Luigi woke to the smells
of breakfast and the sounds of chat and laughter drifting through the half-open
window. He threw off the bedclothes and
pulled his jeans on over his thong. He
sniffed the armpits of his shirt. A bit
niffy. Couldn’t be helped. He went through to the bathroom and washed
his face. The smell of cooking reminded
him of his grandmother, of staying at home, of being happy. I’ll
give it a go, he thought. It’s not like I’m alone any more. I have Jace and Key and maybe this whole
thing with Cody will work out. I’ll be
happy. I’ll make myself happy.
He traced the
smell and conversation to the kitchen, and emerged into bright autumn
sunlight. As he was greeting and being
greeted, he couldn’t help looking again and again at Cody to see how he
was. There was some reserve, some
sadness and grief, but he looked far better than he had when Luigi had picked
him up the day before (only one day ago!) in Mt Macedon. Between him and Jason there was the hint of
some discomfort, yet reading their body languages, he sensed that they might
become friends. He had to fetch a chair
from the kitchen for himself. Jason went
inside and brought out two teas and gave them to Luigi and Jason.
“This is your tea,
isn’t it?” Luigi asked Jason, touched.
“Well I can make
myself another. Go on, drink up. It’s good for what ails you!”
“Which is?”
Jason winked
salaciously, and Luigi felt himself colour.
For Heaven’s sake, not in front of the old ladies! Dio! Che scandalo!
