Still Waving by Laurene Kelly Page B

black hole opening up in front of me.
    â€˜Sorry, Jules. I don’t reckon your aunt’s got it. Think positively.’ Kate sounded contrite. ‘Sometimes I wish I could keep my big mouth shut.’
    â€˜Don’t worry. It’s not your fault.’
    â€˜No I know, but maybe it wasn’t the right time to talk about Rell, if you know what I mean.’
    â€˜It’s okay. Look I better go.’
    â€˜Are you angry with me?’ Kate asked.
    â€˜No. No way. I’m going to have a bath before I go to bed. Do you want to check out the waves in the morning?’
    â€˜Great.’
    â€˜Oh shit, I forgot. I said I’d have breakfast with my aunt in the morning. I’ll have to keep my eye on the time and get back about six-thirty.’
    â€˜I’ve got a waterproof watch, I’ll wear it.’
    â€˜Great, same place, same time.’
    â€˜See you, and Jules,’ Kate had a serious tone. ‘Don’t worry about your aunt, you know worry only gets you wrinkles.’ Kate laughed and hung up.
    I couldn’t help but smiling about my new friend. I ran the bath, swishing the water around to get the right temperature, feeling comforted by its warmth.

CHAPTER 6
Wednesday
    The aftermath of the storm was a wild, unmanageable sea. The rain had stopped but the wind was practically cyclonic. It was blowing a gale off the water, chopping the waves into turbulent dumpers. It looked dangerous. I wondered if Kate was looking at the same scene from her sister’s balcony. Dawn was grey and the approaching sunrise unremarkable.
    I ran down the stairs to my rendezvous.
    The wind howled and swept plastic bags up the street. I caught a couple.
    â€˜This weather’s shit,’ Kate said, approaching from the corner.
    I noticed she didn’t have her surfboard.
    â€˜Do you want to come up for breakfast?’
    â€˜Will your aunt mind?’
    â€˜No, she’s not up yet, and won’t be for at least another hour.’
    I put my finger to my lips as we passed Aunt Jean’s bedroom door. We tiptoed to the kitchen. I put the bags I’d collected in our rubbish bin and put thekettle on.
    â€˜Tea or coffee?’ I got two cups down.
    â€˜Coffee, thanks. This is a great place.’ Kate looked around admiringly.
    â€˜My aunt’s lived here all her life.’
    â€˜I like it better than my sister’s. This place has a past. My sister’s is so new.’
    â€˜No ghosts of its own,’ I said.
    â€˜Yeah. You know here, you can imagine other times.’
    I’d never really thought about it like that.
    I poured the coffee. It was too bleak to sit out on the balcony, so we sat at the kitchen bench.
    â€˜Well that’s stuffed up the morning,’ Kate said. ‘I wish I was one of those people who could go back to bed and sleep. Once I’m up and awake, that’s it.’
    â€˜Me too.’ I sipped my coffee. ‘Kate, do you want to come to a rave on Saturday night? If you don’t …’ I left the sentence unfinished.
    â€˜Cool. I’ll come.’
    â€˜I’ll ring Phoebe later to get tickets for us.’
    â€˜How much?’
    â€˜Depends, I guess. Maybe if Phoebe and Jasmine aren’t doing anything, we could go over to their place later.’
    â€˜Do they live together?’
    â€˜No Jasmine is staying at Phoebe’s. She had a bigfight with her mum.’
    I’d have to warn Phoebe and Jasmine not to spill the beans about my parents. I’d have to tell them I’d told Kate they died in a car crash.
    â€˜Is it only you and your aunt living here?’
    â€˜No, my brother Toby usually does, but he’s up the bush with our uncle.’
    â€˜Whereabouts?’
    â€˜Oh you know, the back of Bourke. Out west.’
    â€˜Never been there.’
    â€˜It’s the end of the line.’
    â€˜Is that where you come from?’
    â€˜Y … yes.’ I hoped this was the