Unhooking the Moon Read Online Free PDF

was still shaking slightly but she took a breath. Dad held her until the pain left her face and then he held her some more. ‘It’s all over now, sweetheart.’ He said kissing her on the side of the head. ‘And you were such a brave girl.’
    She blinked as she tried to refocus and tears ran down her cheeks. ‘I’m surrounded by monsters. But a warrior in black comes to my rescue. He has silver swords and he fights to protect me.’
    â€˜You’ve had too much sun,’ I said. But it’s not the sun. It’s whatever plagues her. They’re like fits and when they happen she says the spookiest things. The doctor said she’s not epileptic and he couldn’t find anything else wrong with her. He wanted her to see a specialist in Vancouver, but she wouldn’t go. The Rat hates hospitals.
    â€˜What about me?’ asked Dad. ‘Don’t I fight for you?’
    Her face was pale but her eyes returned to near normal. ‘You always fight for me, Dad.’
    â€˜And I always will,’ said the Old Man, smoothing his hand over her forehead. She tried to sit up. ‘Slowly, Marie Claire.’ Dad helped her sit on the bench by Harold and sitting next to her he held her close.
    Harold took hold of her hand. ‘You were really brave, Marie Claire.’
    Dad kissed her again. ‘Wasn’t she, Harold? She’s always been a brave girl.’
    We were quiet for a time, nothing but the buzzing bugs to disturb the silence. I stood there feeling awkward. I felt bad for her, but there wasn’t much we could do except wait for her to recover. She laid her head against Dad’s chest like a child who had just woken up. ‘Them Gaillardia’s are coming up nice,’ she said.
    â€˜Not as nice as you,’ said Dad. ‘You’re nicer than any flower that’s ever lived.’
    After a few minutes she pulled away from Dad and sat up. Then she stood up. ‘I’m fine now. It’s OK, Bob, I’ll get the lemonade.’
    â€˜You sure you don’t want to lie down, honey?’
    â€˜I’m OK, Dad.’
    She walked back to the house with the Old Man following.
    â€˜She’ll be OK, Harold. It wasn’t too bad.’
    But who was I kidding? I was as worried as the Old Man.

Chapter Three
    The rising sun diminished my dreams like the dew and my thoughts turned to Miss Gabriela Felipe Mendez, a student teacher on loan from Puerto Rico. I would be starting a new school in the fall and so this would be our last class together. I had become quite fond of Gabriela over the last couple of months and she was fond of me, at least I think she was.
    â€˜Fly Me To The Moon’ blasted up the stairs and I ran to beat the Rat to the bathroom. I sang along with Frank as I showered and gave my hair a second wash. Then dressed in my best jeans and T-shirt, I trotted down the stairs. The Rat scurried past me. She was in the school play and she’d been looking forward to it for weeks. She was still a little kid really. She still gets excited over things like the school play.
    That’s why she was wearing her Armani dress, which she was very proud of and usually only wore on Sundays. One of the women in the Red Cross hadbought it for her for collecting so much money for the African Appeal. The Rat was as good as a debt collector when it came to collecting money. Most of the volunteers would stand to one side and ask for a discreet donation. Not the Rat, she’d run up to them rattling her tin in their faces. She was a proper little extortionist and I think she embarrassed some people. But it was for a good cause, I suppose.
    Breakfast was over in a flash and we were out the door and pedalling away before ‘My Way?’ was finished; ‘Watch out for the paedophiles,’ fading behind us. We didn’t sit on our seats until we reached the train tracks. But we stopped when a Northern Harrier plunged into the Indian