Page 15 of Not Your Shoe Size

“Girl Guides. Go on.”

Kate stared up at the sky. Despite the cold, it was clear as ice, a bright blistering blue. It would be a blazing afternoon. She’d have to have another shower before she and Ty left for the Engineering Excellence Awards

“Mac.” Rapunzel’s hand closed around her upper arm. “Talk or I give you whatever the PC term for a Chinese burn is.”

Kate laughed and the knot in her chest loosened. “It’s marriage. Marriage and Paris.”

“What do you mean?”

Kate told Rapunzel about Ty wanting to get engaged and her own floating discontent. How she couldn’t get excited about anything happening in her life. How she kept fantasising about living in Paris, wearing red lipstick, walking a designer dog, becoming a fashionable sophisticate or something else novel and new. Rapunzel listened without interrupting, breaking eye contact only to sip coffee or light a cigarette.

“I get it,” she said when Kate was done. “You’re twitchy and you want a change.”

“I’m not sure—”

“You do.” Rapunzel ground a Marlboro into her Cinderella ashtray. “You’ve been twitchy for ages, making plans and bailing on them.”

“Like what?!”

Kate couldn’t remember flaking out on plans; in fact, she prided herself on always showing up for things. Why else was she in Brunswick on a Saturday morning?

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “Like saying we should go to Mardi Gras, then wanting to see Vegas for Tam’s thirtieth, then talking about getting your skydiving licence or tutoring geography or becoming an adult ballerina—”

“Those aren’t plans, they’re just…ideas.”

“Whacky-asfuck ideas.”

“Icouldtake adult ballet!”

“No, you fucking well won’t.” Rapunzel’s expression grew serious. “I knew something like this was coming ever since you said you might be too busy for derby next season.”

“That’s because of Maria!”

Kate and the coach of the Barbie Trolls had a complicated relationship. They’d bonded when Kate first joined the team, but as she got to know Rapunzel, she realised her and Maria’s friendship was possessive, bordering on toxic. When their low-key arguments about spending time together had turned nasty, Kate told her former mentor to back off. Maria agreed, but it was never the same. Now they only saw each other at games, but Maria’s smiles had gotten increasingly brittle, her irritation palpable.

“Bullshit,” Rapunzel said. “You can handle Maria being a sad bitch. You’re just over derby.”

“I’m not!”

“It’s not an accusation! It happens. Just because you have fun doing something, doesn’t mean you’re gonna enjoy it forever. The Beatles broke up.”

“I thought that was Yoko.”

Rapunzel snorted. “Everyone who listens to the ‘You’re Wrong About’ podcast knows that’s not true. Look, here are the facts.” She spread her tattooed fingers wide. “You’re a late bloomer. You hit puberty when you hooked up with Henderson. Now it’s been five years, you know how to function in the adult world, and you feel ready for the big leagues; moving out of home and away from mummy and daddy.”

Kate’s raised her coffee to her lips and found her mug empty. She feigned taking a sip anyway. “The mummy and daddy in this scenario are…?”

Rapunzel stared at her, unsmiling.

“You’re not my mother,” Kate said, feeling slightly sick. “Ty’s not my dad!”

A raised brow.

“You’re not! And he’s not!”

“Not in an incest way, but we do protect you.”

Kate stared at her hands. “I know. And maybe you’re right, maybe I’m older and this is a weird second puberty thing, but I am happy. I don’t want to leave you or Casey or Tam or Melbourne.”

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