A familiar grey-haired
old lady appeared through the sliding doors.
“Gran! Over here!”
Jason moved as fast as he could through the crowds towards his
grandmother and when he reached her threw his arms around her.
“Oh, gran!” he said,
quite overcome with love and affection.
“Jason, darling, so
lovely to see you!” His grandmother was as emotional as he.
“Gran, this is my
friend Keith. Keith, this is my gran ...” and then he stopped
because he wasn't quite sure what to call her.
“Lucasta Wellbury, my
dear,” she said casting a quick sharp glance at Jason. “Such a
pleasure. Meeting you I mean. One of dear Jason's friends. Such a
bore the customs wallahs! Wanting to know whether I was an immigrant.
As if I would leave Parker and Mr Minim like that. Miles and miles
of desert my dear, wrinkled brown holes everywhere.” Keith's eyes
sparkled with amusement. “So big. All those sheep stations and red
dust. Quite wearing. Not as young as I was, you know,” she said
casting a roguish grin at Keith.
Keith was delighted with
her. He bowed. “Welcome to Oz, Mrs Wellbury!”
“Oz. So yellow brick
road. Or was that another film? With Judy Gladiolus. Some flower
name. Used to be all the rage when I was a gal. Flowers and gems.
I could have been Ruby. Or Violet really to do that to your child
but my father was a classics buff. Ancient Greeks. So much we
learnt from them I mean our civilisation except of course the gay
thing I had a discussion with Canon Green about it not quite an
argument.”
“Wouldn't have thought
that timid old stick would argue with formidob you, gran!”
“Not timid. Reserved,
perhaps. The best kind of Christian, Jason. Don't judge him as
anything like those vulgar American fundamentalists. Anyway he said
in the end that whatever the Bible said about homosexuality we were
given brains by God to think and too many people didn't think and we
were given hearts by Him to love and too many people didn't love and
then he started making copious notes for a sermon and got quite
distracted so I knew he'd forgotten the Sunday lunch invitation I'd
made him so I got Parker to phone such a dear man.”
