Page 67 of Queenslander
She watched her swollen feet—numb meat balloons on stiff ankles—to help them find the steps. “Don’t have unprotected sex, kids.”
On the other side of the screen door Mattie laughed.
Nev didn’t follow. She had hung behind and was leaning against her truck.
Ronnie paused and turned back. “Call me later?”
Nev shook her head. “Can’t. Have to drive Gunni to the airport. I’ll be back next week.”
Ronnie swallowed. “Have a safe trip.”
Nev touched the brim of her Akubra, tipping her hat in a way few people could without looking ridiculous.
Mattie’s friend had given him a front-row ticket to the match, but if Mattie was disappointed not to be there, he hid it. The Madonnas cuddled on the couch while the Crusaders versus Chiefs super rugby round robin match played on the telly.
The hospital had told her to walk around as often as she could to prevent internal scarring. When she shuffled around the house, waiting for the older wallaby joeys that were loose in the family room to hop out of the way, Mattie and Reg spotted her like she was a midfielder they were guarding.
She rested on the couch, propped up with pillows under her knees on one of the coveted ottomans while her relatives pampered her and brought her random things they thought she might need.
That night, Ronnie was the only one who didn’t cook something. The kitchen was in holiday mode—giggly excitement, everyone teasing Mattie, who teased everyone, and razor-sharp focus on what magic spell Nonna was casting in the big pot.
After dinner, which was pork roast, they let Rainbow stay up late watching movies, eating popcorn and candy, while Nonna retired with her boxed wine to her apartment in back, off the pool.
At eleven, Blaise turned off the telly and dimmed the lights. Rainbow opened windows and turned on fans, pausing to watch Ronnie shuffle to the toilet.
In the dark living room she lay on the fold-out bed beside her daughter and listened to a chorus of ceiling fans. In the wide old house, a central corridor caught the breeze. At night they slept with front and back doors open. Screens kept some of the mosquitos out.
Rainbow was all elbows and knees, in the midst of a growth spurt. The girl was already up to Ronnie’s chest. She was pretty. Puberty would be a nasty surprise for the girl. There was nothing Ronnie could do about that, except love her and make sure she had clothes that fit.
“Did they take out your vagina?” Rainbow asked.
Ronnie laughed. “No. Did you learn about reproductive systems in school?”
“Can you still get pregnant?”
“They took out one of my two fallopian tubes. The other still works.”
“Were you trying to have a baby?” Rainbow asked.
“No. I was trying not to. I’m happy with the one I’ve got.” Ronnie tweaked her nose.
“I don’t want to be an only child.”
It hadn’t occurred to her that her daughter might be disappointed.
“By the time you get married, all your eggs will be dead.”
Ronnie laughed. “Nine-year-olds don’t worry about that.”
“I’m mature.”
“Not that mature. I don’t want to do the family thing again. We’re a family. I’m never going to get married. Why would I? I already have you.”
“Don’t use me as an excuse to fail at everything. You’re kind of a loser, mum.”
Bloody hell…She wasn’t thick-skinned enough to survive a tween. “Rainbow! That hurts my feelings. I’m not a loser. I’m trying extremely hard. We don’t talk down at people.”
“Sorry.”
