Thornwood House by Anna Romer

Author:Anna Romer [Romer, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922052414
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Published: 2013-09-01T07:00:00+00:00

By the time we reached the kitchen, Corey had regained her chirpy old self.

‘I don’t know where that brother of mine is,’ she said, wrestling open her cooler bag, pulling out a pile of white-paper parcels, ‘but he’s holding up the show. Why don’t we start without him? These tofu snags are starting to get restless.’

I glanced at the clock. It was nearly five. ‘You’re right, by the time everything’s cooked, the girls’ll be feral with hunger.’ I grabbed the dish of marinated salmon steaks, and as we headed outside we passed the kitchen window.

The window looked onto the verandah and afforded us a clear view of Jade and Bronwyn, who were sitting side by side on the back steps. They had their backs to us, chattering quietly, heads together, taking turns to view each other through the wrong end of an old telephoto lens.

Corey nudged me. She put a finger to her lips, and we paused a moment to spy on them.

Jade adjusted the lens and passed it to Bronwyn.

‘Eliza says it’s worse when you reach fifteen, ’cos then they get all panicky about boys. Dad’s already showing signs of queasiness if I so much as mention a guy in class.’

Bronwyn removed her eye from the lens and regarded Jade. ‘Who’s Eliza?’

‘She’s Aunty Corey’s girlfriend. I call them Aunty Corey and Uncle Eliza.’ Jade’s dark eyes narrowed and she smiled mischievously. ‘Aunty Corey’s gay, didn’t you know?’

Bronwyn shrugged. ‘I do now.’

Corey groaned and shot me a woeful look. ‘Serves me right for spying,’ she whispered. ‘Not the most dignified way to come out of the closet . . .’

I didn’t reply. Jade had my full attention because she hadn’t finished. By the look on Bronwyn’s face, I wasn’t the only one captivated by the unexpected revelation.

Jade was obviously enjoying herself. ‘Have you ever seen two girls kissing?’

Bronwyn goggled. ‘No.’

‘It’s a bit gross at first, especially when they start groping each other, but definitely worse when they – ’

‘Jade!’

Corey rapped on the glass, making both girls – and me – jump. Marching out onto the verandah, she tossed her parcel of snags on the bench beside the Weber.

‘What?’ Jade said, shrugging.

Corey gave her niece a narrow look. ‘Haven’t I told you about polite conversation? Audrey and Bronwyn don’t want to hear the gory details of my private life . . . at least not before dinner.’

Jade shrugged again. ‘Sure. Where’s Dad?’

A resigned sigh. ‘Running late.’ Ripping open her paper parcel, Corey exposed a half-dozen limp grey sausages. She draped them onto the sizzling grill and prodded them with a spatula. Flopping into a nearby deckchair, she glowered at me, obviously awaiting my response.

I hovered over the grill, arranging capsicum kebabs in the gaps between Corey’s sausages. That done, I wrenched the tops off two Crownies and passed one to Corey. She eyed me as she took it, but I only smiled and settled into the deckchair beside hers, losing myself for a moment in a long smooth swallow of beer.

It felt good to have company.

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