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Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

‘You looked worried,’ she said.

The boy nodded and took another sip; it was less sharp and sweeter this time, and he took another sip and looked around the kitchen. The sideboard was huge, big plates were stacked on it like at his mother’s. He could see out into the backyard through the window over the sink, there were gold light globes on a long cord hanging like bunches of grapes. He shifted to the side to see more out the window.

‘Do you want to have a look outside?’ The boy nodded. ‘Bring your glass.’

The boy slid from the chair holding his glass out in front of him like a precious jewel. Mrs Leggett walked before him to the passageway and held the flyscreen door open. He walked through onto the verandah. The lights started on one end of the verandah, went out into the yard to a post, made a line across the back of the lawn to another post and then back to the other side of the verandah. There had to be twenty or more; he would count them if he got a chance. They were lights like the sideshows use but he’d never seen them in a backyard before. He wondered if they had shows out here.

After the Royal Show had come to his country town, he and his brother put one of his father’s tow ropes between two pear trees in their backyard. They tried to walk it like they saw in the show, but close to the lawn. One time they had put chairs up and their mother and father watched them. Only trouble was, neither he nor his brother were able to stay on, even though they had nearly walked to the middle another time. Not ready to leave home yet, his father had said. He hadn’t left home and didn’t want to. That was years ago. There were thirty-one lights and some big trees where you could put a tightrope.

‘Have a look at this,’ Mrs Leggett said, and the boy followed her to another shelter that had a Tilley lamp glowing. Moths were circling around the lamp, some were lying still at the its base, others were flipping and flapping. They had got too close, they would still be there in the morning, dead. A shiver went through him.

‘Are you cold?’ the woman asked.

The boy shook his head and he went into the shelter and looked up at the branches all packed and tied. He wondered if the spindly man did it, he knew his father could make this if he told him. He would tell him about the lights, too. He imagined what their backyard would be like with gold lights hanging like grapes.

‘Take a seat,’ the lady said to him and he pushed himself onto a chair. ‘Would you like some more ginger beer?’ He nodded, yes. She smiled at him and walked back to the house.