At the Foot of the Cherry Tree by Alli Parker EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Alli Parker
- Language: English
- Genre:Historical Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
GORDON: Melbourne, July 1945
It was war. Gordon Parker was armed, prowling through the undergrowth,
scanning for his target. The wind rustled overhead, dancing across the back
of his neck. Any moment now, he would find what he was hunting and
attack.
A voice broke through his concentration.
‘Have you got them yet?’
Gordon glared at his sister, gesturing for her to be quiet. June rolled her
eyes and sat on the grass, opening a book, no longer interested in her
brother. Somewhere above him, a kookaburra chortled, the gum trees
sending leaves to the grass below.
There was a giggle.
Gordon stepped forward, feet soft. The sound came from the blackberry
bushes. He couldn’t see through the foliage but his target had finally
revealed itself.
Gordon raised his weapon, readying for battle.
A roar, and the bush split apart as Gordon’s prey launched at him. There
was no time to react, his weapon – a tree branch posing as a gun – skittering
aside as he was tackled by four of his younger siblings.
There were nine Parkers in all: Venn and Harry, plus their seven kids.
June was the eldest, thirteen months older than Gordon, something she took
great delight in. After Gordon was Donald, a year and a half younger,
currently tugging at Gordon’s right arm, trying to pull him to the ground.
Jeanette was the fourth, sharp and observant, watching the fight in front of
her and waiting for her moment. Then came his brother, Robin, thirteen
years old, quiet, with cheeky eyes, too busy laughing to make use of the
ambush, and a few years younger was Jennifer, raining gentle but
considered blows on Gordon’s stomach. It had seemed like the family was
complete, until Jim arrived three years earlier, a surprise wartime baby.
If you needed anything, the door to the Parker farmhouse on
Greenwood Avenue was always open. A sympathetic ear, your socks
darned, a new jacket; nothing was too much trouble. Gordon often hid his
favourite things under his mattress because, if they were easily in reach,
Venn would gift them to someone who needed them more.
They didn’t have much, but they had one another. That was more than
most, with families divided across the world as the war against Japan
stretched on.
As did the war under the gum trees.
It wasn’t hard to fend off Donald, Robin and Jennifer. Gordon played it
up, dodging imaginary bullets and closer hand-to-hand combat. Then
Jeanette got involved. She sprinted and leapt at his chest, Gordon catching
her at stomach height. They all collapsed to the ground, battle cries fading
into the air.
‘It’s an ambush!’ Gordon cried.
‘It’s good practice for when you go to fight!’ Robin wrapped himself
around Gordon’s left leg, Gordon twitching it to kick his brother off.
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