Page 88 of Summer, in Between
An hour or so and a couple of hundred kilos later, the table’s cleared, the kids are having water fights in the backyard and the adults are cradling red wine.‘Let’s get out of here,’ I say quietly to Paul as he helps me place cheese platters down the middle of the table.
‘No way,’ he says.‘I saw that cheesecake in the fridge.’
‘You can’t still be hungry,’ I say.‘Anyway, that’s for later.Let’s go to the beach, have a quick swim, make some room for that cheesecake, yeah?’
‘I’m pretty sure I’ll sink,’ he says, ‘but okay, let’s do it.’
If any of the adults notice we are slinking away they don’t say anything.We walk through Batter’s Cove, the streets crowded with parked cars.As we pass a yard, an elephant of a man snores in a hammock and I can’t help but laugh.
‘Siesta time.I bet he’s Italian.’
‘I could go a siesta,’ says Paul, ‘especially if it means I get to wake up next to a beautiful Italian goddess like you.’
‘Words like that could get you in some serious trouble,’ I say.‘Anyway, if you were Italian, you’d be pinching my cheek right now.’
‘On it.’
‘Good try, but that’s the wrong cheek.’
‘Is it?’
‘Hey, Cat, hey Paulie!’Ant calls out from the pub’s outdoor courtyard.‘Com’era il pranzo?’
‘Completely over the top,’ I say.‘We’re going for a swim; it’s that or die.’
‘I can imagine,’ he says.‘Nonna caught up with yours at the supermarket, sounds like she was bringing out all the big guns.’
‘Next level,’ I say.‘She freakin’ hand rolled cannoli.’
‘And I’m all for it,’ says Paul.‘No complaints here at all.’
‘Good timing, hey mate.’Ant leaves the table and walks over to us.‘No way you’d have outrun the cops now, hey?’
‘What?’I turn to Paul.‘What’s he talking about?’
‘Nothing, he’s exaggerating.’Paul gives him a hard look.
‘What happened, Ant?’
Oblivious to Paul’s posturing he continues.‘Nothing, just Paulie kicking the shit out of two losers who deserved it.I can’t believe those dickheads gave Paulie’s chick a hard time.’
‘Paulie’s chick?You know I have a name, right?’I turn to Paul.‘Tell me what happened.’
‘I told you, nothing.I ran into them when I left your place earlier.’
‘Can you please define “ran into” for me?’
‘I saw them, I told them to fuck off.’
‘Yeah, with your right hook,’ Ant laughs.
‘You punched them?’
‘Mate, do you ever shut up?’Paul says to Ant.‘Cat, I know you’re not going to like it, but they’re lucky I didn’t kill them, I was so angry.’
‘Yeah, he had one by the throat while he was laying into the other one, you should’ve been there, Cat, it was awesome,’ says Ant.‘The boys were all there ready to jump in and help out if we needed to, but Paulie had them both down for the count, until some woman driving past went crazy and threatened to call the cops.’
‘Scampo, it’s always a pleasure catching up.Let’s go, babe.’Paul takes my hand as we follow the beach track through the scrub.‘Don’t be angry, Cat.I know what you’re going to say, that you don’t need rescuing, that I can’t go around punching people, but the thought of those feral fuckers bailing up you and Matty?I wasn’t going to let that one go.’
