We don’t talk about what will happen when Mum, Taylor and I move house again, but it doesn’t really matter. We keep what we can in pots and otherwise we plan the garden like it’s the only thing in the world and will be here, and ours, forever.
***
At first I think that Clem’s put his arm around me for moral support, but now I feel it propel me forward. I glare at him. ‘Traitor.’
‘Serves you right for having such little faith in me,’ he says. He gazes off the pier. ‘That’s a long way down.’
‘Shut up.’
‘I want to get ice cream first,’ says Taylor. ‘Don’t jump until I’ve got my ice cream! Okay?’
‘Okay!’
Mum glances off the side, too, frowning. ‘Is the water deep enough? She’s not going to break her neck or anything, is she?’
‘No, it’s safe,’ Mary says. She leans in very close, so that only I can hear. ‘I think, anyway.’
Monica prods Zin. ‘Dare you to jump in.’
‘As much as I love a dare, no friggin’ way. It’s as tall as a building.’ She catches my eye. ‘I mean, it’s practically that lame paddling pool Lara loves so much. Barely a puddle.’
‘Hey,’ snaps Lara.
More people come along the pier and I groan. ‘What are you lot doing here?’
‘Clem told us,’ Richard says. ‘He said there’d probably be screaming and crying. Which we obviously couldn’t miss.’
Matthew doesn’t say anything, but when Taylor hurries back and offers him some of her ice cream, he slips his arm around her shoulder and smiles. He’s been sleeping over on our couch a lot and sometimes over at Richard and Zara’s. He’s talking less and less about Adelaide.
‘C’mon,’ Mary says. ‘It’s going to be full dark soon. We haven’t got all night.’
I look down at the water. ‘It’s like a hundred metres.’
‘It’s not a hundred metres,’ says Mary. ‘It’s very definitely no more than ninety.’
‘C’mon, better make it quick,’ says Clem. ‘I hear the sharks come out after dark.’
‘I hate you all,’ I say. ‘I hate you all so much that I can’t even stand it.’
I stand there for a while longer, considering this. It’s like I can’t move. I shiver slightly and feel Clem’s arm tighten around my shoulder. ‘I can’t,’ I say. ‘No way.’
‘Bet’s a bet, Price,’ he says and nudges me towards the edge.
I jump. There’s no other choice. The water hits me like something solid, and for a moment, I can’t breathe. Then I struggle to the surface and everyone’s so high above me, and I close my eyes and think of all that air that I’ve just sliced through. ‘Traitors!’ I yell up at them.
‘I just maintained what was left of your dignity! You’re welcome!’ Clem calls. And as I’m swimming to the ladder, someone else lands in the water. And then someone else. And then someone else.
I can’t make out who they are, but it doesn’t really matter. There’s splashing and laughing. ‘I didn’t realise the beach was so close to home!’ Richard crows.
Then Mary’s next to me, cheeks red in the fading light. So similar to her broken sister and yet so different, so utterly herself. I feel a pang for Kelly. For everything I hoped she’d be and wasn’t. I think of her walled garden and overflowing fishpond and wipe salt from my eyes. I feel a pang for my dad, who loved us enough to disappear.
Do you remember the time when we all jumped off the pier at dusk?
In the end, everyone jumps in. And we’re out there, mucking around in the cool, early autumn water until all the stars come out and the streets light up.