Dessi's Romance by Goldie Alexander Read Free Book Online Page B

pleasing picture, instead of inspiring me to sketch them I feel mildly
annoyed. How come? Then I realise it’s because Dessi isn’t here. If Dessi was
with me we’d exchange a knowing grin. ‘No sun,’ I say pointing out the obvious.
‘Why not go down to the beach?’
    Kaz crinkles her
nose. ‘All that sand goes up my bum.’
    ‘And we have
cold drinks here,’ Sacha says with a grin. ‘Very convenient.’
    ‘What’d you buy,
Emma?’ Kaz asks.
    I spread my
acquisitions on the table. Sacha nods approvingly. Recently he’s been working
on sketches of stylised women wearing glamorous clothes. ‘Hmmm, like that,’
says Kaz pointing to a silvery metallic halter-neck.
    ‘Want a beer?’
Sacha gets up to go into the kitchen.
    Kaz beckons me
over. ‘He needs a favour,’ she whispers. ‘Can he stay here with us? He loathes
it where he is.’       
    ‘Where’s he
going to sleep?’
    ‘You’ve an extra
bed in your room.’
    ‘Uh, I don’t
know if I want to share with a guy, Kaz.’ Another reason for missing Dessi. I
have a sudden memory of the many times we’ve shared rooms, the total intimacy.
Can I have this with a guy… even if it’s only Sacha?
    ‘…okay,’ Kaz is
saying, ‘I’ll take your room and you share with Jodie.’
    Share with
Jodie? No way.
    ‘Is it okay?’
Sacha comes back with two beers.
    ‘Well?’ Kaz
stares at me.    
    ‘Oh, okay I
suppose,’ I say, knowing I could sound more welcoming.
    ‘You’re the
best, Em,’ says Sacha. ‘I’ll go get my stuff,’ which I note, is already neatly
stacked in a corner. He gathers his bags and heads for the bedroom.
    At the same
moment, Jodie emerges from her room looking marginally better.
    ‘What’s going
on?’
    ‘Ask Kaz,’ I
say, suddenly cross as Picasso’s Woman in a Hat . This holiday is not going the way I’d
hoped. Just then the intercom buzzes. Jodie hands it to me. ‘There’s someone
down in the foyer to see you,’ she says, eyeing me curiously.
    My stomach
lurches. ‘Tell them I’ll be down in a minute.’
    It must be my
dad. I go to the door.

11. DESSI, Melbourne
     
    I answer the door to Abdul. I’ve worked
on my hair and make-up and changed into a colourful top and cut offs. From his
admiring glance, I must look okay.
    He doesn’t have to bend to
kiss my cheek. I remember him as being taller. He’s also in denim cut-offs and
a skin-tight blue T-shirt. His eyes are black as ebony, his olive skin somewhat
sallow, but the hair in the cleft of his chin and his head is pitch-black, collar-length and falls in tight ringlets over his high forehead. Only
his nose, curved like a bird of prey, stops him having a certain ‘choirboy’ look
I’m sure is misleading.
    ‘Mum, meet Abdul, Emma’s
new friend,’ I tell Hannah.
    Abdul smiles politely but a
second later his face is impassive.
    Hannah’s greeting is
friendly if a little bemused. I openly scowl. I just know she’s thinking, ‘Nice
boy. Shame he’s Lebanese...‘
    With some difficulty Abdul
helps me into the van, makes sure my other leg is also safely inside, and we
move down the street. Now we’re actually together and alone, I’m tongue-tied.
The car dodges in and out of traffic. I watch the real world rush past. Each
time Abdul glances my way, I feel my pulse quicken. He says, ‘Anywhere you’d
like to go?’
    ‘Not really.’
    ‘Everyone heads for
Sorrento and Portsea. Let’s go the other way. How about we drive to Flinders?’
    Didn’t great-aunt Ella
paint watercolours of Flinders?
     
Is love really
what the singers sing about
    Or is it just some
    damn fool attraction?
     
    We drive past the Casino. Desperate to
break this silence with anything, no matter how stupid, I ask, ‘You into
pokies?’
    He grins slightly. ‘No way.
They’re programmed to make you lose.’
    How come he knows? Maths,
of course! I slyly watch him. Though he’s not really all that handsome, he has
an air of gravity I really admire. His wide shoulders,