Parents Day 1

Friday October 24

INCOMING! I was up at six thirty, on the 7:01 bus into Central Station, my train arrived at the airport just before eight and I took up a position, wearing my sunhat and waving a tiny American flag, watching the North Gate. Mom and Dad’s plane had arrived just before eight. They walked in the South Gate. For the next hour, the three of us ran around the airport looking for each other, like a Charlie Chaplin movie. At last I found Mom anxiously failing to make international calls on the pay phone. We were all very relieved.

Somehow or other we got back to the apartment, where Dad sagged quietly to the floor, still wearing his sneakers, head resting on a piece of luggage, asleep in seconds. Mom and I walked down to Coogee, and she pointed out to me all the trees, plants, birds, and architecture that so far, I had never noticed, much less been able to identify. Yay for parents! On the way back up, Mom discovered why I always complain about the big hill behind my apartment. Under the hot sun, we somehow made our sweaty way to the top in time to wake Dad up, turn around and walk down again.

We lunched at Alice’s favorite restaurant, the Coogee Bay Hotel, a pleasant beer garden by day and a rowdy dance club at night. I had the chicken schnitzel with parmesan, which tasted much better than I remembered it—last time I thought it was too bland. Perhaps my tastebuds have acclimatized to the obviously former-British-colony food. Mom and Dad shared the first order in a disappointing series of Australian oysters. Personally, I think all oysters are gross. Apparently these were worse than usual.

We picked up some groceries and took the bus home. This time it was Mom who lay down on the couch and was instantly asleep. It was six o’clock. Dad and I made a quick exploratory trip down Clovelly Road, and I tried for the first time to teach him to look right, then left, when crossing the street. Little did I know that I would spend three weeks pointlessly trying to teach this lesson, all three of us flinching every time we faced a road to cross. Anyway, Day One had really taken it out of all of us. Asleep before seven, Mom and Dad slept until seven the next morning.