"Wipe your feet,
Aaron, and for goodness sake, don’t let that dog come in the house like
that. I have just cleaned!”
I rolled my eyes impishly,
but did as I was told, George whining in protest as I shooed him outside.
Mother had been baking again, so I helped myself to a large wedge of bread with
cheese before going upstairs to get on with some schoolwork. I blew her a kiss
as I left.
I heard her clattering
around the kitchen, humming an old Suffolk
tune she used to sing to me as a child.
The house felt empty again, with Father back to work on the boats, but
that soon changed: I heard voices and laughter downstairs, followed soon by the
sound of heavy feet on our stairs and the bursting into my room of a thin,
freckle-faced young lad with a wild shock of black hair. Joe had arrived.
“Don’t you knock?”I protested,
but he clapped me on the back and sat down with a sigh.
“I’m sooo bored,
Aaron. What are we going to do?”
“I am going to do my
homework, Joe.”
Joe scrunched up his face
in mock imitation. “I am going to do my homework, Joe… Seriously, Aaron. It is beautiful outside and there are things
to do.”
I sighed. This was familiar ground for us, but I had a
report to finish.
“Just give me half an
hour, okay?”
He stood up and frowned at
me, and then replied. “Okay, I’ll play with George for a bit. At least he understands what fun is.”
I smiled as he strode off
and clomped loudly down the stairs, making a juvenile point.
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