Burning Boy (Penguin Award Winning Classics), The by Gee Maurice

Author:Gee, Maurice
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742539553
Publisher: Penguin New Zealand
Published: 2013-03-04T05:00:00+00:00

12

The dog snored in his basket by the sofa, the TV set laughed in another room, Stella and Miranda competed in knowledge of the world, in the clever word, and Norma wished herself at home. She had not come to listen to these girls. She’d had enough half-bakedness, articulate or not, in her year, and wanted to relax and chat with Josie, who had phoned and asked her round for a pot-luck meal (salad and quiche, nothing pot-luck about it, vegetarian cordon bleu). Tom was on the tiles so the pair of them could have a couple of drinks and a good old natter, Josie said. Norma had supposed Mandy and Stella would be out.

‘It’s not a drought, it’s simply a dry spell,’ Miranda said.

‘Abnormally dry.’ Stella.

‘Oh but it’s hardly summer yet. To talk of drought when all we’ve had is six weeks without rain –’

‘And spring’s scarcely over –’

‘And the rivers are full of water –’

‘It shows how much the farming mentality rules in this country. If the grass doesn’t grow we’re in mortal danger one would think.’

Belinda put her head in from the TV room. ‘Ever Decreasing Circles,’ she shouted, and was gone.

‘I think some of those redneck farmers would sacrifice virgins for an inch or two of rain.’ Miranda.

‘They’d keep the virgins,’ Stella, ‘and sacrifice their dried-up wives instead.’

‘Ever Decreasing Circles,’ Belinda cried.

‘You should try to wean her off TV, Mum. God knows what the inside of her mind is getting like.’

‘Oh, I watch that.’ Miranda stood up. ‘It’s one of the more literate sitcoms.’

Stella blinked. Remade herself. ‘That main character has got a very interesting psychosis.’

‘And there’s a dishy neighbour,’ Miranda said. ‘I fancy him.’

Miranda was growing up, Norma thought, almost liking her. Stella’s confusion was likable too. Would she follow Mandy? Yes, she would, though awkwardly. ‘It’s nearly holidays, I guess I can slum.’ It took a Round to wrong-foot a Round.

‘Let’s sit by the pool,’ Josie said. ‘You can swim if you like. I’ll lend you some togs.’

‘I don’t think I will. Chlorine makes me sneeze.’ She settled in a canvas chair and looked at the luminescent surface. ‘There’ll be water restrictions soon. You’ll have to close it.’

‘Oh, Tom pumps from the river. There’s nothing in nature Tom can’t overcome. Droughts, floods, you name it. He just pops into a phone booth and changes costume.’

Norma laughed. She hoped they were not going to talk about Tom.

‘What he can’t handle is other people’s feelings. Other people’s feelings,’ Josie puffed her cigarette, hunting for something shrewd, ‘trespass on his space.’

They were going to talk about Tom.

‘He’d like us all in neutral,’ Josie said.

‘This Stephanie,’ Norma hoped she had the licence, ‘doesn’t she take the pressure off?’

‘Increases it. He comes home and seems to think he’s got to re-establish himself here.’

‘With you?’

‘It’s the idea he likes. Running two women.’

‘Let’s not talk about Tom,’ Norma said.

‘Why not? He makes for pretty good conversation. I think I climbed Tom because he was there. He’s just something I stuck my flag on top of.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.