Silver

Chapter 19 - then

'Sylvie, it's 10 o'clock. Do you want to come to the open for inspection with me?'

Dad's voice jolted me out of my sleep. I hadn't spoken to him since their big announcement. I raised my head off the pillow to have a look at him. He was standing with one hand on the doorknob, one foot in the room, one foot in the hallway, as if hedging his bets.

'Whose house is it?'

My father follows any house that comes up for sale by six key architects that built homes on the Mornington Peninsula in the 1950s. He doesn't intend to buy any of these homes, but it's the only opportunity he gets to have a good look inside.

'It's a Justin Moore. In Mt Martha.'

I'd seen two other Justin Moore homes and I really liked them both. Moore was the opposite to my father, in that he valued what could be found locally more than what could be imported from overseas. One house I saw was surrounded by long thin, knobbly ti-trees. I loved the way the design was happy with their imperfections.

'Don't worry, you can still be shitty with me,' dad said, knowing what was holding me back.

'Do I reserve the right to be silent?'

'Absolutely,' he backed out the door, saying, 'you've got twenty minutes to get ready.'

'It better be worth it,' I mumbled under my breath, knowing I'm a sucker when it comes to my dad.