Brothers & Sisters - Charlotte Wood [98]
The young woman’s hand was moist. She winced apologetically.
‘I’m sorry. I’m so sweaty.’
‘Of course you are, Anna. Look at what you’re wearing.’
Anna’s laugh was loud and deep-throated. ‘You’re a bitch, Dawn.’
‘Yeah, shut up.’ Julian’s grip tightened around Anna’s shoulders. ‘I think you look gorgeous.’
‘Thank you, Jules, so do you.’
Saverio now found himself at the edge of the circle. He jiggled the car keys in his pocket.
‘I’m going into town. Anyone need anything?’
‘Do we need more grog?’
‘There’s plenty. Even for us.’
Dawn wasn’t satisfied. ‘Is there whisky?’
Julian rubbed at his chin. ‘I can go and have a look . . .’
‘Get us a bottle of scotch,’ she interrupted.
Give us some money, thought Saverio sourly.
But it was Anna who answered. ‘Jesus, Dawn, what did your last slave die of?’
Dawn didn’t miss a beat. ‘Laziness.’
He couldn’t help it, even he had to laugh. They were so fast, so sophisticated, so smart. He nodded and moved towards his car. He was surprised to find Anna following him.
She turned back to her mother. ‘I’m going into town as well.’
‘We just got here!’
Anna ignored her. She was waiting for Saverio to unlock the doors. She smiled across at him. ‘It’s alright with you, isn’t it?’
‘Of course.’
As they turned onto the Pacific Highway Anna let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank you. That was a bit too much.’
‘What was?’
‘Seeing everyone en masse. You know, that old libertarian femo crowd. They’re lovely but it will be all the same stories, who slept with Germaine Greer, who sucked off Robert Hughes while they were all on acid.’ She reminded Saverio of Adelaide, the affectation in her outburst. They were both young women, trying out accents, tones, registers. He wasn’t at all shocked by her language. It just reminded him of how young she was.
‘Tom looks awful.’
He didn’t reply.
She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I guess that’s because of all the antiretroviral drugs he’s on. And because he’s a drunk.’
‘He’s always been an alcoholic.’
He felt her gaze fix on him. ‘I didn’t know Leo had a brother.’
‘I didn’t know he had a godchild.’
‘He’s got two. But Danny is in England or Poland or somewhere like that.’
They fell into silence. But something she’d said had made him curious. He couldn’t help it. He felt a little embarrassed asking but ask he did: ‘Who did Germaine Greer fuck?’
Anna grinned mischievously. ‘Probably all of them.’ She was searching through the glove box and underneath her seat. ‘Do you have any music?’
‘No. It’s a hire car.’
She was examining the stereo unit. ‘I should have brought along my iPod. There’s a jack.’ She turned to him eagerly. ‘Do you have one?’
So that was what that attachment on the stereo was for. She, like his own kids, seemed to have a second sense for technology. He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, I left mine back at the house.’
Disappointed, she turned the radio on instead. She kept punching buttons, rapid sprays of music, country and western, pop, snatches of talkback. She settled on a familiar strained melancholic voice singing above a jangling melodious electric guitar.
‘Do you like U2?’
They were a favourite, one of the few passions he shared with Matthew. ‘I think I have every album,’ he announced proudly.
‘They’re alright.’ She sounded uncertain. Then with a derisive sniff, ‘But that Bono is a sanctimonious cunt. He makes me want to hate them.’ She was flicking through her purse and she placed a cigarette to her lips.
‘This is a non-smoking car.’
‘I thought you lot were all anarchists?’
‘I’m not part of that lot and I don’t want you to smoke in the car.’
She made a face, but returned the cigarette to its packet. Her fingers started tapping on the dashboard. ‘How come I’ve never met you before?’
‘Leo and I haven’t seen each other for a while.’
‘What’s a while?’
‘Eleven years.’
‘Fuck!’ There was awe as well as shock in her exclamation. ‘You must be feeling awful.’
She was right. Probably not in the way she thought, but she was right nonetheless. He did feel awful. He was furious at himself.