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Authors: Paula Houseman

Odyssey In A Teacup (39 page)

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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Connect with Paula Houseman

Website:
http://paulahouseman.com

 

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Table of Contents

Part One: In Hot Water

Chapter One: Family Jewels
Chapter Two: Fourplay
Chapter Three: Dates & Lemons
Chapter Four: Not with a Bang but a Whimper
Chapter Five: Her Big Fat Jewish Wedding
Chapter Six: Fruity Nuts
Chapter Seven: Lights on, Nobody Home
Chapter Eight: Warts ‘n’ All
Chapter Nine: Wind Beneath My Minge
Chapter Ten: An Ill Wind Sucks
Chapter Eleven: Escape from the Mad House
Chapter Twelve: Ship of Fools
Chapter Thirteen: Wedding Daze
Chapter Fourteen: Real Estate Low-down
Chapter Fifteen: Kiddie Litter

Part Two: Tea and Sympathy

Chapter Sixteen: Casual Chic
Chapter Seventeen: Doctoring
Chapter Eighteen: Dropping(s)
Chapter Nineteen: Latest Crazed
Chapter Twenty: Fashion Flops
Chapter Twenty-One: Inside Jobs
Chapter Twenty-Two: Pieces of Work
Chapter Twenty-Three: There’s the Rub
Chapter Twenty-Four: Up-endings
BOOK: Odyssey In A Teacup
13.41Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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