Thursday, January 10th, 2008...8:12 pm
The girls of summer
1.
We find ourselves the beneficiaries of a raffle; my parents don’t fancy a week in the MUA cottage at Umina. We book for the week before the school holidays. It‘s an old wharfie’s holiday joint in a tough bit of town. The decoration consists of a picture of him, a picture of a container ship and a commemorative plaque in masonite. It’s ten minutes walk from the beach and there’s a constant breeze on the little verandah.
There’s a six year old girl next door and she immediately makes friends with our five year old. Her name’s Natalia, and she’s very beautiful. She shouts “Don’t you dare!” in her bogan accent during the endless games of chasing in which she is always the prey.
2.
She’s the most beautiful girl at Dickson pool today, by miles. She’s in her late teens and she’s wearing a Bond Girl white bikini that has belted pants and a square clasp between her breasts. I see her striding up the side of the big pool, calling over her shoulder to her brother. He’s carrying a very long piece of elastic and his head is tilted in a way that makes me think he might have an autism spectrum disorder. Well, that’s what it’s called, I can’t help the ungainliness of medical descriptions. It’s not what they’re for anyway.
Later, they’re both in the pool and he still has his tape. I wonder if she spends a lot of time as his carer. Probably. I wonder if his presence spares her a lot of teenage boy attention.
3.
We go to the café just after breakfast because it’s too hot to walk there with the pram at any other time of day. We’re outside and at the next café a young mum sits down with her three or four year old son. I notice a very beautiful green and black tattoo of a woman’s face on her arm. She’s got dyed black hair, lots of facial piercings and heaps more tattoos. I wonder why emo/Goth mothers have such square bear kids. (He’s wearing a plaid shirt and a monkey backpack.) The tattoo on her left shoulder is of a kneeling angel looking back. She has weird pointy boobs and her amputated wings are dripping blood. What’s she going to tell him when he asks about that one?
12 Comments
January 10th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Nice to see you nice!
Gorgeous post, too.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
This was some wonderful people watching – terrificly enjoyable post.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Nice post — you should write more. Good to see you back again.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Yes, lovely. I feel sunburned, salt-haired and hungover just reading about your holiday.
After your description of the Honey Ryder cossies, I doubt it.
January 13th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Bewdiful darl – but who’s the piccie of up at the Umina shack? Bob?
January 13th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Nah, Bernice, the label said “Jack Green – dec’d”, and the masonite plaque said “The Jack Green Memorial Cottage”. Dunno what the ship was called.
January 14th, 2008 at 9:01 am
‘Tis excellent to read your lovely posts again.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Have you seen the Goth mum with the PINK baby daughter? She is often at Woolworths in Dickson. They make a fantastic combination.
It was lovely to see you and the boys at the pool the other day. Have been meaning to make it to your playgroup, but Lily keeps sleeping for too long.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Presumably the goth mothers don’t turn their noses up at clothing gifts either. My kid wears all manner of blandness that I wouldn’t have bought myself.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I wonder why emo/Goth mothers have such square bear kids.
Same reason the square bear mothers have emo/Goth kids! Rebellion.
January 26th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
great post Zoe
January 31st, 2008 at 2:44 pm
lovin this stuff Miss Z.
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