Art Ache Read Online Free Page B

have to.
    I think my answers are disappointing her. I no longer feel like I’m in a David Mamet or Caryl Churchill play with rapid-fire dialogue bouncing between us; now, I feel like I’m in an absurdist play. I expect a rhinoceros or some other random animal to stroll through the scene at any moment.
    MARJORY
    Really?
    ME
    I want a family.
    MARJORY
    You have one.
    ME
    I know I raved on about Naomi Wolf and Germaine Greer and stuff, but I don’t want to be a single mother. I want a husband.
    MARJORY
    There are worse things than being a single mother.
    ME
    Really?
    MARJORY
    Of course. Date each other for three months and see how it goes. He could surprise you.
    And that he did. Now, two months and three weeks later, he just stood in front of me and told me he no longer wants to be married and that I don’t ‘do it’ for him anymore. I’d call that a surprise. Thanks for the heads up, Marjory. Pity I didn’t listen to you.
    He didn’t want to go on the dates. He thought it was a ridiculous idea. We tried the movies once. It was awkward, forced, and inconvenient. He was busy with work and the only time we could find was a Saturday afternoon. Mum and Dad babysat, but they were on a tight timeframe because they had a party to go to that night. And the only movie in that timeslot was some action thing that was dreadful. He was distracted and impatient, but I actually thought that was okay. We were a married couple, I had signed off on forever, we didn’t need contrived dates to prove we loved each other. We had made a commitment. That was the most important thing . . . wasn’t it? Apparently not.
    Please pull yourself together, Persephone. You can’t stay on the kitchen floor forever. Jack needs you. Drag your sorry arse off the floor and take your son to the park.
    Another sob escapes from my mouth as I haul myself up the kitchen cupboard and lean against the bench. I’m wiping my face on my sleeve as Jack comes bounding in from his exciting adventure to the toilet.
    JACK
    I flushed my poo all by myself!
    ME
    Good job!
    Breathe deeply, Persephone. Splash some water on your face.
    JACK
    Now I’m ready for the park. Sunscreen?
    ME
    On the bathroom bench, sweetie. Can you get it for Mummy?
    Why is it kitchen sink water always feels harsher than bathroom sink water? They’re the same pipes and the same H 2 O, but kitchen always seems more severe than bathroom. Oh well, it’s doing the trick. It’s washing the tears off my face and the snot down the drain.
    Jack totters up to me with the sunscreen.
    JACK
    Here you go.
    ME
    You’re so strong, young man.
    JACK
    I’m not a man. I’m a boy.
    ME
    A big boy. You can nearly touch the ceiling.
    He considers this while I smother Cancer Council approved sunscreen all over his gorgeous little face. His skin is so perfect. Clear. Translucent. In no time at all he’ll have one or two freckles, then the zits will creep in and before you know it, his cheeks will be covered in whiskers that will then be replaced by laughter lines. Turn around and they’re four, turn around and they’re twenty-four.
    ME
    Come on, Master Jack. Let’s get to the park before it closes.
    JACK
    Parks don’t close.
    ME
    I know. Joke Joyce.
    JACK
    Jack. Not Joyce.
    I scoop his delicious, muscular little body into my arms and give him a huge cuddle. He can walk to the park quite easily. We do it most days but today, I want to carry him. I want to feel him close. I actually want to shrinky-dink him and put him in my pocket. Remember how you used to be able to do that with potato chip packets? Put them in the oven for a few minutes after you’d scoffed all the chips. The packets would shrink and you could put them on a keyring or use them as a fun ornament for your pencil case. They looked so cute. Twisties packets were the best. Well, I’d like to shrinky-dink Jack, but it’s probably against the law to do it to children.
    Jack talks the whole way to the park. I nod and grunt in response, hoping he