Odyssey In A Teacup (39 page)

Authors: Paula Houseman

BOOK: Odyssey In A Teacup

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So. What about what felt right for me? What about my rights?

I’m here because I’m meant to be here.
No mistake
. And if I’m meant to be here, I have the right to be me, not some conversion of that to fulfil someone else’s wants. This still entails good manners. They’re important. But as for effective social conditioning and what the neighbours would think ... FUCKET!

Now
I
see me.

I finally fell into a contented sleep, but the insistent ringing of the doorbell woke me an hour later. It was only seven o’clock and I tried to ignore it. Whoever it was didn’t let up, though. I dragged myself out of bed, splashed cold water on my face and opened the front door to find Ralph leaning against the doorjamb.

He was wearing his glasses, but they didn’t hide his swollen, bloodshot eyes. And with his dishevelled hair sticking out all over the place, he reminded me of that little boy whose pet duck had been so coldheartedly taken away.

‘I’m sorry, Ruthie. I don’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have said anything.’ He seemed so sad and so vulnerable. ‘I hope it doesn’t change anything between us.’

I looked at Ralph, my best friend and confidant. Not a little boy, but a man who wanted and had asked for more; who had taken a risk by inviting me on what was sure to be a mother of a roller-coaster ride. I hate rough rides; they’re fraught with uncertainty and turbulence. But the one person I could always depend on to sustain me through the many up and down ones had always been Ralph.

Another odyssey ... do I dare strap myself in?

Just then, as if in answer to my question, I heard a lone voice in my head, like a whisper carried on the west wind:
There’ll be no firkin vanilla deodoriser on that ride.

Baubo!

I knew, unequivocally, this screwy goddess with a face that only a mother could love—or, maybe not—would be there to help me find the humour throughout the steep loop-the-loops.

Ralph was looking at me anxiously, waiting for some sort of response.

I smiled at him, and then said softly, ‘I hope it does.’

The End ... The Beginning

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Table of Contents

Part One: In Hot Water