Dante's Birthday

We were up at 8.30am. I came downstairs first. Buddy was at the top of the garden stairs just lifting his leg. He saw me instantly and he was Ewoking (standing on his back paws, just managing to stretch up high enough to peak through the glass in the French doors) by the time I got the key and got to the door. He came in fully awake.

It suddenly occurred to me that I should have bought pot for Dante for his birthday. I text Guido on the off chance. He was working in his Abbottsford warehouse. He said he was going to be there all day.

Sam and I walked down to Victoria Street. We left a key under the palm by the front door for Jane, who was arriving soon.

We ate Vietnamese.

We walked to Guido’s place in Abbottsford and got the gear.

We did the grocery shopping walking back. I bought vodka as requested by Sebastian.

We went to a fabulous new fresh fruit shop in the previously always dark and dingy corner of The Hive, next to Aldi and The Chemist Warehouse, it was great and had transformed a previously quiet and dingy comer of The Hive, it was bustling with people and full of colour and movement. We saw Nick (Simon-Morris) the plainest boy in our circle of friends, and Perry’s old, um, er, nah, I can’t finish that sentence...

Jane was home when we got home.

Antony called me for Dante’s address before we left, saying he was getting there tonight.

Sam, Jane and I caught the 86 tram to William Street around 4pm. We found Myki cards for everyone, even if the spare we gave to Jane was over drawn. It probably would have been cheaper to catch a taxi. A taxi even parked right in front of us just as we stepped onto the tram stop. A parked car opened its door, which hooked onto the door of the taxi as it parked, making a loud popping sound. Still, the sun was shining. We caught the 55 tram to Dawson Street, West Brunswick to Dante’s new place. We didn’t exactly know where it was, but we knew the number.

It was the first time that I had caught the tram passed the zoo and through the parkland. The park is gorgeous and expansive, it winds around and around, it was quite exciting. Then you come out of the parkland onto Grantham Street and you are there. Viola.

Antony was standing on the balcony drinking a vodka, as we walked up to the house, to our surprise. The weather was lovely when we first got there. We drank vodka on the balcony. We got the BBQ going. All the meat cooked. But…

Dante turned 40 (actually, 39, but it reads better this way) and 40 years of pestilence ensues. The sky turned grey and the rain came down. It must have started just after 8pm, because I remember Sam and I commenting about how it was still light at 8.08pm. It must have started sometime after that.

Antony, Sam and I sat out on the balcony, by the BBQ, on black, iron chairs. We were kind of covered by a half roof, so we were dripped on constantly. I remember turning to Antony and saying, 

“Another miserable balcony of Dante’s. How many of Dante’s miserable balconies have we sat on?”

Antony laughed. “I know, dear God nothing changes.”

“All piss and misery with her, isn’t it.”

Antony laughed again. “Ain’t that the truth.”

Mark Windsor turned up on his own, he apparently had an argument, or at least continued an existing argument, just outside Dante’s door, and Kevin, no that’s not right, Barnie dropped Mark W and went home. Mark W said Barnie had a tanty. (I personally hate that expression) (He is pissed off with you, Captain Misery, and if I know you well, he probably has good reason)

I only drank a couple of vodkas, as it was joints after that. I can’t do both, I’ll end up asleep. So, I drank plain tonic water for most of the night, until Sam cornered me at the drinks tub and said, “Get lemonade instead.” I drank lemonade from then on so my lovely pumpkin could share.

Perry and Wesley arrived late.

Sebastian cooked a feast on the BBQ, producing a full table of food for everybody.

Dante had a bunch of young guys there, DJ’s, guys setting up lighting, clearly club friends and drug takers. They all kept disappearing for lengths of time down stairs to Dante’s bedroom. We kept asking where Dante was. “Doing his washing,” came the answer. That became quite the euphemism. 

The rain never let up.

Dante told the young ones several times, that we were his gay family, the young’uns were getting to meet all of us. 

“These are the guys I grew up gay with. This is my gay family.” 

Dante now calls himself an elder of gay Melbourne, a position he takes on with pride. It was nice. 🤮

We all got dripped on, on the balcony. There was a constant stream of people down to Dante’s room. Mark W and Sebastian, all the usual offenders. We weren’t offered, we didn’t want any, but it would have been nice to be asked. But Dante was being too, too fabulous with his twink brigade.

Lights changed. Dante would rush back into the lounge. The twinks would tremble. Dante would rush down stairs with another entourage. Repeat for three hours.

Perry and Wesley said they wanted to leave at midnight. Sam said that he wanted to go home. Jane was merry and having a fine time. She was momentarily disappointed, but she decided that we were right. We hopped a lift with Perry and Wesley to Fitzroy. It deluged with rain as we were about to get in the car. We made a dash for it, as the rain seemed like it was never ending. It rained heavily all the way home.

We left Antony behind. I told him we were leaving and he looked kind of blank, like he was staying. I wondered if I had read that correctly, half way home. Antony arrived home a short time later.

"I turned around and you'd gone," said Antony.

"I told you we were leaving," I said.

"When did you?" said Antony?

"When you looked blankly at me."

Antony looked blankly at me, half closing one eye and pursing his lips. "I'm making tea."

We drank tea and smoked joints.

Antony slept on the couch.

The roof in the kitchen is still leaking. Damn it.