Sydney Bridge Upside Down by David Ballantyne Page A

right,’ Mr Wiggins said, not seeming to care. ‘What about some steak? Something tender for Miss Selby, eh? I’ll add a couple of pounds of steak. All right, Frank?’
    ‘That should do,’ Dad said. He hopped to the door tohand Mr Wiggins his sou’wester and oilskin. ‘Glad you looked in, Chick. I might have forgotten about the order.’
    ‘Any time,’ Mr Wiggins said. He glanced at Cal and me, looked longer at Caroline. ‘Don’t forget the carnival. Don’t forget what I said, Miss Selby.’
    ‘Thank you, Mr Wiggins,’ Caroline said.
    She spoke nicely and maybe I was only imagining that her eyes showed she didn’t really think much of his offer, maybe I was only imagining that the look she gave me meant she agreed about Mr Wiggins being damned cheeky. Anyway, she had not kissed him; this must be a good sign.
    ‘He doesn’t often show up so late,’ Dad said when Mr Wiggins had gone off into the storm.
    ‘Catch me going to the carnival in his old van!’ Cal said. ‘It breaks down. We saw it in the river—’ I was glaring at him, he stopped.
    ‘Mr Kelly will take us,’ Dad said. ‘We can trust the Reo.’
    ‘Would you like some toast?’ I asked Caroline. She was looking at me, and I said it for the sake of something to say.
    ‘It’s not my hungry look, Harry,’ she said. ‘It’s my wondering look. I was wondering about the name Dalloway.’ She smiled at me, then at Dad. ‘I heard you mention a Mr Dalloway, Uncle Frank, and I wondered when I’d heard that name before.’ She looked at me. ‘Perhaps you mentioned it, Harry?’
    ‘Sure I did,’ I said. ‘On the way from the wharf. I told you how he reckons we live on the edge of the world.’
    ‘That must be it!’ she said. ‘I knew I’d heard it before. I couldn’t remember.’
    Dad was serious. ‘But you might have heard it before today? Is that what you mean, Caroline?’
    She considered. ‘Perhaps I do, Uncle Frank.’
    ‘How do you mean?’ asked Dad. ‘Can’t you remember?’
    ‘It does seem longer ago than this afternoon,’ she said. She was silent for a moment or so, then she said: ‘It’s been such a long day.’
    ‘Yes, you’ll want a good sleep tonight,’ Dad said. ‘Not often we’re up this late. All our talking!’
    His talking, he meant. He had not given Cal and me much chance before Mr Wiggins arrived, and Mr Wiggins had been as bad, you would think Caroline was meant for him to talk to and make silly suggestions to. I’d catch up tomorrow, it would be my turn then to talk to Caroline.
    ‘I’ll pull down your blind,’ I told her. ‘In case the lightning scares you.’ I sped to her room at the front of the house before Dad could say he would do it.
    Cal followed me along the passage. He didn’t like to miss anything, that kid.
    ‘She’s better than Susan Prosser, eh?’ he said when we were in the bedroom where our parents usually slept (now Dad would have the smaller spare room next to the kitchen).
    ‘Bit soon to tell, boy,’ I said, knowing very well he was right.
    Outside it was still raining; it was black too. I pulled down the blind.
    ‘Thank you very very much, Harry,’ Caroline said from the doorway.
    ‘If you want to use the dunny, you can have first go,’ Cal told her. ‘I showed you where it is, eh?’
    ‘Yes, and thank you very very much too, Cal,’ she said.
    Dad had come hopping up the passage. He told Cal: ‘Now Caroline is here, you’d better start calling it the lav.’
    Caroline didn’t seem to mind. She said she would go out to it right away.
    While she was gone, Dad said: ‘You fellows must watch your language now there’s a young lady in the house. Not so many damneds from you, Harry. And don’t say dunny , Cal. Try to be polite. We mustn’t give your cousin a wrong impression. She’s a nice girl.’
    We promised to watch our language.
    ‘See you do,’ he said. ‘Now off to bed!’
    ‘I want to go out there after her,’ Cal said. ‘I always go to the dunny