Mountains of the Moon by I. J. Kay Page A

churches and steeples, words is dried over words on the winders, buttercups is dropping petals, lucky cos Grady chokes on his stuffing.
    Mum and me does the wishbone and I get to wish. I wishes for Big Grin after dinner.
    “The fork should be in your left hand,” Bryce says.
    They talk about gas pipes in the North Sea cos Bryce does drawings for engineers and that’s how come he works in Holland. He used to work for Bentalls, driving furniture, but Auntie Fi got a three-piece suite and Bryce got pretty larciny. Now he’s doing North Sea Gas. Mum don’t reckon the pipes will meet up, said she’d eat hay with a donkey.
    “What’s funny?” Bryce says.
    “Baby Grady,” I says.
    We all looks at him, lucky his bib is over his face, got the mouth hole sucked right in like a ghost.
    I washes up, dries up, cleans the cooker, wipes the cupboards, sweeps the floor, clears the table quick ready for when I arsts to go out.
    “Get the Monopoly,” Mum says.
    I int going NO where.
    “I’ll be the banker—and the Car,” Bryce says.
    Pip’s the Iron.
    “I’ll be the Boot,” Mum says. “Whoever the shoe shall fit I’ll marry the boot.” She always does Cinderella wrong. Game is good til I get Mayfair and Bryce tips the board over. No one don’t say nothing. Then Baby Grady laughs like a best joke ever and Sheba comes out from under the sofa, does swirls on money and hotels. I try to make polite.
    “How long is you home for?” I arsts Bryce.
    “How long
are
you home for,” he says.
    “She speaks badly on purpose,” Mum says, “just to show me up.”
    “I’m amazed she gets to talk at all with you around,” Bryce says.
    I take Baby Grady up to bed quick cos Mum int going to leave it at that.
    Downstairs words is swarming. I has to stay wake for school case I misses it, cos done the story what I promised Miss Connor. One time she read my story out in class, reckons I got a good way of putting things. I done her a new bit same, bout the Mountins of the Moon. I read it to Baby Grady and he went sleep. Downstairs things get louder and smash. Mum’s screaming. I get out of bed and listen at the top of the stairs. It don’t sound like joking. It int joking cos now she is screaming for me. I run downstairs and push the back-room door.
    “Shut it! Shut it! Shut it!” Looks like rabies and his shirt is off, case he gets the blood all on it. He loosens his hands on her throat, to see if she’s learned yet.
    “Feel like a man, do y—” Her words get wrung out.
    He turns to throw her on the floor. Never seen Sheba’s teefs fore, not proper, nose is wrinkled and fangs is out, she’s brave but scared and comes forward like to bite him. That’s how come he kicks her. She goes up like a terrible pain and down the wall in the corner, lampshade comes down. Sound comes from her, int proper, int proper like her lungs is stabbed. She tries for standing up but only her front legs is working. Shewants to get in the garden, I try to help her out but she growls like she don’t know me.
    “Shut your fucking mouth, fucking shut it, shut it!”
    Mum smashes over the table and everything is crashing and screaming.
    Sheba falls down the back step, drags long the path. Sound from her int proper, like her lungs is stabbed. Underneath the elderberry she tries to do a swirl but falls over like a person dying. I tell her sorry with my eyes, feels like what they done to Jesus. I hears glass smashing in the house, Mum screaming gain.
    “Lulu! Lulu! Help! Help me!”
    They roll around on the kitchen floor, fighting and biting and slipping on blood; don’t know whose it is. Mum’s hair is twisted like a long thick rope, that’s how come he swings her around and bashes her head on the corner of the oven door. I get past them, does 999 but no one talks quick enough and Bryce pulls the phone out of the wall. Mum’s eyes say Do Something Quick cos now her hair is around her neck and her face is purple, strangled to death. I jump on his