Christmas in Canberra

by Nicole Taylor

  Marie was called by the children to inspect their gifts. Eve and Mary were in a huddle of conversation and were moving out into the sunny courtyard and Louise had a moment to herself.

  This was so “Keats”, she thought. One drama after another. And then – nothing. Everything simmered, occasionally there was a boil-over; someone let off some steam and then everyone just carried on as before. But it was a family – growing and evolving. And what was Louise in the family now? A reliable signatory to a Family Trust?

  Once she had been the high-achieving eldest daughter of her family. Now she was on her own.

  Her thoughts went to Gordon. Tall, handsome, sexy, Gordon. After months of covert pursuit, it now seemed that he wanted her. But why? And for how long? And even if she were to fall into his arms later today, what then? There were no promises and no real need for future involvement on his part. She would be following his lead. Going nowhere.

  What about Chris Hardy? They had their workplace in common, she supposed. Chris was tall, dark, handsome – mostly dark, Louise had to admit. Dark and brooding by nature. Lots of near-flirts; never an invitation and never, ever a declaration. Just lots of Meaningful Looks. Actually, that was all. Not much really.

  And lately, Aidan. Originally she had thought him a snob – handsome, successful and kind of sexy, but definitely a snob. Or, looked at another way, could that simply be that he had standards? And while it is very annoying to be judged by someone, was it an unattractive feature in a suitor that he have standards? He may insist that they live in a Certain Suburb. That might be nice, actually. He might declare that His Children had to have their names down for a chosen school at their birth. Nothing wrong with that, either. He was clearly a family man – possibly he remembered anniversaries and birthdays and -

  She stopped. Eve was right. She had met, dated and flirted with so many handsome men for the past decade – and to what end? She’s be 30 before she knew it and it was true – she did want a family of her own and a real home – and a husband. A man who wanted to be her husband.

  Louise dug around in her bag and found her tiny address book. She looked up the number she wanted and dialed. After a few seconds, the phone was answered. “Hello, Aidan?” she said. “It’s Louise. I just called to say Merry Christmas.”

  The End

  ***

  About the Author

  Nicole Taylor wrote “Christmas in Canberra” in 2008 while living in

  Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.A.

  It is the first in a series of stories about a young woman’s life in Australian capital cities at the end of the 20th century.

  Other titles in the series are:

  Morning in Melbourne

  Summer in Sydney

  Breakfast in Brisbane

  ***

  “An accurate snapshot of the life of a young, single woman during the 80s in Canberra. Nicole Taylor steers her heroine around the social hazards and rules of her peer group, family and workplace. An enjoyable read.”

  Christine Logue, Holder, ACT

  “A very enjoyable read with characters I’d like to know.”

  Ann Bowles, Calgary, Canada

  ***