Into the River, page 27
“Someone’s got to maintain the standard.” He broke into an accent. “It sho’ ain’t gonna be yo’all. You sound like a country boy.”
There was a gap between them, like a departing ship, getting wider by the moment. Devon stared into the void, lost for words. When he eventually spoke he was shocked by the finality of his words and the weakness of his voice.
“I guess this is the point where you say, ‘Have a good life’.”
“Is it? Okay, Devon, have a good life.”
“Back at ya.”
The words resonated in Devon’s head. They were just the standard kiss-off but somehow they were true. His life lay before him. He thought of the time, all those years ago, when Ra had put that challenging choice into his head. Had demanded that Devon be the one to decide whether to stay in Whareiti or to plunge into the wine-dark sea of the unknown. He remembered his dream. The tipuna emerging from the darkness, row after row of them, their hands shivering and the whites of their eyes enlarged in pukana. Then the glint of an earring as Diego stepped forward to claim him as one of his own. From that moment, everything had been decided.
******
He woke early to the sound of bells ringing and boys hurrying off to perform their usual routines. He checked them off as he lay in bed. The wake-up call. The run. The shower. Breakfast. Dorm inspection. Assembly. Then the tutor Henderson appeared, carrying his breakfast.
“I’m sorry about what happened, Devon. You look after yourself, right?”
“Mr Henderson, can you do me a favour?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
“Could you return this phone to Jeremy? I borrowed it a while back. Keep forgetting to return it. Tell him, thanks.”
“No problem,” he said, looking almost relieved, and then disappeared.
By the time Mr Faull appeared Devon was ready to go. He was wearing his jeans and his HDT jacket. He left his uniform on the bed. Someone else could have it. He wasn’t taking it with him, that was for sure.
Mr Faull explained that the task had been given to him to drive Devon to the bus station. This would be Barwell’s last contribution to his education: after this he was his grandfather’s responsibility. They walked through the dining hall to where the staff parked their cars. Devon carried the same overnight bag he had used when he first came. It was lighter now, he thought.
The white Golf was parked in the lee of the dormitory roof. Mr Faull popped the hatch for Devon’s bag but he declined, preferring to keep it on his knees.
“Suit yourself, it’s not a big car though,” Mr Faull said, avoiding all possibility of conflict.
He started the car then turned to Devon.
“This is it then: a sad day.”
Devon said nothing, but tightened his grip on the handles of the bag.
“It’s hard not to think of what might have been.” Mr Faull engaged reverse and slowly cleared the edge of the building. “But I really do believe that Barwell’s has done all it could for you.” He straightened up and nosed towards the gateway.
“From here on Devon, there won’t be safety nets to catch you if you fall.”
The traffic cleared and he swung left towards Newmarket.
“I do hope you have learned something from your experiences. Life’s not complicated; it’s just a series of choices between right and wrong.”
They hadn’t gone for more than half a mile when they came to a stop: the morning traffic was banked up ahead; there was some sort of road-works taking place. As they waited in the traffic, Devon unclipped his belt and turned to Mr Faull.
“I’ve learned plenty, Mr Faull, but it all comes down to this: there is freedom and then there is everything else.”
He opened the door.
“And today I give away everything else, and I choose freedom.”
He stepped out of the car.
“Liberación!” he yelled to the astonished face of his assistant housemaster.
As he closed the door, Devon leaned low to give Mr Faull a parting wave and then headed back the way they had come.
Like Diego, making his first strokes towards an unknown coastline, Devon felt a sudden lightness. The world was waiting for him, and now finally, he was getting closer, one step at a time.
Also by Ted Dawe
Thunder Road (2003)
K Road (2005)
And did those feet (2006)
Captain Sailor Bird and other stories (2007)
Copyright
A RANDOM HOUSE EBOOK published by Random House New Zealand 18 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand
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First published 2013
© 2013 Ted Dawes
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eISBN 978 1 77553 603 1
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Cover photography: Jane Ridall
Cover design: Nguyen Duc Minh and Rachel Hawke
Ted Dawe, Into the River
