Loud
The men were left alone for the night while the women went out for a ladies night out, all with strict instructions that they would be picked up at the coffee bar just down the road before midnight.
Tomeka picked up Belinda on the way to their dinner date, meeting Kelly at the entrance, all laughing together about how suddenly protective and cagey their men became as soon as the idea of them having a possible night out on the town came up. Kelly wouldn't shut up about her latest fling (the one who had caused her to ring Belinda in tears only days ago) and it took a good half hour before Tomeka managed to divert her back to recounting tales of their high school days instead of harping on about Mark.
'Ahh, Mark...' Belinda and Tomeka had exchanged a significant look when his name had first came up but now it felt as if they'd never be able to forget it again in their lives.
"I don't even remember what you wore," Belinda laughed as they recounted their tales of the graduation from high school. As they had all only distantly known each other then they hadn't exactly paid attention to each other during these occasions.
"It's because I didn't go." Tomeka replied dryly, taking a sip of champagne.
"You didn't go to our own graduation!?" Kelly exclaimed. “Hey wait; didn’t they have that drama presentation of some sort?”
Tomeka nodded, swirling her champagne around in its glass and looking for the entire world like a sophisticated taster.
“It did. Everyone was shaky because while all the lead roles have understudies none of us ever missed a performance and very few rehearsals so they never got a chance to practise really. ...Lou tried not to show how upset she was that I wasn’t there and as a result everything was a mess...but some things can’t be helped.”
“Why didn’t you come?” Kelly asked quietly, her eyes large and her champagne glass empty.
“Elliot’s sister had been killed that early morning.” Tomeka replied blandly, remembering every single detail of that day and the weeks after. “I had been with him for almost a year then and he was with me when he got the phone call at about 4:45am informing him of what had happened. We had been down the track in Katherine camping out with the rest of my drama group and his art group...and yeah...” Tomeka finished off her glass and then fell silent as Belinda refilled all. She had heard this story before.
“Wow...” Kelly shook her head. “I remember hearing about that now...that was pretty terrible.”
Tomeka nodded. “It was my first aboriginal funeral and...You’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I have.” Belinda mused aloud. “When I was living in that block of flats, there was a couple downstairs. Lots of a loud wailing noise of torment and despair. Very eerie.”
They all nodded and then as desert came, lost their thoughts in that instead.
Tomeka picked up Belinda on the way to their dinner date, meeting Kelly at the entrance, all laughing together about how suddenly protective and cagey their men became as soon as the idea of them having a possible night out on the town came up. Kelly wouldn't shut up about her latest fling (the one who had caused her to ring Belinda in tears only days ago) and it took a good half hour before Tomeka managed to divert her back to recounting tales of their high school days instead of harping on about Mark.
'Ahh, Mark...' Belinda and Tomeka had exchanged a significant look when his name had first came up but now it felt as if they'd never be able to forget it again in their lives.
"I don't even remember what you wore," Belinda laughed as they recounted their tales of the graduation from high school. As they had all only distantly known each other then they hadn't exactly paid attention to each other during these occasions.
"It's because I didn't go." Tomeka replied dryly, taking a sip of champagne.
"You didn't go to our own graduation!?" Kelly exclaimed. “Hey wait; didn’t they have that drama presentation of some sort?”
Tomeka nodded, swirling her champagne around in its glass and looking for the entire world like a sophisticated taster.
“It did. Everyone was shaky because while all the lead roles have understudies none of us ever missed a performance and very few rehearsals so they never got a chance to practise really. ...Lou tried not to show how upset she was that I wasn’t there and as a result everything was a mess...but some things can’t be helped.”
“Why didn’t you come?” Kelly asked quietly, her eyes large and her champagne glass empty.
“Elliot’s sister had been killed that early morning.” Tomeka replied blandly, remembering every single detail of that day and the weeks after. “I had been with him for almost a year then and he was with me when he got the phone call at about 4:45am informing him of what had happened. We had been down the track in Katherine camping out with the rest of my drama group and his art group...and yeah...” Tomeka finished off her glass and then fell silent as Belinda refilled all. She had heard this story before.
“Wow...” Kelly shook her head. “I remember hearing about that now...that was pretty terrible.”
Tomeka nodded. “It was my first aboriginal funeral and...You’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I have.” Belinda mused aloud. “When I was living in that block of flats, there was a couple downstairs. Lots of a loud wailing noise of torment and despair. Very eerie.”
They all nodded and then as desert came, lost their thoughts in that instead.