Page 31 of After the Siren

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Jake

Theo

Not my work

Jake

yeh I figured

Theo

Rude.

Jake sent him a picture of a much less coordinated Christmas tree. A lot of the ornaments had obviously been made by Jake in school. Many of them were football themed. Junior-primary Jake had a vision for his future.

Theo hesitated, then wroteI hope your Mum is doing ok.

Jake sent him a picture of a woman with buzzed grey hair and Jake’s eyes, sitting on the beach, holding up a stubby in a cheers gesture. She was in a grey Falcons singlet and there was a familiar mermaid tattoo on her left bicep, faded but still clearly distinguishable.

Theo

You have the same tattoo as your mum?

Jake

my mum is cool

Jake sent him another picture. He’d angled the phone so his mum’s tattoo and his own were in the frame together. He’d hooked a thumb in the waistband of his rainbow-lorikeet boardshorts and pulled them down to expose the whole tattoo, as though Theo hadn’t seen it before.

Theo flicked the fan on. It really was a warm day.

Theo

Nice boardies

Jake

present from lydia

(mum’s gf)

Jake sent him a sequence of pictures – one of a woman who must have been Lydia wearing a kaftan in the same print as Jake’s boardies, an impressive beach tent, the golden retriever splashing gleefully in the waves with a girl in a yellow bikini (Jake’s sister? Jake’s friend?). Jake’s Christmas Day seemed very focused on the beach and not very focused on anything to do with Christmas. Theo sent him a picture of the unhinged Nativity icon that had been in the family for a good few decades. It had lost a bit of its gilt over the years, but none of its character. The colour combinations on the robes of the Magi weren’t dissimilar to some of Jake’s outfit selections.

Jake sent a sequence of emojis that Theo interpreted as amusement.

Jake

do ur family do church shit on xmas?

not that its shit if ur into that

Theo

My parents + extended family do, I don’t usually go

Christmas for us isn’t until Jan 7

Jake

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