Message in a bottle for Trevor. Installment 2

By Saturday I had gone through the whole gamut (means a whole lot, I read a whole lot so I know some big words!) of emotions.

At first I was wildly excited. I imagined meeting the Johnson family and going surfing immediately. Not that I can surf very well! I’m a beginner actually so I’m also worried about that.

My aunt Sarah begged me to calm down. So I did and by Wednesday I was in depression because of course they would think I was a ‘nerd, a twerp, a drop out’. What was there to like about me?

On Friday depression’s best friend moved in and despair came to stay.
They would never like me let alone take me surfing! I had so calmed down under her instructions that Sarah feared that I was going to refuse to go to the lunch to meet this family. It all seemed to be too much.

She just hugged me as tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes and I stood stiff as a ramrod trying to control my emotions. It’s so hard being a boy of nearly 15. Got to be manly and all that. But Sarah’s great and when she cries (a lot it seems to me) she says a hug from me makes it all ok. It seems to work for me too. She’s gives good hugs, quick and to the point. Not all mushy.

Anyhow Saturday arrived and we went in Myra’s car ‘cos we are waiting for a good second hand car before we buy one. I hope it’s red and looks sporty.

Straight away I liked the pack of dogs that greeted us at the big gate when we arrived. The tails were swirling and tongues were flapping and the noise! It was great.

Then Bill I guessed and two younger versions of him were in among the hullabaloo, yelling and opening the gate and hauling on the doors of the car. One of the younger versions yanked me out of the back seat and gave me a firm hug and a ‘hello bro’ and his lookalike (twins I saw immediately) slapped my back and offered his knuckled fist for me to touch. Oh wow it felt like a sort of secret society…..a brotherhood sort of and all my fears, embarrassment and depression fell away.

Bill, as old as my dad would have been had he been with us, held me the longest and the smell of him was just grand. He then held me at arm’s length by my shoulders and looked into my eyes and said, ‘you’ll do Trev my man.’
We all stood there laughing and suddenly Jane, Bill’s wife and their daughter of 12, Nellie, were in the mix and we all started laughing. Just standing there like crazy people, just laughing and the women were wiping tears from their eyes.

This time I stood with the men and I just sniffed hard and no tears came, thank goodness.

‘Food,’ yelled Bill junior, called Billy Bob and his 15 year old twin, Gary shouted, ‘Coke,’ and I was taken out to a lapha thatched place where a pizza oven stood hot and smoking slightly. Ice clinked in our glasses as we touched them together and toasted ‘to surfing!’ We laughed some more!

Suddenly there was a spout of water from the pool. It was Nellie.

Greg the second twin threw some swimming baggies at me and said, ‘last one in is a ‘vrot banana’ like a kid. I found a bathroom, got into baggies that fitted me just fine when I tightened the waist string and thank goodness (again!) I wasn’t the ‘vrot banana.’ (Vrot means bad in their second language, Afrikaans.)

I swim and dive ok and we had the best time especially as Olga their boxer dived in with us after her ball so it was ‘all systems GO’ in the fun department. Nellie is obviously a tomboy and is not to be left out of any dare. She can even swim the length of the pool underwater.

‘Man you must come to our school, JB Boys’ High, and play underwater hockey. Great fun man!’ announced Greg. ‘You’re a good swimmer and with training you’ll learn to hold your breath and swim underwater,’ he said shaking the water out of his eyes.

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‘Come on…… time to decorate your pizza,’ shouted Nellie from the lapha, her curls a wet mass down her back.

THAT was also the best fun. Bill rolled the dough out expertly, showed off by twirling it in the air on his well practised hands and put it on the floured steel table in front of me and said ‘go wild kiddo’.
And I did! I smeared on the tomato base, then bits of chopped ham, salami, olives (my favourite like Jane) pineapple (which made Billy Bob gag) and lots of grated Mozarella cheese.

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Then the joy of watching it bubble in the eye of the pizza oven and even better when Bill used the silver spade thingy to scoop it out onto my waiting board. I sliced it with a special blade cutter. Oh the deliciousness of that first oozy, cheesy, stringy bite. Mmmmmmm I’ll never forget it.

With ice cream cones in our hands with a Boston terrier on my lap I felt an explosion of happiness that I’d hadn’t felt in what seemed like a very long time. I looked at Bill and Jane together as he dabbed her nose with ice cream and thought of my mom and dad and for the first time ever I didn’t have that ghastly burny feeling in my nose.
I was so tired of feeling sad and for the first time saw the hope of a new day, a new life (that Sarah and I had discussed often but I had never really believed in) bubbling up inside me.

When Bill clapped his hands and announced ‘family gathering and pow wow,’ I
felt awkward and strange for a second until he touched my aunt’s shoulder and patted Myra’s and nodded at me with a big smile. ‘Yes, you guys………….family. Charge your glasses and Gary topped our glasses up with Coke and something diet related for the ladies.

‘I propose a toast,’ Bill said seriously, ‘we welcome you Sarah and Trevor to South Africa and to Myra too as a brand new friend. We, as a family draw you in as a surrogate family and if you will allow us, will do our best to help you settle in and make a home here in Durban.’ Then he dropped a bombshell that exploded in my heart, soul and mind and I looked anxiously at my Aunt Sarah to see her reaction………

‘ As you are obviously brand new and trying to make decisions we,’ and Jane nodded vigorously, ‘are offering you the use of the cottage,’ and he swung his arm over the pool wall to where I could see a tiled roof sticking out, ‘for as long as you need.’

Across the crowded space of bodies, dogs, pizza remains I saw the grinning faces of the kids, but most of all my eyes connected with Sarah’s and my heart, burst with emotion.
I simply could not read her reaction.’

This time my eyes just filled with tears as I feared what she was about to say.

Read the next installment to find out what Sarah said.