horny. Sue was on Dannyâs knee in the middle of the armchair, kissing passionately. Cheryl and Gull were stretched out on the lounge, his hand disappearing into her blouse. Wayne and I were lying on the carpet, half under the stereo which was blaring out âClose to the Edgeâ by Yes. That was the in record to play when you were stoned before Cheech and Chong came along.
We had the TV on with the sound turned down and the stereo up full blast. When things got horny and uncomfortable enough, youâd disappear with your partner and go to find an empty bedroom. You didnât just get up and leave though. You had to be cool. You waited until the record needed changing or the dog needed letting out or you wanted a glass of water.While you were out of the room, youâd pretend it suddenly struck you, âWhile Iâm up, I wouldnât mind a root.â
Iâd started to really enjoy sex now. It was the only thing I had to look forward to.
Wayne led me down the stairs, past the pool, and into the rumpus room. He locked the door. We used to start on the floral night-and-day but always ended up on the floor.
âLetâs try a backwards one.â
âEr,â I said. If I rolled over heâd see my bare bottom.
âItâs great. Dave and Johnno said itâs great.â
âOkay â¦âI rolled over hesitantly. âBut I donât know what to do.â
âItâs all right.â He eased cushions under my abdomen.
Finally Wayne said, âIâm done.â
âOkay.â It was about time to go up for another joint.
âGive it to me,â I stretched out my hand.
âWhat?â
âYou know?â
âI havenât got it.â
âWell, I havenât got it.â
âWhere can it be?â
âGord, I dunno.â
âWell, weâll have to look for it.â
Half naked, we started crawling all over the rumpus room floor. Under the night-and-day. Behind the bar. I even looked behind the piano.
âI canât find it,â I whispered, worried.
âTurn on the light.â
Then I couldnât find the light switch. Eventually we stumbled upon a lamp.
âItâs just disappeared ⦠You sure you havenât got it?â I was half under the night-and-day, checking and re-checking. I must have lifted up every cushion in that room twenty times. I had horrible visions of Mrs Nolan doing the vacuuming and coming across a soggy, spermy, screwed up plastic thing. I imagined her picking it up and showing it to her husband; then realising what it was and washing her hands.
We had to give it up. It was just nowhere.
It downed on me in the kitchen â¦
âI can feel something.â Wayne looked at me. I looked at him. He looked back at his cheese toastie. I went to the bathroom. It had been inside the whole time. Things had got so frantic it had fallen off.
âThatâs the last time Iâm using one of those bloody things,â Wayne groaned.
Â
A few weeks later I was pregnant.
I didnât know I was until one morning I felt really sick.
âI feel sick, Mum.â
âDo you want a day in bed, dear?â
âYeah.â
âDo you want some Vegemite on toast and a cup of tea?â
âNu.â
âAll right. Look after yourself. Bye now.â
Sheâd just gone out the door when I desperately wanted to do a pee. Then it happened. It all came out like watery, underset jelly. I flushed it away.
There were certain laws in Sylvania Heights about getting pregnant. We had three ways of trying to get rid of it. You could ride your horse bare-back. Cheryl was always galloping Randy, unsaddled, around the football field. You could get Steve Strachan to punch you in the lower stomach. His friends would hold you while he took aim. It never worked. Some chicks were lucky enough to miscarry but usually you had to tell your father. I could never have told mine. Thank God I
Laura Locutus
Gertrude Chandler Warner
Donald Harstad
Timothy Williams
Margaret Yorke
Alisa Woods
Jack Ludlow
Deborah Fletcher Mello
Tyler Anne Snell
Anne Swärd