Free Monkey Grip by Helen Garner

through the heavy doors into the bar.
    â€˜They’re in the pen.’
    â€˜ What? ’
    He took hold of my elbow and pushed me gently into a chair. He fixed me with the unmistakable eyes of his family: Martin’s eyes.
    â€˜They got busted in Bangkok.’
    â€˜ What for? ’
    â€˜Stealing a pair of sunglasses.’
    My stomach started to roll.
    â€˜Oh, come on. Sunglasses. It was dope, wasn’t it. Come on, Jules – you can tell
me,
for Christ’s sake.’
    â€˜I know I can. No. I actually believe it
was
the sunglasses.’
    â€˜What’s the bail?’ Incredulously I heard myself asking all the correct questions, in my sensible voice; but somewhere in the back of the world I could hear Javo’s voice, or something that sounded like it, calling me: ‘ Nora! ’
    â€˜A thousand American. Each.’
    â€˜ Each? You’re not bullshitting me, are you?’
    â€˜Would I? Look, Nora – anyone in jeans in South East Asia these days would cop that much bail.’
    I kept grinning, with shock, and the irony.
    â€˜What are we going to do?’
    â€˜Is there any way you can get the money together for Javo?’
    The backs of my hands started to prickle. I was laughing on the other side of my face.
    â€˜A thousand bucks ? Are you kidding?’ Stupid tears came into my eyes.
    â€˜OK – OK.’ He held out his hand to calm me. ‘I’ll ask father.’
    â€˜Does he know?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜How did he take it?’
    â€˜Pretty cool, really. He’s used to Martin.’ He gave a shrug and a crooked smile.
    â€˜But what about the junk? He can’t avoid finding out about that, can he?’
    â€˜I guess not. He got used to it, all right, when I was down there coming off, myself, a while ago. It’s amazing what they can handle, if you tell them the truth.’ He turned the glass of scotch in his thin, brown hands. ‘You probably won’t like this much, but it’s karma, you know. What you give out, you get back. It manifests itself clearer in Asia than anywhere else.’
    We said goodbye at the foot of the escalators. He changed hands with his bag and I hugged him and he held me tightly with one arm. I could feel his thin body inside his too-big, respectable clothes.
    From outside our back gate I could hear the music. I walked into the kitchen with the car keys in my hand, and found Georgie bopping to himself in front of the mirror. Clive was hanging over a frying pan on the stove. Eve came in and saw my face. Her gat-toothed smile of greeting faded.
    â€˜What’s happened?’
    â€˜Javo and Martin’ve been busted.’
    Everyone stood still. The music clamoured in the room.
    â€˜Turn that fuckin’ record down, Georgie,’ said Eve. Georgie’s mouth was open. Clive ran into the next room and the house was suddenly full of silence.
    â€˜Here, Nor, sit down.’ Eve put on the kettle and reached for the packet of Drum. I told them what I knew. Clive stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders. I must have looked green.
    â€˜They’ve done it this time,’ I kept repeating idiotically. ‘They’ve blown it.’
    In the middle of a night Martin’s phone call came. When I recognised his voice, unreachable and yet close enough to touch, I broke out in sweat all over my body.
    â€˜Nora? How you doin'?’
    â€˜I’m all right, mate. What the fuck have you been up to?’
    â€˜Got sprung, I guess.’
    I couldn’t believe how casual he sounded. His laugh came crackling down the wire. But I knew that fleeting manner of Martin’s, how his eyes would slide sideways to dodge the direct question. I could have screamed with the tension.
    â€˜How’s Gracie? Tell her I’ve got her a present.’ He was maddeningly casual, almost debonair.
    â€˜ Listen , Martin, will you? How’d you get out? Where’s