|
"DANNY" |
| Copyright Francis Blow, 1980. |
| CHAPTER 7 |
| Danny slept until after one o'clock the next afternoon, while Karin stayed asleep until almost three. Mr. Nock had put Danny to sleep in his own bed, and stayed home from work to make sure that reporters did not bother Danny or Karin. |
| When Danny did wake up, he was ravenous; he was lucky that there were plenty of leftovers from the evening before. His eyes were burning, and he felt groggy for over an hour after he had eaten, yet when Karin asked him to get her an ice pack, he did so quickly, wrapping a small bag of ice in a tea towel and taking it to her. |
| Karin lay on her side on the bed with her nightie hitched up past the bruise; she was trying to look at her back, but the injury was too far around for her to see, even if she had not been so stiff. |
| "It's a real beauty!" Danny assured her, forcing himself to ignore the waistband of her pants showing under the bed sheet. "Hang on and I'll get Mum's hand mirror." |
| He put the ice pack against her back, then fetched the mirror, which he held up so that the girl could see. |
| "No wonder it hurts so much!" Karin exclaimed. "It looks like a black softball!" |
| After a brief inspection, she sighed and readjusted the ice pack. "It's really not over you know, Dan." |
| "Yeah. Court and all that... I guess you won't be living with us much longer, huh?" Danny felt a constriction in his throat, and an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. |
| Karin started to shrug, then winced with pain. Her words came out as half sobs. "I wish I could stay with your family. You don't know what it means to me to have so many people who love me, and you all hardly even know me." |
| Her eyes closed and two tears escaped onto the pillow. |
| Danny sat beside her and cuddled her shoulders while she cried helplessly. |
| Danny's name was called from outside, so he kissed Karin's cheek, and said he would not be long. |
| The sound of voices led Danny to the dining room, where Jack Malone sat with Danny's family. |
| "There you are, Danny! I've just had a talk with your parents. Remember how I promised to take you and Karin sailing? Well, we can leave in four days... You're both going as paid crew on the Spray Dancer to the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef. You'll be gone three weeks, before I put you on a plane to Sydney." |
| Danny stared at him in total astonishment, then he turned to the other adults, who grinned at him. |
| "You know what else?" Mr. Malone continued. "I spoke to the police, and it seems that there will be rewards from the insurance companies, since most of the money or stolen property will be recovered." |
| Danny was still too stunned to stay anything, but in his mind's eye he saw Karin and himself sailing among tropical, coral islands, while dolphins leapt ahead of the yacht's bow. |
| He smiled. "Will you all excuse me while I tell Karin?" |
| "Off you go, son." His mother said, and tears of happiness were on her cheeks. |
| Danny ran to the bedroom and skidded to a stop at Karin's bedside. |
| "Hey, best mate! You'll never guess!" Then he burst out laughing. |
| The End (?) |
| Author's note: |
| These days fishing for shellfish is controlled by regulations, so you kids out there should check before trying it. |
| The Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, is where I'm living at the time of publishing this story on the Internet, and it is one of the nicest places to live anywhere in the world (My opinion, only). |
| Obviously, this story is fictional, as are the characters, but very loosely based on events and experiences in my own life. |
| This story is copyrighted, and may not be used without permission, which can be obtained by contacting me: |
| [email protected] |
| Exceptions: Schools and religious organisations may use material for educational purposes, but not for republishing. |
| Life is but a dream, so live your dreams. |
| Love to all, from Frank. |
