Millie and the Night Heron Read Free

needs CHANGE in her life.
    > She should get out in the world more.
    > I hope you’re not feeling DEPRESSED
    > about all this, Millie. Don’t become
    > one of those american girls on ANTI-
    > DEPRESSANTS, for heaven’s sake. Life
    > is GOOD.
    >
    > I think you both should MOVE, meet
    > NEW people, start a NEW life. Give
    > your mother a HUG from me. She is one
    > of my FAVOURITE people in the world
    > and I MISS her. You are my MOST
    > FAVOURITE. That goes without saying.
    >
    > LOTS OF LOVE
    > patrick.
    >

    It was a typical Patrick email. He wrote emails the way he talked.
    â€˜So,’ Mum said later, eating pizza, ‘what’s on the house meeting agenda?’ She was wearing her rosebud dress and she’d clipped a flower in her hair. I was wearing my denim skirt with the new top, which was very groovy. It had a picture of an Indiangoddess on it and the front of it was my favourite colour—a greeny blue, a little like the ocean.
    â€˜I miss you,’ I said. ‘You’re not like you used to be when Sheri lived with us.’
    â€˜I’ve been working,’ Mum said. ‘I thought if I really got stuck into work, I’d feel better, you know?’
    â€˜And do you?’
    â€˜Well, sort of,’ Mum said, ‘but not entirely. I miss Sheri, but I think it’s more than that. I feel there’s a hole in my life. I haven’t just been working. I’ve been re-assessing and I’ve applied for a job.’
    â€˜You’ve got a job,’ I said. ‘You make art.’
    â€˜I’ll always make art, but making art isn’t enough for me. I need a job. I need to get out more. I think we need to move. A bigger place. Somewhere with a proper gallery. I don’t want to move back to the city, it’s too expensive. But I want a change of scenery.’
    â€˜But I like this scenery,’ I said. ‘I like where we live. I like this town.’
    â€˜It’s all going to be different for you next year, anyway,’ Mum said calmly.
    I couldn’t see how she could go on just eating her pizza like that as though everything was okay. My mouth felt all dry and my stomach was wobbling. I could hardly eat another piece. I ate itanyway. It was Kate-and-Millie’s Special with extra cheese and extra olives.
    â€˜So what’s the job?’
    â€˜Head of the Art Department at Wetlands TAFE.’
    â€˜Where’s that?’
    â€˜About 150 kilometres down the coastline,’ Mum said, ‘I thought we’d go and have a look next weekend. My interview is Monday week. I gather they are pretty desperate for someone to take over.’
    â€˜Take over?’
    â€˜The Art Department, darling. Just think, if I get the job I’ll be head of the Art Department.’
    â€˜What about me?’ I wailed. ‘What about this house? What about school next year? What about Frannie and Carina? They’re my best friends in the world and I won’t ever see them again. Have you even thought of me?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Mum said, glaring at me, ‘of course I have. Millie, it’s going to be hard for you, I know that. But you will make new friends. You have a huge capacity for friendship. And think, Sweetie, Frannie is going to Our Lady’s next year and Carina is moving back to the city. You know that.’
    â€˜I could still see them,’ I whined.
    â€˜You can still see them when, if we move. Think of having real money. Think of exploring a newplace. Anyway, Millie, I haven’t even got the job yet. I think I’m a good artist, and I am a good art teacher, but I have never been head of any department, so I probably won’t get a look in.’
    I hardly slept all that night. Mum said it was a mixture of indigestion and watching Buffy too late at night, but it was really the idea of moving. I hated it.

CHAPTER
THREE

    We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, with views, the brochure read, of spectacular mountain