Calypso Summer by Jared Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

walked out.
    Â°Â°Â°
    By the time I’d walked to the local park, I’d calmed down a bit. I sat down for a while, caught my breath and then called Aunty Janet. Just when I thought the phone was going to ring out, someone picked it up.
    â€˜Is this Aunty Janet?’ I asked.
    â€˜Yes, who is this?’ she asked, sounding pissed off or something.
    â€˜Calypso, I mean Kyle,’ I answered.
    â€˜Who Kyle?’
    â€˜Audrey’s son Kyle.’
    â€˜Which Audrey?’
    â€˜Your cousin-sister Audrey.’
    â€˜I know who you is bub. What you want?’
    I kind of shit myself, how was I supposed to explain what I was after? Maybe it would be easier if I met Aunty Audrey, to tell her face-to-face. ‘Is it okay if I come visit, Aunty Janet? Mum’s always talking about the place and I haven’t been there since I was a little fella.’
    â€˜Yes, of course dear. When can I expect you?’
    I hadn’t really thought it through or how I would get there, Port Germein is a couple of hundred kilometres from Adelaide, but I said, ‘What if I come up next weekend?’
    â€˜That’ll be good.’
    I was glad Aunty Janet said I could come up so soon because Gary started giving me the shits during that week. When he wasn’t at the café or sitting at the counter reading this book he’d bought called Aboriginal people and their plants , he’d point to pictures of plants in the book and ask if my tribe knew about them or if I’d talked to anyone about things. At least I could tell him that I was going to see some of the mob on the weekend but still he wouldn’t cut it out.
    On Wednesday morning Gary asked me if anyone of my tribesmen had been in contact and thank god this woman came in when she did or I reckon I would have told him to get fucked. I refused to move from sitting on the crate stacking vitamins or to speak to the woman, not just because I was pissed off but to see if Gary would notice.
    The woman was pretty stylish, wearing loose white pants and a shirt with red beads and earrings. She had some deadly kindof haircut, short around the back and sides with long bits on top and streaks of blonde through it. Then I watched Gary look at me, expecting me to bend over backwards. I just pointed my chin at the shelf and packets I was stocking.
    Gary got up from behind the counter, sighed and walked towards the woman who put on a pair of glasses to read the labels on powders.
    â€˜How may I help you today?’ Gary asked.
    â€˜I’m looking for something with a bit of a kick I guess,’ said the woman.
    â€˜For you?’
    â€˜Oh, kind of for my husband.’
    â€˜Is he feeling a bit flat?’
    â€˜You could say that.’
    â€˜Ah, I think we have just the thing,’ said Gary with a smile of the Cheshire cat as he looked at me and winked.
    â€˜Just wait a sec,’ he said as he walked over to grab his corn cob that was now old and withered from behind the counter. He went back to the woman and directed her to the shelf of corn concentrate in the centre of the store. ‘You see,’ he said pointing his finger to all the shelves in the store, ‘there are many pills and powders that we have that can provide energy but at the end of the day, nature, in its pure form, always provides the best results.’ He held the shabby piece of corncob in front of the woman.
    The woman was interested and held one of her gold rings between her thumb and index finger while asking, ‘Corn makes you energetic?’
    â€˜Absolutely,’ Gary said. ‘But it is best to eat it raw or dried and then ground to a powder. You can mix it with solids or liquid, lots of it.’
    â€˜How much exactly?’
    â€˜A packet a day will certainly give you a spark.’
    â€˜Does it take more for men?’
    Gary let the piece of corn dangle between his thumb and index finger. ‘Yes, it takes a bit more for men because