The Art of Friendship

by Lisa Ireland

  As the waiter retreated, Alli placed the crisp linen napkin on her lap and looked at Libby. ‘So here we are. I have to admit, I was happy when the others declined the invitation to come with us.’

  ‘Oh?’

  Alli shrugged. ‘I like you, Libby. I think we might have some things in common and I’d like to get to know you better. It’s kind of hard to do that properly in the group situation.’

  Libby nodded. ‘I know what you mean. Even though I see quite a lot of the others at tennis and so on, I don’t really feel like I’ve got a handle on any of them yet.’

  ‘It takes a while. But luckily for you I’m happy to give you a bit of insider intel if you’re interested. That way you’ll know what you’re up against.’

  ‘Up against? You make it sound like some sort of battle.’

  Alli gave a brittle laugh. ‘Do I? Well, I guess in some ways it is. We’re all friends, but that doesn’t mean there’s no competition between us.’

  Libby smiled, unsure of how to respond. She knew what Alli was saying was true, but she wasn’t sure they should be talking about it like this. She was no stranger to competition in friendships. It had existed among her Sydney friends, but it was never openly discussed. Her Sydney friends had only ever made comments about others in the group out of ‘concern’. Libby could actually picture Melissa’s furrowed brow as she imparted some piece of gossip about one of the other school mothers. ‘Of course I’m only telling you this because I worry about the children,’ Melissa would say. Libby realised with a start that she hadn’t heard from Melissa in weeks. In fact she had barely engaged with any of her Sydney friends beyond the odd ‘like’ on social media since the school term had started. She supposed everyone was busy settling into the rhythm of a new school year. And she was just as much at fault as Melissa, Nicole and Kate. It wasn’t as if she’d been texting or calling any of them either. It was actually kind of sad how quickly they’d gone from being part of her everyday life, to people she only thought about occasionally.

  The waiter returned with two glasses and a bottle of Veuve. After seeking Alli’s approval he began to pour.

  Alli took a sip of her champagne and made an appreciative face before continuing. ‘I guess when you spend a lot of time around the same people you start to reflect each other’s behaviours. Felicity in particular is very competitive. She likes to be the thinnest, the fittest, the one with the best clothes, the latest handbag. That sort of thing.’

  Libby murmured something non-committal, even though she had no doubt that Alli spoke the truth.

  Alli sighed. ‘I know. It seems ridiculous when I say it out loud, but the behaviour is insidious. It kind of creeps up on you. One minute you’re rolling your eyes at it, and the next, you find yourself pulling your kid’s latest good report out of your Louis Vuitton handbag, pretending that you’re not sure how it got in there, or posting selfies of yourself in your new designer outfit on Instagram. At first I tried to be the bigger person, you know, not get sucked into that type of nonsense, but . . .’ She looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t know, I’ve been around it for so long now I guess it’s become normalised. Maybe you’ll be good for me, Libby. You can be my conscience, remind me that none of this stuff is real.’

  ‘Don’t count on me for that. I’ve spent my whole life trying to fit in with others. I’m hardly a good example.’ Why on earth had she said that? Now Alli was bound to think she was some type of loser.

  But Alli was smiling and nodding. ‘I know exactly what you mean. I thought by this stage of my life I’d be over all that. Isn’t middle-age supposed to be a time of empowerment for women? But to be honest when I first moved to Arcadia Lakes all I wanted was for Georgina and Felicity to like me. We moved here from Adelaide and I didn’t know a soul. My girls were younger then and there really was no question of me getting a job. We had no family to help with childcare, and Greg – well, both of us, really – we didn’t like the idea of the kids being in long day care. Anyway, it was kind of isolating, so I was thrilled to have a ready-made social group, even though Georgina and Felicity are not really the type of people I would usually choose as my friends. There are other company wives, of course, but it seems expected that the executive couples socialise together – I know Greg expects me to make some kind of effort – and to be honest, it’s not like I have a lot of other friend options, especially now the twins are off at boarding school. When they were in primary school I did see some of the other mothers, but now most of them have gone back to work. Anyway, in the beginning Georgina and Felicity took me under their wings and I was grateful for that. But now? Well, I kind of feel like I’m stuck with them in some ways. So I have to say I was thrilled to hear that the executive team was expanding, and even more delighted when you turned out to be someone I felt an affinity with.’

  Libby was flattered. Despite Alli’s admission that she too felt like she didn’t fit in, she was definitely one of the ‘cool kids’. Libby only had to look at her to know that. She was effortlessly beautiful, clearly intelligent, articulate, warm and funny. The list of her attributes went on and on. If she felt the others were competitive with her, it could only be because they felt the need to impress her. But Libby didn’t say as much. Strangely she felt protective of this budding relationship. If Alli had doubts about Georgina and Felicity, who was she to dispel them? ‘Well, I have to admit I was relieved when I met you. I was feeling a tad overwhelmed that first day. But you were so kind to me. Before I spoke to you I felt like I’d entered an alternate reality.’

  ‘Yeah, I could tell. I felt the same way when I first moved to Arcadia. Look, they’re not bad people – although Felicity and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot of issues – but sometimes the whole thing is a tad claustrophobic. Maybe we’re all too involved in each other’s lives. Georgina’s always sticking her nose in, trying to control all of us like we’re children. Don’t get me wrong, I like George, she’s been very good to me, but sometimes people need to know when to butt out.’

  Libby nodded. ‘Everyone’s been so nice, but I was taken aback by how much time you all seem to spend with each other. And with Cameron still in his trial period, I feel like I can’t really say no to any invitations.’ She winced inwardly. Had she said too much? She didn’t want to appear ungrateful. ‘Not that I don’t appreciate the welcome, I absolutely do. Most of my adult life has been focused on my child. All my friends in Sydney were the mothers of Harry’s friends. I really don’t keep in contact with any of the friends I had before Harry was born – except for my friend Kit, but we’re more like sisters than friends. She lives in Yarraville. It’s fabulous to be living so close to each other again. But of course she’s busy with work so . . . Anyway, it’s nice to have company and ways to entertain myself.’

  ‘Do you enjoy being a stay-at-home mum?’

  Libby sipped her champagne and considered her answer. ‘Actually I do,’ she said slowly. ‘But now that Harry’s getting bigger and doesn’t need me as much, I do feel I’d like to find a niche for myself, if you know what I mean. When we were in Sydney I worried about not contributing enough to the family income, but that’s not such an issue now. Still, I do sometimes feel like I should be doing something more productive with my life.’

  ‘Do you mean you’re bored?’

  Libby toyed with the idea of telling Alli about her painting. Part of her wanted to. After all, Alli barely knew her. She didn’t know that Libby wasn’t the sort of person who painted nude self-portraits. Alli might even be impressed. But what if she wasn’t? Maybe it was too early in their friendship to reveal such a thing, so she shrugged and said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe.’

  Alli laughed and raised her glass. ‘Stick with me, kid. I can help you find ways to overcome that. Cheers.’

  Libby touched her glass to Alli’s. ‘Cheers.’

  ‘So you were a craft teacher before you moved to the compound, right?’ Alli grinned at her own j
oke. ‘Sorry, I mean the lovely Arcadia Lakes.’ She rounded her vowels, mimicking Georgina’s pronunciation of the estate’s name.

  Libby laughed at her impersonation. ‘Yes, but it was only a part-time position.’

  ‘So Cameron’s happy for you to work?’

  It was an odd question, Libby thought. This was the thing that women didn’t talk about. It wasn’t politically correct to admit your husband was the one who called all the shots in your marriage. But more often than not, no matter how many pretty euphemisms she and her friends dressed it up in, the women she knew compromised their own needs, wishes – even their values – for the men in their lives.

  Cam makes more money than me, so it just makes sense that I’m the one who stays home with Harry.

  Of course I do most of the housework, and the kid wrangling, but I only work part-time. It wouldn’t be right to ask Mark to do more.

  I had to leave my job and follow Jack when he got a big new opportunity. It’s great for all of us. It would have been stupid to knock it back.

  And on and on. They packaged it up so it was palatable to themselves and those around them. No one wanted to admit to letting the sisterhood down.

  ‘Yes, he’s happy for me to have a job, although I have no idea how he’d feel about me having a career.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I don’t know, I’m really just thinking out loud. He’s certainly never discouraged me from having my own career. It’s just that, well, I guess in the past my job hasn’t interfered with his life in any way. Even though I worked in Sydney I was always available to do anything he needed me to.’ She laughed self-consciously. ‘And that’s even more true now. I’m on hand to do everything from picking up his dry-cleaning to helping him entertain clients at the drop of a hat. And coming away on trips like this. I mightn’t be able to get time off for things like this if I had a full-time job. I wonder if it might be a rude awakening to Cam if I was suddenly unable to do all the things that make his life easy. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. You’re in exactly the same situation, I imagine.’

  Alli nodded slowly. ‘I am. But sometimes I wish I wasn’t.’ She drained her glass and looked at her watch. ‘How badly did you want to continue shopping today? I’m thinking maybe we ditch the spree for today and come back tomorrow. The men have their 360 assessments tomorrow. It’s a bit of a harrowing day for them. Might be a good day to be away from the resort altogether.’

  Libby didn’t hesitate. She was enjoying Alli’s company. It felt like they were on the cusp of something here, and Libby didn’t want to sacrifice the opportunity to make a real connection with someone. ‘I think I’ve spent enough money for one day,’ she confessed, ‘so I’m very happy to stay and chat for a while.’

  A wide smile spread across Alli’s face. ‘Excellent! Let’s get a bottle, shall we? The tea and cake can wait.’ She signalled the waiter with the barest raise of an eyebrow – something Libby had never been able to do – then ordered a bottle of champagne, put their tea and cake on hold and dismissed the waiter before leaning in. ‘Libby, I feel like I need to tell you this. Maybe it’s because you’re new and you haven’t been swallowed up whole by the company propaganda machine yet, but I feel like we could be friends. Real friends, I mean. Not that tennis and book club bullshit that passes for friendship these days.’

  Maybe it was the champagne heating her blood, but Libby basked in the warm glow of Alli’s approval. It was stupid, but in some ways she felt like she was back in high school. She was being singled out as special by the cool girl of the group. She smiled. ‘I feel exactly the same way.’

  The waiter returned with an ice bucket containing their bottle of bubbly. He removed the bottle and showed it to Alli, who gave a brief nod, giving him the go-ahead to pour.

  Alli raised her glass. ‘To new friends,’ she said.

  Libby raised her glass. ‘New friends.’

  Chapter 13

  ‘Harry, wait!’ Kit raced to the front door waving the paper bag lunch she’d packed. ‘Don’t forget your lunch.’

  Harry smiled at her – indulgently, she thought – and took the bag from her hand. ‘Thanks, but you don’t have to make my lunch, you know. I can buy it from the canteen.’

  ‘And have your mother accuse me of neglecting you? I don’t think so.’

  ‘Last time I looked Mum wasn’t here. How’s she ever going to know?’

  Kit grinned. The poor kid had probably been looking forward to a week of junk food. ‘Fair enough. But take that today. You can share it with one of your mates and get something from the canteen as well if you like.’

  He gave her a quick nod. ‘Yeah, okay. I gotta go. I’ll miss my bus.’

  As he ran off down the path Kit checked her watch. Shit. It was nearly eight thirty. Some days it could take twenty minutes to get away from this village of the damned. There was no traffic inside the gates of Arcadia Lakes but the freeway between Altona and Yarraville was frequently jammed. To complicate matters further, she needed to nip home and feed Hugo. At this rate she’d miss the 8.47 service to the city and end up on the 9.03, which wouldn’t get her to work until after the start of her 9.15 meeting. Maureen would not be pleased. This parenting thing took a wee bit more time management than she was used to. No wonder Libby was so stressed all the time.

  No. Libby was stressed because she was Libby. She’d been gone for just under forty-eight hours and once she arrived in Kuala Lumpur the only things she should have been worrying about were deciding what colour swimsuit to wear or what flavour daiquiri to order. But she’d phoned no fewer than three times so far and texted twice.

  ‘Don’t forget Harry needs to take his sports uniform tomorrow,’ she’d said last night. ‘And he has a maths test on Friday so make sure he studies on Thursday night.’

  Kit had resisted the urge to tell her that both of these things fell under the heading of ‘Harry’s Responsibility’. Parenting these days seemed akin to an Olympic sport. Neither Kit’s nor Libby’s mum would have known their timetable in such intimate detail. In their day schooling was kids’ business and they were expected to just get on with it. Parents remained blissfully ignorant of the goings-on at school, at least until report time. But she didn’t have the heart to say as much to Libby when she called. Instead she reassured her that all was well and that she was carefully following the written instructions in the comprehensive folder Libby had compiled. ‘Go!’ she’d said. ‘Have fun with the Housewives. We’re fine here. Honestly.’

  And it was true, they were fine. Despite her private misgivings about this ridiculously oversized house, she had to admit that she was enjoying her stay in its luxurious surrounds – transport issues notwithstanding. When she’d arrived home last night from her commute she’d shrugged off her sticky work clothes and pulled on her swimmers. The dip refreshed her sufficiently to discard her earlier idea of ordering pizza for dinner. Instead, she cajoled Harry into helping her use up some of the ingredients from Libby’s overstocked fridge. She made her specialty, prawn curry laksa, joking with Harry that his parents weren’t the only ones to be dining on fine Malaysian cuisine that day.

  Spending time here was physically comfortable, but living with Harry wasn’t quite the picnic she’d anticipated. In some ways they were quite compatible – neither of them were morning people, so she was spared any superfluous early morning chitchat – but she was surprised at just how uncommunicative Harry was these days. Yesterday he’d gone to his room as soon as he’d arrived home from school and had only emerged at dinnertime. The conversation was stilted at first, a far cry from the days when he was such a little chatterbox that she and Libby had to fight to get a word in. Eventually she’d stumbled upon a topic that interested him – Japanese animation, or anime as it was known. Kit had no knowledge of the subject but was impressed with his passion for it once he got going. Apparently Libby and Cam didn’t share Harry
’s enthusiasm. He talked about how he’d loved creating AMVs (Animated Music Videos) but his dad preferred him to spend time playing sport or participating in outdoor activities. Harry mimicked his father’s voice: ‘Get outside and get some fresh air.’ He laughed then, but Kit could see the hurt in his eyes. She asked if he had any AMVs she could watch and he grinned and nodded as he got up to retrieve his iPad.

  So the extra commute was totally worth it to spend this time with her godchild. Harry was no longer a little boy and Kit knew that it would take work to ensure they remained close as Harry grew older and more independent. It was one of the reasons she was so grateful that the universe had delivered Libby and Harry back to her.

  *

  As anticipated, she was late to work and Maureen was not impressed. Kit didn’t blame her, really. It was hardly a good look when the person chairing the staff meeting wasn’t there to start it. It didn’t help that she had forgotten to save the latest version of her PowerPoint presentation to Dropbox and she’d left the USB it was saved on at home. So the presentation was filled with errors, which she’d had to correct on the spot. Now she was lying low, attempting to make up for her gaffe by attacking the mountain of admin work Maureen had been nagging her about for the past few weeks. So when her personal phone buzzed with a number she didn’t recognise, she ignored it. It was likely just a telemarketer anyway. She also ignored the ping alerting her to the voicemail the caller left too. But forty-five minutes later when her phone rang again she relented and picked up.

  ‘Hello.’

  ‘Good morning.’ The voice on the other end was clipped and efficient. ‘This is Jane Stapleton from Claybourne Grammar School. Am I speaking to Kathleen Munroe?’

  ‘You are. Oh my goodness, is everything all right? Harry’s not hurt, is he?’