Chapter 8 Vegemite Toast Covers All Essential Food Groups
Vegemite Toast Covers All Essential Food Groups
Heidi sat on her bunk, her possessions repacked into her backpack, ready to shift to Morgan’s place the next day.
Her cell phone rested against the wall in front of her.
On the screen, her sister Fiona had her phone propped up on the kitchen bench, and she moved in and out of camera range as she prepared sandwiches.
“I don’t know why I’m bothering with this,” Fiona said. “Teenage drama has kicked in big time, and Iza is a bloody horror these days. Most of the time, she doesn’t eat what I prepare. Pushes it aside and eats another half loaf of Vegemite toast.”
“Then don’t bother,” Heidi said. “Iza’s seeing how far she can push you. Let her get her own lunch.”
“And have her die of malnutrition? Vegemite toast, however good it tastes, isn’t high on the healthy-eating charts.”
“I wouldn’t know anymore. I can’t get it over here.”
“Once you have an address, I’ll send you a jar,” Fiona said.
“I have an address. Hang on.” Heidi dug into the pocket of her jeans until she found the scrap of paper where she’d written her new address and read it out.
“Got it. I’ll post the Vegemite later today. So, what’s the deal with the new place?”
“I’ll be sharing with one woman—Morgan. The house is really comfortable. High-end furniture and fittings. Gorgeous in a rather sterile way. No mess. Not much personality showing.”
“Maybe she cleaned up before you came around?”
“I don’t think so. It just doesn’t look lived in. I don’t think she cooks—and the kitchen is amazing. I told her I’m neat and tidy. Quiet too.”
Fiona whistled. “That’s a lot to live up to. Because you’re not exactly either.”
“I’m not the worst, and I can be house-trained. Surely it’s not that hard?”
Fiona picked up her phone and panned the camera around her kitchen.
Groceries littered the counter, an empty container of milk lay on its side, and the dishwasher stood open, half full of dirty dishes.
“Tell that to my bloody daughter. This was Home Beautiful this morning.” She crunched a carrot stick.
“What’s Morgan like as a person? She must have some vices.
Everyone does—unless they’re not actually human. ”
“I haven’t seen any yet. So far, she’s polite, rather formal. Worried I’m going to have a different hookup each night and bring them back to her house—which I won’t do, of course.”
“The hookups or bring them home?”
“Either right now. The Serena Experience has scarred me, but that will heal. After all, I’ve got no money left for anyone to steal.”
“They could kidnap you and force you to work in one of those scammer warehouses where people are made to play out romance scenarios. Maybe we need a code word. If you use it with me, I’ll call the FBI.”
“If I ever tell you about a gorgeous dress I’ve just bought—”
Fi laughed. “I’ll definitely call the FBI. Now, tell me how I’m going to survive the rest of the holidays with Iza mooching around and complaining she’s bored and why don’t we live in the city where she’d have, like, a life. Those are her words.”
“Maybe she’d like to stay with Mom and Dad for a couple of days?
” Heidi sucked at her upper lip. Fiona had it tough being a single parent of a difficult seventeen-year-old, but their parents, in their offhand way, would barely notice Iza’s presence in their house.
This could be a good thing or a bad thing.
“She’d totally run off the rails then. Our parents never exactly raised us…more threw food at us like we were pound puppies. Iza could build a bomb in the garden shed and I doubt they’d notice.”
“I constructed a still in my bedroom when I was seventeen, and they didn’t notice that for months,” Heidi said. “It was only when it leaked and went through the floor to the dining room that they thought to look.”
“Not helping.” Fiona put the phone back on the counter.
Heidi had a close up of Fi’s hands slicing tomatoes.
Fiona’s voice echoed through the line. “So, how will you pretend you’re a perfect housemate? If this Morgan is as anal as you’re implying, you won’t get away with just closing the door.”
“I’ll have to improve. It’s a gorgeous bedroom with an en suite, five minutes from the light rail which takes me to work, and there’s the cutest coffee shop on the corner.”
“Does she own the house?” Fiona asked.
Heidi sucked her lip. “You know, I didn’t ask. But I bet she does. She had this sort of proprietary air when she showed me around. She didn’t say anything about getting me added to the lease either. But, then, I am on trial. Best behavior for three weeks.”
“Longer.” Fiona’s face loomed in front of the camera for a moment.
“If she’s that neat, you’re going to have to improve, Sissy.
You’ve always been the neat one in other share houses, but that’s setting the bar really low.
We weren’t raised to be tidy children. So I guess I can’t complain that Iza is such a grub. It’s obviously in our genes.”
“I’ll behave. It won’t be so bad.”
“No not wiping the counter after you’ve cooked. Empty the washing machine when the cycle finishes, not when the next person wants to use it. Vacuum into the corners. You need to smarten up. Still, you’ve got somewhere to live; now you need a better job. One with a livable wage.”
“Yeah. I’m looking.” And since one of the sketchier customers had trailed her along the street after her shift, she was looking harder. A lot harder. “Lula’s happy in her new job. I’m hoping something will open up there.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Fiona’s phone fell to the counter face up. “Iza, I make you a healthy sandwich. Can you bloody well eat it for once?”
“It has tomato in it.” Iza said. “I’ll have Vegemite toast.”
“Just pick the tomato out.”
“Whatevs. Going to Jasper’s place to hang out.”
“Fine.” Fiona picked up the phone again, and Heidi had a sideways glimpse of her niece putting white bread into the toaster. The kilogram jar of Vegemite sat open on the bench.
Fiona waited until Iza had disappeared again before she asked, “Anything from Serena?”
“Nothing. Certainly not an email that says sorry for running out on you, and by the way, here’s your twenty grand back.”
“You’re just going to let it go?” Fiona asked. Her long hair fell over her face as she wiped the counter clear of Iza’s debris.
“What else can I do? I can’t afford to hire a PI. Her cell phone is disconnected—she must have a new number. I don’t even know what state she’s in.”
“Promise me.” Fiona’s face loomed on the screen. “Promise me you’ll look for a better job, and when you get one and can afford it, you’ll hire a PI. That was your money to start you off at college. To get you set up in in San Diego with her. I can’t believe that bitch just took it.”
“To be fair, it was partly my fault. Leaving my banking app open.”
“Heidi, stop that.” Fiona glared. “That’s like saying a woman was asking for it because she wore a short skirt.
A decent person wouldn’t have picked up your phone in the first place, wouldn’t have looked at your bank account when they found you’d left it open.
And certainly wouldn’t have transferred your money to their own account. It’s theft!”
“It is, yes, but I can’t prove it. I was logged into my account. My bank says no one else accessed my account. Therefore, I did it.”
“She’s a fucking thieving, lying bitch, and I hope she gets run over by a Walmart truck. I hope she gets eaten by a mountain lion or mauled by coyotes or her weed-slimed body is dragged out the swamp half-chewed by crocs—”
“Alligators over here. Not crocs. Don’t hold back, Fi; tell me how you really feel.”
“Maybe that is a bit harsh. But I don’t want her to get away with it. The police—”
“Say the same as the bank. I tried, Fi. I really did.”
“We’ll talk more next time. Gotta go, Heids. Gotta log on to work in five. See you.” Fiona blew her a kiss, and the call ended.
Heidi set the phone on her bed. It was always good to talk to Fi.
Out of all her siblings, she was the one she was closest to, and the only other girl.
Maybe that was part of it. Oh, she knew the three boys had her back, but Fi and her were tight.
She even missed Iza, with all her huffiness and drama.
Well, Heidi hadn’t been easy at seventeen either. Iza would settle. Eventually.
She moved the heavy pack from her bunk and tucked it underneath the bed. It was too big to fit in her locker now, but she intended to move into Morgan’s place early, before her shift at the Fly Inn.
She got into bed and pulled the covers over her head to block out the laughter and arguing from across the room, and the music from the girl in the bunk above her whose headphones weren’t as good as she thought they were.