Behind The Blue Curtain

Raelene has driven Darren and Margaret to the Kingston Soldiers' Memorial Hospital.

Lucky there is one.

They wait to be seen.

I do apologise, says Margaret.

So do I, says Raelene. When I saw you punch Darren my tiger instincts kicked in.

Wuuuh! says Darren.

By which we can see that Margaret has come out of it better than Darren.

She only has a bruised ankle.

Darren! says a nurse.

Darren stands up, and is led behind a blue curtain.

Ooh....prrp....eee!... says, (presumably), Darren, from behind the curtain.

Poor Darren, says Raelene. And poor you. You won't be able to drive with that ankle. Were you heading to Adelaide?

Yes, says Margaret. I was on my way to deliver a pair of red shorts to my friend,

After hearing this, perhaps we should revise our earlier judgement. Can she have forgotten the sandwiches, and Gaius?

Let's see.

I'll drive you back in the Toyota, says Raelene. Darren and me, we were heading to Adelaide for the Womad, the Fringe and the Clipsal.

How nice, says Margaret. I like the Womad. But it's so expensive. The Fringe is much cheaper.

True, says Raelene.

Margaret! calls the nurse.

Darren staggers out, and Margaret hobbles through the blue curtains.

Ooo-eeek!, says, (presumably), Margaret, as the nurse pokes her ankle.

Soon it is bandaged, and Raelene leads Darren and Margaret out to the Toyota.

Darren lies on the back seat. He still feels woozy.

Margaret sits in the front. Raelene drives right past Margaret's car, still parked near the bakery.

Margaret doesn't see it.

She is talking about the bad luck she had, booking Fringe tickets for Circus Abyssinia.

Cancelled, says Margaret. And you wouldn't believe it. I chose another date and they cancelled that one as well.

That's dreadful, says Raelene. I hope our show's not cancelled.

What is it? asks Margaret.

Comedy Pub Crawl says Raelene. It's supposed to be good.

Comedy Pub Crawl! Raelene and Darren go down in Margaret's estimation.

But really, thinks Margaret to herself, perhaps I'm being precious.

The scenery changes from coastal.

The Toyota moves fast.

No going back now, and anyway, why would they?

........

The sky darkens. A sea breeze gets up.

Gaius has long given up on the sandwiches.

He and Saint Roley have eaten the tiny wild turnips.

They have even considered the filamentous green algae.

Something must have happened to Margaret, says Gaius.

Yes, says Saint Roley. Perhaps she's been abducted.

Perhaps, says Gaius. I should try and call her.

What! He has only just thought that he should try and call her?

Well, that proves something.

And now it turns out he doesn't have Margaret's number.

It would be good if a seagull should come by right now. Seagulls know pretty much everything. Grandpa Marx in particular.

He would know for example that Margaret is heading back to Adelaide in a Toyota.

He may even know why.

But it hardly matters if he does or he doesn't.

Because Grandpa Marx is in Robe this evening, attending a fish and chip scattering behind a café.

Gaius is screwed.