. You'll blow a gasket. They were all fine. They weren't even home at the time – away on holiday or something.”
“But where did they go?”
“They're still around. I see them sometimes. They bought a place out at the south end of town,. Somewhere past South Beach.”
“South Beach? We drove in through there. I didn't see anybody.”
“Not surprising, is it?” Mr. Cutbush looked over at the car. Cade's mother had got out of it too. “Wait up. Ian Caldwell? It is! Good Lord, are you Cade Caldwell?”
“Yeah, that's me.”
“I can see that now. I didn't know you. Boy, you've grown! How old are you now?”
“I'm nearly 15.”
“The years go by. You've got so big! Are you back on holiday?”
“No, we're back for good. Dad's got a job at the mine and he's bought a house.”
“Fancy. I thought you'd gone forever. Well, welcome home. Stay out of my fruit trees. You're far too big to be climbing them and stealing plums now.”
“We . . umm.” Cade remembered and blushed. “Oh yeah, we did that. Did you know?”
“Of course I did. I always knew. You could've come and asked and I would've given them to you. But it was more exciting to pinch them, wasn't it? I was a boy once too you know.”
“I guess you were. Well, thanks, Mr. Cutbush. I'll find them soon.”
“You will. It's not a big town. Tell your parents welcome back and, if you want any plums, come and ask.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
He went back and climbed into the car. His parents got into the front seats and turned around to look at him.
“You were right, Dad. Their house burnt down. No-one was hurt, they were away on holiday. They bought a new house, somewhere out at the south end of town.”
“That's unfortunate,” his dad replied. “Our place is 9 miles out in the opposite direction. You won't be walking around the corner to see your friend again.”
“I guess not. But we'll work something out, if I've still got a friend.”
“If? Why wouldn't you?”
“I dunno. Like you keep saying, it's been a long time and people change. We haven't been in touch for years. Jayden's probably got a new best friend by now. He might not even remember me.”
“People don't change that much!” His mother said. “Of course he'll remember. You two were like Siamese twins.”
“Were.”
“You'll find out. But not now – tomorrow, maybe, or when you start at school, next week. We've mucked around enough for today and time is getting short. We need to buy some food, and then we'll go and find our house and sort out some beds for the night.”
“Right,” Ian agreed. “There's work to be done, so we'd better get started.”
The Supermarket was still there, in the same place where it always had been, but it had grown – it was twice the size that it used to be. She didn't buy a lot of food. Just the bare essentials and enough for a day or two. Then they started the last leg of their journey.
They went down through the town, by-passing the main streets, crossed the bridge over the river and headed north.
Lance spoke up. “Dad, why do you keep saying 9 miles out of town? Shouldn't that be 17 kilometers?”
“It probably should be, but the area is known as the 9 Mile. There's a series of landmarks going up the Coast Road and they're called the 9 Mile, 10 Mile, 12 Mile etcetera. That's what they've always been called and always will be, I suppose.”
It was an ordinary-looking suburban type house, not new but not old either. From the highway, it looked neat and tidy with well-mowed lawns and a concrete driveway. The green lawns and thick and lush, clean and green shrubbery, were a welcome contrast to WA's dusty landscape.
There was even a white picket fence along the road edge of the property. But this was no urban suburb – there were only a few houses, mostly hidden in the trees, strung along the west side of the highway with tangled rainforest on the other side, rising steeply to the nearby broken mountains.
There would be spectacular seaviews from the back of the house. The beach was not far away – just behind the house and about 100 meters, straight down. They were on the crest of a hill, on top of a cliff.
The big container, full of their furniture and effects, was a welcome sight, sitting outside on the driveway in front of the three open-fronted garages. They'd have their work cut out, unpacking and sorting everything out, but at least it was there waiting for them.
“Here we are then. Welcome Home, Kids.” Ian pulled in off the road and parked next to the container.
It was not a big house – single storied, (of course), and just a couple of rooms deep, but it was okay. It was in a great place, between the highway and the and the cliff to the beach.
There was an open-plan kitchen/living area and just 2 bedrooms in the house, but there were lots of outbuildings, a triple garage, sheds and a two-bedroom cottage/sleepout next to the driveway. The parents and Angel would sleep in the house and the boys got the outside rooms. Choice! Their own private space!
Angel worried about where she was going to keep her pony, but her dad said, “There's a paddock down the road, at the foot of the hill, and that's ours too. There's lots of room, but we might have to build a shelter-shed down there.”
As soon as they got a chance, Mrs. Caldwell was left on her own and her helpers were out of there. Ian and Angel went down to find the horse-paddock and the boys found their way down the steep and narrow track to the beach.
It was just a small and narrow beach with gray sand and big waves.
“Can we swim in there?” Lance looked dubiously at the surging surf.
“Maybe if we wear lifejackets?” Cade replied.
“Could be. Maybe it's better when the tide is out?”
“Maybe. It must be high-tide now, we'll come back and look in the morning.”
“Yeah, we'll do that.”
Cade looked up at the steep hill. “Now we've got to go all the way back up there.”
“Yeah, let's. I'm hungry.”
“Always are.”
“So are you. I'll race you to the food!”
Most of Sunday was spent unpacking and sorting things out. Mrs. Caldwell supervised her three strong helpers and everything had to be moved and moved again before she was happy with where it all was.
There was only 1 TV channel, dammit. But their dad said not to worry. “As soon as we get the internet and Sky connected, you'll have all the channels you could want.”
“Well, good!” Lance said. “I can't live without at least one sports channel. Will we have cellphone reception here?”
“I don't know. I hope so. You could go and ask the neighbours, they'll know.”
“I just walk up and ask them?”
“Why not? We'll need to get to know them anyway, so you be nice.”
There was just an old couple living next-door. They had no kids and were glad to get some for neighbours. Yes, they had cellphones.
By the time they were free of their slavedrivers, it was high-tide again. So they didn't go down to the beach – they just looked down from the top of the cliff.
“A Hang-glider,” Lace said. “We need a hang-glider. Then we could jump off and fly down.”
“Still have to walk back up,” Cade replied. “And that's the hard part. A parachute would do the same job and it'd be less to carry back up.”
“Probably. Let's check-out the neighbourhood and see where the Ladies are!”
“I don't like your chances.”
“Neither do I.”
There were about a dozen houses in the vicinity. Theirs and the old neighbours' were the only ones visible from the road. The others were all screened by shrubs and trees, some at the top of the hill, more down at the bottom on the flat ground.
Monday, Ian went to work at his new job. The others all went into town to sign-up for the schools and sort-out uniforms and stuff. Lance had to start in the Primary School, with the little kids, because of his age. He was not impressed, but no-one expected that he'd be there for long – he was a bright boy.
When they were done with all that, Mrs. Caldwell said that she needed a coffee and she headed for the nearest cafe. Angel went with her, the boys wandered off to check-out the main streets.
They didn't stay together for long; Lance was only interested in scoping-out the Ladies, Cade wasn't. He was looking around in case Jayden might be in town. There were quite a few kids wandering the streets, probably because it was the last day of the holidays and they were making the most of it.
He recognised a few people, but only the oldies – they don't change much in 5 years, but the kids do. He didn't see any kids he knew at all. That was a worry.
No-one recognised him either – well, they wouldn't, would they?
Then, when he was just about ready to give up, he saw him. Or, he thought he did, he wasn't sure but it might've been him.
A pack of teenagers came out into the MacDonalds' carpark up the road, and headed for a big old car there. There were 7 of them, 3 girls and 4 boys, and they were joking and fooling around as they walked. Well, most of them were.
There was one couple, a boy and a girl, who were only interested in each other. They were kissing, groping and all-but undressing each other. It was pretty obvious what they'd be doing as soon as they got somewhere private.
Cade stood in a vacant shop's doorway and stared. They all piled into the car, the couple were last because they were busy. The car started, circled around and came down the street towards him.
They didn't see him there, standing in the shadows, but he saw them clearly as they cruised past. It was him. He was sure of it – the boy who was snogging the girl was Jayden. He'd changed. He'd grown, with wide shoulders and a slender waist, (no fat belly now!), and his hair was long and shaggy. He was very good-looking. He was gorgeous. Cade had never seen a better-looking boy and he'd looked a lot.
What was he doing with a girl all over him? (She was sitting on him in the back of the car – face to face). No, it was obvious what he was doing. Cade's hopes and dreams crumbled to dust.
Jayden was not like him. Jayden liked girls. One girl anyway. Dammit.
He was so let-down and disappointed that even his mother noticed it and asked him what was wrong, on the way home again, and she was not the most observant person in the world.
His answer, of course, was “Nothing.” She didn't push it, she was an experienced mother.
As soon as they got home, he locked himself in his room and sat on his bed to think. It'd be so easy to cry, but he wasn't doing that. That would be dumb.
Why was he so upset about seeing Jayden was not the same as he was? The chances of that were never good. And, how could he love someone when he didn't even know him and hadn't seen him for 5 years? That was way stupid.
But – he did. So what was he going to do? He didn't know.
He wished that they'd never come back.
Brownsville Tales, Jayden & Cade, 6
Cade came back. After 5 long, long years the Caldwell family packed-up again and flew home, back to where they'd started from, back to Brownsville.
There was no place on earth where he'd rather be, Brownsville was home and it was where he belonged. Brownsville was where Jayden was. At least, he hoped and prayed that he was still there.
He hadn't heard from him for years, so he didn't know.
The first of many shocks when they'd first arrived in the outback town where they were to live was that they had no internet access there. That sucked. It was like going back to the olden days where their mum was a girl. (She told them that the internet wasn't around when she was a kid. She'd survived, so would they.)
They had Sky TV, so it wasn't completely primitive, but no internet and no cellphones either!
At first he wrote letters to Jayden every day, telling him all about life in their new country, and he sent them by snail-mail. But the 'service' was slow and expensive. It took well over a week to send a letter and receive a reply, so he slowed down, then slowed some more, and as time went on their letters stopped altogether.
Jayden didn't reply to the last three letters he wrote and he didn't want to look too much of a try-hard, so he didn't write again. There were no more letters and eventually he stopped checking the mail. Jayden had obviously forgotten about him and was getting on with his own life.
Cade tried to forget about the past and get on with his life. He had his family, his home and his new friends, but he never wanted to be there, not forever.
He did make some good friends there. There were a lot of ex-pat Kiwis in the miner's families in the town. They knew what it was like to have to start again in a new country and they made him welcome.
The Greening twins soon became his best friends. They were his nearest neighbours and their bedroom window was opposite his. It wasn't far to go, but they walked to and from school together and they did everything together, including swimming naked in the dammed-up pool in the sluggish creek at the end of the street.
No-one thought anything of it, they were all just kids and everyone swam naked there when there were no adults around. However, they did all become a bit shy about their bodies as they grew older and the differences between them became more obvious.
Cade was happy, he was delighted to be going home at last, but he knew that he was going to miss the twins. They'd done a lot of their growing-up together and they were the best friends he'd ever had, apart from Jayden.
Jayden was his all-time best friend ever, no doubt about it, and even after 5 years he still missed him like hell. He SO hoped that they'd be best-friends again.
One thing bothered him, a bit, when he thought about it sometimes. He sort-of felt that he should like the twins more than Jayden – they were girls after all and Jayden wasn't, he was very much a boy. Or, used to be – he'd be a teenager now. But he couldn't help his feelings and Jayden was the one he liked best.
The twins were tomboys and they could run and fight as good as any boy, but they were also very good-looking girls with their sun-bleached hair and sun-tanned skin. They were different inside, but very similar to look at. People often confused which one was which, but never Cade, he always knew.
They were nice to look at but, even at 14 years old, Cade never felt any sexual attraction to either one. They were just his mates, that's all. Anyway, it would take a braver person than him to come between those two. Whichever one he chose, the other one would hate him. Better not to go there. He'd never have to choose anyway, he was going home and that's where he wanted to be.
It was weeks from the time they were told until they actually started moving. Most of their furniture and gear went on ahead of them. They were getting good at this moving countries business. They'd done it all before, but he hoped that this would be the last time.
Just about everyone in the town was at the farewell party. They were old-hands there now. The twins cried. Cade didn't, he was going to a better place.
Sitting in the Perth airport, waiting for a connecting flight, Angel asked what Cade wanted to know but was too timid to ask. “Dad, why are we going to New Zealand?”
“Why? Don't you want to go home, Angel?”
“It's not my home. I don't even remember living there.”
“You don't? That just proves it – it's time we went home.”
“But it's not my home. How can it be? My home is here where my friends are and that's where I want to stay.”
“Sorry, Honey, but you can't. We've had our time here and now we're going home. I've been offered the manager's job at the mine where I used to work, I want it and I'm taking it. We're all looking forward to going home.” He looked at Cade who smiled and nodded. “You'll love it there, Angel. You really will. There'll even be room for a pony if you still want one.”
“There will? Choice! I always want a pony!”
“Well now you can have one.” Ian smiled as he watched Angel run to tell her mother. He grinned at Cade, “She was easily bought. I don't suppose we'll have to bribe you with anything?”
“Not likely! We're going home, that's all I've ever wanted.”
“We know that, Son,” Mrs. Caldwell walked up. “You were just a kid and you had no choice, but you've been great about moving here, and patient too. I hope that home is all you want it to be. We've been away 5 years and you've grown a lot, everyone else will have too. You're going to find a lot of changes back there.”
“Gee, thanks, Mum.”
Damm. He hadn't thought of that. He hadn't thought much about it, but he sort-of expected everything and everyone to be the same as they were when he'd left. Angel had changed out of sight. She was still a pre-schooler when they came to Aus – look at her now – 10 years old and thinks she's a teenager already.
He looked around for Lance. He was down at the far-end of the big room, talking to 2 girls. Yeah, Lance had changed. Twelve years old and a Ladies' Man. He was a fine-looking boy too. He looked much older than 12.
What would Jayden look like now, he wondered. He was kind-of short and stocky when they'd left, wasn't he? Funny, he never thought much about what he looked like. He was just Jayden, he was his friend and he loved him.
Would he recognise him when he saw him? Yes, of course he would. But would Jayden recognise him? Great – something else to worry about.
It took them a long time to get home. They had a couple of days in Perth, looking around and catching up with friends, then they flew to Sydney and had a week's holiday there.
It'd be a long time before they had another chance to see Sydney, if ever, so they were making the most of the opportunity on the way home. Also, the delays would give their furniture and possessions time to get there before they did.
Sydney was great and, after 5 years in the WA desert, everything looked so green and fresh. Angel just wanted to ride the harbour ferries all day long, but there was so much more than that to see. Cade tried to be interested and enjoy it, but it was hard. He didn't want to be there, he had his heart set on home.
They moved on at last and boarded an Air NZ plane for the flight to Christchurch.
The plane was already coming down as they crossed over the South Island from west to east. They all looked but couldn't see the West Coast – it was under cloud. Again.
They landed in Christchurch, collected their baggage and walked out through Customs without being challenged. Ian hired a mini-van from the Avis Rentals counter. They all got in and he drove less than a kilometer to the Airport Hotel. There were groans from the back seats when he pulled in there.
“Dad, what're you doing?”
“We're checking in here. Didn't we tell you? We're staying two nights.”
“What for?” Cade was so disappointed he couldn't contain himself. “I wanna go home!”
“And we will,” his dad replied, “but not just yet. Look, Kids, I'm starting a new job back in Brownsville and who knows when I'll get time off again? Probably not for at least 12 months. We're here now and your mum and I want to have a look around before we leave.
We've never lived in Christchurch, but it's still our city – the nearest one to home and where we've visited, shopped and played many, many times. There's been some huge changes since the earthquakes – 8 out of 10 buildings in the central business area are either gone or coming down.
So, we're checking-in here, and then we'll go for a drive around and see what the Garden City looks like now.”
“Who cares? I want to see what Brownsville looks like now!”
“You will,” his mum nodded. “Two sleeps and we'll be there. Be patient just a little longer, Cade.”
“Can we go to MacDonalds?” Angel spoke up.
“Yes, we can go to Maccas, if you must. I thought you'd be sick of MacDonalds by now, we must've eaten at every one in Sydney in the last week and the food's the same wherever you go.”
“But I've never eaten at one in New Zealand.”
“You have you know. You don't remember it because you were only little. I think you were in a highchair last time we went to one here.”
They ate at Maccas. At least that was one constant in a changing world.
According to Lance, who knew such things, Christchurch was the biggest city, by area, in New Zealand, but not by population – that was Auckland, by far. Their two days there were interesting. It was a big, flat and spread-out place. There were areas, whole suburbs, where there was no visible earthquake damage and life was going on as always.
Other suburbs had been largely abandonded. Houses, near the river, sat at all sorts of crazy angles and were being overgrown and choked by weeds. The central city area, still largely cordonded off, was something else – like a huge building site in reverse. More buildings had gone than were still there and they were still coming down. Gravel-strewn empty sections were everywhere and even the parents couldn't remember what used to be there.
It was incredible how much damage had been done by just a couple of minutes of the earth moving. A nuclear explosion wouldn't have done much worse, except for the radiation stuff.
Anywho, all very interesting though it was, it was a relief when they finally left and headed west, to the Coast.
Even then, the father wasn't in any hurry. He kept stopping along the way and pointing out so-called interesting places. “That valley over there – that's where they filmed the battle scenes in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Funny though, you can recognise the landscape by the big rocks, but in the movie the grass was green, not brown. They coloured it somehow. It probably wasn't pretty enough.”
No-one cared. They just wanted to go home, even the mother did, she'd had enough of sightseeing too. So, of course, they had to stop at Arthurs Pass for lunch.
Afterwards, outside in the carpark, Angel pointed out the little red-breasted birds bobbing around, scrounging for scraps of food. “Look at that! You see those birds on Christmas cards.”
“You do. Well-spotted, Angel,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “They are robins. They're English birds, I think.”
“Yeah, they are,” Ian said. “Look around, Kids and welcome to New Zealand – English birds, Japanese cars, Swiss chalet-style restaurant with American junk food and German tourists. It's a small world and getting smaller all the time.”
“Still takes forever to get anywhere,” Cade grumbled.
His dad grinned as he cuffed his head. “Get in the car then. You're holding us up!”
He didn't need telling twice.
It was mid afternoon when they arrived in Brownsville, at last. Cade recognised some landmarks as they drove in, but everything looked smaller than it used to. Towering trees were just overgrown shrubs really.
The parents conferred in the front seats and Ian turned into Buckley Street, drove along and stopped outside their old home.
It wasn't theirs anymore, they'd sold it when they left. It looked the same, but there were strange people there. Some kids were playing in the driveway and a lady was kneeling, weeding the flower gardens and looking suspiciously at them.
“What are those people doing in our house?” Lance objected.
“Living in it. It used to be ours, but it's not now. We sold it when we moved to Aus.”
“Where are we going to live then?”
“You'll see. We've got a nice property, by the beach, up the Coast Road.”
“We won't be living in town?” Cade worried.
“No. Not right in town, but close to it. We'll be just 10 minutes north of town.”
“Ten minutes walking?”
“No, Silly. Ten minutes in the car. It's 9 miles out.”
“But I haven't got a car!”
“Not yet, but it won't be long before you do.”
“It will be a couple of years, now they've put the age up to 16.”
Ian said, “Probably a good thing too.” He started the car.
Cade said, “Dad, seeing we're here, can we go around the corner to Marsh's Road?”
“To look at Jayden's family's house? Sure we can.”
They went around 2 corners and into the old familiar street. Cade had spent a lot of time there when he was younger and he knew it well. He used to know who lived in every house, but would he now?
Not much had changed. Not much except the most important thing – Jayden's house was gone! It was the right place, across the road from the small kids' playground and between Mr. Cutbush's and the Houston's family home, but there was no house there – just a bare section, empty except for the overgrown grass and weeds.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Brownsville Tales, Jayden, 5
“Come on, Jayden. If you don't stir your bones you're going to miss the bus and don't think I'll be taking you into town if you do. You can walk, all the way. There's no time for breakfast, you've already missed that. Get out of bed!”
“Ah, poo.” Jayden rolled over and his eyes focussed on the bedside clock. “Whoah, damm!” Two minutes to eight, he was late again.
He crawled out of bed and staggered through to the bathroom to do the business. No time for a shower, but he was used to that. He hated mornings. Back in his room, he pulled on his school clothes, grabbed his bag and left.
As he walked through the kitchen, he took the wedge of pie from his granddad's outstretched hand and walked out into the morning sunshine. He stood at the bus stop at the side of the road, eating his pie while he waited. He'd just about decided that he could've had a few minutes more sleep when the bus hove into view.
He threw the remains of the pie away. What the birds didn't eat, the rats would.
The driver pulled up next to him, he got in and flopped in the first empty seat. “Hey, Jayden. Sleep in again?” His seatmate greeted him.
“Hey, Mella. I did not. I'm here, aren't I?”
“Only just by the look of you. And isn't it a lovely day?”
“Shut it. I'm still waking up.” He slumped down and shut his eyes. Mella shrugged and went back to her phone.
There was no time to go back to sleep, worse luck. They'd lived here for a few years now, but he still hated it. It was just far enough out of town to be annoying. It was all right for his parents and older brothers, they all had cars. He didn't, so he was stuck with riding the bus and bludging rides when he could. It was too bloody far to walk into town, by the time he got there it'd be time to start for home again. It was much better when they used to live in town.
He still didn't see why they had to pack-up and move out into the country when they had a perfectly good house in town. Well, they did have a house, before it burnt down. Who knew how that happened?
There was no-one there at the time, they were all away on holiday and there was no house to come home to. That was an awful time and they had to live in cabins at the motorcamp for months while the insurance company dicked around. By the time they finally paid out the old place had been completely demolished and the section cleared, but the parents decided not to rebuild and they bought a place out of town instead.
It was a nice house, he couldn't deny that. It wasn't new but it'd been well looked after and it was big. It was huge, in fact. How many houses have 6 bedrooms? Not many.
Also, it was sitting on 10 acres of, mostly regenerating, scrub and native bush. There were some great little private areas, especially down in the gully by the creek, but it was too far out of town. Town was where the life was and where the people were and Jayden was a very sociable kid. He liked people and people liked him.
Well, mostly he did – just not first thing in the mornings. He was not a morning person.
The bus trip didn't take long. Even with several stops and starts it was only just over half an hour. He didn't live far out of town, about 10k's from the south end, which is not far in a car, or in a slow old schoolbus either.
So, even though he'd like to, there was no time to catch-up on sleep. Also, there was the sunshine.
The sun shone down from a clear blue sky and did its best to dazzle him as he cringed in his seat on the wrong side of the bus. Too late to change now, they were nearly there.
The bus stopped outside the school, everyone dragged themselves off it with the usual lack of enthusiasm and another day began. Still not talking any more than he had to, Jayden went through the locker-room routine and sorted the books and gear he needed for the day. He walked outside, into the sunlit quadrangle and was struck by lightning.
“Ah, poo.” Jayden rolled over and his eyes focussed on the bedside clock. “Whoah, damm!” Two minutes to eight, he was late again.
He crawled out of bed and staggered through to the bathroom to do the business. No time for a shower, but he was used to that. He hated mornings. Back in his room, he pulled on his school clothes, grabbed his bag and left.
As he walked through the kitchen, he took the wedge of pie from his granddad's outstretched hand and walked out into the morning sunshine. He stood at the bus stop at the side of the road, eating his pie while he waited. He'd just about decided that he could've had a few minutes more sleep when the bus hove into view.
He threw the remains of the pie away. What the birds didn't eat, the rats would.
The driver pulled up next to him, he got in and flopped in the first empty seat. “Hey, Jayden. Sleep in again?” His seatmate greeted him.
“Hey, Mella. I did not. I'm here, aren't I?”
“Only just by the look of you. And isn't it a lovely day?”
“Shut it. I'm still waking up.” He slumped down and shut his eyes. Mella shrugged and went back to her phone.
There was no time to go back to sleep, worse luck. They'd lived here for a few years now, but he still hated it. It was just far enough out of town to be annoying. It was all right for his parents and older brothers, they all had cars. He didn't, so he was stuck with riding the bus and bludging rides when he could. It was too bloody far to walk into town, by the time he got there it'd be time to start for home again. It was much better when they used to live in town.
He still didn't see why they had to pack-up and move out into the country when they had a perfectly good house in town. Well, they did have a house, before it burnt down. Who knew how that happened?
There was no-one there at the time, they were all away on holiday and there was no house to come home to. That was an awful time and they had to live in cabins at the motorcamp for months while the insurance company dicked around. By the time they finally paid out the old place had been completely demolished and the section cleared, but the parents decided not to rebuild and they bought a place out of town instead.
It was a nice house, he couldn't deny that. It wasn't new but it'd been well looked after and it was big. It was huge, in fact. How many houses have 6 bedrooms? Not many.
Also, it was sitting on 10 acres of, mostly regenerating, scrub and native bush. There were some great little private areas, especially down in the gully by the creek, but it was too far out of town. Town was where the life was and where the people were and Jayden was a very sociable kid. He liked people and people liked him.
Well, mostly he did – just not first thing in the mornings. He was not a morning person.
The bus trip didn't take long. Even with several stops and starts it was only just over half an hour. He didn't live far out of town, about 10k's from the south end, which is not far in a car, or in a slow old schoolbus either.
So, even though he'd like to, there was no time to catch-up on sleep. Also, there was the sunshine.
The sun shone down from a clear blue sky and did its best to dazzle him as he cringed in his seat on the wrong side of the bus. Too late to change now, they were nearly there.
The bus stopped outside the school, everyone dragged themselves off it with the usual lack of enthusiasm and another day began. Still not talking any more than he had to, Jayden went through the locker-room routine and sorted the books and gear he needed for the day. He walked outside, into the sunlit quadrangle and was struck by lightning.
Brownsville Tales, Jayden, 4
It made sense, what his mum said, but he wasn't telling her that. He did need a new best friend, but who?
There was no-one like Cade, he was more fun to be with than anyone he'd ever known. It was so not fair of his father taking him away. He hated him for that – if he ever saw him again, he'd tell him that too. He would. It was a rotten thing to do and if he was bigger he would – well, he'd do something!
“Jayden? Jayden, wake up! I was talking to you and you're not even listening.”
His little sister's annoying whine brought him back to earth.
“I was too listening!” He protested but she didn't believe it for a minute.
“What did I say then?”
“I forget.”
“Sure you do. I said, do you watch to watch Harry Potter with me?”
“Harry Potter? Again? There are other DVDs, Bri.”
“But they're not as good. Well, are you coming?”
“No, I'm not. I'm sick of Harry Potter movies. It's just the same thing, over and over.”
“It is not! The stories are all different.”
“Not! Anyway, you must've seen every one of them a hundred times. Won't you ever get tired of them?”
“I won't. I love Harry Potter.”
“Don't we know it! I'm going out, Mum – out for a walk.”
“Good idea. You should go too, Bri, get some fresh air.”
“No way. I'm busy.”
“Yeah, right.” Jayden left the house in a hurry before his mother got any more bright ideas. He left by the front door, ran up the path, hurdled the gate and almost ran smack into Jerry Moore who was on the sidewalk outside.
“He-e-ey. Watch it!” Jerry stepped back, just in time. “Where're you going in a big hurry?”
“Running away – like, really running,” Jayden grinned. “What's in the pack on your back?”
“This old thing?” Jerry turned sideways to show the green bag slung over his shoulders. “Dad's fishing bag. I'm going eeling, you want to come?”
“With you? Yeah, okay, why not? But it's a bit early, isn't it? The best time for eels is after dark because that's when they eat.”
“Not true. They'll eat anytime when there's food around. I've got a bottle of blood from the butchers, when I tip that in the creek they'll be everywhere, looking for their dinner.”
“But there'd be nothing there for them to eat.”
“There's not, but they don't know that, so they keep swimming around while we spear them.”
“We?”
“Yeah, we – you said you're coming. It's heaps of fun.”
“Not much fun for the eels.”
“No, but they don't know that either, until it's too late. You in or not?”
“Yeah, I'm in. I already said.”
“'Kay. Come on then. We're going to the creek at the back of Anzac Park.”
They bounced down the concrete steps down the hill and across the small wooden bridge over the creek that bordered the sportsgrounds on two sides.
“The water's running a bit fast, isn't it?” Jayden said. “If you tip the blood in there it'll be gone in no time.”
“Right.” Jerry nodded. “That's why we're not doing it here. Down the end of the park, by the railway bridge, the water is still there, hardly moving at all.”
“I'm not walking over no railway bridge!” Jayden stressed. “That's dangerous.”
“Not. It's only a little bridge and you can jump off if you have to. Anywho, we don't go over it, we're going under, where the eels are.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
Off the bridge and through the carpark, they went into Anzac Park, around the two-storied pavilion in the centre, through the tennis/netball courts and across the athletics field to the far corner. A train rumbled past as they were nearing the end of the field. It was just a shunting service, slow and small, but big enough and fast enough to make Jayden doubly glad that they weren't going on the bridge.
They waved to the driver, he waved back and gave them a 'blarp' on the diesel's horn.
“Train whistles sound so much better in the movies,” Jerry said.”
“Yeah? You must watch way-old movies!”
“Sometimes, yeah. You seen Stand By Me? It's old, but it's very cool.”
“Is that the one where the kids are getting chased across a bridge by an old steam train. Dumbheads! They shouldn't have been there.”
“Guess not. They got off it in a hurry.”
“They had to and that's why we're not going over no bridges.”
“We're not. I told you, we go under the bridge.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Just through the trees here.”
Jerry pushed into the macrocarpa foilage and Jayden followed. There was a rough track there between the trees, but he would've missed it if Jerry didn't show him where.
It was just a big over-grown hedge really; it was only about two trees deep, and then they were out on the other side. There was a grassed patch, like a lawn that hadn't been mowed since forever, and then the creek – shallow, flat and wide and still-looking.
The water was hardly moving at all, which was not surprising, the tidal lagoon started just downstream from the wooden railway bridge.
“This is it. Cool place, eh?” Jerry took the bag off his back and pulled out a short three-pronged spear and screwed the two halves of the handle together. He then pulled out a very red coke bottle.
“It's cool. I never knew this was here.”
“You wouldn't unless you knew where to look.” Jerry unscrewed the cap from the bottle and held it out. “Want a taste?”
“Eww! No way. That's gross.”
“It's gross. Vampires like it and so do eels, they love it. It looks like tomato juice but it wouldn't taste like it.”
“Tomato juice is disgusting too, but that stuff could poison you or something.”
“You worry too much, you know. Anyway, it doesn't kill the eels, this does.” Jerry brandished his spear like a, short, warrior. “Well, this plus a rock kills them. They're hard buggers to kill and you have to watch that they don't bite you. Once they get their teeth in, they don't let go. Bloody hurts too.”
“Sounds like you've been bitten?”
“Yeah, once and that was enough. They're not getting another taste of me.”
“They probably wouldn't want to,” Jayden grinned.
“Shut up, Collis!” Jerry grinned back. “We'll get started. I've only got one spear, so you'll have to use your dick.” He climbed down the bank to the water's edge.
“Not happening!” Jayden followed him down.
“No? It'd be too small anyway.”
“Bigger than yours, Mate.”
“Yeah, sure. You ready to see a thousand eels writhing?”
“Writhing?”
“Yep. That's what they do – twisting around under and over each other like they're tying a humungous knot that keeps coming undone.”
“Okay then, show me.”
“Stand back and watch.” Jerry tipped about half the blood into the water. It didn't pour easily so he squeezed the bottle to make it shoot out in blobs.
“Glob, glob!” He passed the bottle back to Jayden and stood, spear in hand, watching the blood spread out in the water. Nothing else was happening, there were no eels there – not a single one.
“Give them a few minutes.” He sat down on the bank and Jayden sat down with him.
“Maybe it's too early.”
“It's not. I've done this heaps of times. They could be all feeding somewhere else, I suppose. We'll just wait.”
“Okay, we wait. Nice day for it.”
“It is a nice day – hardly any clouds, except back there over the mountains. It'd be a great day for flying. Cade is going today, isn't he?”
“Yeah, he is. They left this morning. They're probably there by now.”
“Lucky! Wish I could get out of this town.”
“You do? It's not that bad, is it?”
“It's okay, I guess, but it rains too bloody much.”
“Only on wet days,” Jayden shrugged.
“Shut up!” Jerry pushed against him. “Seriously, you're going to miss him, aren't you? You two were like Siamese twins. It's really strange to see you with Cade.”
“It's really strange to be without him around. Maybe they'll come back, one day. I hope so.”
“You would, but they might not too. You'll survive, you've got other friends.”
“Yeah, but they're all dorks.”
“Shut up or I'll chuck you in the creek and see if that brings the eels.”
“You'll try! Remember that day when you, Richard McGovern and Brandon Kirk tried to throw us into the lagoon over there? I seem to remember that you were the ones who went in, not us.”
“You got lucky, that's all.”
“I was born lucky.”
“You were lucky you got born. If they had've known what they were getting . . . Shush! What's that noise?”
“Noise? Oh. Someone's coming, dammit. Keep down and they might go away.”
The approaching voices stopped, then started and stopped again.
“Who is it?”
“Dunno. Come and see. Don't let them see us – it might be bullies or something.”
“Right,” Jayden whispered. “Wriggle like a snake in the grass.”
They didn't quite do that, but crawled quietly up to the top of the bank and peeked over there. Two older people, teenagers, were standing close together, face to face and with their arms around each other. They were kissing.
Without parting, they sank to their knees and started stripping their clothes off. Wow!
Jayden was not completely ignorant, he'd seen movies that he shouldn't have seen, and he knew that when people were kissing and they got naked, they were probably going to do sex stuff. But – these were two boys. Could boys even do that stuff together?
“Let's jump out and scare them,” Jerry whispered.
“No!” he whispered back, urgently. “They're bigger than us and they'd thump us. Watch and see what they're going to do.”
“Don't you know?”
“Not really. It looks like they're getting all sexy. Can two boys do that together?”
“Sure they can,” Jerry nodded, not wanting to show his own ignorance. “Watch and learn.”
“'Kay. Shut up before they hear us.”
Jerry made a show of zipping his lips shut and they lay there, peering through the long grass at the now-naked couple writhing in front of them. They watched and they learned – a lot. Wow!
Obviously, there wasn't much that two, big, boys couldn't do together. They certainly looked, and sounded, like they were both enjoying it immensely. Jayden's eyes nearly fell out, he was staring so hard.
Him and Cade had done a lot of things together, but they'd never done anything like that! He didn't even know that you could. He wasn't so sure about pushing his dick into someone's bum-hole though. That would hurt, wouldn't it? He'd scratched himself, when he was wiping, once and – yeow! That hurt, it brought tears to his eyes. It was very sensitive back there.
It didn't look like those guys were hurting. They were grunting and moaning a lot, but they were happy sort of moans, weren't they? Yeah, they must be, they were smiling a lot as well, when they weren't kissing.
The floor show, or ground show, was over pretty quick. The one on top thrust hard several times, and then he flopped and lay along the other one's back, panting and gasping like he'd just run a race.
He calmed down after a bit, and then he reached around and under the bottom one, who was on his hands and knees. He took hold of his huge dick and started milking him, like you milk a cow, almost. Almost, nothing! That's exactly what he was doing because milk came out and the bottom one was gasping like the other one had.
They lay down together, kissed some more, and then stood up, put their clothes on and left, back through the trees.
Jayden looked at Jerry and smiled. “That was, umm, well, educational.”
“Education? You don't see nothing like that in school. Dirty Buggers!”
“Dirty? They looked clean to me.”
“They were not clean!” Jerry stressed. “Fucking someone up the poop-shute has got to be dirty, doesn't it?”
“Yeah well, I guess,” Jayden shrugged, just to agree with him. It didn't look dirty to him, it just looked – well, fun.
“They've gone.” Jerry slid back down to the water. “It's past sunset already. I'll tip the rest of the blood in and see if there's any eels now. If there's not, it's time we went home anyway.”
There were still no eels. They went home.
Brownsville Tales, Jayden, 3
He wasn't a friend, he hardly even knew him, but they were in the same class, so he knew who he was.
Cade Caldwell was the same age as he was, but smaller – small, quiet, pale-faced and blond. He was also about to be thrown off the boardwalk and into the muddy water below it by Richard McGovern, Brandon Kirk and Jerry Moore. All of them were way bigger and stronger than he was, but he didn't care about that, he was outraged – how would they like it?
“Hey! That's not fair!” Jayden yelled as he rushed forward to help the crying boy. “Let go of him!”
He slammed into McGovern and knocked him clean off the boardwalk and into the dirty water. The other two let go of Cade and turned on Jayden. He was not as easy a target, but he was going to lose, there were two of them and only one of him and they were inching him towards the edge.
However, he was not alone, Cade was still there and he was wild! He pushed Kirk from behind and he went in with McGovern. Jerry Moore saw that he was alone now and he couldn't win, so he jumped in with his mates.
Suddenly Mrs. Fortune was there, kneeling down and helping the bullies up out of the water. She told Dave to go and get Mrs. Paterson and she asked Cade what had happened?
He went all red and quiet, so Jayden answered for him. “They fell in,” he said. “Come on, Cade. Let's go.” He pulled his arm and they walked away, down the track and around the corner.
“Thanks for saving me, umm, Jayden?”
“Yeah, Jayden. Jayden Collis and you're welcome. Thanks for saving me too. You want to be friends?”
“Oh, yeah – best friends.”
“Me too - we will be then. Best friends.”
And they were from that day on. It's easy to make friends when you're 5 years old. It's easy to lose them too, but they didn't do that. Neither of them wanted to lose his mate and they made sure it didn't happen. Even when they had a fight, and they had some doozies at times, they both made sure it was over before the day was ended.
They were together constantly, both in school and out of it too and bullies were never a problem – they stayed away from a united front. They both lived in the same neighbourhood, so that made it easy and they were in and out of each other's houses all the time.
They had other friends of course, lots of them, but only one best friend, closer than a brother.
The years went by quickly and they both grew, inside and out, closer together as friends and bigger in their bodies. By nine years old, Cade was taller but Jayden was still stockier and stronger and he made sure that Cade knew that. They still fought sometimes, but never that seriously and never for long. Neither of them wanted to lose his 'Brother'. Then they did. Dammit.
It wasn't Jayden's fault and it wasn't Cade's either; it was Cade's dumb-as father. He got himself a new job and it was in Australia – hundreds and thousands of kilometers away – halfway around the world almost. That was so not fair!
Jayden hit the roof when Cade came around and told him that they were moving away, a long way away, forever. He screamed and he yelled and he said that they wouldn't let it happen. Him and Cade would run away and live in the bush and fuck them! He was so angry and getting more and more wound-up.
He was just getting his second wind when Cade did something really mean – he grabbed him and he held him until he settled and they cried on each others' shoulders. He didn't want to, big boys don't cry, but he did. He sobbed and wailed like a baby. He couldn't help it, his world was falling apart and there was nothing they could do about it.
In the month that followed, he tried to pretend it wasn't happening. But it was and Cade kept making him face it.
Finally, the day came and Cade and his family left. They came around to say goodbye. Their two families all stood saying their farewells; they'd all got to know each other over the years. Cade went along the line until, at last, he came to Jayden.
They both stood there trying not to cry. Cade kept it in but Jayden didn't, he couldn't. He grabbed hold of him and wailed until his mother peeled him off and Cade escaped. He gave a funny little grin, got into the car and closed the door. The rest of his family got in with him and they left.
The car rolled away down the street and Jayden made a huge fool of himself. He would've fallen on the ground if his mother wasn't holding him up. He bawled and wailed so loud the whole neighbourhood could hear and he didn't care.
It was the worst day of his life; he'd lost his best friend forever.
The car was well gone and way out of sight before he began to accept that they'd really gone and Cade wasn't running back to tell him it was all a joke. His wails faded to heart-felt sobs and tears kept pouring down his wet and freckled face.
“Come on, Darling.” His mother, with one arm around him, shepherded him into the house. “We'll go and have a drink. I've got some of that strawberry shortcake that you like so much.”
“I don't want any blimmin' shortcake!” He ran into his room, slammed the door and threw himself face-down on the bed.
He lay there, sobbing into his pillow, but the rage he'd felt at his loss was fading already. He tried to hang on to it, kicked his feet and wailed a bit, but it was no use – it had gone.
Now he was thinking about the way he'd carried on, in front of his brothers even – they were never going to let him foreget that. He made a right fool of himself, crying like a big baby. Cade didn't. He hadn't cried at all until their faces were buried on each other's shoulders.
It looked like Cade wasn't anywhere near as upset as he was. Damm him anyway! Who'd he think he was, acting all grown-up and everything? If he was trying to make Jayden look bad, well - it worked.
He knew what he was doing – talking himself into getting angry with Cade so he wouldn't have to look at how stupid he'd looked himself. But he did it anyway – it helped.
He lay in his room for the rest of the morning. Sooner or later he'd have to go out and face his family, he'd rather it was later. He just knew how they were all going to be. His mother would be all kind and caring and soppy, but his dad would tell him to harden-up and be a man. Granddad would crack a joke and try to make him smile and his brothers – well. If they laughed at him they were going to be sorry! A bloody nose or two would put a stop to that.
At first, he thought he'd stay and hide in his room forever, but his mother and his grumbling, empty stomach called him out of there at lunchtime. His brothers didn't say anything, they'd probably been told not to, but the adults were all just how he knew they would be. His sister said nothing either, but she was just little and if it didn't affect her, she didn't care.
He sat shovelling the food into his mouth. The sooner he could get out of there and back to his room, the better.
“Slow down, Jayden,” his mother protested. “You'll give yourself a guts-ache. There's no hurry to be finished.”
“There's not,” he nodded. “I've got all day, nothing to do and no-one to do it with.”
“No Cade, you mean. That's going to be a big adjustment for you. You'll just have to find a new bestfriend.”
“I don't want a new bestfriend. I want Cade.”
“Cade has gone, Jayden. They're probably in Auckland by now.”
“He said that he's coming back.”
“Maybe. But it's not up to him, is it? His dad will be working over there, so that's where they'll all be living from now on. But, who knows what the future might bring? They might come back one day, they might not.”
“Cade could come back for the holidays. He could stay with us.”
“He could, if he wanted to, but I doubt it. It's a long way from Australia.”
Cade Caldwell was the same age as he was, but smaller – small, quiet, pale-faced and blond. He was also about to be thrown off the boardwalk and into the muddy water below it by Richard McGovern, Brandon Kirk and Jerry Moore. All of them were way bigger and stronger than he was, but he didn't care about that, he was outraged – how would they like it?
“Hey! That's not fair!” Jayden yelled as he rushed forward to help the crying boy. “Let go of him!”
He slammed into McGovern and knocked him clean off the boardwalk and into the dirty water. The other two let go of Cade and turned on Jayden. He was not as easy a target, but he was going to lose, there were two of them and only one of him and they were inching him towards the edge.
However, he was not alone, Cade was still there and he was wild! He pushed Kirk from behind and he went in with McGovern. Jerry Moore saw that he was alone now and he couldn't win, so he jumped in with his mates.
Suddenly Mrs. Fortune was there, kneeling down and helping the bullies up out of the water. She told Dave to go and get Mrs. Paterson and she asked Cade what had happened?
He went all red and quiet, so Jayden answered for him. “They fell in,” he said. “Come on, Cade. Let's go.” He pulled his arm and they walked away, down the track and around the corner.
“Thanks for saving me, umm, Jayden?”
“Yeah, Jayden. Jayden Collis and you're welcome. Thanks for saving me too. You want to be friends?”
“Oh, yeah – best friends.”
“Me too - we will be then. Best friends.”
And they were from that day on. It's easy to make friends when you're 5 years old. It's easy to lose them too, but they didn't do that. Neither of them wanted to lose his mate and they made sure it didn't happen. Even when they had a fight, and they had some doozies at times, they both made sure it was over before the day was ended.
They were together constantly, both in school and out of it too and bullies were never a problem – they stayed away from a united front. They both lived in the same neighbourhood, so that made it easy and they were in and out of each other's houses all the time.
They had other friends of course, lots of them, but only one best friend, closer than a brother.
The years went by quickly and they both grew, inside and out, closer together as friends and bigger in their bodies. By nine years old, Cade was taller but Jayden was still stockier and stronger and he made sure that Cade knew that. They still fought sometimes, but never that seriously and never for long. Neither of them wanted to lose his 'Brother'. Then they did. Dammit.
It wasn't Jayden's fault and it wasn't Cade's either; it was Cade's dumb-as father. He got himself a new job and it was in Australia – hundreds and thousands of kilometers away – halfway around the world almost. That was so not fair!
Jayden hit the roof when Cade came around and told him that they were moving away, a long way away, forever. He screamed and he yelled and he said that they wouldn't let it happen. Him and Cade would run away and live in the bush and fuck them! He was so angry and getting more and more wound-up.
He was just getting his second wind when Cade did something really mean – he grabbed him and he held him until he settled and they cried on each others' shoulders. He didn't want to, big boys don't cry, but he did. He sobbed and wailed like a baby. He couldn't help it, his world was falling apart and there was nothing they could do about it.
In the month that followed, he tried to pretend it wasn't happening. But it was and Cade kept making him face it.
Finally, the day came and Cade and his family left. They came around to say goodbye. Their two families all stood saying their farewells; they'd all got to know each other over the years. Cade went along the line until, at last, he came to Jayden.
They both stood there trying not to cry. Cade kept it in but Jayden didn't, he couldn't. He grabbed hold of him and wailed until his mother peeled him off and Cade escaped. He gave a funny little grin, got into the car and closed the door. The rest of his family got in with him and they left.
The car rolled away down the street and Jayden made a huge fool of himself. He would've fallen on the ground if his mother wasn't holding him up. He bawled and wailed so loud the whole neighbourhood could hear and he didn't care.
It was the worst day of his life; he'd lost his best friend forever.
The car was well gone and way out of sight before he began to accept that they'd really gone and Cade wasn't running back to tell him it was all a joke. His wails faded to heart-felt sobs and tears kept pouring down his wet and freckled face.
“Come on, Darling.” His mother, with one arm around him, shepherded him into the house. “We'll go and have a drink. I've got some of that strawberry shortcake that you like so much.”
“I don't want any blimmin' shortcake!” He ran into his room, slammed the door and threw himself face-down on the bed.
He lay there, sobbing into his pillow, but the rage he'd felt at his loss was fading already. He tried to hang on to it, kicked his feet and wailed a bit, but it was no use – it had gone.
Now he was thinking about the way he'd carried on, in front of his brothers even – they were never going to let him foreget that. He made a right fool of himself, crying like a big baby. Cade didn't. He hadn't cried at all until their faces were buried on each other's shoulders.
It looked like Cade wasn't anywhere near as upset as he was. Damm him anyway! Who'd he think he was, acting all grown-up and everything? If he was trying to make Jayden look bad, well - it worked.
He knew what he was doing – talking himself into getting angry with Cade so he wouldn't have to look at how stupid he'd looked himself. But he did it anyway – it helped.
He lay in his room for the rest of the morning. Sooner or later he'd have to go out and face his family, he'd rather it was later. He just knew how they were all going to be. His mother would be all kind and caring and soppy, but his dad would tell him to harden-up and be a man. Granddad would crack a joke and try to make him smile and his brothers – well. If they laughed at him they were going to be sorry! A bloody nose or two would put a stop to that.
At first, he thought he'd stay and hide in his room forever, but his mother and his grumbling, empty stomach called him out of there at lunchtime. His brothers didn't say anything, they'd probably been told not to, but the adults were all just how he knew they would be. His sister said nothing either, but she was just little and if it didn't affect her, she didn't care.
He sat shovelling the food into his mouth. The sooner he could get out of there and back to his room, the better.
“Slow down, Jayden,” his mother protested. “You'll give yourself a guts-ache. There's no hurry to be finished.”
“There's not,” he nodded. “I've got all day, nothing to do and no-one to do it with.”
“No Cade, you mean. That's going to be a big adjustment for you. You'll just have to find a new bestfriend.”
“I don't want a new bestfriend. I want Cade.”
“Cade has gone, Jayden. They're probably in Auckland by now.”
“He said that he's coming back.”
“Maybe. But it's not up to him, is it? His dad will be working over there, so that's where they'll all be living from now on. But, who knows what the future might bring? They might come back one day, they might not.”
“Cade could come back for the holidays. He could stay with us.”
“He could, if he wanted to, but I doubt it. It's a long way from Australia.”
Brownsville Tales, Jayden & Cade, 2
One time, a long time ago, Mrs. Paterson's Infants Class, from Brownsville Central Primary School, went for an outing to the Erua Lagoon Nature Walk at the edge of the town. They went down there in a bus and a couple of cars and they assembled at the starting point.
Mrs. Paterson had considered cancelling or postponing the outing because of the lack of support; only two parent-volunteers had turned-up to help her. But she decided to go ahead rather than disappoint the children. Also, it was a lovely sunny day, so it'd be nice to get out in the fresh air for a while.
It was a well-defined track they were going on, level and easy wth wooden boardwalks above the water here and there. The kids were all very young, fit and healthy and they needed regular activity to get rid of some of all the energy.
There were 23 children so that was, roughly, 8 kids for each adult to keep an eye on. What could go wrong? (Famous last words!)
The kids were lined-up in eleven pairs and a spare and, with one parent leading the way and the other bringing-up the rear, they started off. As they were all very young, the boys chose to walk with boys and girls with girls, of course.
Some were more excited than others so, as soon as they started walking, the line was long and strung-out. With all the tight curves in the bush-surrounded track, only a few kids could be seen at any one time.
Less than halfway along the track, there was a point where the boardwalk was over the edge of the lagoon on the right-hand side. Jayden Collis and Dave Fortune came around the corner and saw Cade Caldwell struggling and trying to fight off three boys who were about to push him off the side. He was crying and the others were laughing and jeering.
“Hey! That's not fair!” Jayden was outraged and he rushed forward to help. Dave Fortune went a couple of steps forward, then stopped, turned around and rushed back to find his mother who was somewhere behind them.
“Let go of him!” Jayden yelled and that was all the warning that Richard McGovern got before the smaller boy slammed into him and knocked him off the boardwalk and into the waist-deep, muddy, water.
The other two immediately forgot about Caldwell and turned on Jayden, trying to throw him in as well. He was not as easy a target as Cade was, he was bigger and stronger too and he wasn't going easily. However, it was two on to one so it would only be a matter of time before he was in the water.
But Cade was still there and he was mad enough to do something, so he did – he shoved Brandon Kirk off the boardwalk and into the drink. (Not that anybody would drink the dirty stuff). The third would-be bully now found himself alone with the odds of two to one against him, so he did the logical thing – he jumped in with his mates.
Mrs. Fortune turned-up just in time to see this and she dropped down to help lift the kids back up to the boardwalk. “Dave, run up to the front and get Mrs. Paterson. What happened here, Cade?”
Jayden answered. He shrugged and said, “They fell in. Come on, Cade.” He took hold of his elbow and they carried on along the walk.
The outing was cut short and the school never did find out what had really happened because, of course, no-one told them. It was decided that it was just boys being boys – they were fooling around and some of them fell in.
From that day on, Jayden and Cade were the best of friends. They both lived in town, just around the corner from each other, so they were inseparable at school and away from it as well.
Years went past and everybody grew – everybody except for the adults, they just got older. Cade grew faster than Jayden did, by 9 years old he was the tallest in their class and gangly with it. Jayden was shorter and stockier but still the stronger of the two.
Not that that worried them much, they were good friends and they never fought with each other – well, not much. They were still boys after all.
They were in and out of each other's houses, as best friends often are and were readily accepted by both families. They were even both included in family outings and holidays. The two boys together were easily entertained, they amused each other and they were a pain when separated.
All of their parents agreed, Jayden and Cade were good for each other, they should've been brothers and they almost were. They lived happily ever after, until it all fell apart four years later.
A Head-Hunter came to town and Colin's father was his target. Ian Caldwell was a mining engineer and a good one too. His reputation had spread far and wide until the company developing a new mine in West Australia heard of him and decided that he was just the man they wanted.
He wasn't keen at first, but the Recruiting Officer was very persuasive, to be in at the beginning of a major new industry was exciting and challenging and the money being offered was too good to say no to. So he didn't – he said yes and they were shifting to the West Australian outback.
Cade's reaction to the news was interesting. He was not happy about it and he didn't want to go, but he didn't protest by screaming and yelling like most nine year-olds would. He was much more gracious than that.
“I don't like it, but of course you have to go. It's too big a chance for Dad to miss it. Could I stay here and live with Jayden's family? No? Well, can we take Jayden with us?”
“No, we couldn't. Jayden has got his own family and he belongs here with them.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes, I'm sure. That's just the way it is. We're sorry, Cade.”
“Oh. I'm sorry too. I'll go around and tell Jayden now.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, Mum. It's better if it's just me. He's probably going to cry and so am I. I'll go and do it now.”
His father said, “I know it's hard, but there'll be other friends in your life.”
“Maybe there will, but there's only one Jayden. I'll be back soon.”
Jayden reacted to the news in a much more normal way – he hit the roof! He screamed and yelled and said that they weren't having it – they'd run away and live together in the bush and fuck the lot of them!
Cade grabbed him and held him and they cried on each other's shoulders – the only time he'd actually seen Jayden really cry. Both of them felt like they were losing a brother.
They had less than a month, which was barely enough time to say goodbye, to promise to write regularly and to vow and declare that they'd be together again one day.
On the morning they left Cade showed that graciousness again. His parents took him around to Jayden's house to say goodbye on their way out of town. They knew they were coming, so all of the family came outside when they pulled up in the drive.
Jayden was there, of course, with his mother and father and his grandfather, his father's father. Even his two older brothers and his younger sister were there waiting to say goodbye.
His parents, brother and sister all said general goodbyes to everyone, but Cade went along the line and spoke to each one individually. At last he came to Jayden. “I'm not saying goodbye to you.”
“You're not? Why not?”
“Because I'm not – no goodbyes, just 'I'll see you later.' Thanks, Jayden, for everything, so far.”
“Yeah!” Jayden grinned through his tears. “So far. Thank you too, you're a good mate and I'm going to miss you – so much!”
“Yeah, me too.” Cade smiled sadly. He offered his hand, like the grown-ups do, but Jayden was having none of that – he grabbed him and hugged him and cried on his shoulder.
“I love you, Bro.”
“Yeah, I know. I love you too. I always have. Laters, Jayden – until next time.”
“Yeah, next time.”
Cade was trying very hard to contain himself. Jayden didn't make it easy, he wasn't trying at all. He grabbed him again and sobbed and bawled loudly – which was not right for a boy to do. Much to his relief, Jayden's mother took him from him and held him. He smiled and nodded his thanks, got back into the car and closed the door.
They could still hear Jayden wailing as they drove away.
Mrs. Caldwell looked back at her quiet boy in the back seat. “You all right, Cade?”
“I'm okay. Thanks, Mum.”
He was quiet and lifeless and she worried. It was a relief when she looked back again, a couple of minutes later, and she saw quiet tears sliding down his cheeks. At least he wasn't bottling-up his emotions.
She felt so sorry for the kid. All of the rest of the family were excited about the adventure, but not him. He just looked so sad, like his world was ending – which it was, in a way.
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