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  • Educating Harry Ch. 20

Educating Harry Ch. 20

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This is the final chapter of the story, loose ends tied up and a small twist or two at the end.

Some Australianisms

Wagging school = playing truant

Bent as a nine bob note = a demonstrative gay man

Mobile = cellphone

Arvo = afternoon

Sledging = Verbal abuse or intimidation of a player particularly in cricket where it is generally accepted as a legitimate practice.

This final chapter includes a short description of part of a cricket match. You don't need to understand the game at all, except that unlike baseball, it is totally legitimate for the bowler(pitcher) to try and hit the batsman (batter) with the ball

*

"Yes, I understand, you want me to stay overnight with you, rather than at Joe's place..." there was a gap for a few seconds in the phone conversation, then Susan added, "No no, that's fine, Joe emailed me to say you would be ringing. Ok, look forward to seeing you again, bye."

"That," Susan explained, "was Joe's mother Ellie; apparently both Joe and I have been invited to stay with her for this shindig in Sydney."

"Looks as though the Callaghan family are organising you pretty effectively," teased Maria.

"Not sure I would say that, but this ball does seem to me to be organised almost like a military operation. Ellie told me she uses both of her daughters as lieutenants, and they all base themselves at her place for a couple of days. Not only that, but they get someone to come to them to do their hair and make up before the event."

"When do you fly down?"

"Friday morning, I've been asked to be there for a late lunch."

"So Tuesday is your final fitting of your dress at Mr Iemma's, and Wednesday we fly down to Tamworth for your photographs."

"I'm not sure what you're up to with this photo session," responded Susan guardedly.

"Trust me, I found out from Diane that this photographer had retired to Tamworth, not long before my red dress was made, that was how he came to photograph me. He spent forty years in Sydney doing glamour and show business and art photos, and it's great fun. He's the most flamboyant gay guy you could imagine, and will make you feel like a million dollars in no time."

"Hey, that reminds me Maria; you said you would bring your pictures to show me."

"I'll bring them on Wednesday, we can look at them during the flight... and I'll come early Wednesday, then we can pick over what clothes you need to take."

"But I thought it was just to be for my new dress."

"Don't be silly, we have all day, may as well max out by being prepared for all possibilities."

Maria and Susan were again talking about the photographer when they waited to board their flight a few days later for the return from Tamworth to Hawksworth.

"I still can't believe it," Susan confided with a giggle, "when I looked at your photos on the flight down this morning, I thought, 'there's no way you'll catch me doing anything as daring as that,' but I did, and I didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with it. I wonder why," she added, suddenly serious for a moment.

Maria laughed, "Johnny's a pro with years of experience, very persuasive, and you know straight away that he's going to make you look really good."

"I guess so."

"And," Maria added teasingly, "there is the fact that for the past couple of months you have been treating yourself to an affair, which seems to have given you almost refreshed confidence...a bit of extra bounce.

"D'you think so?" said Susan dubiously, "what has surprised me a little, is that being with Harry, I feel that I've taken charge of my own life a bit more... doing what I want... for me. Now that sounds selfish, doesn't it?"

"No, it does not," declared Maria decisively, "It just means that sex is good for you, and that you like it."

"Well that's true enough," laughed Susan, "I have discovered that I not only like sex a lot, but I like a lot of it... now, they're calling for passengers, we had better get on board."

A few hours later Susan was having an entirely different conversation; "Come on Harry, you have been giving the orders for the last hour and more, it's my turn now."

"But I was only talking about your dancing, anyway, I've said hardly anything to you for the last few sessions, you're really good now, much better than my sisters, and they weren't bad."

"Flattery's not going to get you anywhere, and I have appointed myself the queen of the world, at least, of your world, so lie back and enjoy it."

Harry did just that, and half an hour later they lay quietly recovering from their first bout. Harry asked, "You are flying down to Sydney Friday morning, when do you think you will be back?"

"Not until Tuesday afternoon or evening: after the big social event, I have business meetings with various people on Monday, and probably through till Tuesday. That's why your Aunt Diane is flying down to meet me on Sunday afternoon, she is also involved like me, as a trustee of the pension fund, and she is very helpful generally, as my number one advisor."

"So I have to rely on memories until next Tuesday," laughed Harry.

"Me too," retorted Susan, "so you had better give me something special to remember you by."

On Friday, Susan's plane landed at Mascot almost an hour late, Sydney had laid on a perfect summer's day, without the humidity which could often spoil February. She soon found a cab and was clear of the airport. The traffic on Southern Cross drive was not in its usual dire state of congestion, and they made steady progress. Susan sat back, and for the first time began to wonder, whether this weekend had any particular meaning or importance. "I got drawn into it almost by accident," she pondered, "if Diane hadn't found Harry as a dance teacher, I would have made my excuses, and that would have been it...but would it? Joe was so determined. No, he wouldn't have been that easily brushed off.

"And Ellie, when I accepted, I had no idea what a big wheel she was in the social scene... and apart from the fact that in her eyes, Joe can do no wrong, she seems to have an agenda of her own. Ah well, I guess I'll have to just take it as it comes."

Susan realised with a small start that they were already turning into John and Ellie's street. She paid off the cabbie and the door bell rang for barely a second before it was answered. It was Maggie's daughter, Carrie, "We've been on the look out for you," she explained, "though, we knew your flight was held up..." she had no time to say more, as her grandmother appeared.

"Susan, we're so pleased to see you, Carrie dear, will you please show Susan to her room, and when you're ready we'll be having a bit of lunch out on the verandah, just us women, I've told John and Joe they're not to be here until this evening, and Carrie is wagging school today to help Jane, Maggie and me. We'll see you in say half an hour or so... give you a chance to freshen up."

Carrie took Susan upstairs, and to a room at the back of the house overlooking the garden. It was a plain room, functional with very little that wasn't strictly necessary, save for some fresh flowers at the bedside which moved very slightly in the light breeze blowing from the harbour. "Is this your dress?" Carrie asked shyly as Susan put a soft bag on the bed.

"Yes," confirmed Susan, "you will see it later I expect when we get ready."

"Maybe not, Mum wants me to be home before you all leave."

"Oh I see," acknowledged Susan with a smile, then changing the subject she asked, "now is there anything else I should know?"

"I don't know," responded Carrie, "can you find your own way out to the verandah, the house is a bit of a rabbit warren."

"Yes I think so, I'm just going to take a shower, I'll be down in a few minutes."

When Susan found her way to the verandah, Ellie, Maggie, and Jane were already there, Carrie had taken charge of provisioning. After re-introductions the women picked a little at the food and chatted, generally about inconsequential things. There were a number of phone calls, all for Ellie, and all of which were answered by Maggie. To most of the callers, Maggie, with ruthless charm simply denied that her mother was there. "If mum took all the calls, we would never get anything done," she explained to Susan. But eventually a call did come through which Maggie promptly handed over, "It's Tony, just wants to confirm arrangements."

Ellie took the call; she walked away from the table for a few moments. "Yes yes, that's right; I want you here for half an hour, that's all the time we will have. We will see you this evening then."

Ellie returned to the table: "That Susan was mainly about you, I should explain; we have in the past adopted a very private exclusive policy with regard to our ball, but this year it's going to be different. We have engaged a photographer to photograph many of the people who will be attending, most will be done at the event, but some have already been photographed, because we want a base of top quality pictures. Then we are going to auction off the album for a horrendous price."

"One thousand dollars each," said Jane, "and it all goes to children's charities."

"And you want to include me?" asked Susan dubiously.

"Yes."

"And," Jane added, "I've already got cheques for ninety thousand dollars."

"In that case, I'll be happy to help out, especially as it's for children... though really, you didn't need to get a photographer in specially... I had a whole bunch of pictures taken only a couple of days ago."

"Oh yes, and who did them?"

"An old guy... in Tamworth, we took all day, His name was Johnny something or other... Johnny Lister I think."

"What!" Maggie almost choked on a prawn, "Johnny Lister, little old guy, bald as a badger and gay as a nine bob note.

"Well yes, but why not," Susan laughed at the other women's incredulity.

"Susan," Ellie explained with a smile, "Johnny Lister is a legend, he only photographs the women he chooses, and he has sent some incredibly well known people away. There are women in this town who would kill for the chance. How did you do it?"

"Do it, I didn't do anything, my friend Maria fixed it up."

"Well, I have never met her, but she must have extraordinary powers of persuasion.

"She has, in fact she can be quite intimidating, but it was clear to me that Johnny just adores her."

"Susan," Ellie asked innocently, "did Johnny's work include anything of you in your dress for this evening?"

"Yes, but also in jeans, shorts, riding gear, a tennis dress, all sorts of things... and one or two other things."

"One or two other things," smiled Ellie, "I know exactly what you mean... Johnny photographed me; oh it must have been more than forty years ago, It was ten years before I showed them to my husband, they were very daring for the time. I've never shown the girls: and I'm not going to," she added, cutting her daughters off before they even got started.

"Now Maggie, said Ellie, ruthlessly changing the subject, "Have you gone over the programme with Susan."

"No we haven't," said Jane answering for her sister, "but," she added, passing a sheet of paper to Susan, "I have printed out a timetable, It has all the times, when the makeup woman and the hair stylist arrives, who gets done, in what order, when the photographer turns up and finally when each of us has to be ready to be driven to the ball.

"But there's nothing here for your husbands and Joe?" queried Susan.

"They only need to know one thing," grinned Maggie..."when to be here, after that they're under orders. Is there anything else you need to know?"

"No I don't think so," but then Susan hesitated slightly, "But I do have a small request, I wondered if Carrie could stay on this evening and just generally help out... I'm sure that she would love to."

"Mmmm, I don't know, there won't be anybody to take her home."

"That's easy enough," countered Susan, Joe and I could drop her off on the way to the ball; it's not out of the way at all."

"That's true," decided Ellie, "Just bring your departure time forward five minutes. Now," Ellie continued, "We have a couple of hours before we need to think about getting ready, I'm going to take a nap.

"I think I'll do the same," said Susan. In truth, Susan just wanted a little time to herself and sat on her bed for a while reading a book.

Inevitably the next thing she knew was a knock on the door and Carrie popped her head in. "Are you awake... oh good, mum told me to let you know that the hair stylist and make up person have arrived.

"Oh," responded Susan, not quite awake, "I suppose I had better come down and meet them."

"You've been fast asleep for two hours," confided Carrie, "Mum said we should leave you, as it's a pretty long night ahead."

A spare room had been taken over as a hair salon for the evening, Ellie was half done and Maggie waited her turn. "I hope I haven't held anyone up," said Susan.

"Not at all," responded Maggie, "we have to be there a couple of hours early because we are organisers, and mum in particular, as chairman has to meet and greet. Jane and you will be going last with Joe, now I had better introduce you to the man who is doing our hair; this is George.

It would not have been truthful to suggest Susan had not noticed George until that moment, George, a big man would tower over almost any company, dressed in singlet and jeans he was covered in tattoos and looked every inch a biker rather than a women's hairstylist. "Pleased to meet you," he said to Susan in surprisingly soft tones. "You won't take long," he concluded, appraising her with a smile... "Not much needed."

At that moment a woman walked into the room, middle aged, with an almost severe expression, she seemed rather abrupt, almost waspish: "You must be Susan, I'm Jennifer, and I'm doing your makeup. Where's your dress? What colour lipstick do you use?

"It's in my room."

"Good, let's go and look at it... I need to see it because it may affect what makeup you can wear."

"Now Susan, hold the dress up in front of yourself I want to get an impression of the colours; that's good, your lipstick will need to be a little darker in artificial light. Now let me have a close look at the dress. Ah good, we haven't got acres of bare flesh to worry about."

Susan was beginning to realise that despite her rather brusque manner Jennifer knew what she was doing.

"Now put on this singlet, I want to look at your arms and hands. Stand under the light and turn around slowly. What's this?" said Jennifer" touching a very pale line on Susan's shoulder "and this?" she added noticing a similar very pale line on Susan's left forearm.

"Riding accident when I was twelve," smiled Susan, I had forgotten all about it."

"It's almost invisible but I can cover it anyway, Susan you are going to be easy," Jennifer declared with a surprisingly attractive smile, "Easy, except for you nails, they're a mess... short scrubbed and otherwise forgotten."

"You're right, but I don't want anything too fancy."

Jennifer just said "We'll go downstairs, and I'll fix your nails, whilst George finishes Mrs Callaghan and Maggie."

At that moment back in Hawksworth, Harry sat at his desk; he had received a detailed reply from Professor Schering in the USA analysing some of the work he had sent her. Harry had been slightly surprised at the detail of her reply, and the depth of her analysis. It was in sharp contrast to that of the other Professor who was more interested in recruiting him, than responding to his work. However, Harry was shaken out of his reverie by the telephone, it rang loudly.

"Hi Harry, this is Pete, how are you going?" Harry recognised the voice of George's apprentice.

"Fine, what can I for you?"

"You doin' anything this weekend Harry?"

"Not a lot, why? What do you want?"

"Well," responded Pete hesitantly, "I was hoping you would be able to play cricket for us."

"Oh I don't know Pete, I haven't played at all this season, you must be pretty desperate if you're asking me."

"We are in a spot," admitted Pete, "the Mawson brothers are both away, Clem, the captain is injured and so is Shane; they've even made me captain for the day."

"In that case," laughed Harry, "you guys really are scraping the barrel."

"So I can take that as a yes," replied Pete, ignoring the jibe.

"Ok, I suppose so, just don't expect too much. What time do we start?"

"Be at the oval, ten o'clock Saturday morning for a ten thirty start, it's a fifty overs a side, one day game."

Pete rang off, and Harry for a moment had the feeling that maybe Pete hadn't quite given him the full story, but then, he shrugged, put it out of his mind and went back to work.

In Sydney, Ellie and Maggie were just about to leave.

"I thought Joe was coming with you," Susan asked his Father.

"No, he has a couple of hours advantage on me, John smiled, he's still working on a deal we are putting together. The next man on the agenda, Ellie tells me, is this Tony fella, the photographer."

"That's right," said Ellie, "But we'll be getting off now, see you in a couple of hours Susan."

Susan was glad now that she had asked Carrie to stay, it would have seemed weird being on her own with George and Jennifer with no-one else but Jane. George did her hair quickly, "I'll just get it back off your face a little, there, how's that, makes you look, I dunno, slightly regal."

"That's good," laughed Susan, "my dressmaker said he would make me look like a queen, so maybe you are on the same wavelength."

George smiled, "Mrs Callaghan said that you come from Hawksworth, I have an old friend, she moved up there a year or so ago."

"Have you, what's her name?"

"Bella, I knew her when she was training to be a schoolteacher."

"Not Bella Mason?"

"Don't know her married name," conceded George "Lost touch a bit, she's dark small featured...very ambitious, and likes to boss people around a bit.

"Then we are definitely talking about the same person, she definitely likes being in charge."

"Yes but not always, not always," replied George with a reflective smile, "In fact once we had sorted that out, we really hit it off. Now," George concluded, before Susan could ask any more questions, "you're just about ready."

Susan hardly had time to draw breath before Jane announced that the photographer had arrived. Introductions made, Susan apologised, "Sorry I'm not dressed yet, give me five minutes... Carrie, perhaps you can give me a hand."

Tony laughed as Susan and Carrie left the room, "Five minutes, bet she's half an hour at least."

"Well you'll be wrong Tony," said Jane, "Susan will be ready before you have got all your kit together."

Five minutes turned out to be only the slightest underestimate, Carrie returned first, slightly breathless, "Susan's almost ready; she is just fantastic Aunt Jane, just fantastic."

Jane smiled at her niece's enthusiasm, but a few moments later when Susan appeared, she took one look and agreed, "Susan, you're going to wow them, you look great."

Tony took over and ruthlessly used anyone handy to help him, "Carrie you hold this light a moment, George shift the table, please, I want the white wall behind her. After ten minutes or so he spoke to Susan as he worked. "I was talking to Johnny Lister earlier today; he told me he had already photographed you."

"Yes, that's right, do you know him?"

"He practically trained me, and in recent years has remained my mentor." Tony hesitated a moment and then continued, "Johnny and I are doing an exhibition at the art gallery in a couple of months, don't be surprised if he asks if he can use a couple of your pictures, he reckons some of them are really good."

"Hmmm, well I'll just wait and see if he asks."

"Ok," concluded Tony, "that's all for now, I'll see you again in an hour or so.

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