I heave him off and open the car door. My shoulder kills. The house is in total darkness. “Carry Seth in for me, will you, Bails?” says Mum and she hurries up the front steps. “Come on, Batman,” I say. “Time for bed.” Without opening his eyes, Seth climbs into my arms. I groan under his weight as I swing him out of the car. “The front door’s been left wide open,” Mum calls. “Amelia would forget her head if it wasn’t screwed on,” says Gran with fake levity, breaking into a slow run to join Mum who is stopped, hesitating, at the front door. Gran pushes past Mum and flicks on the light switch. “Amelia, are you up?” she calls. I lug Seth up the verandah steps and follow Mum and Gran inside. Asleep, the kid’s a dead weight. I am just delivering him into bed when I hear Mum’s panicked voice. “She’s not in her room.” Followed by the rush of footsteps thudding back downstairs. “Amelia! Where are you? Amelia!” I close Seth’s door behind me and join Gran and Mum as they flick on light switches and tear around the house in search of Amelia.
What do You think about Portraits Of Celina (2013)?
