Page 98 of Thursdays at Orange Blossom House
‘Let us know when we can see this new place,’ Dieter adds.
Frederick’s smile is relaxed as he sits back into the couch. ‘We will,’ he says.
Cornelia taps Dorothy on the arm.How do you really feel about this?she says.
Dorothy widens her eyes.I’ll tell you later, she replies. Then she glances at her parents to see if they’ve witnessed the exchange, but they’re both looking at Frederick, who is now looking at her.
‘What did Cornelia say?’ he asks.
‘She asked how I’m feeling,’ Dorothy says quickly and smiles in a way that she hopes is reassuring. But she can sense Cornelia watching her. She’s never been good at hiding her feelings, as her mother is fond of reminding her, and knows her sister will probably see them on her face.
‘I forgot the sugar,’ Clara says, standing up.
As her mother leaves the room again Dorothy avoids looking at her sister and cradles her belly, silently promising her child that whatever happens, they will be together and they will be okay.
SPRING 1994
Australian filmsMuriel’s WeddingandThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desertare released.
A new Australian band called Silverchair tops the singles chart with their debut release, ‘Tomorrow’.
Ossie Ostrich leavesHey Hey It’s Saturdayafter twenty-three years as co-host with Daryl Somers.
Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, is released.
Quentin Tarantino’sPulp Fictionis released, reviving the career of John Travolta.
Nirvana releases the albumMTV Unplugged in New York.
Mariah Carey releases the single ‘All I
Want for Christmas is You’.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Grace Maud is usually out of bed early. Lying around is for lazy people, or so her father used to say. If you were still asleep after the sun was up, you were wasting the day. It’s training that has never left her, even if she no longer has any reason to be up with the sun. There are no crops to attend to; there’s not even much housework to do since Cecilia has been around. Today, however, Grace Maud stays in bed for a while and reads a book. The house is quiet – Cecilia likes a lie-in on Sundays – so she has the luxury of being able to concentrate on the story.
She’s always read for relaxation, and read eclectically. Her belief is that if you like to read, you’ll read anything. She said that to Tom when he was growing up and finding it hard to read as fluently as his classmates. Comics were fine, as far as Grace Maud was concerned, if they held his interest. They weren’t fine with his teachers, of course – comics weren’t ‘proper’ reading, apparently. Except Ginger Meggs could make Tom laugh in a way his teachers never could, and who was to say that wasn’t proper?
The two of them were a good team for a long time. Then Viv came along, and she fitted in seamlessly. She wasn’t one of those daughters-in-law who is jealous of her husband’s mother, and it didn’t occur to Grace Maud to be jealous of Viv. Tom didn’t belong to her, after all. Maybe living on the land gave her a different perspective about that: their joint enterprise was bigger than both of them, so they weren’t possessive people.
Perhaps that’s why she hasn’t been able to empathise with Cecilia’s mother, Eva, who seems simultaneously possessive of her daughter yet does everything possible to repel her. Several times Cecilia has asked Grace Maud for advice about her mother – often coming to her in tears after a phone call that’s ended badly – but Grace Maud has never been able to adequately explain Eva’s actions to her daughter. If Cecilia were her child, she would thank the heavens for the miracle of having such a lovely person in her life. Instead, Eva finds only faults.
It’s no wonder Cecilia has latched onto Luca with his easygoing nature. The pair of them have been spending increasing amounts of time together – more than Grace Maud would probably advise, given they’re still young. Although she married young, as did Ellie Maud, and Tom, so she’s not really qualified to give that advice.
There is so much more for women to do these days, though; they have options that she and Ellie Maud could never have imagined. They can travel on their own; they can even keep their jobs after they marry. Feminism may be a dirty word for some women, but Grace Maud has the perspective of having lived decades on this earth and she sees the change it’s wrought. Women have the vote; they have jobs and bank accounts, and they don’t need permission to spend their own money. All this in under a century.
Cecilia is in the bloom of first love and doesn’t think she needs to take the opportunities that her forebears fought for – possibly because she takes them for granted – but Grace Maud wishes she would at least consider travelling.
She tried to have that conversation with her just yesterday, suggesting that Cecilia might like to visit Sydney or Melbourne.
‘Why?’ she’d said. ‘I have everything I want here.’
‘Yes, for now,’ Grace Maud said evenly.
‘What do you mean, “for now”?’
‘You’re young. What you want will change.’ Grace Maud smiled to soften the blow.
