Eloquent Silence by Margaret Weise

to you.’ His nostrils extended, he trailed off lamely as Tootsie began to show signs of annoyance.
    ‘Just as well. I hope you’ll all stop agitating now,’ she snorted as she stomped around her kitchen making tea for her visitors. ‘People Like Us don’t want anything to do with the likes of him. He’s probably shifty-eyed and ignorant as a pig. Probably had no proper upbringing whatsoever if he was a cast-off, brought up by God knows who. Never taught right from wrong. Not knowing B from a bull’s foot.’ Her big, smooth face was damp with perspiration as she folded her arms over her belly. She really found the topic too hard to comprehend and was so absolutely tired of it all.
    Suddenly she sat down heavily, with an expression that could have been called crestfallen on anyone else beside Tootsie. Sitting in a heap, she felt loose-jointed and rubber-limbed, unable to do anything but smile with clenched teeth at the thought that she had succeeded in settling the hairy question to her satisfaction. She had known of her own particular potential for power, but this went to prove it once and for all.
    The strained moment passed when one of her grandchildren burst into the room being chased by his older brother waving a cricket bat.
    ‘Hoy,’ she shouted at the children. ‘Get outside and play like normal human beings. Can’t you see we’re in conference in here?’
    After deep reflection she added to her brother, ‘That settles the issue at hand once and for all,’ as she took a noisy sip of her tea.
    There was no further contact until a few months later when Douglas had to ring the branch in Perth where Brian worked, seeking out a rare part for a crawler tractor. He asked to speak to Brian, just to say ‘Hi’ and pass the time of day.
    ‘Sorry,’ said the sales assistant sadly. ‘Brian’s no longer with us. He passed away a few months ago.’
    ‘Oh. Something sudden?’ asked Douglas, sucking in his cheeks in anticipation of the worst. His curiosity was mounting as he wondered what could have caused such a sudden demise for the long-lost relative in Perth.
    ‘You could say that. He became severely depressed. Seems like it was overnight although his wife said she had seen signs for some time. But I can’t tell you any details. Sorry. I know he was planning a trip to Queensland, really looking forward to it, said he was going to meet some of his family, but then something went wrong. Didn’t turn up for work one day with no hint to any of us that he was on his last day here. His wife just went to pieces and had to leave town. All very confidential and hush-hush.’
    The conversation was reported to Tootsie, who gave a little moan of impatience.
    ‘Is there no end to this blessed man and his interference in our family’s business? When will we get some peace from him? Sounds fishy. Uncanny,’ she admitted, prim-faced and disapproving of the whole episode.
    For a minute she rocked on her large, flat feet, sucking her bottom lip in against her pearly white teeth. She stared around the gathering with considerable coldness, jutting out her chin defiantly.
    ‘Still, it just wouldn’t happen to People Like Us. We don’t take the easy way out. Not my fault, anyway. I’m a reasonable person and don’t try to influence others one way or another. It’s a free country. He could have come to Queensland if he liked. That’s not to say we would have entertained him. But what was to stop him and his wife from coming to see the countryside?’
    A sudden stiff smile was pasted on her mouth. No one replied either Yea or Nay. All sat stock still contemplating the fly crawling feebly on the tablecloth. With a loud, exasperated sigh, Tootsie sunk into a chair, swiped out with the fly swat and annihilated the defenseless insect.
    ‘Humpff! That appears to be that. At last I’ll have some hard-won peace of mind. Coffee, anyone? Tea? Biscuit?’

4. Dilemma
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    T he three children had consumed