Replacement Girl by Ann Beaglehole

Author:Ann Beaglehole [Beaglehole, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781869798710
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2012-09-14T17:00:00+00:00

The next day brings an outing to the mud pools. Stephen, Tomi and I are dressed in shorts. The others wear tropical suits topped by winter coats and hats.

‘You cannot rely on the weather in this country,’ Klára Kunz is saying, looking anxiously up at the cloudless sky.

Maria Ranki is wishing herself back in the hotel. ‘Here I am blinded by the harsh light.’

My father is worried about the smell of sulphur. ‘But is it healthy?’ he asks Stephen.

When the circle have had enough of the boiling mud, it is time for lunch. Stephen has arranged for us to eat outdoors, Kiwi style. We walk a short way along a bushy track to the chosen spot. My father is lashing at the leafy ferns hanging gracefully over the track.

‘So where do we sit?’ asks my mother when we stop.

Maria, swatting at the sandflies, warns, ‘Don’t risk that log. It looks damp.’

Stephen is spreading out a rug, while Klára dabs at spots of mud on her shoes. My father is unpacking the provisions from Wellington. There is salami and pickled cucumber from Fuller Fultons and coffee from Faggs – Royal Espresso, ground one before powder. When the thermos is opened, the aroma of the coffee fills the air.

‘Yes please, I will certainly have some,’ says Sándor, holding out his cup.

The sun is warm. The winter coats are lying in a heap on the ground. Everyone is staring at Stephen, who has boldly taken off his shoes and socks.

‘Don’t,’ says Klára to Tomi who looks about to follow suit.

My mother is still not sure where to sit. My father leads her to a tree stump that is dry, smooth and flat.

‘Just for you, madam, the perfect place.’

She laughs and kisses him.

Sándor is enjoying his coffee. ‘New Zealand can never be Europe but it is not a bad little country,’ he says.

How pathetic they are, I am thinking, munching the peanut butter sandwich specially prepared for me by my grandmother.

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