Page 108 of Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon
‘Oh,’ Lois says, then she looks at Peter, who wordlessly retrieves a chair from another table and places it next to the other.
‘Do we have enough room?’ Trudy asks.
‘Absolutely!’ says Lois. ‘Don’t we, Joycey?’
Joyce makes a face then picks up her glass of wine.
‘That’s a magnificent brooch, Joyce,’ says Sol, who is sitting next to her. Joyce’s face softens. So Trudy hasn’t been able to crack this woman for years yet Sol can do it with a few words? The man must have the magic touch, and she appreciates it.
‘Thank you,’ Joyce coos. ‘I made it.’
‘You made it! Tell me about it.’
With Joyce deftly handled, Trudy turns her attention to Lois and Peter.
‘Ginger ale, Trude?’ Peter says, standing again.
‘Oh, I can –’
‘No, you won’t.’ Peter smiles. ‘What does Sol like to drink?’
Trudy gives the order and once Peter is gone, Lois pounces.
‘So he’s your new friend, is he? Handsome fellow. Where did you meet him? At the salon, I bet. You wouldn’t think it’s a place to meet men but clearly it’s worked for you, Trude, good on you!’
Before Lois’s imagination can run away from her, Trudy decides to intervene.
‘Actually, he was a friend of Laurie’s from bowls.’
Lois looks mildly scandalised, then leans in. ‘You weren’t …’ She glances around. ‘Having anaffair?’
Trudy laughs so loudly that heads around them turn.
‘When would I have had time for an affair?’ she says, not caring who hears. If the worst that can be conjured about her and Sol together is that they might have been on before Laurie died, she can handle it. ‘And I didn’t even know the man until a few weeks ago.’
‘Weeks?’ Lois’s eyes go even wider. ‘You just seem like …’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, like you … fit together.’ She giggles. ‘Good on you, Trude. I thought you should be with someone. Truly, it’s not good to be alone, is it? Pete and I talk about this. Whoever goes first – I mean, we could die together in a car crash, you never know – we’ve both said the other shouldn’t be alone forever. It’s not right, is it? We’re social animals, Trude. That’s what I always say.’
Trudy smiles as Lois continues to talk about how she’s glad Trudy has found someone and Sol will need to join them each time they have dinner, and maybe he could play golf with Peterand Fred. Meanwhile Sol is fully engaged in conversation with Fred and Joyce, and something about it feels … right.
‘Ginger ale, Trude,’ Peter says as he puts her drink in front of her, then Sol’s in front of him.
Trudy gently squeezes Sol’s hand, and he squeezes back, and slowly she feels the hard shell of the past two years start to melt away.
AUGUST 1986
Lionel Richie’s albumDancing on the Ceilingis released.
The Pablo Picasso paintingThe Weeping Womanis stolen from the National Gallery of Victoria.
Paul Simon, formerly of Simon & Garfunkel, releases the albumGraceland.
Stand by Me, starring River Phoenix, is released.
Don Chipp retires from Parliament and his leadership of the Australian Democrats. He is replaced by Janine Haines, the first woman to lead an Australian political party.
