Sunday, October 21, 2012

#5: Together Seven Years Apart


Memoir - Week 5
  
Introductions out of the way, it turned out I had stumbled across a bunch of girls – mostly study-abroad students doing a stint at the University of Canberra. There were around eight of them who had entered the infamous King O’s, including two Canadians, a Norwegian and…Erin Ogilvie from Roanoke. Virginia. The United States of America.  There was also Carol, an Australian student Erin had become friends with through the university’s orientation day.

“No, but I’ll buy you a beer” Erin said.

This was the first time for me any girl had replied with this cheeky response, and I admired Erin for her independence and confidence. It struck me as a good start and only bolstered my feeling that this was something, that she was someone quite different. She hadn’t said no to me. She wasn’t being negative. She had gently taken control of opening the gate and allowed me to prospect on her land, you might say.

Contrary to the predictable convention, I followed the ‘girl’ as we side-stepped, bumped and brushed our way past the seemingly invisible others to the bar.  On-tap Carlton draught we drank, the conversation did flow. Erin’s large blue eyes were pretty and mesmerising, and I remember beholding them on a woman as I never have before. 
 

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