Shampoo by Karina Almeroth Read Free Book Online

Everard.”
    He sounded stunned. “You’re gonna drive ALL THE
WAY back to Brisbane, then ALL THE WAY BACK –”
    “ Yeah – ”
    “ I would NEVER drive that far –
”
    “ Lucky I’m not you!”
    So that’s what I did. Did a burnout on the
esplanade, hooned it back to Brissie, grabbed my stuff, stuffed it
all in my pink fairy suitcase, and leadfooted it back to the Gold
Coast.
    I was there by 2pm.
    It was like something from a dream when I
pulled up to the unit block – 4 Commodores all lined up, one behind
the other.

    (ohhh BABY!!)

    The one car garage was available, and there was
absolutely no more room where all the guys had parked their cars,
and no way I was parking my brand new love of my life on the busy
Gold Coast Highway, so I stole the garage spot. Judging by the
sheer amount of Holdens, everyone had arrived anyway.
    “ Hey woman!!”
    “ Pinky’s here!”
    “ Kerry!!” (Dan calls me Kerry. As
payback for me never calling him Daniel)
    “ Nice car, Karina – ”
    Ever, Dan, Tom and Mark were all on the balcony
above me. “Boys, I like all your penis extensions out here –
”
    Later that arvo, I tried to reverse out the
garage with all the boys’ cars lined up behind me, to take me, Nat
and Josie out to get alcohol. I seriously couldn’t do it, I keep
reversing, swinging, coming too close to Tom’s car especially, and
having to straighten up, drive back in, and try again.
     
    (fuck Commodores ARE BIG. Coming from a tiny
Honda Civic to this is an adjustment. In parking situations
anyway)

    Nat and Josie were absolutely cacking it. I
could see and hear the boys on the balcony above me,
too.
    “ Watch my car, Pinky!!”
    “ This is the funniest thing you’ve
done so far, woman!!”
    Evvy finally came downstairs after attempt one
hundred by me, and opened my car door. “I’ll do it, woman –
”
    I stepped out the car and watched how he
reversed in one clean sweep.

    (hot, and damn it)

    He climbed out, held my door open as I hopped
back in, closed it behind me.
    He was still laughing.
     
    So after the bottle-o trip, we all started
drinking in the unit. I checked my Barbie watch, realizing I had to
take my medicine (other than pink champagne). I started pulling
them all out of my bag and lining them up on the kitchen
bench.
     
    (while I sipped my pink champers)
    Nat rolled her eyes, while Ever froze. “I’m
PRETTY SURE you’re NOT SUPPOSED TO DRINK on antibiotics! Look how
many of them you’ve got!!” he cried.
    “ Yeah, my ass is infected –
”
    They all fell about laughing. “Are you
serious?” Ever asked when he’d calmed down. “Your scar is
infected?”
    “ Yes – ”
    The stern Evvy took over. He walked over to me,
took my drink out my hand, and chucked the contents down the sink.
“NO MORE, WOMAN, YOU’RE SICK,” then, “You’re gonna kill yourself
the way you drink,” then
     
    (this is sexy),
     
    “Not on my watch!!”
    No wonder I had sex with him 4 times while we
were down there (gentle sex).
     
     
     
    Thursday 22 June 2000
    8.46pm

    Mum’s in hospital and really, really
sick.
    Nat and I spent hours in the waiting room, then
a doctor came out and asked us to come with him, and he led us into
an empty examination room.
    This is when Nat and I just looked at each
other. The dread and horror was palpable.
    “ Is Mum…??” Nat
whispered.
    “ Oh, no no, she’s alive, BUT BARELY
– ”
    Life doesn’t prepare you for these moments. It
just comes along and knocks your feet out from under
you.
    “ We think she’s going into multiple
organ failure. We don’t know how long she has to live.”
    Nat and I saw her. God, it was awful. She’s
awake and alert. But very, very sick.
    I know she’s not been the best mother to us,
BUT SHE IS OUR MUM. She’s only 41. She’s suffered so much…I don’t
wanna see her suffer anymore.
    She seems far too young.
    I came home and cried all night. Fucking sobbed
my heart out. It’s moments like these I think I have