Clancy was half excited, half terrified. If she’d known how far they would end up travelling before the weekend was over, she wouldn’t have wasted her energies being frightened of a taxi trip to Rosella.
‘Of course we’re going. Why not? Clancy, you’ve got to stop being scared of everything.’
‘I’m not,’ muttered Clancy furiously.
Tash opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment Pa waved at her and indicated that he needed to use the toilet.
Clancy leapt up. ‘What will we do? Will we have to take him back to The Elms?’
‘Oh my God, Clancy, this is exactly what I’m talking about! Don’t be so pathetic! It’s no big deal. I can handle it. I’ve done it at The Elms before.’
‘No way, gross!’ cried Clancy, before she could stop herself.
‘It’s easy. If he only has to use a bottle, he can do it all himself. Otherwise, he just needs a hand getting on and off the seat and back into the wheelchair.’ Tash leaned closer to whisper, ‘And he wears a pull-up, just in case.’
‘You mean – a nappy?’
‘Just in case of accidents. It’s not like he ever actually needs it.’
‘Sp-sp-sp!’ called Pa urgently, and Tash hurried over.
By the time she had wheeled Pa into the garage so that Mrs Christie couldn’t see what was going on, and Clancy had gulped down the last of the orange juice so Pa could pee into the bottle, and Tash had taken the bottle away and disposed of the wee while Pa hitched up his tracksuit pants, and they’d rolled outside again, and everyone had washed their hands, or in Pa’s case, used Polly’s antiseptic wipes, Tash had completely forgotten that she’d been in the middle of telling Clancy how hopeless she was.
Clancy decided not to remind her.
The big yellow taxi took more than an hour to arrive, but Clancy thought it was worth the wait – firstly because it was from Comet Taxis, which was a most excellent name, and secondly because the driver was spectacular.
He was called Sidhu, and he wore a turban and shoes with long pointed toes, and a luscious black moustache. Sidhu had a big cheerful laugh, and he was making Pa’s wish to go home come true. If Sidhu could grant a wish for Pa, maybe he could organise a couple of wishes for Clancy, too?
It probably wasn’t polite to ask for wishes from someone you’d only just met. Safer to wish upon a star instead, decided Clancy; or a comet.
If she could wish upon a star and have that wish come true, what would she wish for? To make her first year at high school go well? To be as bold and brave and smart and popular as Tash? She’d never be able to tell Tash that wish.
Maybe it was better to wish that she didn’t have to start high school at all. She could wish that nothing ever had to change. Then she’d never have anything to feel scared of. An end to entropy – that’s what she should wish for!
Although altering the fundamental laws of the universe was a pretty big wish for a single star to handle …
‘Clancy! Are you coming or what?’
‘Coming,’ said Clancy hastily.
The driver let down a platform at the back of the van and pushed Pa’s chair onto it, then the platform lifted up so the wheelchair rolled straight inside. Sidhu showed Tash how to fasten the web of hooks and straps and buckles that held Pa and the chair firmly in place.
‘You have the card?’ asked Sidhu. ‘The taxi card? For claiming your discount?’
Clancy and Tash didn’t know what the taxi driver was talking about. Pa knew, but he couldn’t make Tash understand, and in the end they just gave up. Much later they found out that Polly had a special government card that meant that Pa only had to pay half-fare for a maxi-taxi.
‘O-kay!’ cried Sidhu, when they were all buckled into their seats. The Comet taxi purred like a lion and drew away from the kerb, and they were on their way.
‘Ha-ha!’ cried Pa, beaming, and he clutched at Tash’s hand, which was his way of saying thank you.
Tash could be super annoying, thought Clancy; but she had to admit that her sister made things happen.
The big yellow taxi trundled out of Tutt’s Flat and up into the hills, along the highway and past the shops, under the railway bridge and past the entrance to the national park, then turned off the main road and into a maze of short, steep streets.
Clancy could vaguely remember some landmarks, like the fire station, and the red house on the corner. But Tash was confidently calling out directions to Sidhu – ‘Left here. Next right.’ – even though he had a GPS and paid no attention to her, just laughed his big hearty laugh and sang out, ‘O-kay!’
The drive took about twenty minutes. Clancy was facing forward, so she could see the meter ticking over, chewing into Polly’s emergency fifty-dollar note. She wanted to warn Tash, who was facing backward, that this trip was going to use all their cash; but she told herself that it would only worry Pa, so she kept quiet. This was Tash’s adventure, so looking after the money was Tash’s responsibility, not Clancy’s business. There had to be some advantages to being born second.
Pa peered intently through the windows with bright blue eyes. At last the taxi swung down a narrow street and Pa whispered, ‘So-it-is!’
The sprawling brown-brick house that he and Nan had built, and where they’d raised their family, lay half-hidden inside a thicket of trees, much more wild and overgrown than Clancy remembered.
‘What’s that?’ cried Tash sharply.
A large For Sale sign was standing by the letterbox.
‘Sidhu, stop here!’ Tash called, and she jumped out of the taxi and ran down the driveway for a closer look.
‘Sp-sp-sp?’ Pa twisted round to stare at the board.
‘Did you know they were selling your house, Pa?’ asked Clancy. ‘Did Polly tell you?”
Pa shook his head. ‘Nah, nah.’ He pointed to Clancy and raised his eyebrows in a question.
‘We didn’t know either.’ Clancy wrung her hands together. ‘But it’s your house! How could they?’
Tash ran back up the drive and called out, ‘There’s no one here! The house is empty! Can you drive down to the front door?’
‘Sure, sure.’ Sidhu backed the taxi carefully down the driveway’s gentle slope.
Pa was silent as the platform lowered his wheelchair onto the gravel, carpeted with dead leaves. Clancy grabbed the handles while Tash paid Sidhu with Polly’s fifty-dollar note. He gave her back a twenty and then a five; so they’d have just enough to take Pa back to The Elms. Clancy let out a private sigh of relief.
‘What time would you like me to return?’ asked Sidhu, as if he’d read her mind.
‘I’ll call you,’ said Tash grandly.
Sidhu’s moustache drooped doubtfully. ‘It can be a busy time, in the evening,’ he warned; then he shrugged and smiled. ‘O-kay!’
The taxi zoomed up the drive and left them standing there in the cool shade of the trees.
‘I can’t believe they’re selling your home!’ Tash burst out. ‘Without telling you! That rat Polly didn’t even mention it!’
‘Dad must know, too,’ said Clancy. ‘And he didn’t say anything either.’
‘Yeah, well, that is deeply disappointing. He’s a rat, too.’