The Listmaker by Robin Klein

Author:Robin Klein [Klein, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742284620
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
Published: 2009-10-12T14:00:00+00:00

But Piriel always kept her car in perfect condition, and was too good a driver for car accidents. Besides, Aunty Nat didn’t seem upset about anything, either. She was even giggling at Ed Woodley’s pathetic jokes, and so was Aunt Dorothy, who usually had to have jokes explained to her patiently phrase by phrase. She somehow looked different today, I thought, then realised with amazement that not only had she bought herself a new shirt, but had also borrowed Aunty Nat’s turquoise earrings! Usually she hated earrings. The turquoise made her eyes very blue. She looked quite pretty, and I felt pleased that she’d made an effort to smarten herself up because of Piriel coming.

Piriel, however, didn’t arrive until we’d reached the coffee stage. I flew to let her in, so I’d have the chance to warn her in a hurried whisper about Ed Woodley being invited and what a disaster he was. Before opening the door, I took off the fur-trimmed red cap I was wearing. It suddenly felt silly, even though a festive decoration for everyone was another one of our Christmas traditions. (This year, Aunty Nat’s was a holly necklace, Aunt Dorothy’s a Santa Claus badge, and Ed Woodley looked like an absolute idiot with plastic pixie ears clipped on over his own.) Piriel apologised for being so late, explaining that some important people she and Dad knew had invited her to call in, and she hadn’t been able to leave as early as she’d hoped. Aunty Nat was disappointed that she didn’t want any of the food saved for her.

‘Thanks all the same, but I’ve spent all morning having to nibble poolside snacks,’ Piriel said. ‘At the moment I really can’t face anything except strong black coffee.’

‘Try some of Nat’s cake,’ Ed Woodley insisted, helping himself to another slice. ‘It’s powerful enough to hoist anyone up on their feet belting out all the verses of “Jingle Bells”.’

Luckily he could only remember the chorus, though Aunty Nat’s fruitcake really was something to sing about. I hoped he’d restrain his greediness so there’d be enough left over for Piriel when she’d got her appetite back. For the moment, she just seemed to want to sit peacefully and drink her coffee. Ed Woodley, though, started telling a long story about how he’d once spent Christmas day trapped inside someone’s roof. He was there doing emergency repairs, they’d gone off to visit friends, and the ladder had slipped out of the manhole leaving him stranded. Piriel looked so sophisticated it made me squirm to watch her being forced to listen to anything so tedious. Even in plain black pants and a sleeveless black top, she somehow managed to look glamorous. Aunty Nat kept offering her a silver star to pin in her hair, which also had the effect of making me cringe. (Piriel, although she accepted it in the end, left it lying casually on the coffee table.)

She’d also been wearing black (and looking just as glamorous!) in a photo I’d shown around at school.

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