her that I loved her, no matter what. She couldn’t trust me. That’s what I keep thinking about. I couldn’t care if she smuggled heroin, she’s still my daughter . . . OK, if she was a heroin smuggler, I might mind. But, truly, I just want her to be happy.’
‘And I’m sure she is,’ Nina enthused. ‘She’s decided she wants to get married. Doesn’t that tell you she’s found a great love? And that she believes in it so much that she wants to declare it to the world, even if some narrowminded idiots might disapprove? She’s invited you to be there to witness the occasion, and isn’t that a wonderful thing any mother would be grateful for?’
‘That was good, Nina,’ whispered Annie.
‘Thanks.’
Meredith groaned, rolled over and dragged the doona with her. ‘I suppose it’ll be some godawful ceremony. Some white witch in a tie-dyed skirt chucking rose petals into the bloody ocean. Then we’ll all go back to someone’s carport for wholemeal pizza and cheap white wine in plastic cups.’
Nina, used to sleeping with a man who hogged the bedclothes, hauled the doona back over her hips. ‘It couldn’t be worse than my wedding! I was hugely pregnant. I decided to lace myself into this corset so I didn’t show so much. I flaked out during the vows and then spent the reception hurling in the dunny.’
Annie laughed. ‘What was your wedding like, Meredith?’
‘Registry office and a counter lunch,’ she admitted. ‘Then we got on the Princess of Tasmania, sailed overnight in the worst storm in twenty years and stayed at a pub in Launceston. We didn’t have two beans to our name.’
‘If I get married again, I’ll have seventeen bridesmaids and fly to Paris. You can both be matrons-of-honour. I’ll choose the dresses. I’ve always liked teal,’ Annie teased Meredith, who squealed with satisfying disgust.
‘Just what I’ve always wanted,’ Nina sighed. ‘To be a matron-of-honour. Can’t they find a better name for it like, lady-in-waiting or . . . something?’
‘You’ll be waiting alright—you still reek!’ Annie reminded her. Nina whimpered and pulled the bedcovers over her head.
‘Is she doing it to get back at me for working?’ Meredith asked.
‘You know something?’ said Annie. ‘For once this isn’t about you. It’s about what Sigrid wants. Did you become some radical feminist comedienne just to get back at your mother? . . . On second thoughts, don’t answer that.’
‘I did, I suppose. But it didn’t really work. There were a couple of times when I was onstage and looked down to see Edith sitting in the front row. She pretended she didn’t get any of the jokes. Bless her.’
‘Your mother was the best.’ Nina poked her nose over the edge of the doona. ‘I remember her bringing a plate of pikelets to a Sanctified Soul concert. She loved you. She was so proud of you—no matter what.’
‘But how would you feel, Nina, if one of your boys was gay?’ Meredith persisted.
Nina laughed. ‘If Jordy came home and said he was dropping out of footy to go to ballet school, I would be the happiest woman in the world! And that’s not to say I haven’t met plenty of gay footballers.’
‘Ooh! Who?’ whispered Annie.
‘Oh, there’s this full forward who plays for . . .’ Nina pulled up short at the white chalk mark on the grass. ‘Sworn to secrecy, sorry.’
‘So, what do I do when I get to the wedding? What do I say?’
‘You just kiss everyone and hand out presents,’ Nina advised. ‘That’s what Oprah does.’
‘And think of it, Meredith—when you’re eventually parked in a nursing home, there’ll be two daughters to come and visit, not just one,’ said Annie brightly.
‘Oh, great! That’s cheered me up.’
‘And we’ll come and see you too,’ added Nina. ‘I’ll pluck the hairs on your chin . . .’
‘And I’ll change your incontinence pads.’
‘Hah! You two will be sitting right there next to me.’
‘No we won’t,’ laughed Annie, ‘we’re younger than you. You might not have cared about us during the past twenty years, but you’re really going to need us over the next twenty!’
‘I have enough money. I’ll hire professional care.’
‘Do you really think we’ve made a mess of our lives?’ asked Annie.
‘Who hasn’t, in one way or another?’ sighed Nina. ‘But that’s what friends are for. It’s just good to have someone who knows you well. Someone who believes in what you’re aiming for, encourages you to go for it, but still loves you even when you miss the mark.’
‘Amen to that,