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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

‘I’ll change,’ Greta said. ‘I’m ready for a change.’ And she walked into the bedroom and Peggy could hear her rustling around. The coat-hangers made a scraping noise in the wardrobe. It was high-pitched and strangely reassuring. Greta could hear Peggy in the lounge pulling the curtains. The house had been quiet before. They realised that now. It had been lonely and quiet and full of secrets they’d been keeping from everyone around them. Although Margaret had been fine in it, dealing with it all, it had been a sad place. But it wasn’t like that now. Two bodies instead of one was so much less lonely. Bodies made a difference. They decided that. For them, bodies made a difference.

Greta came out dressed in the geometric skirt a friend had given them. ‘You ready?’ she asked.

‘Yeah,’ Peggy said. ‘Yeah. Totally.’

49

49

It felt like months since they’d been out in anything except short sleeves. The heat was coming from another country. But everything was warm. The beaches were full of jellyfish and things were igniting. A fire in the other island had been burning for seven days. Margaret had been at the beach last week. She and Ash were walking over the dunes to the car park. The sea had been cold, like a lake, but the sand was hot and the wind was blowing warm. Margaret said to Ash, ‘Can you smell smoke?’ and Ash had stopped and smelled the air – like a small rodent coming up from underground – and shook their head. They looked towards the other island, where the fire was. ‘The wind’s coming the wrong way anyway,’ Ash said. Margaret nodded, ‘Yeah.’

It had been smoke, though, from another fire closer to the beach. Another piece of bush was on fire. But they didn’t find out until they were home, still salty and sticky, and they’d looked at their phones. Dell had been dead, and Margaret had been Margaret, but when they got home from the beach that day – the lakey, icy beach – Dell had said this was how it was all going to end. Everything on fire.

As Greta and Peggy walked down the street tonight, they were looking out for dust. The wind had picked up the dust from a desert on another continent and carried it all the way to where they were. They were both excited, hoping the dust would come. The heat felt too slow, like the end would come too slow. The dust seemed like something to breathe in one final time.

There were people riding bikes and cars driving up their road. Now and then, someone walking a dog passed them and they would both completely concentrate on the dog. Loving it with all their hearts.