“And flamin’ crocodiles, they’re swimming in the channel too you know, up the creeks, into the rivers and along the front here,” Kylie pointed to the ocean between The Strand and Magnetic Island.
“Yeah I’ve read about it in the paper but not seen any myself.”
“Those flamin’ walkin’ snappy handbags are here all right. Cheeky pricks can chase you out of the water and take a chomp out of you up on the beach. How rude is that?”
“Pretty rude!” Jess laughed.
“Imagine having a nice breaky down The Strand and you look around and flamin’ Snappy drags you off the grass, over the rocks and starts doing the crocodile roll with you in front of all your mates. Wouldn’t that frighten the shit out of ya!”
“If that’s the case he might spit you out coz you might taste like shit!” Jess said.
“Ha. I’ll make sure I remember that. Good one. Might be the only re-poo-lent that works!”
“So if you hate all those things, why do you want to join outrigging?” Jess asked.
“Because I had a theory it would help me meet new people and bingo! I’ve already met you!” Kylie said, very happy with herself.
“Yeah, good point.”
“What about you mate? Why do you want to join?” Kylie asked.
The girls arrived at the C Bar and sat down at a table. A waitress came over to offer some water and give them menus.
“I’ll have a skinny latte thanks, half strength please,” Kylie said to the waitress.
“Oh bugger it, I don’t have my wallet with me,” Jess said.
“That’s all right, I have twenty bucks on me. My shout.”
“Oh really? I’ll pay you back I promise.”
“Yeah, no worries, whenever.”
“I’ll have a skinny cappuccino please.”
The waitress smiled and walked away.
“How embarrassing! I didn’t think I’d need money out on the water so I didn’t bring any!”
“Don’t be silly. It’s nothing. You are actually doing me a huge favour by being here. I’ve looked at this place so often and had no one to come and sit with and I didn’t want to come on my own, so thank you for being here,” Kylie said touching Jess’s forearm.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll stop sweating shortly, I hope. That’s why I carry this man hanky around,” Jess said embarrassed about Kylie touching her sticky wet arm.
“Hey, sweat all you want, I just farted.”
Jess looked up in horror.
“I didn’t mate, I was just trying to make you feel better. Honestly. See?” Kylie took a huge breath in. “Sweet as a daisy.”
Jess laughed.
“To answer your question, I thought outrigging would be the perfect sport for me. No one can see your arse when you are competing, you meet new people and the most important drawcard to me was the ocean, because I thought I could jump in and out before and after paddling and people wouldn’t think I was sweating so much, they might think it’s just spray from the water!”
“Good point. So you worry about how much you sweat mate?”
“Oh you have no idea. This is a good day for me. Wait ’til October onwards.”
“Oh, I’m hearing ya. Flamin’ stand still and you drip in October. It’s putrid.”
“Yeah but I guess it beats being cold, I don’t like being cold.”
“High five to that!” Kylie agreed.
The girls chatted effortlessly and sipped away at their coffees when they came out.
“What an incredible view!” Kylie said sitting back into her chair, taking in the beachfront on her left and Magnetic Island across the bay.
“Yes it’s beautiful isn’t it” Jess said. “Doesn’t it look peaceful out on the water.”
“Yes it does.”
“Hey, that could have been us,” Kylie said pointing to three outrigger canoes paddling past them.
“Yeah. I’m not sad. I’m glad we had a chance to talk.”
“Yeah me too,” Kylie said.
Kylie learnt that Jess was a journalist working for the Townsville Bulletin and had grown up in Rockhampton, or Rocky as it is affectionately known to Queenslanders. She was an only child and had moved up to Townsville two years ago with her parents. They were all living together until nearly twelve months ago when they were both tragically killed in a car accident just outside Gladstone on their way to Brisbane. Jess was not in the vehicle at the time but had to fly down to identify their corpses.
“Oh my goodness. That’s so sad. I’m so sorry Jess,” Kylie said holding her hand as her eyes welled up. “Have you got any other family in town?”
“Noooo. It’s just me. Everyone else I know is in Rocky so it’s been pretty tough. I had a month off work but it was doing my head in staying at home. People at work have been pretty good about it, I really enjoy my work so I don’t want to leave but I haven’t really gelled with anyone yet and made sort of, any friends,” she said sadly.
“Why’s that mate? Is it a bit cliquey?”
“Well there are a few girls for whom image is everything and they don’t want to sit across the table from a big lump that sweats all over her dinner so I can understand that I make people feel uncomfortable.”
“What? You aren’t making me feel uncomfortable. Don’t ever feel like that. Anyway, it’s their loss mate. Silly prissy bitches. They’re too busy making their exterior look pretty that they have forgotten what their heart and soul is for. Bugger ’em! You’ll find new mates through outrigging you’ll see.”
“I hope so,” Jess said.
“Stick with me baby. I’ll work the room, the canoe, but maybe not the Lycra. Trust me, people will wanna hang out with us once they see how much fun we have.”
“You’re fun, I can tell. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed doing something with someone else and wasn’t made to feel self-conscious. Thank you.”
“No worries, do you want to swap numbers in case you ever feel like another coffee or dinner out sometime?” Kylie asked.
“Sure. That would be great, but I better go. I have to go home and feed my cats.”
“Oh, I love cats! What do you have?”
“Two kittens, a chocolate point short-hair Siamese and a Burmese, both have blue eyes.”
“Oh my gawd. If you ever need anyone to look after those suckers I would so love to pat the shit out of them.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah!”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kylie walked Jess back to her car and they swapped numbers and arranged to meet up after work on Friday for drinks and dinner at Cactus Jacks on Palmer Street.
“Awesome, I’ll see you then Jess,” Kylie said walking back to her apartment.
Because of the time she had spent with Jess, Kylie didn’t feel at all rejected after her first attempt at Outrigging. As a bonus, next week she wouldn’t have to plan out her outfit, she would just wear the same one again, since she didn’t get it dirty or wet. And next time she wouldn’t be standing on the beach alone, she could talk to Jess.
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