cemetery and dusted the soil from my black stilettos. “Life goes on,” I
added, the callousness leaking through my voice.
“Don’t
say that!” Alysha snapped. “Pete’s death was a tragedy. He’d done so much for
you. Think of all the weight you lost while you were married to him and you
started running with his help. You’ve coped with everything far better than we
all imagined.”
I sighed
and rolled my eyes, keeping my face turned towards the side window. I began
running to get out of the house and once I started, discovered I liked it. I
also enjoyed being thin and didn’t intend to get fat again, just in case my
father decided to marry the obese chick off to another cousin. Paulie’s face
wafted across my vision and I shivered. The way he looked at me of late made me
wonder if they were cooking up another sham wedding in my honour.
“Wasn’t
he?” Alysha demanded and I jumped and turned to face her.
“What?”
“Wasn’t
he good for you?”
“Who?”
“Pete!
He was good for you.”
I
groaned out loud and contemplated jumping from the moving vehicle. “I’m not
talking about Pete, ok?” My voice became a squeak at the end of the sentence
and Alysha frowned.
“You
never talk about him, Urs. It’s not healthy.”
“You
just said how well I’d done! Make your bloody mind up!”
Alysha
tutted and pursed her lips. I knew that look. “It wouldn’t be too soon to start
dating again,” she said, her voice soft. “It’s been over six months.”
I
swivelled my head at speed, wondering what she knew about Teina Fox. “What’re
you talking about?”
“Paulie!”
Alysha smirked. “He said you looked gorgeous last night. We didn’t realise
you’d left until he searched for you to ask for a dance.”
“He’s
Pete’s brother.” I spat the words through half-closed lips as my stomach roiled
in distaste. Margaret’s pudgy face swam past my inner vision and I wound the
window down so as not to puke in Craig’s work car.
“He’s
loaded,” Alysha commented, an unwitting salesgirl for my father.
“Shut
up!” The words spun from my mouth in the wind and I dry retched over the sill.
“Bloody shut up!”
Alysha’s
complexion held a sickening whiteness as she pulled up on my Aunty Pam’s
driveway. She dived from the car and hammered on her mother’s door. “Mum!
Please be home! Mum!”
I
staggered from the passenger seat, my mind consumed by the thought of Paulie’s
flaccid lips making a beeline for my face. I hurled in a rose bush on the edge
of the driveway and felt the thorns scratch my face in vengeance. The
experience seemed freaky enough to be comical. I blew out through tight lips
and tried to catch my breath before remembering Paulie’s big toes with their
painful, oozing in-growing toenails. I hated feet; anyone’s feet including my
own. The next heave sent me face planting into the rose bushes with abandon.
Chapter 10
Alysha’s mother scooped me up, taking my meltdown as
yet another stepping stone in her busy day as a nurse at the general hospital.
She seated me in her kitchen with an ice pack on my face and a drink of warm
lemonade sizzling in a glass next to my hand. Alysha twittered around until Pam
got fed up and sent her home.
“Did you
put ice on that at home?” Pam asked and I shrugged.
“I only
had peas.”
“Well, I
trust they were frozen and not tinned,” she said, shifting the ice pack to one
side to examine my bruised cheek. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
I shook
my head and slapped the pack over my cheek, harder than I intended, but I tried
not to wince in her peripheral vision as she busied herself at the sink. As she
looked away I screwed up my face and stifled a groan. My cheek felt as though a
million needles were embedded under the flesh, being pressed by an unseen hand.
“I know
it hurts,” Pam said, without turning around. “You don’t need to pretend with
me.”
My
shoulders sagged and I dropped the brave facade.
added, the callousness leaking through my voice.
“Don’t
say that!” Alysha snapped. “Pete’s death was a tragedy. He’d done so much for
you. Think of all the weight you lost while you were married to him and you
started running with his help. You’ve coped with everything far better than we
all imagined.”
I sighed
and rolled my eyes, keeping my face turned towards the side window. I began
running to get out of the house and once I started, discovered I liked it. I
also enjoyed being thin and didn’t intend to get fat again, just in case my
father decided to marry the obese chick off to another cousin. Paulie’s face
wafted across my vision and I shivered. The way he looked at me of late made me
wonder if they were cooking up another sham wedding in my honour.
“Wasn’t
he?” Alysha demanded and I jumped and turned to face her.
“What?”
“Wasn’t
he good for you?”
“Who?”
“Pete!
He was good for you.”
I
groaned out loud and contemplated jumping from the moving vehicle. “I’m not
talking about Pete, ok?” My voice became a squeak at the end of the sentence
and Alysha frowned.
“You
never talk about him, Urs. It’s not healthy.”
“You
just said how well I’d done! Make your bloody mind up!”
Alysha
tutted and pursed her lips. I knew that look. “It wouldn’t be too soon to start
dating again,” she said, her voice soft. “It’s been over six months.”
I
swivelled my head at speed, wondering what she knew about Teina Fox. “What’re
you talking about?”
“Paulie!”
Alysha smirked. “He said you looked gorgeous last night. We didn’t realise
you’d left until he searched for you to ask for a dance.”
“He’s
Pete’s brother.” I spat the words through half-closed lips as my stomach roiled
in distaste. Margaret’s pudgy face swam past my inner vision and I wound the
window down so as not to puke in Craig’s work car.
“He’s
loaded,” Alysha commented, an unwitting salesgirl for my father.
“Shut
up!” The words spun from my mouth in the wind and I dry retched over the sill.
“Bloody shut up!”
Alysha’s
complexion held a sickening whiteness as she pulled up on my Aunty Pam’s
driveway. She dived from the car and hammered on her mother’s door. “Mum!
Please be home! Mum!”
I
staggered from the passenger seat, my mind consumed by the thought of Paulie’s
flaccid lips making a beeline for my face. I hurled in a rose bush on the edge
of the driveway and felt the thorns scratch my face in vengeance. The
experience seemed freaky enough to be comical. I blew out through tight lips
and tried to catch my breath before remembering Paulie’s big toes with their
painful, oozing in-growing toenails. I hated feet; anyone’s feet including my
own. The next heave sent me face planting into the rose bushes with abandon.
Chapter 10
Alysha’s mother scooped me up, taking my meltdown as
yet another stepping stone in her busy day as a nurse at the general hospital.
She seated me in her kitchen with an ice pack on my face and a drink of warm
lemonade sizzling in a glass next to my hand. Alysha twittered around until Pam
got fed up and sent her home.
“Did you
put ice on that at home?” Pam asked and I shrugged.
“I only
had peas.”
“Well, I
trust they were frozen and not tinned,” she said, shifting the ice pack to one
side to examine my bruised cheek. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
I shook
my head and slapped the pack over my cheek, harder than I intended, but I tried
not to wince in her peripheral vision as she busied herself at the sink. As she
looked away I screwed up my face and stifled a groan. My cheek felt as though a
million needles were embedded under the flesh, being pressed by an unseen hand.
“I know
it hurts,” Pam said, without turning around. “You don’t need to pretend with
me.”
My
shoulders sagged and I dropped the brave facade.
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