A Quiet Night In

I was up at 8am. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day. I was going to go and buy the bike in Glenferrie Road, I don’t know why I’m hesitating? I said later, when I was having lunch with Gill and mum that I didn’t go because I was lazy and Gill commented that I had always been lazy. That hurt, I have to say. I didn’t go because it is like I’m not convinced that it I the right thing to do, that it is the right bike to buy. This could, of course, be procrastination, not sure. But, I’ve looked and compared prices and this entry level Malvern Star seems like the right bike to buy. I’m at the stage now where I’d just go and buy it. So, I don’t know what’s wrong? I don’t know why I’m hesitating. This should be the easy bit.

But instead I pissed around on my computer. I was to meet Gill at mum’s home at 12.45 and I pissed around until then, up to the death knock.

I didn’t hear from Sam after the morning flurry of emails, some kid in London’s collection of 27 Macs and the founder of gmail, one of the Silcon Valley personalities, reasoning for backing the legalisation of marijuana in California, proposition 19. I agree with everything he says. Hopefully it’ll pass Nov 2nd.

His last email said, Have a good weekend. Anthony must be home, I thought. Okay, chook. Space is good.

Of course, my car looked like a lamington when I went out to it, with the stupid old gum tree seeding and shedding.

I got to Shady Pines by midday.

Gill and I were meeting there to take mum out to lunch. I’m late. They are tying small sections of wool together, so mum can knit a scarf, when I get there.

“Get me out of here, mum says, I’m just about at the end of my tether.”

We head out to the car.”

“You are paying," she says. She's been on this non-payment thing for about four weeks. "And I need money.”

We get up to the Belmont Shops and I bumped in to Jennifer Brown from work getting out of her car and saying hello and many of my worlds collided. It's a funny feeling that...

I get $150 for Lottie and keep $50 to pay for lunch, right in front of her.

Mum said she wanted a pie until we got to the pie shop, when she said she wanted meat. She wants a roast. We head across the road. We get her some meat and salad. She plays with it, mangles it, chews it up and then spits it out. Then, when she is asked if she likes it, she says there are too many leaves. Then she just pushes it around on her plate, like a five year old might do.

“Now I want to go for a drive,” she declares.

“No, we’re not doing that,” said Gill. “We haven’t got time.”

“See you kids only ever think of yourselves.”

So, we head off for a drive around the block. Mum doesn’t quite understand times anymore, so a quick trip around a few roads seems to fool her into thinking she has been for a drive.

“Caroline’s stealing money from my purse.” The woman who runs the home, I have to stop this in its tracks. If she goes to quickly down this path, Caroline may say she has to move to a higher security lock up. It’s possible.

“She is not,” I say.

“I tell you she is!”

“There was no money missing from your purse.”

“There is, I’ve got none left.”

“You are giving it to that bitch Pat Honan.” Mum’s friend who is stirring the pot by telling mum she should be at her home and not in a home.

“I AM NOT! Just shut up, will you, just shut up!”

I saw red and this is where is lead, I just couldn’t stop myself.

“You’re a miserable old bitch and if you don’t start treating me better, I’m going to stop coming to see you.”

Gill agrees with me when mum tries to get her support.

“You’ve ruined my afternoon,” mum says, as I bid her farewell at Shady Pines.

Gill and I head to mum's house, as the tenant is moving in Cup Day. I mow the lawn as Gill bogs the kitchen bench. We are taking the cash settlement and fixing the kitchen ourselves, the insurance company won’t pay the extra to replace all of the kitchen. We wash the burnt walls down, it is hard work. I weed a lot of the front yard, in the hot afternoon sun. My t-shirt is wet by the time I finish.

Gill measure up the burn cupboards, so she and her husband can cut a piece of board and replace the burnt parts of the cupboard. She threw out the tiles which fell off the wall, so now she has to find a tile shop to replace them. I wonder if she is doing all the work and I think about the lazy comment and wonder if I should be doing more?

We finish working late in the afternoon, when the tenant calls to say his brother will take care of putting in the new oven on Monday.

Everything seems to be working out. The insurance company is giving us $7500.00, we're fixing it for a few hundred dollars.

I spend the night on my own, Shane is in Perth. I like the solitude, it is refreshing, it charges my batteries.

Jill texts late saying, Are you home and up for a talk?

I decide I don’t have to be. Blah, blah, blah, I don't have to have my ears bleed on every request. She can wait until tomorrow, I'm sure she's not swinging from a rope.

I head to bed around midnight, thinking I don’t have to get up and do anything tomorrow.