Chapter 5

“Wow,” I pressed the play and record buttons, “I thought it was something you bought.”

“Nope,” she smirked, “I can prove it,” she pulled off her jacket and laid it on the bed.

She undid two of her buttons and then pulling the blouse partway down her shoulders, pushed her hair aside.

“See if you can find a label.”

I approached the bed and fingered the collar. There wasn’t even any stitching where a label might have been removed.

“That’s amazing, my God, you should be making them for money, I’d pay you for something like that,” I stepped away.

“Sure, no problems, I can measure you up whenever you want.”

She ended up staying for dinner and we taped some more albums and talked a lot more, we went from sex to politics and back to sex, punctuated by detours into music and rock music. She did take my measurements though before she left but I never decided on anything right there and then. By the end of the night when I walked her to the car I felt as if the bond between us was that much stronger. When she was sitting behind the wheel I leaned on the windowsill.

“So, same time next week for our regular party?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll bring one of my mum’s pattern books,” she looked up and then her head hit the headrest, “damn, I totally forgot, it’s my brother’s birthday next Saturday night and I have to be there,” she frowned, “sorry, sorry, I just totally forgot about it until you said party.”

“That’s all right, there’s always the next Saturday.”

She was staring through the windscreen and I tapped her shoulder.

“Sorry, I was just thinking. How about I come back on Sunday arvo? I have to go to church in the morning and I was going to stay home Sunday night and come back Monday. Alan’s giving my bed to a guest for Saturday and Sunday night because of this new arrangement of mine.”

“How about crashing here?” I offered, “we’ve got a third bedroom and after you brought around that stew the other night he said you could use it if you ever needed it. He’s taken quite a liking to you, and he doesn’t make friends easily.”

“I like your dad,” she frowned, “okay, I’ll crash at your joint on Sunday night and drive over to the retreat on the Monday,” she slid the key into the ignition. “It will all change apparently once Joe and Mary get back from Queensland.”

“All right,” I straightened up, “it’s a date,” I ran a hand through my hair, “I mean not a date as in date but,” I stopped as she chuckled.

“It’s all right, I know what you meant.”

“Okay, drive careful,” I squeezed her shoulder and she patted my hand.

“Thanks for listening to my ramblings, I know I must have bored you.”

“On the contrary, I found it fascinating.”

Her hand remained on mine until I slid it from her shoulder and then she started the engine and with a smile, farewelled me.

Dad was just getting off the phone when I got back inside and he had a thoughtful look on his face as he told me that he was going to see his brother out in Sale for a few days.

“I was going to go over the next weekend but he has to fly out to Bali, I’ll be gone from Saturday to Tuesday or maybe even Wednesday. Can you stay here until then?”

“Yeah, sure,” I shrugged, “Anna’s crashing here on Sunday night.”

“Good,” he smiled, “so, how are things going?”

“Interesting times, dad, interesting times.”

Okay I’m back to writing after a couple of days. I wanted to put some distance between myself and this little project for personal reasons. The seduction of Anna was one of those signature events that changed both of us forever. Prior to that night we were good friends and if we’d kept going that way there is a good chance it might have happened later but with a different result.

That week I headed over to Myer at Eastlands. When a sales assistant complimented me on the white shirt I was trying on I bought a second one in black. They had mandarin collars and scrollwork stitching on the placket. I also bought a pair of black trousers to go with a jacket I had at home. I smile now when I think of the clothes I bought that Friday night. It wasn’t that I was against skirts and dresses, just not on me. It would take Rachel’s influence to get me into more feminine clothes, back then I was trying to be something. I had an image to protect but I was trying in my own way to soften the image. I wanted to look good for Anna but by Saturday night I felt foolish when Anna called from her parent’s home to tell me that she might not make it after all.

“I’ve been driving all day today. I had to drive mum all the way to Doncaster Shoppingtown because there’s this cake shop that a friend recommended and I’ve just come back from dropping off my brother’s best mate in Wesburn. He brought booze to the party and ended up spewing up on the front lawn. Tomorrow I have to go to church with my family and mum wants to have a roast dinner on Sunday, the thought of driving all that way on a full stomach just isn’t appealing.”

“So, why don’t I drive over to Mooroolbark, pick you up and bring you back? I have to work in the morning anyway so I can run you back there to pick up your car.”

She went silent but I could hear arguing in the background and then she came back to me.

“You’d do that? For me? Why?”

“Because I like you… as a friend… it’s no problem to me. I’m not exactly doing much here in bloody Dullsville anyway. I’ve just watched Hey Hey and I’m bored out of my tree.”

“Maybe,” she replied, “um, can I think about it?”

“Sure, call me tomorrow?”

“I will, gotta go, mum’s having a meltdown.”

I went to bed thinking that this wouldn’t come off and then I felt stupid for even harbouring those desires towards a born again Christian. That night however I did pray to a silent God.

“Give her strength to call.”

God was silent though and the next day I woke up and had breakfast in a house that felt empty now that dad was away. Halfway through the morning I even flicked through my mum’s bible but then turned on the telly, even that was boring and about one o’clock I decided to answer my own prayer. I’d drive out to Mooroolbark and see if she wanted a lift back to the retreat. I even got changed into my new white shirt and trousers. I was just heading for the front door when the phone rang. I nearly didn’t answer it but changed my mind and raced to pick it up. Anna sounded breathless.

“Oh, thank God, I thought you’d given up on me. I’m on my way now, do you want me to pick anything up from Lilydale when I’m driving through?”

“Maybe a video or two.”

“Anything you wanna see?”

“You pick the movie, how was lunch?”

“I skipped lunch, I’ll tell you all about it when I get there, bye.”

I hung up the phone and threw my hands in the air as I looked up at the ceiling.

“You took your bloody time answering!”

Now that she was coming it was time for the second shower of the day and then I did something I hadn’t done since my teenage years. I painted my nails. Dad being the way he was had kept almost all of mum’s stuff, including her makeup. Mum still had six bottles of unopened nail polish. It felt almost alien to to be putting on makeup again, and it’s not like I was a total butch, I just wasn’t into the whole ruby red lips. I did have lip gloss and by the time I’d done my makeup it was time to make the quiche. I’ve always found it one of the easiest meals to make in a hurry.

Anna arrived just after half past four and she did look a little weary when I opened the door. She was carrying her handbag and a larger bag. She went to step inside and then stopped.

“Nice perfume,” she looked up and then froze, “my God, what happened to my favourite dyke? You’re wearing makeup and…” her eyes moved over me, “that blouse looks really nice.”

“I bought it on Friday night, you’re the first to see me in it.”

“You look nice as well,” I stepped aside for her to enter.

She was wearing a white pussybow blouse with a wide pleat on each side of the placket and a white, wide lace tie fastened into a bow. The billowing sleeves were fastened with two-button closures. The blouse was tucked into a tan pencil skirt with gold buttons all the way down the front, a belt with a gold buckle matched it perfectly. She also wore a pair of high heeled ankle boots.

“Did you make the shirt too?”

“Yeah,” she replied, “the skirt too, God I’m glad to be here, these boots are killing me.”

“Then kick off your shoes and put your feet up, dinner is almost ready,” I followed her to the sofabed, “you are hungry aren’t you?”

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the jockey,” she sat down and dropped her bags, “my mother is a total psychopath.”

“What’s up with mum?”

“I told her about you and me,” she unzipped a boot, “even though there is no you and me, we’re just friends,” she pulled the boot off, “and she went on and on about how I was sinning against God and nature,” she unzipped the other boot.

“So I said well what about Jesus befriending sinners, aren’t we supposed to be following his example? Well that was like a flame to a can of petrol,” she removed the boot and placed it by the other boot.

“She exploded and told me if turned gay she’d cut me out of the inheritance and I said fine, let’s start right now. She started crying and dad tried to intervene, and that’s when I just went to my room and packed a bag. Dad was trying to calm her down in the bedroom when I called you. What is it with men whenever women start screaming, they’re always trying to calm them down. Let us scream, it clears the plumbing.”

She sank back and stared at me.

“I’m not gay, but I have a gay friend. So what if I had a crush on best friend at school? It’s not like we fucked,” she frowned as she saw the smile on my face.

“You,” I stopped laughing, “you’ve never talked like this before although I haven’t known you for that long. I think it’s great you stood up for me, now I wish I’d been a fly on the wall.”

“She’d have splatted you,” Anna grinned, “anyway, I hired an officer and a gentleman, I tried to get Times Square because it’s supposed to be lesbian or so I was told but it’s already out.”

“You’ve already seen it, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, okay but I’ll watch it again with you.”

“Okay, this will be the first time I’ve seen it. Mum is strict about what we watch,” she leaned back and studied me.

“That blouse does look nice. Where did you buy it?”

“Myer’s, I got a black one too.”

“I might get one myself, so what’s for dinner? Smells like quiche.”

“That’s a bloody relief because it’s supposed to be quiche.”

“You need a hand with anything?”

“Just get the wine,” I rose, “it’s in the kitchen.”

We ate dinner on the coffee table, quiche with wine would raise eyebrows at a Michelin restaurant but in a living room with an open fire and Countdown on the telly it was perfect. We had apple pie with cream for dessert and then we settled down to watch An Officer and a Gentleman. I always thought it a touch overrated but confessed that Richard Gere could turn me into a straight.

“But only for one night,” I slapped her leg lightly and went to pull my hand away but she put her hand on top of mine and kept it there.

“Farrah Fawcett is mine but wouldn’t say no to Debra Winger either.”

“Nor would I,” I shivered.

We sat like that for a few more minutes and then she leaned forward and eyed the floor as she reached for a cushion.

“I might sit on the floor.”

“Don’t bother with that,” I also leaned forward, “I’ll fold this baby out so we can both stretch our legs out.”

“Now that sounds like a plan,” she grinned, “I’ve never sat on one of those before.”

We paused the movie to fold out the sofabed and I went through to fetch some pillows, when I came back she was sitting with her back pressed against the back of the sofabed and her arms stretched out along the top.

“Here, have one of these,” I hit her with a pillow, “okay, hit play and let’s get comfortable.”

“I’m going to get one of these sofabeds one of these days,” she replied, “if I had one of these I’d be sleeping on it every night.”

“It’s not the most comfortable bed,” I took my shoes off, “but it is a double and I’ve still got a single,” I slid onto it and put my back against the corner.

We started watching again, my feet were resting against her thigh but sometime later she lifted my feet and placed them onto her legs and rested her hands on top of them. That was pretty much the position we stayed in for the rest of the movie. Now and then she’d grab one of my feet when a particularly dramatic scene was playing. When the credits were rolling I stretched and yawned as I pushed against one of her legs.

“I might put another log on the fire.”

“And I need to go to the loo,” she leaned forward and arched her back.

“I’m half tempted to crash on this tonight.”

She eased forward and I bent my legs and put one foot behind her arse and poked the small of her back playfully.

“Go to the loo before you wet the bed.”

Anna turned around and knelt before me. I was now forced to spread my legs to accommodate her in a position that did look sexual. Anna stretched and put her hands behind her head and arched her back, I was momentarily distracted by the lace ties moving over her breasts and then I looked up into her eyes. She had a crooked smile on her face as she looked down at herself.