Murray woke to a face full of pussy. This time, of the feline variety. Missy twisted and padded her way over the two occupants in the bed. First, she offered Murray an uncensorecd view of her pink, puckered bum, then turned to give him a fishy-breathed miaow.
‘Missy,’ moaned Claude, whose head was all twisted-up in the dress she’d been wearing the previous night. Murray started laughing when he saw her.
‘Oh my God, have we landed?’ Claude opened eyes ringed with runaway mascara.
Murray bounced sickeningly on the bed . ‘Yes, but remain seated until the craft has completely stopped movimg.’ He grabbed her tits. ‘Emergency airbags, in case of sudden impact.’
‘Careful, they’re real-you don’t find that too often these days.’
Murray leapt out of bed and waved his click at her. ‘Watch out-this is real too, and I’ve got a fire to put out.’
He went into the bathroom; Claude wondered whether he’d leave the seat up. From there he went to tine kitchen and got them both some juice-a gesture that impressed her mightily. She dragged on her kimono, her inhibition resurfacing in the cold hard light of day.
‘What a rad night,’ said Murray, bouncing back on to the bed and making Claudette a little queasy. The phone rang.
‘Oh go away,’ she pouted in a little girl voice.
‘Claude. Bell. Just ringing to show you that my demented-scorned woman routine also extends to phoning friends who axe too hung-over to answer the phone. Call me when you are able. By theway, Murray’s prints are back, mmm mmm mmm. Just tell him they’re okay, don’t want him getting too big a head, do we?’
Murray laughed. ‘When can I see ‘em?’
‘Oh, I’ll pick them up later-don’t pester me. It’s bloody Mon-day, I’m a wreck and I’ve got a million things to do for this catalogue. I’ll be lucky if I have time this week.’
‘Hey, wasn’t that weird what I saw in the turret?’
‘It was probably just the drugs, hon, they do play havoc with the imagination. Are you hungry?’
‘Now I think about it.’
‘Let’s have some brekkie. Are you going to tell the boys about last night?’
‘Well, I’m not going to not tell them. They probably guessed anyway. They’ve got filthy minds.’
She nodded. ‘Do you feel okay about it?’
‘Yeah, ‘course.’
‘I hope we can still be friends, you know … I don’t expect…’
‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s not talk about all that stuff. I came on to you, I reckon, and it was fun, wasn’t it? Who can blame you if I’m simply irresistible!
She clouted him over the head with a packet of bacon.
‘Bell’s right, we don’t need to make your head any bigger.’
She grilled bacon and cooked toast as he flicked through a folder of her ads. Claude was thinking how outrageous it was that she’d had unsafe sex. What disturbed her even more was that according to the Man Ray calendar on the wall, it was exactly fourteen days until her period. What would coke and eccies do to a foetus, she wondered.
Three mouths yawned, groaned and reluctantly returned to consciousness and a cruel, mundane world. Each oral cavern tasted like the bottom of a bird cage.
‘Boy-oh-boy,’ said Doc. ‘What a night and where’s the water?’ ‘Oh God, is that the time?’ cried Dixon. It was nearly ten. ‘I’ll have to phone in sick-and I am-splitting bloody headache.’ He
dragged himself from the bed and went into his own room to call work.
A key turned in the front door and in walked Murray. The first sight to meet his eyes was the open door to Doc’s bedroom and both Dũng and Doc in the bed. Murray shook his head and hoped. Claude was right-perhaps he was still seeing things. He changed into his tracksuit and set about cleaning up yesterday’s lunch, as the others showered and returned to the grim prospect of a winter Monday. It seemed no one was going to work.
‘So you enjoyed Claudette’s hospitality last night?’ asked Doc as he wandered into the kitchen. Murray was stacking the dishwasher.
‘I got a bit freaked out. I thought I saw someone in the turret when we got home. Claude reckoned it was the drugs, but I know what I saw.’
Doc coughed. ‘I was up there when you got home.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know, I thought I heard something-music’ He had heard music but that wasn’t what lured him up there. Nor could he remember how he’d gotten there. It concerned him. He didn’t want to concern Murray, however.
‘Not piano music, was it?’
Doc nodded. ‘Usually is, I’m afraid.’
‘I’ve heard it but when I have, I’ve been up there and it sounds like it comes from somewhere in the house.’
‘Well my senses were way out of kilter last night.’
‘I thought it was the ghost, that’s why I went and stayed at Claude’s.’
His eyebrow tilted slightly. ‘That’s why, is it?’
Murray went on with his work remembering what Bella had said about men and sex: ‘It’s always better they know too little than too much.’
Later Murray caught Dũng in the kitchen. ‘Are you shagging Doc too now?’
‘What’s it to you? You’re doing alright, aren’t you?’
‘What does Dixon think?’
‘Who knows how his cesspool of a mind works. But it might be
wise for you to keep out of everyone’s way over the next couple of days and not be asking questions people don’t have answers for. Tempers can get a bit short and egos ragged after a weekend like that.’
‘What, like coming down?’
‘Exactly.’
Murray took to his room. He thought about Claude and fucking her without a condom. He still felt pretty horny so he tried to pick up Nina’s story but he was finding it a bit repetitive: all that plaiting her hair and pretending to be a Nazi Fraulein. He climbed up to the turret to see if there was any decent porn in the boxes there and noticed a coil of rope that he was sure hadn’t been there before. He smoked a joint and spied on Claude. She was sitting at her table near the window but all she seemed to do was talk on the phone, wave a pen around and type on the computerboring. Then the phone rang and he clattered down to answer it. It was his mum.
‘So, whatcha been up to, Shane?’
‘Mum, I told you-Murray.’
‘Oh, that’s right. Sorry.’
‘It’s okay. I’ve been out partying a bit. I’ve been going to these really ace clubs and I’ve got a job modelling in this department store catalogue. I’ve already done one shoot and Bella, the photographer, and Claudette-she’s my agent-reckon they’re hot photos.’
‘Well, haven’t I got the handsomest son? Perhaps you’ll end up plastered on billboards all over the Hume Highway.’
‘Who knows? But I’ve been meeting some really cool people. Is Tree behaving?’
‘Oh, as much as you’d expect, I’ll put her on later. Why I’m calling is that we’re coming down Saturday week to see the Rocky Horror Show as a treat for her birthday. Do you want to come with us? It’d be great if you could.’
‘Sure, like, if I don’t have to be at the studio or anything that
day.’
‘Don’t put yourself out for us or anything.’
‘I didn’t mean it like that, Mum. I’m sure it’ll be fine.’
‘Can we come and see your house?’
‘Ah, maybe … I guess it should be okay.’
‘What are you, a prisoner or something?’
‘No, it’s fine.’
‘Well if you’re going to be embarrassed by your own family, we’ll just meet you in town.’
‘I’m not embarrassed.’
‘Sounds like it to me, Shane. Now have a word to your sister …’