Free No Worries by Bill Condon Page A

Bri?’
    â€˜Okay.’
    â€˜Shouldn’t take too long.’
    Bob strolled away with the cop as if he was off to buy a loaf of bread.
    Eric and Norm had been watching from the office. They were full of questions as I walked towards them.
    â€˜What do the coppers want with Superstud, Bri?’
    â€˜I bet I bloody know,’ declared Eric. ‘They’ve arrested him for growin’ marijuana in his vegie patch. The old Supers is a drug baron!’
    â€˜No,’ said Norm. ‘They’ve caught him knockin’ off knickers from a clothesline.’
    â€˜It’s about Cusack,’ I said.
    â€˜What about him?’
    â€˜He got hit by a car.’
    â€˜Holy shit.’
    â€˜Bob’s going to drive his truck back.’
    â€˜Is he all right?’ said Norm.
    â€˜No … he’s dead.’
    â€˜Holy shit,’ Eric repeated.
    I told them the story. Norm winced at the part about him bouncing off the windscreen.
    â€˜I didn’t like the man,’ he said, ‘but I wouldn’t have wished this on anyone.’
    It was such an unreal feeling for me. Two hours back Cusack was his usual angry, obnoxious self. It was so easy to dislike him then. Now I only felt sorry for him.
    â€˜You never can tell, can you?’ Norm said. ‘You say goodbye to someone and you think you’ll see them again for sure. You don’t even think about it really. Not a second thought. But then …’ He snapped his fingers. ‘Ah well, that’s the way it goes.’
    Eric had this way of jamming his lips together and jutting them out as he nodded. He did it this time, as if agreeing with Norm. But then he said, ‘I won’t be losin’ any sleep over him. Bloody shitbag, he was. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke.’
    Mum was there in the morning, completely different from the night before. The anger had gone and her eyes were lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. She was full of plans.
    â€˜I haven’t slept a wink all night, Brian. I’ve got some brilliant ideas. Can I tell you?’
    She was talking fast and loud.
    â€˜But first I’m sorry about yesterday. Forget that ever happened. I’m really sorry. Joseph did me a big favour. I’m still angry with him, but I refuse to let it get me down. I’m going to be positive. I needed to get out of that job. It was stifling me. I needed to get out and I’d be still talking about it if he hadn’t forced the issue. If I ever see that customer I’ll kiss him. It was all the frustration — four years’ worth just blew up yesterday. I’m really sorry you had to take the brunt of it. But that’s over. Finito.’
    She paused for breath and I jumped in.
    â€˜One of the vendors got killed last night. He was hit by a car.’
    â€˜Oh dear …’
    There must be a user’s manual — Sad Words for Dummies — that tells you what you’re expected to say when someone dies. It’s all empty stuff, but there’s not much else you can say. Mum had read the manual well. She made some clicking noises with her tongue, then rattled it off.
    â€˜Was he very old?’
    â€˜Did he have any kids? A wife?’
    â€˜It’s always such a tragedy when these things happen. You wonder why it happens, and how their families cope.’
    I wanted to tell her what Cusack was like. What the cop said. What Eric said. How Bob had gone off to get the truck. How the words the body freaked me out. Like he’s not a person any more. He’s nothing. Just the body . I wanted to tell her how I felt — I couldn’t be sad for him because he was an idiot, but I knew I was sad. But was it for Cusack or for me? Death had always seemed so far off before. It only happened to other people. Before.
    Mum gave it a few moment’s silence — token respect for the dead — then pasted on a smile.
    â€˜There’s no use dwelling