How Does It Feel

[Kris10na]

Thank you so much for comments and feedback

Slade: You commented in the end and that's great

Chapter 8

“Mummy, where are my shoes?” Oliver asked his Mum. He was halfway under the bed in the caravan.

“I don’t know Ollie. You had them on last night right?”

“Dunno,” he said indifferently. “I don’t need shoes today,” he then decided and headed towards the door.

“Where do you think you are going young man?” Kirsty stopped him by the door.

“Outside.”

“But you’ve got to put shoes on first, sweetie.”

“I don’t want to. Why can’t I just go out?”

“We don’t go out without shoes on Ollie.”

“But I want to…”

“No Ollie.”

“But I want to”

“You can’t Oliver.”

Kirsty was stressing. She didn’t have that much time left before work and she needed to pay the rent and to get Oliver to day care. She was getting frustrated as she couldn’t find anything; her bag, Ollie’s shoes and jacket, the envelope with the rent or the keys.

“I WANT TO!” Oliver shouted and tears started jumping out of his eyes.

“Oliver! Please, just wait”

“Nooo.” He continued shouting, laying down on the floor and hitting the floor with his bare hands. Even though it hurt a lot he continued. He had to show how angry he was.

Kirsty grabbed her bag from under the table, found the envelope in between Ollie’s dirty clothes from the day before, saw something shiny by the window and found out it was the keys.

“Okay, Oliver. I think your shoes are in the house. Why don’t we go and have a look.”

“Yea, can I rid on your back Mum? Please,” he asked, remembering the magic word.

A few minutes later an exhausted Kirsty arrived at the door with Oliver on her back.

“Yiiiha” Oliver shouted. “Look at me Jai. I’ve gotten myself a horse.”

…

By lunch Kirsty hurried to Irene’s, hoping she was back home. She found her in the kitchen making sandwiches.

“Ah, g’day love,” she smiled at Kirsty.

“Hi Irene,” Kirsty said.

Irene freed her hands and gave Kirsty a big hug.

“It’s so good to be home again,” she said. “The city is great, I love to stay in hotels where someone else is making your bed and cleaning your room and where brekkie is ready when you get up. I enjoy the street life, the different types of people, the museums and the fancy restaurants,” her gaze was dreamy before she looked at Kirsty again. “I could never live there though. I know that I belong back here in Summer Bay.”

Kirsty smiled. “Yea you do. And we all want to here as well.”

She went to sit at one of the cane chairs opposite where Irene was preparing the food. She didn’t know where to begin.

“Look Irene…”

Irene looked at her.

“I mean…” Kirsty took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you that day, for shutting you out, for saying I didn’t care and for pretending that your words meant nothing. I knew that you were right, but I wasn’t ready to admit it, but that doesn’t excuse the way I spoke to you and…”

Irene’s look made Kirsty stop speaking. She had stopped preparing the food and looked at Kirsty.

“Love, I understand what you mean. It’s okay,” she said.

“Really? You forgive me?”

“’Corse I do love. Life’s way too short not to.”

She went around the kitchen unit, took Kirsty’s head behind her hands and kissed her on the top of her head.

“I love you, Irene”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

She took two plates and carried them both to the table. Kirsty followed her.

“I think I belong in Summer Bay too,” she said. “I think this is the place for me to live. It’s where my heart is, if you know what I mean.” Irene nodded understandingly. “Now when Kane…” she looked down. “When he’s not around, this is the only place where I can feel some kind of belonging. I don’t think I would have coped somewhere else. It wouldn’t have felt right and besides you and Martha and Charlie and everyone are here. It really means a lot too me having you around. Leaving with Kane back then felt so right, but so did it when I wanted to stay here. I belong here too.”

Irene smiled at Kirsty, which somehow made Kirsty a bit embarrassed.

“Now eat your food,” Irene said.

They sat in silence for a while

“Miles wants me to move in with him and Jai and Mr. Stewart,” Kirsty then said. ”He asked me before he left and again when he came back.”

“Hm, really? So this is what Miles wants, you don’t want to move in with them?”

“I don’t know. It would be wonderful living in a house again, to have a house Ollie and I can go home too, a proper kitchen and the bathroom closer. I would love to have some space; it’s all so crowded in the van. But most of all I want for Ollie to have a place he can call home, somewhere other than a van or a motel room.”

“Why don’t you move in then?” Irene asked

“Maybe I will,” Kirsty said and they fell silent again. “I don’t know. I don’t want to intrude and I would probably feel a lot like a guest.”

“But that’s not all is it?” Irene asked.

Kirsty smiled. “You’re reading me like an open book Irene!” she complained.

“Well, sometimes you’re not very good at keeping it close.”

“I know, I know.” Kirsty smiled and then she got a serious look on her face. “A part of me is afraid that Miles will have too much influence on Ollie and that Ollie will begin to look at him like a Dad and I certainly don’t want that.”

“I understand that love. I do. But why don’t you try for a while? The worst thing that can happen is that you have to move back to the van. Try it. You might be worrying about nothing.”

…

Kirsty and Oliver were sat in the Diner. Kirsty had just picked Oliver up from day care and they had stopped for a while on their way back. Oliver was playing with two cars, making them drive across the table like it was the highway. Kirsty stared into the air, her thoughts somewhere else. Then a dark-haired woman came in and Kirsty got back to reality.

“Martha! You’re back!” Kirsty got up quickly and Martha’s eyes scanned the room before she noticed Kirsty. She approached her and they fell into a hug.

“Yea, I just got back this morning,” she grinned and it made Kirsty smile too. “I want to talk to you…” she said, but was distracted by Jack coming in and putting his hands in front of her eyes. “Jack!” she said, turned around and kissed him.

“Hey!” he said to Kirsty.

“Hey.”

They both sat down on the table where Kirsty and Ollie were sitting. Martha beside Kirsty and Jack beside Oliver.

“Hi Ollie,” Martha said.

Ollie was too busy playing with his cars and just replied shortly.

“It a really nice blue car you’ve got there mate,” Jack said.

“It’s not blue!” Oliver said, offended.

“Jack!” Martha said accusatory. “Can’t you see it’s turquoise?”

“Oh, right.” He cleared his throat. “Do you want anything?” he asked Martha and got up.

“Nope, I’m fine.”

He headed towards the counter and Martha turned to look at Kirsty.

“You don’t have any plans for tomorrow right?!” she said, it was something in the middle of a question and a statement.

“Um, no,” Kirsty answered. Mr. Bartlett had decided to give her the Wednesdays off because there was very little to do at work.

“Great,” Martha said and grinned. “Then you have to come with me to Yabbie Creek for shopping!”

‘Shopping,’ Kirsty thought. That could be difficult because she was short of money.

Martha noticed the look on Kirsty’s face and her smile faded.

“If you don’t want to-“ she began.

“No no no!” Kirsty said quickly. “It’s just that I don’t have a lot of-“

“Money,” Martha finished for her. “I know me neither. But what about some good old windows shopping eh? Oh, come on!” she continued when Kirsty still wasn’t convinced. “It’ll be fun.”

“Okay, yea I’ll come,” she smiled. Then a thought crossed her mind. Ollie didn’t have day care on Wednesdays as she didn’t work and she thought they could save the money.

“But what about Ollie? There’s no one to look after him,” she said.

Martha continued smiling.

“I know and it’s all taken care of. Jack’s got the day off and he is more than happy to look after him.”

“Really?”

“Yea, he better be.”

“You haven’t asked him??”

“No, but he will. I’ll just tell him that we’re going shopping and he will be more than happy to do it.”

“Are you sure,” Kirsty asked.

“Yea, he might even give us a lift or pick us up when we’re going home.”

“Are you sure Jack wouldn’t mind though?”

“Jack wouldn’t mind what?” Jack was back with a cup of coffee.

“Kirsty just wanted to go to Yabbie Creek with me tomorrow. You know, just us girls spending some time together.” She took his hand.

“And?” Jack asked, he knew there was more to come.

“It’s just that Kirsty don’t have anyone to look after Oliver,” she said sadly.

Jack looked from Kirsty too Martha.

“Yea, that’s too bad. I guess we’ll just have to do it in a few weeks instead,” Kirsty said. She understood where Martha was going and played along.

“But we can’t!” Martha said. “I’m starting chemo tomorrow afternoon. It will be ages until I will be able to go shopping again.”

“Oh, no. Really?” Kirsty added some extra sadness to her voice.

“Yes,” Martha sighed.

Jack looked from Martha to Kirsty and back again.

“I have a plan,” he said.

“Oh really?” Martha’s eyes started to sparkle again.

“It’s not a very good one, but I will be able to look after Ollie.”

"Would you do that?” Kirsty asked with real happiness in her voice.

“Yea, I will,” he smiled at them. “I better get back to work now. We’re gonna talk about this later,” he said and kissed Martha.

By the door he turned around.

“You two definitely don’t have a future in acting,” he said before he left.

“We managed to win you over though,” Martha yelled at him as he left.

[Red Ranger 1]

Nice chapter.Liked Ollie's little tantrum, it was good to see Kirsty struggling to cope.

[I love music]

“Dunno,” he said indifferently. “I don’t need shoes today,” he then decided and headed towards the door.

Loved the Kirsty/Ollie exchange, Kris10na. Do you do a lot of babsyitting or do you have a little brother?

Oliver shouted and tears started jumping out of his eyes.

I think this might just be the language barrier as I know you're not from the UK so sorry to be picky. But be careful when you proof. Tears never "jump out". They fall, spill, roll, sting etc but never jump.

I also loved the Kirsty/Irene conversation. You could tell how much they both genuinely cared about each other.

“You two definitely don’t have a future in acting,” he said before he left.

That was a great line and made me laugh. But then you spoilt it:

“We managed to win you over though,” Martha yelled at him as he left.

If you have a good line near the end of a story/chapter end with it. Martha's comment spoils the effect.

Great chapter!

[Slade]

Nice chapter.Liked Ollie's little tantrum, it was good to see Kirsty struggling to cope.

And there was me thinking you wanted Kirsty to succeed.

Really, really good chapter. Thoroughly enjoyed that. Virtually every scene you described I could just picture it. Firstly Ollie was so cute especially when he didn’t get his own way. And I liked when Kirsty gave him a piggyback ride and was tired by the time she got from the caravan park to Miles’s.

Again good dialogue between Irene and Kirsty and reminded me of one of the typical situations where Kirsty would go to her to seek advice. Have I missed something though? Why did Kirsty apologise to her?

The scene with Kirsty, Ollie, Martha and Jack was my favourite part of this chapter. I was smiling through the whole thing. Liked the way Martha wanted to confide in Kirsty about something she obviously felt she couldn’t tell Jack. Shopping is a good idea as it allows both of them spend some quality time together, meaning more stuff between them which is great (As I said before and even up till this point neither of the characters have any female friends). And I really liked the fact that they wanted Jack to look after Ollie. He’s going to struggle. The best part was right at the end where they very subtley asked for his help Perhaps they slightly overplayed - the we need help part - but I’m surprised Jack figured out they were acting.

Keep it coming!

[Kris10na]

Thank you for great comments and feedback! It's very much appreciated

ILM: I don't have a little brother, but I did use to babysit a girl and I guess she was actually quite like the Ollie I described in that chapter And please call me Kristina!

Slade: Kirsty apologised because she was a bit harsh towards Irene in chapter 2. I figured it was about time she apologised

Chapter 9

Kirsty and Oliver arrived at Martha and Jack’s pretty early the next morning and Jack was there, ready to welcome them.

“Hey Oliver! I’m gonna look after you today mate.”

Oliver’s eyes read scepticism. Jack looked at Kirsty and then continued:

“What do you want to do today? We can do anything you like.”

“Um, dunno,” Oliver said, he didn’t seem interested at all.

Martha came into the living room, approached them and bended down to greet Oliver.

“Hey Oliver! You know what? You’re gonna be looked after by a cop today,” she said.

Oliver looked at Jack.

“Yea, Jack’s a cop. Isn’t that cool?”

“Nah. I’d rather be a sea captain.”

Ollie remembered that time in the north of Australia where a boat was coming into the quay. It was huge and shiny and Oliver and his Dad had stopped and looked at it for along time. Admiring it and dreaming that they were on board. When they passed the boat later, the captain and crew went ashore, dressed in their smart uniforms with shining gold buttons.

“But he has a really awesome uniform. Maybe he’ll show you.”

“I’ve seen it before and ‘sides… sea captains have heaps cooler uniforms.”

Then he marched into the room. Martha and Kirsty laughed, said goodbye to the boys and headed for the bus.

…

They reached Yabbie Creek as the sun shone brightly, which made them enjoy walking in the street.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve wanted a friend like you for so long,” Martha said as they walked. “Well, I did have Tasha; she was the best friend I’ve ever had. And when she left I still had Cassie. But then she left too and there was no one left.”

“What about Matilda?” Kirsty asked.

“We never really got along. That’s why it's great that you came back.”

Kirsty smiled. “I wished you came to the bay earlier,” she said. “I think we would have been great friends a couple of years back as well.”

“I don’t,” Martha said. “I wasn’t really the kind of person to have close friendships. Around the age of 16 and 17 I had a lot of friends. We were out partying every weekend; we had sleepovers where 10-15 girls were sleeping in the same room, boys came and left faster than trains on a station. It was like a dream coming true for me at that time. I had always wanted to be a part of a big group of friends. What I didn’t expect was that I ended up feeling lonelier than ever. I never got close to any of the girls and when we meet we were always a lot of people together. They didn’t care about my small problems and worries; they were only after the juicy gossip. Nor did I want I tell them about my worries, I didn’t trust them enough. When Grandad and Auntie Morag came to visit me and Roo in America, I was desperate for a change, so I returned to Australia with them. And I’m glad I did. It wasn’t until I came to Summer Bay that I learnt how friendships really work.”

“You became friends with Tasha right away?”

“Yea almost, we were always really close,” Martha said. “When she left I felt so sad and empty.” Martha stared out into the air. “She could always make me smile you know. She could say something nice and you would instantly feel better whatever way you were feeling.”

Kirsty smiled as she recognized what Martha told her. “I know. She was just like an angel. Always smiling and wanting to help, even though some of her ideas were pretty weird. Have I told you when she was going to make a special tea for Kane when he was sick?”

“No,” Martha shook her head. “What happened?”

“Well, she went into the bush and came back with some plants. She didn’t know what it really was, but Robbie and I did.”

“What was it?”

“It was marijuana.”

“No way!” Martha’s eyes quickly widened. “Did she find it in the middle of the bush?”

“U-hu. Robbie and Tasha told the police though. It was probably someone growing it and hoping no one would find it.”

Martha laughed. “Ah, Tasha.”

“Yea, she and Robbie really are special,” Kirsty said.

“In every way!” Martha agreed.

...

They went into a shopping centre to have a look at the shops there. After a while their tummies were screaming for food and Martha told Kirsty she knew the perfect place to have lunch. When they came outside it had started pouring. Luckily, Martha had been smart enough to bring an umbrella and they squeezed themselves under it. They took off from the busy street and into a smaller side street. In the end of the street, covered in ivy and placed in a beautiful garden was a small café. The garden was surrounded by a low fence in white-painted metal. Martha opened the gateway and they went inside. A path of level stones went all the way to the door. Walking towards the old rose-painted house Kirsty could see that the garden would be a beautiful place to enjoy your lunch, if the weather was good. Martha opened the creaking door and inside was the cutest café Kirsty had ever seen. The walls were painted in a light peach colour and there were rose patterns in a stripe along the walls. The tables and chairs were all white and on top of the counter Kirsty noticed an old-fashioned cash register. A chubby, pretty old woman came forward and hugged Martha tight.

“It’s so good to see you again darling,” she said.

“It’s good to see you too, Claudia,” Martha answered her.

Claudia turned to Kirsty.

“This is your new friend?” she asked Martha.

“Yea, this is Kirsty,” Martha smiled.

“It’s lovely to meet you Kirsty,” Claudia said, taking both Kirsty’s hands in hers.

“Yea, you too, you too,” Kirsty smiled.

Claudia showed them to a table in the corner, disappeared and was back with some tea and two big pieces of chocolate cake.

“Thank you,” Martha said to Claudia and she left.

“Hope you’re okay with chocolate cake. I always order it when I’m here. Claudia really makes the best chocolate cake in the world.”

And Martha was right.

…

“So you’re starting your chemo this afternoon?” Kirsty asked Martha, still enjoying the chocolate cake.

“Yea,” Martha said, and the big grin that had been on her face all morning faded. “Yea, I’m gonna be there at 4 o’clock.”

“Are you scared?” Kirsty asked gently.

“A bit. But not for the chemo, really,” Martha answered. “It’s more… that I’m scared because I don’t know what is really gonna happen, how I will react to it and I’m scared of feeling weak and….” She sighed.

“That I can understand,” Kirsty said, laying her hand on top of Martha’s and squeezed it in an attempt to comfort her.

“I wish Sally was here,” Martha said. “I know she survived cancer. And before you say anything I know auntie Colleen did too, it’s just not that easy for me to talk to her. Sally, she… well, she always had something wise to say, some advice and she knew what to say in every situation.”

“Yea, I know.” Kirsty said. “Hopefully it won’t be too bad for you. Kane managed to go through it, hiding it all from me.”

“Kane? You mean… did he…?”

“Yea, he had cancer nearly 4 years ago now.”

“Really? I didn’t know,” Martha said. “Where?”

“In his testicles"

Martha nodded. “How did he manage to hide it from you then?”

“Well, first he told me that he was taking Alf’s boat out for charters when he did indeed go to the hospital for an operation and the chemo. He stayed at Sally and Flynn’s when he wasn’t in hospital. Then, one day when I spoke to him on the phone I heard a baby crying. Kane, of course, made up some story about one of the blokes on the boat having a baby, but I was suspicious. When he came home I was prepared to give him the third degree.”

“What happened?” Martha asked.

“When he came in the door I noticed that he was limping. When I questioned him about it he had the story ready. He told me that a bloke hit him with a bag in his groin so he ended up in hospital where he was when I called him and heard the baby crying.”

“But what about the symptoms of the chemo?”

“He had it all worked out. He told me that the painkillers he got from the doctor would make him sick,” Kirsty finished.

“He’s one smart bloke!” Martha said. “But there’s one thing I don’t get. Why did he hide it from you?”

“I was doing my HSC’s at that time. He thought that if I knew he was sick I would screw them up.”

“Well, you can’t say he’s not thoughtful.”

…

Several cups of tea later Martha and Kirsty decided to call Jack and ask him to pick them up and he did.

“Hey girls!” he said when they got in the car.

“Hey,” Kirsty and Martha replied.

“Where’s Ollie?” Kirsty asked as her son was not in the car.

“Um, he didn’t want to come so I dropped him of with Aden and Belle.”

“Oh, okay,” Kirsty said.

“So, how did it go with you two today?” Martha asked.

“Well, not that great really. First Oliver spilled chocolate milk all over himself so I put on the spare t-shirt you sent with him, Kirsty. Then he ran away to the beach and I had to run after him. He wanted to have a swim, but before I could say anything he was already in the water. With all his clothes on! I had to run out and catch him before the waves did. Then we both had to change clothes. I didn’t want him to catch a cold so gave him one of my t-shirts to change into.”

“Sounds like you’ve been busy then!” Martha said teasingly.

“And that’s not all,” Jack said. “VJ came over and he and Ollie started kicking a football inside the house and they did of course manage to break several cups and picture frames as well as the two bowls of serial that I had made for lunch. There was milk and serial and fragments of glass all over the floor and Oliver and VJ only laughed. I tell you, I was happy when Aden offered to look after him.”

Back in the Bay, Jack dropped Kirsty of at Roman’s where Aden and Belle where looking after Oliver. When Kirsty went around the house to look for them she found Oliver dressed in a big shirt that had once been white. Now, several colours had made their way to it. In addition he was soaking wet. Coming closer, Kirsty could see it was because of the sprinkler being on and Oliver was running around at the lawn with Aden and Belle right behind. They were, as Oliver, soaking wet and had the same cheeky grin on their faces.

[Red Ranger 1]

Some nice friendship stuff between Kirsty and Martha.Ollie seems to have discovered his inner monster.Never trust Jack as a babysitter.

[I love music]

Thank you for great comments and feedback! It's very much appreciated.

ILM: I don't have a little brother, but I did use to babysit a girl and I guess she was actually quite like the Ollie I described in that chapter. And please call me Kristina!

Slade: Kirsty apologised because she was a bit harsh towards Irene in chapter 2. I figured it was about time she apologised.

Oops, sorry, Kristina!

Ollie remembered that time in the north of Australia where a boat was coming into the quay. It was huge and shiny and Oliver and his Dad had stopped and looked at it for along time.

That is lovely image, Ollie and his Dad both sharing the same love of the sea and staring in mutual admiration at the boat for a long time.

boys came and left faster than trains on a station

Sounds a great time tho!

“Well, she went into the bush and came back with some plants. She didn’t know what it really was, but Robbie and I did.”

“What was it?”

“It was marijuana.”

I'd forgotten all about that!

They took off from the busy street and into a smaller side street. In the end of the street, covered in ivy and placed in a beautiful garden was a small café. The garden was surrounded by a low fence in white-painted metal. Martha opened the gateway and they went inside. A path of level stones went all the way to the door. Walking towards the old rose-painted house Kirsty could see that the garden would be a beautiful place to enjoy your lunch...

I liked the description of the cafe, wouldn't have minded having lunch there myself!

Well, not that great really. First Oliver spilled chocolate milk all over himself so I put on the spare t-shirt you sent with him, Kirsty. Then he ran away to the beach and I had to run after him. He wanted to have a swim, but before I could say anything he was already in the water. With all his clothes on! I had to run out and catch him before the waves did. Then we both had to change clothes. I didn’t want him to catch a cold so gave him one of my t-shirts to change into.”

“Sounds like you’ve been busy then!” Martha said teasingly.

“And that’s not all,” Jack said. “VJ came over and he and Ollie started kicking a football inside the house and they did of course manage to break several cups and picture frames as well as the two bowls of cereal that I had made for lunch. There was milk and cereal and fragments of glass all over the floor and Oliver and VJ only laughed. I tell you, I was happy when Aden offered to look after him.”

I bet Ollie would LOVE Jack to babysit again, sounds like he had a great time!!!

[Slade]

Slade: Kirsty apologised because she was a bit harsh towards Irene in chapter 2. I figured it was about time she apologised

Sorry I totally forgot. It’s just that you wrote chapter two quite a while ago. Funny thing is I even said Kirsty had been harsh with Irene at the time.

Yes good stuff between Kirsty and Martha. Good to see Kirsty reminiscing the classic times and using her experience to relate to giving advice to Martha especially regarding Kane and his chemotherapy. I found the whole marijuana thing with Tasha extremely funny, especially her innocence and the fact she was completely oblivious. Anyway glad Martha opened up about how she was when she was younger.

“That I can understand,” Kirsty said, laying her hand on top of Martha’s and squeezed it in an attempt to comfort her.

I loved that part. To me it was a continuation of the friendship and bonding.

Ollie doesn’t like Jack! I’m glad he was a little terror. I wonder if that’s because he is a police officer and as they were on the run for three years Kane obviously tried to avoid the cops where possible and so Ollie subconsciously/instinctively picked up on the fact that the police are bad news as far as his father was concerned so this would immediately make him dislike anyone in uniform. I think it’s ironic Jack looked after Ollie considering that he was the one who actually arrested Kane (and Lara as well).

Speaking of Kane we haven’t seen him in a while….

[Kris10na]

Thank you so very much I love you all for commenting every time! It means a lot and it keeps me going

Slade: I found the marijuana thing with Tasha extremely funny as well! And I haven't forgotten about Kane....

Chapter 10

Kirsty was taking a final look inside the caravan where she and Oliver had been living the last weeks. They were now moving into the house with Miles, Jai and Alf. The days spent in the house had made Kirsty make up her mind. She was looking forward to having the toilet and shower much nearer and not to share it with heaps of unknown people anymore. This was also going to be the end of the nightly walks if she, or more often, Ollie had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. The only light they had was from a pretty weak torch and they would never know what was ahead of them other than the two metres the torch would illuminate. Worst were the nights it was raining. Carrying Ollie, an umbrella and the torch wasn’t exactly easy.

Kirsty also thought that it would be better for Ollie to live in a proper house instead of a van, and Miles was happy to let them live in the house. He had been at the caravan helping her to carry some of their stuff and Kirsty was now bringing the rest of it in. Oliver’s toys were already in the house because he had insisted on bringing them all in by himself as soon as Kirsty told him they were moving from the caravan. When Kirsty came to the house Miles told her he had put her stuff in her and Ollie's room and Kirsty went upstairs to sort it out.

As Kirsty came into the room Oliver was sitting on top of the little bed Alf had brought in from the shed. He found it innermost in the shed and he said he thought it had once belonged to Sally. Kirsty and Oliver were sleeping in the room that had been Ric and Mattie’s before they left. Kirsty stopped to take a proper look at the room. It was the same room that had been her bedroom several years ago. Her and Jade’s. Of course it was renovated now. The walls had been painted in a different colour and the two separate beds were gone along with a few other pieces of furniture. As far as Kirsty could see all but the floor was removed or painted. Kirsty dropped the things she was holding on the bed and began to unpack the boxes that Miles had carried for her. They contained what they owned of clothes and a few other things. She put the clothes in the almost empty wardrobe. Only a couple of dresses and tops were hanging there. It was probably clothes that Mattie had grown out of and left behind. Kirsty put her clothes in the wardrobe and Ollie’s in a chest of drawers. In the bottom of the last box she found a light blue t-shirt and she picked it up. It was way too big to fit Ollie. It was Kane’s. She had more or less forgot about his clothes and she remembered packing them in a cardboard box when leaving Irene’s and then, as they moved into the van, put it in the corner and then put a lot of things on top of it. A few of his clothes wouldn’t fit in the box so she put it in another one. Slowly Kirsty moved the blue t-shirt to her nose. She sniffed into the soft fabric trying to pull out the smell of Kane. In between the scent of cardboard and detergent she could smell the familiar scent.

“Mum,” Ollie said, having noticed Kirsty standing still. “What are you doing?”

Kirsty put the t-shirt quickly down and sniffled.

“Um, I’m just unpacking our stuff” she smiled at Ollie. “I’m going to put these last things away and then we’ll go and help Miles with dinner yeah?” she finished, taking the nearly empty cardboard box and a full one and placed them both in the bottom of the wardrobe.

…

The day of the move was finally there. Thought it had only been three weeks those weeks seemed to have been longer than normal weeks. Quite a lot of the prisoners had already been moved. Both of the cells next to Kane’s where empty now and at the meals the amount of prisoners where obviously smaller than it had been. Kane did not know how many or if someone he knew about would be moved to the same prison as he. He didn’t really have the patience to study all the lists hanging around. A few days ago he had received a note telling him how the move would happen and when to be ready. He was to be ready in his cell by one o’clock the day of the move. A transport bus would be waiting outside and they would be taken to the bus one by one. The amount of guards escorting the prisoners and waiting by the car was written in bold as well as the “fatal consequences” meeting all of the one’s trying to make any attempt to escape. Kane sat on the bed, the few of his belonging that were actually in the cell placed in a small box besides him. The rest of his belongings which he had to give up when he was transferred to this prison would be sent separately. Now he was all set and ready to be picked up.

…

It was nearly dinner in the Caravan Park House. Miles was finishing the food and Kirsty was setting the table.

“Boys! Is a bit of help too much to ask for here?” she said to Jai and Oliver. They were trowing a box which contained heaps of small chocolate pellets, a get well present to Jai from Annie.

“Yeeeeeeeees! Way too much!” Ollie answered his Mum, laughing and trowing the box to Jai.

Jai caught the box, grinned back at him and put his thumbs up.

“I did see that Jai,” Kirsty said, smiling as she realized that her case was lost and the boys would not help her at all.

Oliver and Jai was trowing the box even higher so that it was nearly hitting the ceiling. Then Jai threw it just a little too hard, the box hit the ceiling, opened and the chocolate pellets rained down on Kirsty who happened to walk past. Jai and Miles were crying with laughter as the pellets hit Kirsty and landed in the salad and in the pan with Bolognese sauce. Oliver found it very amusing as well. He danced around Kirsty yelling:

“It’s raining chocolate, Mum! It’s raining chocolate.”

…

They were all sat in the transport bus. It was Kane and around 18 others going to Yabbie Creek Prison. Kane did not know exactly where the prison he had spent the last couple of weeks in where situated as he hadn’t wanted to know when he was transferred. However, he knew that it was along the east coast and north of Summer Bay. He wondered if they would drive through Summer Bay on their way seeing that Yabbie Creek was situated south of Summer Bay. He just had to wait to see. Suddenly the man beside him in the car tapped him on the shoulder. His name was Doug, Kane remembered.

“I’ve heard they’ve got cell mates down in the YC prison. You better hope to get with someone decent or your life will be a hell,” he said.

‘Like it isn’t hell already’ Kane thought, but said: “Right!”

“Maybe they’ll put us together mate, seeing as we’re from the same prison. We can hope though.”

“Hmmm,” Kane answered distantly.

He wasn’t sure if he really wanted Doug as his cell mate. He had been talking to him from time to time and listen to him talk to others quite a few times and it seemed as though he was in charge of the talking while the others listened. Kane turned around to look out of the window. He was happy he had got a window seat as he liked looking at the scenery they drove past and he wanted to see if they drove through Summer Bay. Kane closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep so that Doug wouldn’t keep talking. When he opened his eyes he looked at a grey brick building. As he looked up he noticed the words written on it. They had arrived at Yabbie Creek Prison.

…

It had been really difficult to get Ollie to bed that night. He had been overactive from eating too much chocolate and his blood sugar had been on a high level all evening. They had been picking up all the chocolate pellets and Ollie had been sure to eat a lot. Finally he seemed tired enough to go bed and Kirsty managed to get him upstairs, his teeth brushed and his PJ’s on. However, when he was put to bed he did not want his Mum to leave him by himself and tried to get her to stay by asking a lot of questions. When he did not have any questions left, he tried another tactic.

“I want Daddy,” he said in his saddest voice.

Kirsty sighed. “You know Daddy can’t be here. He has gone away so that when he comes back he can be with us all the time.”

“But… I miss him. I miss my Daddy,” Oliver answered, almost in tears.

“Oh Ollie, I know you do. I miss him too. Very much.” Saying the words out loud made them seem even more real.

Kirsty put the duvet around her son, gave him a kiss, got up and walked towards the door.

“Mummy,” it came from Ollie, his voice barely audible. ”Are you going away too?”

As Kirsty turned and walked back to him she noticed his little face filled with fear.

“No Ollie. I will be right here with you.”

“Is that for sure?” he asked, still not convinced.

“Yes, of course. Because you are my little boy and I love you very much. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t Mummy. I love you too.” He sat up in bed and gave Kirsty a big hug.

Kirsty smiled and kissed him on the top of the head.

“Mummy?” Oliver asked again. “Does Daddy still love me? 'Cos he used to say he did when he was with us, but now he’s not here so he can’t tell me and I don’t if he still does… Love me, I mean.”

“Ollie. No matter where your Daddy is he will always love you sweetheart.”

“Good,” Ollie said and lay his head down on the pillow again. “'Cos I love him too.”

…

Kane was finally settled in in his new cell. It seemed a whole lot better and nicer than his old one. There was still no sign of his cell mate. He knew he had one as there were two beds in the cell and it was too big for him to have it all by himself. He guessed his cell mate was just giving him time to settle in, or maybe he was making his tactics on how to make Kane’s life awful. Just as he was thinking he heard the sound of the door being unlocked and someone walking in. He did not turn, afraid that he would see some big muscular bloke with tattoos all over his arms and with a scarred face. Then the door was locked and he heard the click of the lock. He slowly turned around to face his cell mate.

As he saw him his mouth fell open and so did the mouth belonging to the bloke standing in front of him. However the other bloke managed to close it again before he said:

“Kane mate! What are you doing here?”

[Red Ranger 1]

Great chapter!No offence but that was one of the best in a long time, I think having Kane in it gave it the necessary room to cut between the various plotlines rather than just having Kirsty wandering around the Bay.Kirsty seems to be picking up quite a crowd of troublesome males although I liked the little scene between her and Ollie, it was really sweet.Very intrigued by the ending and want to know who that is.