a long abandoned false self, not even noticed, frees me of it
I only feel it in my awareness, as I feel it, as it disintegrates
why did I let it cling for so long…. I wonder at its flimsy significance
~that was never me
“Oh no, they’re here!” Lily leaned up against the door she had just come through
“Hey Miss Tiger!”
“Shut up John!” Michael said and blew a spit wad at him
“It’s ‘Tig-ghere’, stress on the second syllable, you dolt!”
“What’s a dolt?” John looked at his brother
“You idiot!” Michael said
“Now, now, what’s this all about?” Wendy walked into the room with the coffees, “I could hear all of you from the coffee machine!”
“They’re here!” Lily said having now walked away from the door and was peering out the office window that overlooked the parking lot below as she absently brushed imaginary lint off of her pumpkin colored sweater which had a collar that looked like flower petals around her face
Wendy calmly put down the tray with their coffees and walked across the room to join Lily by the window
“Did you talk to them? They seem nice from here….”
“From here?” Lily looked at Wendy, “do you have an eagle eye? I don’t get your optimism. I mean…. I was running late so—I realized who they were because of ….you know, the car….”
Wendy tried to look better into the parking lot,
“Did you see it?”
Suddenly John and Michael joined them by the window hoping for a glimpse of the much talked about vehicle
But Lily seemed bored now and shrugged, walking away from the window,
“I don’t think he came here in it—but I mean I realized who it was because of the car—you know, the stretch limo the Darlings always use to fetch corporate shitheads.”
Well, they had spent so much talking awhile they didn’t realize how close until the footsteps landed and the office door swung open
There was George Darling with two others; a man (kind of boyish) in a very smart and neat Scottish green tweed suit and a woman (small in statue; a petite pixie) dressed in a pink herringbone jacket and skirt suit wearing pink bowed pumps with tiny kitten heels.
“Let me introduce our new clients from Nether—nether….ha-chew!!!” Mr.Darling sneezed, “land….” he said and paused to blow his nose
“Never never land?” John looked at Michael
“Nederland!” this is when the new client in the Scottish green tweed business suit stepped forward. It seemed as if he suddenly grew quite tall but agile and yet somehow sprite; and once seen in the light almost gleamed with a magic that surrounded him, like an aura of charisma and with it like a torch, his hair was a flame of reddish blond, its luster like electricity,
“Pieter,” he at which point said by way of introducing himself, going straight first to Wendy Darling, “Pan…. just flew in today—do you like to fly? Wendy, is it?”
John elbowed Michael remembering the memo now about them. The girl—uh—woman—he and Michael had spent the afternoon looking her up on Instagram
“TeenykayBell!” John suddenly laughed
“It’s Tinker Bell!” Michael said with an admonished whisper everyone heard
“What the fuck is a tinkerbell?—no—it’s actually Tina Kerbell—but I go by Teen not Tina,” she made a point to correct
Then she noticed the pretty pumpkin colored sweater she recognized from a picture in a magazine in the shade—and she blurted it suddenly—“Tiger!”
But by kneejerk reaction thus came the offended reply,
“Lily!”
The Boatclub
“Don’t tell me you still work here!” Siouxsie’s voice carried across the width of the massive interior of the Boat Club and her remark was aimed at the other female standing at the bar sporting her favorite surfer bodysuit while throwing back a few surrounded by a crowd of buff men. Siouxie stood in her signature black goth attire and ghost pale face and just because she had to, for old time’s sake, struck a pose by the entrance
“What???” the other woman replied squinting as she looked over, “what the ….am I dreaming….is that Morticia Adams in the flesh or Siouxsie McNamara of the fashion house boutique? Holy sh—when did you blow in? How many years has it been?”
Siouxie walked over and looked around,
“seems like nothing’s changed around here.”
“Oh it has. It has, believe me, like you can’t get decent service in here for one!” Hannah laughed and looked Siouxie up and down with approval, “hey—yo—we need a couple more drinks out here, snap to it barman!”
Hannah’s circle of fanboys all roared in agreement with approval
“Hannah—you think you may slow it down?” Zack stepped from the kitchen area
Hannah looked at Siouxie with a slight wink,
“see what I mean? Some —interesting changes….”
“Siouxie!” Zack looked over now realizing who was there and came around to hug her, “what blew you in?”
“That’s what I been asking her, can you give us a refill Dad?”
“If you can get it yourself, Hannah, be my guest, you still act like you work at Fiona’s.”
“Ahh, Fiona’s is it?” Hannah looked again at Siouxie, “this isn’t just the Boat Club anymore. They’ve expended, didn’t your granddad tell you? Big Mac backed it, shocked the hell out of me, but there you have it.”
“You’re kidding?” Siouxie pulled up a chair to sit at the bar as Hannah walked around behind it, “my grandfather backed exactly what —are you saying? I’m totally intrigued, they never tell me anything! I’ve had zero news of Weld, fill me in!”
“Well, for starters, what are you drinking?”
“I’ll have a hurricane if you still remember how to make it,” Siouxie turned to the male surfers, “don’t mind us, though you all look tasty we have to catch up now so catch some waves.” And once they took the hint she asked,
“So your dad works for Fiona?”
“Works? My dad? Can you ever e-magine my dad working for a woman? Are you mad? His Māori pride would never let that happen—uh no, I was more suggesting more of an interesting partnership.”
“Your dad and Fiona are ….?”
“I’m not saying that at all but I’m saying it’s interesting. How long have you been away? You went on your kiwi year and never came back as I recall ….”
“Yeah well, it’s been a few—have you seen Shay? Not to get off the topic, which I’m really interested in too but, we lost touch like a year or so back when I was in the Himalayas—that’s where I got a lot of my design ideas for the boutique.”
“You mean —so you don’t know? I thought you two were like super buddies—weren’t you?” Hannah poured the shots and they drank down a few
“Like I said, the Himalayas ….so—wait is that your dad unpacking—“
“No—packing —“
“An airplane,” Siouxie pointed in shock out the boat club window
“It’s a seaplane,” Hannah said simply and matter-of factly, “see what I mean? A lot has changed. Once dad got his license you can say things really took off. You see? Of course Big Mac would back this. So now my dad flies people in and imports; he has three other pilots and planes—well seaplanes —but that’s not all of it….you left when?”
“It’s like three—four years maybe?”
“That’s how long since you spoke to Shay?”
“Those mountains, I’m telling you, the Himalayas are steep.”
“Well, the caravan park is gone—my dad merged the property with the Orca and now you should see the new hotel,” Hannah waved outside in the direction,
“And let me guess, your brother Ike now runs the Uber service,” Siouxie added
“As if! Wow you haven’t heard any news huh? He graduated from Auckland came back and —wait do you wanna see the hotel now, I mean, it’s right here, it’s attached to the boat club if ya wanna go see it.”
“Uhh, no, wait— I think first you need to tell me about Shay—is she in here in Weld?”
“I thought you guys did the kiwi year together?”
“We kinda got separated when I lost my phone ….and that’s actually how I wound up ….in the Himalayas….I came back with great clothes! Anyway, tell me about Shay.”
