Lainey’s tour of Melbourne’s city centre went past in a flash. She pointed out gracious old buildings with iron-lacework balconies, surrounded by gardens and parks. The long streets were lined with leafy oak trees, alluring shops side by side with elegant restaurants. The footpaths were crowded with people. It reminded her of London, Eva decided, all stylish and bright and bustling. London with bright green and yellow trams. And clean streets. And much better weather.
Lainey was watching Eva’s reactions with great enjoyment. ‘It’s not as speccy as Sydney, I know, but I love it.’
‘Speccy? As in speccy four-eyes?’
Lainey laughed. ‘Lesson one in how to speak like an Australian. Abbreviate everything. Speccy is short for spectacular. Now, whistlestop tour over, time to see your home for the next couple of weeks.’
She expertly turned the car back in the other
direction, whipping along to get past a tram and calling out more landmarks as she drove past them. ‘You won’t remember any of these but at least I’ll know I’ve done my job properly. That’s the Melbourne Cricket Ground there and the Tennis Centre to the right, that big white thing. This city is sports mad, you’ll discover. And that’s the river there. If you think the Liffey is bad, wait till you have a good look at the Yarra. It flows upside down, with the mud at the top.’
A left turn and a right turn and they were driving down another street, this one lined with Asian shops and restaurants. Piled outside the shops were brightly coloured displays of fruit and vegetables - mangoes, bananas, pineapples and green leafy bunches. The windows were covered in handwritten signs in Asian lettering. Roast ducks and chickens were hanging in the spotlit front windows. There were family groups strolling along, dark-haired kids playing up, running in and out of shop doorways past elderly women sitting on low chairs in the shade.
‘This apparently used to be a real Greek area in the fifties,’ Lainey explained, slowing the car so Eva could take it all in. ‘Then the Greek families moved on to other areas of the city and the Vietnamese people moved in here and took their place. This street’s like a haven for each new wave of immigrant groups.’
‘And where’s the Irish haven?’
‘Every pub, Evie, surely you know that yourself.
No, we’ve infiltrated their very marrow by this stage. Scratch most Australians and you’ll find a bit of green blood.’
Minutes later Lainey pulled into the kerb in front of a row of three-storey apartments. Eva guessed it had once been an industrial area, with old warehouses now beside newly built apartment complexes.
Lainey climbed out, moving around quickly to open Eva’s door for her. ‘Welcome to the very fashionable suburb of Richmond. I usually park in the underground carpark, but three flights of stairs will be enough with your case as it is. What have you brought with you, for God’s sake - the Rock of Cashel?’ All this was said as Lainey dragged the case out of the boot and started hauling it up the stairs to the third floor. She stopped at the final landing, unlocked the door and threw it back dramatically. ‘Here it is, Evie, home sweet home.’
Eva leapt back as something small and black brushed past her legs and ran out through the door.
‘Oh, bloody hell, not again. Hang on, Evie.’ Lainey turned and ran down the stairs, shouting something that sounded like ‘Hexie’ to Eva’s ears. A few minutes later she was back, clutching a little black furry bundle against her chest. She grinned. ‘Well, that’s a more dramatic introduction than I’d planned, but here he is - my new pet. What do you think?’
Eva took a very big step back.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ Lainey groaned. ‘I completely forgot. You’re scared of cats, aren’t you?’ ‘I’m not scared.’ Eva was indignant at the idea. ‘Just…’ ‘Nervous? Uneasy? Shall I get the thesaurus?’ ‘Very funny. No, it’s none of those things. I’m just not used to them, that’s all.’ ‘It’s your sister’s fault, if you ask me. Her and her asthma. Depriving you of pets as a child. A terrible state of affairs.’ Lainey was now holding the purring kitten with one hand and Eva’s suitcase with the other. ‘I reckon it was just attention-seeking behaviour. Do you remember she used to make me take my coat off before I came into your house? She said I was always covered in so much fur, she was never sure if I was all human or half-beast. But never mind, here’s your chance to have a pet at last. And such a perfect specimen to start with, aren’t you, Rexie?’
She rubbed her face against the kitten’s fur. Eva pulled a face. How could Lainey do that?’ ‘Rexie, did you say? I thought you were calling him Hexie. That you’d joined a witches’ coven and just hadn’t broken it to me yet.’ Lainey laughed. ‘Hexie? Oh no, it’s much more interesting than that. When I first got him, you see, sometimes he would try to mew but no sound would come out. You’d just see this wide-open mouth and spiky little teeth. And he reminded me of those old dinosaur movies - you know, the ones using time-lapse’
photography, with the plastic models opening their mouths and giving those long roars?’
Eva slowly nodded, wondering if she could blame the jetlag for this conversation.
‘So that’s why I called him Tyrannosaurus Rex. Rex for short.’ Lainey beamed at her.
Eva had thought she knew Lainey well. Strong, authoritative Lainey. No-nonsense Lainey. The sort of woman who would have an alsatian for a pet. Or a forthright toucan. But a small black kitten? Called Tyrannosaurus Rex?
‘Well, Evie, what do you think of him? Isn’t he sweet?’
Eva looked at Rex. Rex looked at Eva and gave a slow blink. ‘Oh yes, he’s gorgeous. Adorable. Straight off a chocolate box.’
‘And you could grow to love him, couldn’t you?’
Rex was now looking right at Eva, his tongue sticking out, halted mid-lick. Eva was tempted to poke her own tongue back at him. ‘I’ll certainly do my best.’
‘And you wouldn’t mind looking after him while I’m away?’
Lainey hadn’t mentioned this in any of the preflight phone calls. ‘You want me to grow to love him and look after him? What does look after mean, exactly? Feed him? Talk to him? Pat him?’
‘Could you? Would you? Please?’
‘Tell you what, Lainey, how about I pay to put him in a cat holiday home while you’re in Brisbane?
I could go and visit him every week. Bring him photos of you to look at.’ Eva was only half-joking. ‘No way. I’ve only had him a few weeks. He’s only just learned this is his home. If he went to a cat home I’d have to start from scratch all over again when I came back. He’d be psychologically disturbed.’ ‘Lainey, Rex is a kitten. Not your five-year-old son.’ ‘I can’t even joke about it. That’s why I was especially delighted that you decided to come here.’ Lainey groaned. ‘I’m sorry, that sounded terrible. The main thing was seeing you, of course. But it also meant Rex could stay here, in his new house. It really would have set us both back if he’d had to leave home so soon.’ ‘What would you have done if I hadn’t come over? You weren’t seriously going to take him to Brisbane with you?’ ‘Well, actually I did consider it. Then I did a deal with my neighbour Adam downstairs. He’d take Rex down to his flat while I was away and look after him there. The layout’s the same, and the view from the window is almost the same, so I hoped it wouldn’t be too disorienting for Rex. And in return I’d invite Adam up for dinner when I got back. He says he feels like he’s at my dinner parties anyway, we’re always so noisy, so he may as well come up and enjoy the food. And he’s always telling me he loves cats.’ ‘That cat-sitting just sounds like a ruse for him
to get to know you better. It sounds to me like he fancies you.’
‘Yes, I think he does.’
Eva noticed Lainey wasn’t even surprised at the idea. It was as if she expected it. But of course she did, because men always fell in love with Lainey, didn’t they? In Ireland as well as Australia. Eva pushed down a memory that was trying to force itself to the surface.
‘But now poor Adam has missed his chance because you’re here, you gorgeous thing,’ Lainey said as she put Rex on the floor. ‘And you don’t mind looking after him, do you? Not really?’
Eva knew full well she didn’t really have a choice. She looked at her friend, all beaming good humour and enthusiasm. ‘Of course I don’t mind,’ she said, giving in. It was usually simpler in the long run.
‘You’re a star, Evie.’ Lainey hugged her again. ‘And look at you. You look great, really great. That skin of yours is like fresh cream. I’m all leathery like a crocodile now, too much sun.’
Eva shook her head. Lainey was not in the least bit leathery. ‘You look fantastic. Like you should be a model in an ad for a new deodorant or track shoe or something.’
‘Enough of that flattery. Come on, let me show you around.’ Eva’s house in Stoneybatter could have fitted twice into Lainey’s apartment, which took up the
entire floor of the building. Lainey proudly showed it off - a large kitchen and dining area, her bedroom, with an ensuite bathroom complete with spa bath. ‘And this is your bedroom.’ Lainey took her by the hand and opened the door with a flourish. It was a large room, with a big window overlooking a park opposite, with factories and storage buildings beyond. The double bed was piled with pillows and cushions, the wardrobe open, showing plenty of empty coathangers and hanging space, ready for Eva’s things. There were three vases of flowers. ‘This is just fantastic, Lainey. Thanks a million. For all of this.’ ‘It’s my pleasure. My house is your house. Now, come out here again, I want to show you the best bit.’ As they walked back through the kitchen, Lainey pointed at one of the shelves, covered in framed photos. ‘I’m dying to show you all those as well. They’re all of you and me, through the years. I had a ball going through all the photos, choosing the best ones of us.’ Eva picked up the closest one, a black and white shot of the pair of them, aged about six, dressed in their school uniforms and staring solemnly into the camera. Beside it was a Hallowe’en night photo, Eva dressed as a witch, Lainey as an angel, both aged ten. Another of them as teenagers, dressed in sunglasses
and lipstick. They’d probably been pretending to be famous popstars or actresses.
Lainey was practically skipping with impatience. ‘Evie, later, there’s plenty of time for photos, come and see this first.’
Eva had just turned in Lainey’s direction when a large frame at the back caught her eye. She picked it up. She hadn’t seen this photo in years. Not since she’d ripped her own copy up.
Lainey came back and glanced at it. ‘Oh yes, that one. That was when I was back in Ireland last, do you remember? What age were we? Twenty-one? Twenty-two?’
‘Twenty-three,’ Eva said firmly. They both looked down at the photo - Eva in unbecoming pigtails, Lainey beaming confidently at the camera, and in between them a young, good-looking man, his arm around them both.
‘What was his name, Evie, do you remember?’
Eva blinked. Had she heard that right? She turned to Lainey. ‘What was his name? Are you joking me? You can’t remember?’
‘Come on, it was years ago. God, my memory only lasts about a month these days. Anyway, let’s look at those later, I’ve heaps to show you.’ Lainey had lost interest in the photo already, eager to continue her tour.
Eva felt a bit strange. It wasn’t just the jetlag. Surely Lainey hadn’t meant to be so dismissive. Of
course Lainey could remember his name, she probably just hadn’t tried hard enough. Or she’d blocked it out. Or something.
Lainey’s voice floated over from the living room. ‘Evie? You haven’t fallen asleep, have you?’
‘Sorry, no, I’m coming.’ She came out of the kitchen, willing herself to smile, to relax, not to be upset about it. Come on, Evie, you’re in Melbourne, she told herself. This is Australia. Enjoy yourself. Forget about all that business. Think of it as maturity, knowing when to say something and when to stay quiet.
Maturity? That’s one word for it.
And what’s another word?
Cowardice.
Oh, shut up, Eva thought.
‘Ta-daaa!’ Lainey declared as she opened up two glass doors and stepped outside onto a balcony.
Eva followed her out, uncomfortably conscious that Rex was close behind her. She gazed around. ‘Oh, Lainey, this is gorgeous,’ she said. ‘You lucky thing.’ It was like being in the country, not just a few minutes from the centre of the city. The balcony looked out over a big mass of trees. Just beyond the greenery was the River Yarra, flowing quickly past and then disappearing around a long bend. As they stood there, they could hear shouts from passing rowers floating up. Listening hard, Eva could hear the rumble of trams in the distance.
Lainey clapped her hands then, giving both Eva and Rex a fright. ‘Come on, Evie, have a shower, put on some fresh clothes and I’ll take you on another tour. Frighten that jetlag out of you. I know you’re tired but I’m not letting you go to bed for hours.’
They were soon back in the car, once again zipping through the traffic. ‘We’re off to St Kilda, Evie,’ Lainey announced. ‘The groovy part of town. And my second home, of course.’
‘Of course.’ Eva saw a row of palm trees ahead. Then a sudden blue flash of water - the sea, glinting and flashing in the bright sunlight. They drove along the Esplanade, past a big white pub, a multistoreyed hotel and an assortment of colourful and quirky looking apartments.
Trams sped past them, halting here and there, passengers casually clambering on and off, strolling across the road as the traffic stopped for them. Eva took in every detail - the relaxed mood, the music blaring from cars and shops, the stylish crowds. Tattoos and nose-rings seemed to be the look of the day. Dreadlocks. A few shaved heads. And lots of tanned and toned skin.
They had just parked and started walking along the street when a sudden collection of squeals flashed through the air. Eva jumped, while Lainey just walked on unperturbed. She smiled at her friend. ‘It’s the kids on the fairground ride. At Luna Park, just over there.’
She pointed beyond a fast-food restaurant to a brightly coloured gateway.
They finally reached the bar and cafe Lainey had in mind. Two streets back from the main shopping street, on the far edge of St Kilda, it took up the ground floor of an old stone building. Ivy and flowers spilled over from planter boxes outside.