Did you catch Monday's feature of Black Swan's by Graeme? If you didn't see that, check it out now. Or just enjoy the excerpt below and then keep reading! 

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A plastic ball, coloured to look like a soccer ball, flew over his shoulder and landed in the water, disturbing the birds that had gathered before him.

“Damn!” a familiar voice said from behind him. “Toss a coin for who goes in to get it?”

John twisted in his seat. Two guys that he knew only as Eric and Paul were watching intently as a coin flicked through the air. A small black-haired boy was heading in John’s direction. Paul spotted what the kid was doing before he got too far, and ran over to pick up him.

“No, you don’t! You have to stay with us, Steve.”

“I want my ball!” the young boy wailed, arms reaching out as if he could call his toy to him.

“You lost, Paul,” Eric said as he stepped up to join them.

John smiled and turned his attention back to the lake. It was only shallow, but the bottom was very muddy. Paul would need to sacrifice some dignity to retrieve the ball.

Paul moved up to the edge of the lake and started to take off his shoes. Eric, holding Steve, went over and sat down next to John.

“G’day, Mr. McMaster. I’ve got someone here I’d like to introduce to you.”

“Hello, Eric. Who’s the handsome young man?”

“This is Steve. He’s our new foster son.” Eric grinned broadly as he made the announcement.

“I’m five!” Steve said with the pride that only a five-year-old can muster.

“Well, good for you,” John said to Steve before turning his attention to Eric. “Congratulations! You hadn’t told me that you were looking at fostering.”

Eric glanced over at his partner. “Paul and I have been talking about it for a while. We’ve finally gotten approval, and we picked up Steve a couple of nights ago. We didn’t say anything to anyone, just in case we jinxed it.”

John followed Eric’s gaze and decided to take pity on Paul, who was nerving himself up to step into the water.

“Paul! You don’t need to go in to get it. Just watch. The breeze will blow it back this way if you’re patient.”

Paul put one bare foot into the water, then pulled it out, picked up his shoes and socks, and went over to join the others.

“Thanks, Mr. McMaster. That water is cold!”

John laughed. “It’s probably not safe in there, anyway. Look,” he said, pointing to a small cluster of reeds near where the ball was floating.

Paul and Eric stared in the indicated direction, while Steve squirmed in Eric’s arms.

“Are they what I think they are?” Paul asked.

“Yes. The first cygnets. Their parents would probably attack if you got too close.”

“The infamous black swans. I had a lot of arguments with my dad on whether the council was wasting money when they brought them in. He couldn’t see the aesthetics in having Australian natives as features of our local park,” Eric said.

 

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