Calypso Summer (24 page)

‘I'll try.'

‘Those cops were pricks, hey?' Frankie asked and I thought he was loosening up a bit.

‘Yeah, they were. Did Clare tell you what they said?'

‘She did, and that's why I'm right pissed off with you. See, when you're black you can't afford to give them any reason to pick on us. Sure we should be able to dress how we want … sure we should be able to drink where we want and that … but things aren't like that … So we just got to keep things under wraps see … Like when I have a drink, I just have a quiet beer at home. If I'm drunk out in public … I know I'm an easy target.'

Frankie took another sip of his coffee and started reading the paper. I just sat there looking around the garden, thinking it was a bit unfair of Frankie to talk to me about drinking when he knew I rarely drank. Then I put my hands on my head and leaned back on my chair. My dreads felt like pieces of rope. I guess he probably thought I was a dope smoker when he first saw me though, like those cops did. Can't blame 'em really.

‘I can't tell Clare who she can and can't go with, she's a woman, but for Christ sake, Calypso, don't make me worry like that again,' he said, looking up from his paper and pointing a finger.

‘No worries,' I promised him.

‘So how did everything work out today anyway, with your work and that?'

‘Real good. Looks like it's all going to go ahead.'

Frankie slapped me on the back and said, ‘That's too deadly, Calypso. So what you going to do when you start making big money?'

‘I don't know if we'll make money, Frankie. Maybe some of the mob will just get some work out of it, you know.'

‘Ever thought of going back to school, university or something?'

‘What? You reckon I could get in?' I asked, real surprised.

‘Yeah, of course, there's a whole lot of programs and things for young fellas like you. You could use the money from your job and the business to set yourself up.'

‘I guess I need to do something, it looks like my boss might need to shut up shop.'

‘Yeah, Clare told us, and Jamie reckons he could give you a bit of work, see how you like it or you could just do it until you get back on your feet. Hard work, but if you're working a week on, week off, gives you time to do other things.'

‘Oh man, that would be the best,' I said, happy as. And then I heard Clare's car pull into the drive.

‘Well, I guess you've got some things to sort out with Clare. You want a coffee or something?' Frankie asked as he stood to go inside. I just shook my head.

I watched the clouds drifting and thought about what it'd be like on a fishing boat with Jamie. Then I heard Clare throw her car keys on the kitchen table and walk down the hallway.

‘Those arseholes didn't bash you up or anything?' Clare asked when she stepped out the back door. She walked over and held my face, checking for bruises or something. She kissed me once she knew I was okay.

‘Nah, nothing happened. They arrested Run, but.'

‘Serves him right.'

‘I'm really sorry, you know,' I told her.

‘You just had the worst luck ever, Calypso.'

‘Bad luck alright …'

‘So how did it go with Gary?'

I held my fists above my head and shook them. ‘The bloke we met, James, he was really good and yeah, he's going to go for it. There's a few things to work out but it's all good 'ey'.

‘Whoo hoo,' Clare screamed out and then gave me a high five. ‘That's too deadly. Hey you want a drink or something to celebrate? I'm going to have a drink … didn't have one last night, being locked up and worried about you and all.'

‘You go ahead, but I want to do something else to … celebrate ... I guess,' I said, gathering up my dreads. ‘These have got to go.'

Clare looked at me like I'd lost my mind. ‘Are you sure?'

‘Yeah, I'm sure. They're not worth the trouble.'

Clare went inside and came back with her scissors, electric clippers and glass of wine. I watched the sun glint off the silver blades and took a deep breath.

Watching my dreads fall to the ground I thought about all the shit that had happened to me that summer. I couldn't have predicted any of it and it wasn't worth trying to predict what would happen next. Maybe I'd keep working with Gary, maybe I'd be fishing with Jamie, and maybe the business would work out
with the mob. The one thing I was sure about was that I was going to make the most of whatever came my way and be prepared. I was going to find out about a course, maybe something in retail, maybe something to do with business.

As my very last dread fell at my feet I pulled Clare to me and was happy that I was in her hands, even if she was holding a pair of scissors. And I felt good knowing that before too long I'd be on country, with my mob again.

Jared Thomas

Dr Jared Thomas is a Nukunu person of the Southern Flinders Ranges and Arts Development Officer at Arts South Australia. After almost a decade of lecturing in Communication, he continues to play an important role at the University of South Australia. Jared's play
Flash Red Ford
toured Uganda and Kenya in 1999 and his play
Love, Land and Money
featured during the 2002 Adelaide Fringe Festival. Jared's young adult novel
Sweet Guy
was shortlisted for the South Australian Premier's Award for Literature, the South Australian People's Choice Award for Literature and the Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature. His children's novel
Dallas Davis, the Scientist and the City Kids
is published within the Oxford University Press Yarning Strong series. Jared's writing for young adults explores the power of belonging and culture. Jared was inspired to write after watching the play
Funerals and Circuses
by Aboriginal playwright Roger Bennett. He lives in Willunga with his partner and two daughters.
Calypso Summer
is his third novel.

Acknowledgements

Ruth - thank you for your love, encouragement, belief, patience and kindness as I worked through this one. Tilly Tjala and Delilah Purtli, you are my greatest source of inspiration and I hope this work brings pleasure. Mum, Dad and Megan for your love and support.

Nukunu family members with special mention to Dad (Darryl Thomas), Aunty Margaret Smith, Darcy Evans, Uncle Doug Turner, Aunty Rose Turner, Marijhan Samy, Anarla Turner, Trent Turner and Uncle Lindsay Thomas for reading the manuscript and/or providing advice and feedback during the various stages of development.

Olive Senior – you have been a wonderful mentor and friend. Travelling with you through Jamaica and my country was a magical time. Hallelujah! Velma Pollard, Dennis, Jackie and Zoë Ranston, Norma Stanley and family for your Jamaican hospitality.

Professor Brian Castro, Dr Sue Hosking, Professor Nicholas Jose for PhD supervision including guidance in the development of the novel. Brenda Croft, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Anita Heiss, Ingereth Macfarlane and Malcolm McKinnon for commenting on drafts and recommending references. Professor Peter Buckskin, Professor Alan Mayne and the staff of the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research of the University of South Australia for providing space to learn and write.

Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith and the staff of the School of M
ā
ori and Pacific Development of the University of Waikato for a life-changing experience.

The Black&Write team: Sue Abbey, Ellen van Neerven-Currie and Linda McBride-Yuke at the State Library of Queensland, with special thanks to Ellen for your editorial prowess. Lyn Tranter for pushing the work in new directions.

Sharon Mascall-Dare and the BBC for documenting some of the developmental process. The Australia Awards Endeavour Research Fellowship for Indigenous Australians.

Friends that took the time to hear me read and talk about this work as it developed.

The team at Magabala Books.

Launched in 2010, the black&write! project is committed to the development of Indigenous editors and fostering Indigenous writing talent. Based at the State Library of Queensland, the project includes an annual writing competition, training of editors and provides workshops and mentoring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers. In addition, the project provides training for OnScreen editors based regionally, who work online from their communities. This aspect of the project is made possible through funding from the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.

The black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship competition is open nationally to both published and new Indigenous authors of fiction including children's books, short stories and poetry. Two fellowships are awarded each year and the winning authors work with the black&write! editors to develop their manuscripts for publication by Magabala Books. The partnership between the State Library of Queensland and Magabala is central to black&write! and supports the project's aims of providing long term professional development for writers and editors, and bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories to readers worldwide.

For further information on the black&write! project please visit the State Library of Queensland website.

“The competition gave me wings. I would have been too intimidated to push it through other avenues to get published.” Sue McPherson, author of
Grace Beside Me
, and inaugural winner of the black&write! competition.