Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
A n hour and twenty minutes later, I was in Te Puke, greeted by a giant kiwi fruit sliced in half – the one Jack had told me about – and for a moment my anger subsided when I remembered why I was there, to be with Jack again. Then the anger returned and I was filled with rage about what Eve had done – the story about her parents, her brother in America, my bloody wallet. How did she think I would get anywhere? How did she think I would get to Jack?
Pip dropped me off at the end of a dirt track that led to a field and all I could see was a sea of green – rows and rows of kiwi-fruit trees. He’d said goodbye and wished me luck and I still wasn’t sure if he’d been a part of it all – perhaps they were a brother-sister double act – but what did it really matter? I was there now and I was hellbent on getting my wallet back.
I could hear voices in the distance, and as I got closer I could see people scattered about the green rows, their backs arched, their heads up facing the vines as they pulled the kiwi fruits and let them fall to the ground. This was kiwi-fruit thinning. I only knew that because Jack had told me at quiz night when Una had gone on and on about him being a kiwi fruit. He said they left the good ones on the vines and let the bad ones (the wrong size and shape) fall. Any that didn’t measure up, ended up on the ground, which seemed like a crazy waste of kiwi fruits to me – why did it matter what shape they were? They all came out the same way.
The sound of crickets filled my ears, or something like that, I wasn’t sure what the noise was to be honest, but it was deafening and all around me. It wasn’t until I got closer to the trees that I saw them clinging to the branches – giant bright green bugs that stuck half out of brown shell-like bodies, like they were mid-hatching. I pulled out my phone, zoomed in, and took a photo, then scrolled to Niall’s number.
What the hell is this?
I attached the picture.
He took a moment to reply.
Looks like a cicada to me.
Do they bite? There are loads of them here.
No.
Why is it coming out of its own body?
They live under the ground as nymphs.
Do they come out all horny then?!
What do you mean?
Nymphs! Like nymphomaniacs?
No, they come out after nine years and then leave their old-self behind – they’ve been around since the dinosaur period.
So are they mini dinosaurs?
No.
I like the idea of them leaving their old self behind. They’re a bit like me.
Why would you want to leave your old-self behind?
It’s just a metaphor. I was there, now I’m here…
How’s ‘here’ going for you?
Not great at the moment.
How come?
My wallet was stolen.
Oh no, what happened?
I got a lift from a girl and she stole it. But I’m going to get it back.
How are you going to do that?
I don’t know, I haven’t thought that bit through yet. Probably break into her van as I’ve found out where she works.
That’s illegal, Pearl, you can’t do that.
Stealing someone’s wallet is illegal, Niall.
Be careful.
I will. How’s the shop going and the new girl?
It’s all good, she’s fine.
Not as good as me?
She’s quieter.
I’m not loud.
You talk a lot.
I’m interesting.
That’s one word for it.
Thanks a lot. I’d better let you get back to it.
Yep, me too. Goodnight.
Goodnight?
It’s four in the morning.
Oh, shit, sorry! Why isn’t your phone on silent?
Just in case.
In case of what?
Let me know when you get your wallet back.
I will, thanks, Niall. Night-night.
Night.
* * *
I saw the hubcaps of Eve’s van first. They stuck out the same way the cicadas did. Luckily, I didn’t have to walk through the actual orchard – that would have been tricky with my massive bag on my back, and there was no way I would risk leaving it behind in case Eve came along and decided to take it as well.
I crept up beside the van and pressed my hands against the glass. I couldn’t see my wallet; it might not even be in there. I tried the door, but it was locked. I thought about smashing a window but even if no one heard it, the guilt of broken glass and Eve getting hurt stopped me.
When Una and I used to break into Niall’s house (before it was his house) we used sticks to prise the widows open and then hoisted each other inside, like in the movies. I scurried around for a stick, a branch, anything I could get my hands on to help me. There were plenty, but every one of them snapped.
I picked up my phone again.
Niall?
He texted back straight away.
Are you ok?
Sorry. I just don’t know how to get into the van without smashing the window?
You can’t do that.
I know, I’m not going to, but how do I get in?
You could just go and find her and ask for it back?
If she’s the sort of person who could steal someone’s wallet, I don’t think she’s just going to give it back.
Is it an old van?
Yes, like a transit.
Does it have windows at the back? Sliding ones on the sides?
Yes.
OK, great. Do the windows have a rubber edge around them?
I scanned the windows.
Yes.
Have you still got the keyring I gave you?
Yes.
See if you can slip it under the rubber to catch the window edge, and then use your fingers to slide it back. Let me know if it works.
Thanks, Niall.
Good luck.
I’d attached the key ring to the side pocket of my bag because I liked the way it glinted in the sun. I was full of adrenaline at the thought of getting caught – not by Eve but someone else, someone who didn’t know my story or why I was doing what I was doing. I was trespassing, after all, and now I was breaking into a van.
I worked quickly; sliding the woodlouse’s bottom underneath the rubber edge until I could feel the resistance of the window. Then I lifted it as much as I could until I could get my fingertips in place to pull it with force. And that’s what I did. I yanked it so hard that I almost broke the entire window and then slid it open enough to get my hand inside so that I could pull the latch of the door open.
‘YES!’ I shouted but then recoiled straight after, checking that nobody had heard me.
I couldn’t waste any time. I put the keyring in my back pocket and climbed into the front of Eve’s van. I pulled the glove compartment open because that was the most obvious place to look for a wallet but of course it wasn’t in there and then I remembered Eve’s cupboard above the driver’s seat. I jerked it open.
There it was, my wallet, next to the stuffed cat and a Polaroid camera (that was probably stolen too).
‘Bloody cow,’ I said under my breath.
I grabbed my wallet, opened it and scanned the inside. The cash had gone but my cards were there. I shoved it into my back pocket, reached for the door handle but then stopped before I got out.
And do you know what I did? I turned around and opened the cupboard, pulled out the camera and Eve’s stuffed cat, lifted it to my cheek so that we were side by side and took a photo.
Then I left the photo in the cupboard and took the stuffed cat with me.