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Chapter nine

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  Chapter nine in which Uncle Stan’s defection leads to unlooked-for popularity ... Uncle Stan called. Had a bit of luck and was all keyed up to tell us about it so Mother got everyone together to hear the news. As usual, Mother was in charge of the phone, standing by to interpret Uncle Stan’s words to us by means of grimacing, gesturing and eloquently lifting her eyebrows. She had sound effects too, so it was with a great deal of pleasure that we anticipated Uncle Stan’s fortnightly call.      The show started with a lot of grinning when Uncle Stan announced that he was out of the refugee camp  and that he found a cleaning job. Mother, mindful of who might be listening, acknowledged the news by  grunting noncommittally into the receiver. (To us she gave the thumbs up gesture and mouthed the word job.)  Encouraged by this show of support, Uncle Stan revealed that he’d managed to rent a room somewhere  reasonable and that his German language...
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Chapter one

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Chapter one in which the family roasts a chook when Uncle Stan decides to search for greener pastures I knew Vendula was special the moment I saw her. Clutching a ladybug in her chubby little fist,  Vendula sat in the meadow full of blooming daisies. A drunken bumblebee made her laugh, and her  voice, like silver bells covered with snow, chimed a quiet, pretty tune. I was enchanted and decided to stay.       At first, living with Vendula was plain sailing. Luck had always followed her like a puppy on a leash.  A skip and a sniff and a leg up every so often, we knew where we were going. Vendula, a ballerina in  a paper weight world, sailed through life as if every day was a walk through a rose garden where  friends gathered like fluffy clouds. But then the summer of ‘79 rolled in and overnight things started to  go pear-shaped.      First there was puberty. It came upon us suddenly, like a runaway train, bringing boy...
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