Published: 22 Oct 2020

Some time had passed since visiting Wayne and even longer since Lewis discovered the whereabouts of Will’s child but neither could decide how best to approach Mary’s mother. Their main concern being how they would be received, as the mother was known to be a notorious drunk, with a foul mouth and added to her despise was anyone white, so it was believed they may be in for a nasty shock.

Eventually it was decided the only way to handle the matter was front-on, march up to the door, if she had one, introduce Calvin as Will’s brother and the child’s uncle and with hope being family may amount to enough to at least gain access.

As they drove towards the Granite Creek camp Lewis was developing a plan but sketchy and by his own opinion not likely to eventuate, although with the social leaning of the time the law would be on the side of white and not black, especially if the child was as fair as suggested with a mop of red hair; a real ranga, a bluey as were local colloquialism for one with red hair.

“I’ve heard Mary has gone out Mt. Isa way and doesn’t want him.” Calvin added to the conversation.

“I believe Pearl doesn’t want him either, so eventually he will become a ward of the state and another addition to the stolen generation I should think.” Lewis perceived.

“Not actually stolen if his family don’t want him.”

“True Calvin then a ward of the state, or another kid for religious brainwashing.”

“The young fellow won’t become a ward of the state if I can help it.” Calvin released a heavy breath of determination.

“Are you thinking what I am?”

“Quite possibly, here goes nothing,” Calvin said while parking the car some distance from the group of shanties that was the Mareeba black’s camp.

“Better lock it,” Lewis suggested as a number of black teenage boys gathered around and as Calvin did so they commenced to check out the interior through the side windows. One tried the rear door handle.

“Hello boys,” Calvin greeted.

“Nice car,” spoke a lad with his face pushed close to the driver’s window, leaving a greasy smear as he disconnected with the glass.

“I’ll give you five dollars if you look after it for me.” Calvin offered.

“Ten,” the cheeky lad argued and held out his hand.

“Five – and not until we are leaving.”

The lad nodded his head in agreement.

“What is your name?” Calvin asked.

“Kevin,”

“Kevin What?” Calvin demanded.

“Kevin Edwards,”

“Don’t I know you?” Calvin asked.

“Maybe,”

“Is your brother Noel and he works on the railways.”

“Maybe,”

“I know Noel, then Kevin I’ll hold you to that, I’ll be about ten minutes.”

Most of the westernized Aborigines had moved into the small but well equipped houses in town, especially built for their purpose but those who could not or would not assimilate lived by the Granite Creek with a foot in both worlds, neither black nor white while living on Government handouts. Physically they appeared assimilated but under the surface, behind those accusing eyes they remained in a self imposed exile.

Pearl was found after enquiring from one of the local women, who pointed swore in English and offered a mouthful of native language. The two approached Pearl’s corrugated iron shack, where she sat in the dust picking at her feet, an unlit roll your own cigarette stuck to her bottom lip, next to a cancerous sun spot of some proportion. On approach she appeared somewhat disassociated with her surroundings and even less towards the presence of Lewis and Calvin.

Some distance away a group of spindly unnourished children of all shades from fair to dark played in the dirt and near naked. One clearly stood out from the others, he appeared to be about two and a half years old and supported a strong mop of tousled honey red hair. He stood aside smiling weakly while the other children played, as a line of dust coloured snot descended from his nose to his upper lip. His clothing consisted of a pair of green badly fitting shorts, gathered at the waist with a cord of baling twine and a torn white singlet turned red from soil and lack of proper laundering. One side hung freely from his shoulder.

“Mrs. White.” Calvin calmly enquired as he approached the old woman. She turned quickly.

“Gotta’ light,” she asked.

“Are you Pearl White?” Calvin enquired once more.

“Could be but maybe I’m not.”

“Are you Mary’s mother?” Calvin asked, his eyes remaining on the snotty nose of the white child, who noticing the arrival of strangers commenced to approach.

“Whata’ you fucken’ want to know for, you the cops?” she coarsely demanded.

“Are you Mary’s mother,” Calvin asked once again, attempting to be as polite as possible.

“She’s not ere’, dumped the brat on me and fucked off,” she growled and pointed into the direction she perceived to be the west and the direction her daughter had gone.

“I am William McKee’s brother and Mary’s boy’s uncle,” said Calvin sounding as officious as he could.

“Yea you look like Billy McKee, the bastard gave me Mary the kid.”

“Can I see Mary’s boy?” Calvin asked softly.

“You can take the brat he’s no good to me, if you don’t I’m gonna’ give him to the Catholics next week when I get me dole money.” Pearl sneered and reached for a bottle containing some undescribed beverage nestled close to her badly scarred sun wrinkled knees. It was empty and by her expression most disappointing.

As she spoke the boy came up to where they were standing. His arms outstretched in the need for comfort. Lewis immediately picked him up and wiped his nose.

“Take the fucken’ brat or I’ll give it to the Catholics.”

“What about his mother?”

“Gone married some blackfella’’ who doesn’t want no white kid, Mary don’t want it either and I don’t want it.”

At that moment Calvin took Perl at her word and gesturing to Lewis they commenced to depart with Lewis still carrying the child.

“Hey you will need this,” Pearl returned from her shack holding a folded document. She passed it to Calvin then told them both to piss off and don’t come back. Calvin opened the soiled document to discover it was the child’s birth certificate. Inspecting it carefully Calvin’s face lit with proud surprise.

“I’ll be buggered, his name is William; she has named him after his dad and Billy McKee is noted as his father.”

“What do we do now?” Lewis asked, as he filled with the same pride as did Calvin.

“Don’t know, suppose we should take him to see a doctor and have him checked out and then give him a good feed.”

Lewis turned to the child and bounced him in his arms, “what do you think of that young William?”

“William,” the child mimicked and laughed.

“Would you like to come and live with your uncle Calvin?” The lad gave a giggle and wrapped his arms around Lewis’ neck, it was more than obvious he was lacking in love and attention. “He sure looks like his dad.” Lewis admitted before adding a correction, “and his uncle.”

Back at the car they found their guard still active and most enthusiastic, standing like a faithful sentinel as he kept his mates at distance.

“I see I still have my hubcaps,” Calvin observed as he gave the vehicle the once over.

“You won’t find even a fingerprint.” Kevin assured.

“Well then a good job. What did we agree, two dollars wasn’t it?”

“Five,” the lad insisted while holding his hand out for payment.

“Five was it, are you sure?”

No answer as Calvin put his hand in pocket.

“Here you go ten dollars and no grog okay.”

The lad snatched the money before there could be a change of mind and bolted quickly followed by his mates.

Calvin introduced himself to the doctor as the child’s uncle and disclosed the full history of the boy. When asked what was Calvin’s intention he looked across to Lewis and declared that seeing he was the child’s uncle and the child’s mother and family didn’t want him, then it would be up to him to take care of young William. Lewis lightly nodded in agreement and with a basic all clear towards William’s heath and a few child rearing hints the doctor wished them well but warned they should first register the fact with the local authority. “Who will look after the child,” the doctor asked showing concern towards Calvin’s youth and lack of experience.

“I will do so,” Calvin answered.

“What about when you are at work, is there a Mrs. McKee and will she accept a strange child, especially one with mixed background?”

Calvin gave Lewis a side glance then smiled, “no only me and he will never go wanting.”

“What work do you do?” The doctor asked he knew the family well, also that they were mostly in light industry and hotels, and although well heeled possibly not the best background to bring up a modern child.”

“I’m a man of private means and don’t need to work, as I said he will never go wanting.”

“Some people are fortunate.” The doctor gruffly commented.

Young Will McKee took to Lewis and Calvin as if they had always been part of his life. Each day he became stronger and happier and laughed continuously. It was his father’s laugh and his fathers face with both of his new family most proud to be his friend. There was however one final visit from his mother, who refused to see young Will. Mary called to Calvin from the fence bringing him and Lewis out to meet her, Lewis held back allowing Calvin to speak.

“Do you want to see your son?” Calvin asked nervously believing she may take him back if for no other reason than spite.

“He’s not my son,” she quickly announced without emotion and pointed to her belly and the fact that she was once again pregnant,

“So he’s mine now,” Calvin proclaimed.

“I’ve only come around to let you know you can keep him, I’m having another now and it’s the right colour,” She declared venomously. “You sure you’re not bloody Billy McKee and come back from the dead to haunt me eh?” She sneered at Calvin.

“No I’m Calvin his twin brother.” Calvin answered.

Mary then noticed Lewis standing close by and flashing from Calvin to Lewis she fired one final insult.

“As for you Lewis Smith I always said you weres’ a poofter.” She gave a laugh and commenced to leave. “No fucken balls you Lewis Smith like a girl.”

Lewis shook his head and smiled but didn’t comment. Then Mary was forever gone.

“Don’t let that get at you mate,” Calvin said comforting.

“I don’t, it’s her problem not mine.”

“She didn’t even want to see her child.” Calvin stated in disbelief that a mother could be so callus.

“I suppose Will did treat her somewhat disrespectfully,” Lewis admitted, while regretfully remembering his own interaction with Mary.

It was some weeks after Lewis had returned to Mareeba and he was slowly growing back into small town life. He had visited Yungaburra on a number of occasions to visit his mother but hadn’t introduced Calvin to her although he mentioned sharing a house in Mareeba with the brother of Will. During one such visit Winnie became concerned as her son appeared lacking interest in finding work. Lewis had borrowed Calvin’s car and made the visit while John was on his town greengrocery run.

“I’m taking a holiday, there is plenty of time.”

“Holiday?” She questioned. To Winnie a holiday was travelling to far exotic places and something she knew little about. In earlier years the only downtime she enjoyed had been travelling from one working situation to another, while concerned if her meagre savings would go the distance, while debating if she had enough to feed and clothe young Lewis.

“I do have a number of options,” Lewis foretold without disclosing Calvin’s suggestion they return to Melbourne.

“Do you want to come and live in Yungaburra with us; you could help John while you are looking?” She offered but doing so was no longer an option and Lewis politely declined, saying most of his friends were around Mareeba and he knew no one on the tableland.

“There is always your friend Stephen from Atherton?” She suggested.

“Na, he runs in different circles these days and is seldom sober.” What he really meant, when Lewis lived in Atherton the year he left school he occasionally gave his friend hand relief until Stephen found the warmth between a girl’s legs gave much more pleasure than Lewis’ hand.

“Did I tell you I may be going back to Melbourne?” Lewis eventually disclosed as Winnie entered clues into Mr. Wisdom’s Whopper crossword.

“You tried that and it didn’t work.”

“I was younger then.”

“Is this Calvin fellow going with you?” Winnie asked while lightly chewing the end of her biro.

“Possibly;”

“I don’t know if I like this Calvin bloke, I hope he’s not a bad influence – his brother was.”

“Will wasn’t a bad influence,” Lewis protested.

“I heard many a story about that boy.” Winnie added looking up from her crossword. She folded the magazine aside and crossed her arms against her son’s decision.

“I guess most of them were true but that wasn’t the bloke I knew, he was always an honest friend to me.”

“I trust your judgement, when will you leave for Melbourne?”

“Soon probably, nothing has been planned and is only at suggestion stage.”

“You know I will miss you,” there was honesty in her tone.

“I’ll miss you as well but I just have to try once more.”

“So I can’t talk you out of going?”

“Nope.”

“It’s karma you know,” Winnie sighed.

“What is?”

“You’re leaving for Melbourne now that you are an adult, when at last I can enjoy you being around. It’s punishment for me deserting you for all those years to the hostel.”

“I never blamed you mum and even when I was there I realised you didn’t have a lot of choice.”

“Still,”

“Still nothing, you did the best you could under difficult circumstances and did well.”

Winnie gave an ironic huff, “do you think so?”

“I do,”

“I don’t know, sometimes I was a little evil, remember the time I asked you if you had ever seen a match burn twice and after blowing out the flame I placed the still hot deadhead to your arm.”

“And it did burn twice, I can still feel it.” Lewis laughed.

“Sorry Pet,”

“Na, it didn’t really hurt, only my feelings.”

“Also when you said you were going to be an artist, I said yes a bullshit artist, that wasn’t very supportive.”

“Although you were correct, I would never have made it as an artist, not even in the commercial sense, no talent or dedication.”

On his return from his mother Lewis chanced to call into Atherton to visit Stephen, discovering Stephen’s mother had passed away and he had taken over her rental property.

On his arrival Stephen was at some point between sober and drunk and somewhat surprised to see Lewis.

“You’ve changed,” he said as he showed Lewis into the house.

“Not for the worse I hope.”

“No you used to be a runt now you’re a brown and sinewy runt, like someone who’s been used to hard work and could do with a couple of beers.” Stephen chuckled with the idea of work as he hadn’t done any since he left school.

“Could say the same of you mate, you’ve got a bit of a belly on you there.”

“That my friend is all paid for.” Stephen proudly admitted and patted his stomach while reaching for his beer.

“Want one?” He offered.

“Best not I’m driving and it isn’t my car.”

“Suit yourself, married yet?” Stephen asked recollecting previous encounters between them.

“Only to my hand,” Lewis made light while remembering the same experiences.

“You should give up on all that crap, get a woman there’s no future in being a -”

Stephen drew back from his indict and sipped his beer.

“Being what?”

“No matter, I’m rooting Ruth Maxwell at the moment, great tits.” Stephen announced in his usual disrespectful manor towards women.

“I remember Ruth she was even large at fourteen, I went out with her at one time but her old man said if I touched her, he would cut my balls off.”

“He would have as well, he killed himself you know.”

“No I didn’t know.”

“Yes he had a tractor roll on him down near the rifle range, spiked through the gut with the gear leaver. It is said he lay there in agony for two days before anyone found him and died the following day in hospital of septicaemia.”

“It must be difficult for his wife. Didn’t she suffer from bad depression?”

“She cleared out before the accident and her sister has the younger two now. Ruth works at the Chemist.”

If Lewis once fancied Stephen there was definitely nothing left of that fancy, not even a wish to be his friend, he thus realised the visit would most probably be the last time they would meet and as they said goodbye at the gate, Stephen became one more chapter from his past he no longer wished to reapproach. It was at that moment a maybe became definite and he was ready to take up Calvin’s offer to return to Melbourne and a spark of excitement began to grow within until by returning home became a raging bushfire.

“You worked with Trevor Davies didn’t you?” Calvin asked on his return from the main street.

“I did but didn’t much like him and he hated Will –Why?”

“I ran into him at the Royal.”

“Oh, rather you than me, last time we met I broke his nose.” Lewis gave a sheepish grin before continuing. “Also from what I heard he had gone mad and left town.”

“Umm, he’s back and not looking good.”

“What does he look like?”

“He’s put on a lot of weight, almost bald and appeared as if he had recently taken beating.” Calvin chuckled and continued; “so you didn’t like him either?” Calvin asked.

“It wasn’t a matter of liking, he made life for myself and Will a misery.” Lewis admitted.

“Mine too, he always mistook me for Will and I let him.”

“Funny that, I can’t imagine why.”

“He did again today. He almost fell of his bar stool and declared I was dead.” Calvin paused, “I told him who I was then he said I was as bad as my brother and asked me to buy him a drink.”

“Did you?”

“Oddly enough, I did.”

Lewis thought for a moment and truthfully sighed, “I suppose I would have also, can’t hold grudges, besides when we’re in Melbourne we wont have to worry about his kind.”

“When did you make up your mind?” Calvin asked feeling an inner glow develop.

“I suppose in a way I did the very instant you made the suggestion back in Georgetown but finally when I was visiting my mother the other day. What kept me back was the strangeness of you looking so much like Will.”

“Does that remain a concern?”

“What concerned me most was the fear I could be holding onto Will’s memory through you.”

“Do you still have those thoughts?”

“No I realise Will has gone and I have to get on with my life and I now feel as much for you as I did for Will,” Lewis proudly announced.

“I now feel guilty.”

“Don’t, it wasn’t your calling.”

“You don’t know how happy you have made me,” Calvin declared as his face glowed with eager expression, “what about your mother have you told her about leaving?”

“I told her when I was visiting. It’s funny you know.”

“What is?”

“Mum, I hardly know her. Do I love her? I don’t know that either, I should but she has become more like an older sister, a guiding hand rather than a mother.”

“Do you feel guilty for such thoughts?” Calvin asked.

“Not guilty as such, maybe disappointed, that is coming from not having a home life, growing up within a family unit as you and Will did.”

“I know Winnie and she would always do the best she could for you detrimental to her own wellbeing.”

“Again known and I said so when I visited but still it would have been nice to be part of an extended family.”

“You are now – you, me and young Will.”

“Agreed and I’m looking forward in doing so.”

Planning to leave was easy for Lewis, all he owned in the world could fit into one suitcase and most of Calvin’s possessions were back in Melbourne. There were a few loose ends he would have to attend to, such as visiting his mother once again, this time introducing Calvin, there was also Wayne, other than that he was ready to jump into the car and declare drive on.

Calvin was most eager to depart being concerned for young Will, as his mother may have a change of heart and reclaim him. He knew under the circumstances if she challenged she would lose custody but then again possibly so would he and the child may become a ward of the state, possibly fostered out to a family whose only care was the extra money it brought.

“So what do you think,” Calvin asked as the relaxed after their evening meal.

“I think a lot of things but which one in particular?” Lewis asked.

“Our leaving – when?”

“Right now if you like, It would take all of five minutes to pack.”

Calvin stood and collected his car keys, “come on.”

“Now,” Lewis froze could it happen like that. One moment seated in conversation, the next driving.

Calvin returned to his chair, the keys to the table. “I have a couple of things to do first but how about next week or the following week, as there are still some papers to finalise referring to the young fellow and don’t forget you promised to visit Wayne again and your mother.”

“Sure, that would be fine.”

“One last question and be honest.” Calvin appeared uneasy with the asking.

“Ask away,”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to think I pushed you into going.”

“Calvin it has always been my dream. You have just made it possible.”

“Good.”

“Do you think there will be any problem adopting William?” Lewis asked.

“No they said it should go through on the nod.”

William could be heard playing in the other room making havoc with a shoe and using it as a toy car. They entered.

“We’ll have to get him some toys.”

“He’s a happy little fellow,” Lewis admitted.

“No regrets?” Calvin asked.

“None – never;”

Gary’s stories are all about what life in Australia was like for a homosexual man (mostly, before we used the term, “gay”). Email Gary to let him know you are reading: Gary dot Conder at CastleRoland dot Net

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