Free The Smell of Apples: A Novel by Mark Behr Page B

home I remember about the snoek. We want to turn back at first, but then I say we might as well send Doreen. We can ask her to get bait for us at the same time.
    Before supper Frikkie and I are in the kitchen with Mum. Mum is telling Doreen how to prepare the vegetables to go with the snoek. Doreen was all fat-lipped when I asked her to go to the harbour for the snoek. Mum says Doreen is worried about Little-Neville. He didn't arrive on this morning's train. But Mum says she's sure there's nothing to be concerned about; Doreen probably got the

    Mark Behr
    dates mixed up. She should go to the station again tomorrow, but for now she should be calm and relaxed because worrying only makes one age before one's time.
    I tell Mum that the Kemps are moving into town and that Mister Kemp is going to work for the post office or for the railways.
    'That's like music to my ears/ says Mum, and she looks up from the roses and the little white flowers she's arranging for the supper-table. Light from the sunset has turned the kitchen a light pink, and Mum's green eyes look even greener than usual.
    'At least little Zelda will get the chance of going to university now. The government looks after our people.' Mum says they can take everything away from you except your education. That's the one thing no one can ever take from you.
    Before sending us out to shower before supper, Mum says:
    'We have a guest from America, Frikkie. He is Mister Smith. You and Marnus must use our bathroom tonight, OK?'
    'Ja, TanmeJ he answers. Mum smiles at Frikkie and ruffles his hair with her hand.
    'Well, you go along and shower. Marnus can go when you're finished. And Frikkie - don't forget to wash behind your ears!'
    While I'm waiting for Frikkie to have his shower, Dad and the General come in through the front door. I kiss Dad and say good evening to the General. When Frikkie's done, Dad and I take our shower together.
    Dad's whole chest and stomach are covered with hair and his John Thomas hangs out from a bushy black forest. Once, after we heard that hair down there grows quicker if you shave it, Frikkie used his father's razor to shave off all

    The Smell of Apples
    the fluff around his John Thomas. I almost shaved off mine as well, but then Frikkie got a terrible rash that made him walk around scratching like a mangy dog, so I decided not to. And, anyway, Dad might have seen it when we took our shower and he would have had a good laugh at me for being so silly.
    Between soaping and washing our hair, Dad asks: c So tell Dad, does that little man of yours stand up yet sometimes in the mornings?'
    Whenever Dad asks me that I get all shy, so I just laugh up into his face without really answering. I saw Frikkie's standing right out of his pyjama pants one morning, but mine doesn't really do it yet.
    I learned from Dad to first dry myself almost completely while I'm still in the shower cubicle. Otherwise it gets the tiles on the bathroom floor wet, and that makes unnecessary work for Mum and Doreen. When we've finished drying ourselves off, we tie the towels around our waists and I Comb my hair in a side parting just like Dad's.
    It's impossible to sleep for long. The sound of helicopters keeps you awake. Even when you do manage to doze, they somehow manage to make themselves heard in your subconscious.
    I must have slept for a while, because when I come to, I remember that I've been dreaming. Only a vague memory remains. Me, with someone else, galloping down a dry river-bed on horseback. We're chasing something across the sand, but I don't know what. It feels as though we're laughing, and I can see his teeth against his dark skin. It seems strangely familiar, and I try to remember, but the sound of a helicopter, just north of us, forces my attention back.

    Mark Behr
    We're still waiting for the command, and for food. For another two days we should manage to hold out, but after that we must get new ratpacks. Sometimes, when I get up from the ground too quickly,