Like a garden stake you could shape into a frame for a photo of your boat and its perfectly perched statue to put on the wall of your very special bedroom Like a periscope you could unfold out the window of your very special bedroom when your house started moving in the middle of the night an unusually extra long periscope that unfolded out and down and past the floor so that even from upstairs Bella could see all the way down to a pair of spindly pink legs underneath Like those things and so many more Grandad had a knack for that of always having just the right thing at just the right time He was the same with birthday presents always giving Bella strange and unexpected things that turned out one day to be unexpectedly and completely perfect Just for once she wanted to do the same for him She took another bite of doughnut and chewed slowly Then she looked up and met his eyes Grandad what would you say was your absolute best birthday ever Well let’s see Grandad stroked his moustache Was it last year you gave me your biggest brightest smile Or was that the year before Grandad Bella grinned But then she saw his gaze shift Not a lot but a little Almost so little you might not notice it unless you were a girl who knew her grandfather better than anyone in the world He was looking past her and inside to where a picture hung on the lounge room wall And Bella didn’t need to look to know what it was because she had the same one on the wall in her bedroom It was a photo of his old boat with the three of them on board Bella and Grandad and Grandma too
At once the feeling of that day washed over her The waves were gentle the water clear as glass The sun was warm and a cool breeze tickled around them They dropped anchor off a quiet beach on a little island and a friendly seal swam right up to the boat They sang Happy Birthday and ate cake even though they were going to do it again that night with Mum and Dad It was the last time they had gone out on the boat together before Grandma got sick and it was just too hard And eventually Grandad moved here to the little house with the tiny backyard and no room at all for a boat Ah well Grandad said softly and Bella wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or to himself What’s gone is gone He leaned over and took his hand in hers squeezing it gently And Bella squeezed back But her thoughts were swirling wildly Because maybe just maybe she had a completely and unexpectedly brilliant idea
Two A voyage The roast potato on Mum’s fork dropped to her plate with a thunk During the day Dad set the gravy jug down on the table with a clatter Bella had waited until dinner time to pitch her brilliant idea to her parents She thought that if their hands were busy with roast potatoes and gravy they would be less likely to wave them around and say What on earth are you thinking and Good heavens no What on earth are you thinking said Dad We have work during the day And you have school Good heavens no said Mum We’ve discussed this Voyages at night only so I don’t get seasick I know said Bella It was true When Grandad built her bedroom out of wood from his old boat the house had wandered around every night for weeks in search of the ocean And when it finally found this little seaside block Mum and Dad agreed to let it stay on two conditions that it only went sailing at night and was always back by morning They had all agreed but this was different wasn’t it Surely you could bend the rules for a very special birthday It’s just Bella pleaded with her eyes I know how much Grandad would love it It could be a special present from all of us We’ve already got his present said Mum Dad nodded A brand new clock radio You know how he loves his programs
But he’s fixing his old one Bella protested He’s been collecting parts for it and everything He’s going to try and add some kind of special new feature For a moment her thoughts went back to the workbench from this afternoon Maybe those parts were for the clock radio But then she shook her head Grandad’s projects might be strange and unexpected but surely even he couldn’t find a way to put kites and belts together with a clock radio No need Dad waved a hand The one we bought is the latest model It has every feature you can imagine Knowing Grandad’s imagination Bella doubted that was true In fact given the way he’d grinned when he told her he had to fix it she suspected he might have broken the clock radio on purpose to give himself a challenge Hmm she thought Maybe that was a birthday idea Maybe she could give Grandad some amazing spare parts some interesting bits and pieces of stuff Only the parts weren’t amazing on their own They weren’t even particularly interesting It was Grandad who made them amazing and interesting and even sometimes spectacular Without Grandad those things were just old junk And you can’t give someone old junk for their birthday The voyage was a much better idea They always took the house out when Grandad stayed over anyway but this would be different This time Bella thought she would be the captain She would direct the boat and watch the maps and the compass and the wind and absolutely everything while Grandad sat back and ate a slice of cake Maybe even two She waited until Mum had a mouthful of potato and Dad had successfully gravied everything on his plate and then tried again
