The White Girl

Ruben had already given consideration to the amount the tub was worth. He’d calculated a fair price of ten shillings. “Five shillings,” was his first offer.

[…] Lamb scoffed. […] “If I didn’t drive a good price, I’d be called a fool across the district […]”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Ruben laughed.

The comment grated with Lamb. He tolerated Blackfellas who’d come off the mission and made a go of it for themselves. Many walked by his gate, some even doffing their caps as they walked by. It didn’t mean he’d tolerate cheek from them. Jed Lamb might have been a junkman, but he was also a true white man. “Don’t you be a smart-arse fella with me, Ruben. I could fetch twelve shillings for that bath tomorrow. Jesus Christ himself would tell you, you’re out to rob me.”

“Well, I’ll give you eight shillings, then,” Ruben offered.

Walking back to the track to collect her bike, Sissy puzzled over the family in the portrait. What would cause them to abandon their own home and leave all their clothes and furniture behind? She had no idea. She wondered about the two Aboriginal women. They would have been away from their own families, working for the white people. Although her grandmother never spoke to her about girls in the district who’d been taken away from their families, Sissy had heard stories about missing sisters, cousins, friends. In the schoolyard at lunchtime, they would sometimes argue over who the Welfare Board went after, the dark or fair children. They would line up from the darkest to lightest skinned. Sissy always found herself at the end of the line, not sure if she was the safest or if she might be the next child to be taken.

As she walked on, Odette started to feel stronger, as if she was being carried along by a current of water. She could hear water flowing beneath her and remembered the story her father had once told her, that water is never lost from rivers, not even when they appeared dead. Water could always return. The water is always with you, he’d said. It had made little sense to her at the time, but Odette could now hear the old people, guiding her home. They were listening to her as she anguished over what to do.

The clerk himself hesitated for a moment. Odette was sure she detected a glimpse of something more than efficiency on his face. “Your daughter—”

“I haven’t seen my daughter in over ten years,” she answered. “I’ve looked everywhere for her.”

“You would most likely be unaware, then, that your daughter, Lila May Brown, successfully applied for an exemption certificate eighteen months ago. In her application, she stated that she had no living relatives or dependents.”

The revelation shocked Odette. “Eighteen months ago?”

“Yes. At the same time, she made no mention of the child, Cecily.”

“What does that mean for us?”

“Well, essentially, your guardianship of the child is strengthened, as there is no other claim on her.”