Melvyn put the bottle back under the seat of his car and, taking his brief case and the present, walked, or rather lurched, to the front door. He opened it to find Sally dressed in her party clothes; her friends gathered around her, playing pass the parcel. She jumped up and gave him a kiss and he passed her the present. He then thought perhaps just a book was a little too cheap. Perhaps he should have bought a doll? Then he changed his mind as Sally ripped off the teddy bear paper and threw the pieces to the floor. The old man was mistaken about the bears, and this gave Melvyn a certain satisfaction. Sally held up the book.
‘Daddy! A book about the beach. Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ She was about to reach up and kiss him, but she could smell that horrible smell that he and Mummy always seemed to have when she got close, so she hugged him around the waist. She opened the book and felt sure for a moment that the little girl on the beach had waved at her; but that couldn’t happen – could it?
Later that night her mother tucked her into bed and said that either Daddy or herself would come in later and read to her. She sat up in bed and tried to read the book, but there were so, so many big words. She looked at the clock and saw it was very close to her bedtime and lights out. So if Mummy or Daddy didn’t come in soon, they would say it was too late to read to her.
She jumped out of bed and put on her slippers. Grabbing her toy rabbit and the book, she walked up the scary dark hallway to the lounge room. Her feet tingled and she was terrified something would leap out and snatch them. She thought it was strange that this room was cold, as the fire should have warmed it. She moved around the couch to find her parents asleep and the fireplace a bed of flickering ashes. Three empty wine bottles were on the table. Her father was snoring with a half empty glass in his hand, while her mother lay back with her mouth open; a still burning cigarette hung from her fingers. Sally took the cigarette and tossed it into the fireplace; as always. She tried to wake them, but got no reply. Little tears rolled from her eyes as she decided that, yet again, she would have to turn off her own light and go to sleep.
She made her way back to bed and lay the book beside her on the pillow. She wished she was the little girl in the book on the beach and that her parents were the happy, wide awake parents sitting in the deck chairs, with no bottles beside them; except for lemonade of course. As she drifted off she didn’t notice the cover of the book move. The parents on the beach rose from their chairs and walked to the little girl and, each taking one of her hands, led her into the small breakers, as they all laughed and swung her tiny feet in the sparkling surf. Sea gulls flew over their heads and laughter and the soft fall of waves on the beach, accompanied by the shrill cry of the gulls, filled the room. Sally lay asleep smiling.