Page 122 of Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society
Kathy looks away. A swimming club is not an opportunity to check out women. She’s here for fitness. That’s all.
After stowing her own clothes and towel she follows Sharon onto the sand, tucking her hair into her cap.
‘So are you here to escape your family like everyone else is?’ Sharon asks over her shoulder, then slows so she’s walking alongside.
‘Ah, no.’ Kathy smiles quickly. ‘No family up here. They’re in Melbourne.’
‘Oh?’ Sharon glances at her. ‘Are you here temporarily?’
‘No. I live here. They live there. My kids are grown up. My husband is an ex.’
‘Best way for them to be,’ Sharon says drily. ‘Never bothered myself.’
Kathy’s surprised – Sharon looks to be in her forties, and in her experience women tend to have been married at least once by then. Or maybe that’s only in her cloistered world.
That’s something else she’s learnt since moving to the Sunshine Coast: her life was narrow. She had friends she’d known since childhood, and so did Owen, and they never strayed outside those parameters. Everyone was married; everyone went to work and to the footy during the season, and watched test matches in summer andHey Hey It’s Saturdayevery week. No wonder Jemima felt like an earthquake.
‘You’re not going to say I just have to meet the right fella?’ Sharon says teasingly.
‘No,’ Kathy replies quickly. ‘It’s none of my business.’
‘That’s a relief. Because fellas aren’t my business either.’
As they reach the water Sharon angles herself towards Kathy. ‘Just so you know,’ she adds, and Kathy can’t tell if it’s a dare or a hint.
‘Right,’ she says.
Sharon grins and puts her goggles on. ‘Last one in is a rotten egg!’ she cries.
Kathy lets her run ahead. The water is cool and she needs to take some time to adjust, plus the waves are dumping and she has to figure out how to get past them. Added to that, her heart is beating faster than it was a few minutes ago and she can’t tell if it’s because she’s nervous about the swim or about Sharon.
‘Come on, Kathy!’ Sharon calls just before she disappears under a wave.
So maybe Kathy won’t get that time, but as she’s learnt lately: opportunities need to be grasped when they present themselves to you. So she wades in, puts on her goggles, and lets the sea take her in.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
It’salready eight o’clock – oh, wait, it’s almost eight thirty, which means Lorraine has to get out the door in ten minutes if she’s going to make it to the garden in Noosa Heads by nine. It’s a house up on Motel Hill, which is starting to have fewer motels and more of those holiday apartments.
Everywhere you look in Noosa someone’s building. Which Lorraine understands, because it’s beautiful and if her parents had been smarter and more fond of the ocean they could have bought closer to Hastings Street when Lorraine was young and she’d be looking forward to inheriting a motza. But no, they had to go and buy in the hinterland, and now only greenies want to live there and they don’t usually have a lot of cash. It’s that whole living-on-principle thing. Good for them, having convictions. Not for her, though. She likes money. She likes it even more now that Mike has lost theirs.
He’s been working on paying back the mortgage, thanks to Pat. It’s something she hasn’t discussed with Cynthia since Pat made the offer, although they both know it’s hanging there. The ex-husband who let Cynthia down has saved Lorraine’s bacon. Funny how life works out.
Cynthia seems to be softening towards Pat now that he’s such a devoted grandpa. What’s also funny is thinking of either of them as grandparents, because they’re young enough to haveanother kid together if they wanted. There’s a thought. Cynthia wouldn’t, though, would she? That’d be mad, having a baby when you’re already cruising into early middle age. Lorraine’s finding it hard enough having schoolkids at their age.
Here comes one of them now, his hair unbrushed even though she’s told him he can’t go to his friend’s house if he looks like he’s been dragged through a hedge backwards – it’s akin to saying to his friend’s parents that he can’t be bothered getting tidy to come to their place. Rude.
‘Couldn’t find the hairbrush, Si?’ she says, and is rewarded with that confused little face he makes when he knows he’s done something wrong but can’t quite pinpoint it.
‘Your hair, baby. It’s all over the place.’
‘Oh.’ He squints. ‘The brush wasn’t in the bathroom.’
A noise behind Lorraine turns out to be Rose, who is brandishing said missing item.
‘Here it is, darling,’ she says.
‘Thanks, Mum. Come on, Si, get ready,’ Lorraine says impatiently. ‘I have to drop you on the way.’
