INfusion 47 ebook - Summer 2012 - NMIT

And They Shall Weep
Anne Bowman
Ben stretched. I followed suit. We both had slightly sore lower backs from
sitting in the car for so long. We arched our backs, like cats in the sun, and
looked out over the white-flecked ocean.
It’d been a pleasant drive. One hour on the road, then Devonshire tea
at Caldermeade Farm. Ben loved the freshly whipped cream on the scones. I
gave him one of my scones so that he could use up both our portions of jam.
Not good for his diet, but his weight-loss surgery wasn’t for another couple of
weeks.
It was another hour and a bit before we arrived at Cassandra and
Norton’s. They welcomed us in their usual country way. Her elderly parents
couldn’t get over how much weight I’d lost; her dad couldn’t believe it was me.
Some days, I can’t believe I’m me, so I knew what he meant.
Then, lunch with the whole Kennedy clan in one of the local cafés.
Twelve of us, all chatting and catching up. Little Sharmaine kept cadging
two-dollar coins from us for the Barney the Dinosaur ride in the arcade. For a
child who’d received blood transfusions in utero just two years before, she was
doing remarkably well.
Ben and I had been given leave to spend the afternoon on our own, but
were under strict instructions to be back for dinner at 6.30pm. We’d been
promised roast lamb and veggies. Ben kept checking the clock on his iPhone
to make sure we wouldn’t be late. There was no way on God’s greenest earth
that he would be late for a dinner like that.
Ben can be a bit of a rebel without a clue. The drive down had been
spiced up a number of times when his hand lingered on my leg, his fingers
brushing my crotch. I would turn to him and smile and he would look at me
blankly and say in a bad Cockney accent: ‘Wot?’
We’d driven down the cape road and gotten out to stretch our legs. I had
been uncomfortably hard in my jeans and concealed myself behind the car so
I could make some adjustments. Ben just flashed me a toothy, knowing smile
and I felt a warmth in my cheeks. I felt very lucky. Lucky to have a boyfriend.
Lucky to have a boyfriend who was, well, just so damned nice. Lucky to be able
to get away for the weekend. Lucky to be sharing it with him.
We got back in the car and drove down near the surf club. We pulled in
73
Aaron Hughes
One, Four, Three