3.24
She’d begun to waddle. Try as she might to maintain a normal gait, her belly was so swollen she had no choice but to lumber behind it. She was growing more tired by the day, prone to spells of breathlessness and endless trips to the toilet. One afternoon she alighted the bus to Gordon’s house succumbing to a sudden dizzy rush. The day was warm and bright and she stood in the shade of his veranda and waited for the panting to subside before she knocked.
Gordon opened the door wide and beamed at her. ‘Come on in.’
In his presence she felt alive and full of optimism, as if in entering his house she were stepping into an alternate reality, one of benevolence, creativity and joy. She followed him to the kitchen, set up as before, the two easels side-by-side, and tubes of acrylic, brushe
