A bent, narrow
shouldered woman beneath her ankle length white bathroom robe, at Cottesloe
Beach looked at home. Her green slippers, worn and dotted with white sand,
shuffled over the red brick path. The high winds blew her damp thin grey hair
over her eyes. She kept shuffling, not needing to see where she was going. Retirement started at least 25 years ago and
her morning swim continues. Her bobbled green swim cap, 1960s style, looks new.
She accidentally drops the cap as she tries to move the hair, against the
strength of the wind. A pink child, glowing from running in the winds and sand,
rushes to pick up the rubber and hands it to the older matron. ‘What’s it for,
it feels funny,’ the bold child asks. The swim cap changes hands. The older one
turns toward the road with no acknowledgement of the child’s question or her
gift of not having to stoop over on the sloping path to have retrieved her
cap.
Leaving with negativity
In the week before her
departure, when someone said to her, “sorry to hear you are leaving,” her swift
response was “I’m not.” Her tone and promptness left no doubt as to how to
interpret her opinion. After years’ fulltime (not FIFO) in town, a professional
woman has left town and her job. Her relief in leaving town is almost
tangible.
