Page 148 of Just Watch Me
She went into Scarlett’s room, though, once she had the little ones settled. Olive was already asleep, but Scarlett was awake and reading a book. She lowered it when Skylar came in, though, and asked, “Did you come to yell at me?”
“No,” Skylar said, sitting on the twin bed beside her. “I came to see how you’re going. It was an upsetting day.”
“Yeh,” Scarlett said, and then nothing else.
“You’re loyal to your dad,” Skylar said, choosing her words carefully. “Loyalty’s a beautiful thing. You also stand up for what you believe, and that’s important, too.”
“Dad says, ‘Kaua e mate wheke, me mate ururoa.’”
“Don’t die like an octopus,” Skylar translated. “Die like a hammerhead shark. Go down fighting, I guess.”
“Yeh. Because he’s Maori, and so am I.”
“Is this what you’d like to have done, then? Thinking about it now?”
“Not really,” Scarlett said. “I haven’t done it before, not for … for real. I get angry sometimes, but I don’t want tohurtpeople. I wanted tothen,though. It made me filthy when they said that about Dad.”
“It wasn’t true, though, and you knew it. He isn’t a dirty player. Rugby’s a rough game, that’s all, and people get hurt.”
“Even when somebody makes a high tackle or something,” Scarlett said, “they hardly ever mean to. Dad says that when things are moving that fast, it’s hard to get everything exactly right, no matter how hard you try. But that you have to try your hardest anyway. And if you do get a yellow card, you practice that skill so it doesn’t happen again.”
“And you think he’ll do that now,” Skylar said, “if that wasn’t just a terrible accident. If there was something he could’ve done to avoid it.”
“Of course he will,” Scarlett said. “He always does. You can’t be the skipper if you don’t try the hardest.”
“Then,” Skylar said, “how much does it matter if people say rubbish things?”
“Oh.” Scarlett thought about that for a minute. “I guess it shouldn’t as much? Dad says there can be heaps of sledging during the match, but you almost always forget it as soon as the game’s over. Sometimes people get a hot head, but once you have a beer and a laugh together, it’s over. I don’t see how you do that if you’re really angry, but it must be true, because you’re not allowed to hit each other in rugby, at least not real hitting. You can push and shove a bit, but that’s all. Or you don’t just get a yellow card, you get aredcard, and you’re out.”
“They must have come up with ways to discipline their emotions, I reckon,” Skylar said, “so they don’t cross the line even when they’re hot like that. Maybe you can ask your Dad when he comes home. Another type of coaching, eh. He’d be the one to tell you.”
“OK.” Scarlett yawned. “That sounds like a good idea. But I’m still not sorry I hit them.”
Skylar smiled. “I know. But you may want to find a better way, if only so you don’t have to pick up more rubbish.” She hesitated, then gave Scarlett a kiss on the forehead and smoothed her hair back. She knew how many times she’d wished for somebody to do that with her before she’d met Zane, and how protected she felt when he did it. “You’re a strong girl,” she told Scarlett. “A brave girl. You’ll work this out. I have faith in you.”
“Thanks,” Scarlett said. “I was glad you came today. And I was really glad Finlay helped me. It was kind of like … more whanau.”
Surely Skylar’s heart couldn’t hold all this emotion. “Yeh,” she said. “Exactly. Get some sleep now, and I’ll see you in the morning. Every day’s a new beginning. That’s the good thing about mornings.”
56
MOMENT OF TRUTH
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
Was there any less welcome sound than your phone when you were sleeping the sleep of the just at last? Zane ignored at as long as he could, then rolled over, sat up, grabbed the phone off the nightstand, and looked. Then he swung out of bed.
“Yeh?” he said, running his hand over his face and wishing he felt half-awake.
“Mate,”came the protest from the other bed. Colin Stallworth, his roomie, had rolled in sometime around two and was probably feeling none too flash right now.
Zane shut the bathroom door, dropped the toilet lid, and sat on it. “Skylar?” he said, trying for a cheerfulness he didn’t feel. “Hi.”
“Can you talk?” she asked.
“In the bathroom. Long as I keep it down, I can. What is it? Kids OK?”
“Of course they are. I’m calling to find out ifyou’reOK.”
