I’m standing above the city, eyeing the ocean liner docked at the quay. I can hardly catch my breath. The lights of the harbour twinkle gently as if winking at me. I smile.
He kisses my neck.
I walk down the street for the last time and soak up the sight of the shirtless backpackers, their accents meandering as I stroll past them.
A black T-shirt thrown over two white ones. Shoes and jeans peeled and placed out of the way. I wink at him and he smiles back. He holds my hand firmly and we press together.
…the arching trees waving their leaves happily bidding their final adieu. A dog scampers past me, his oversized-glasses-wearing owner pouts past…
He presses his lips into the middle of my back and I involuntarily arch. We get lost. I look at him and he watches me as he strokes my stomach.
Towering above the lights of the city, meeting the sky and evanescently ascending through the clouds to the amber light of the moon.
…the whirring of the coffee machine, the smiling barista, his cups clanking together in ceramic applause…
The party’s almost over. I don’t want tonight to end. I put my arms out, they lay their heads on one each. An arm under mine, we breathe erratically, then slowly almost in unison. We rest and fall into a shallow sleep.
I return to earth and run through the revolving door and down the dark back alley near home.
…the red neon flashes and fizzes in the distance. Home in this crazy street was at times chaos, but the charm has been completely and utterly etched into my heart.
Ecstatically breathless as I climb the sandstone stairs, the city lights still twinkling at me, almost as if they know my secret. It’s 2.37am and I’m already reliving my little taste of moonlight under a canopy of stars.
info: You can follow John on Twitter @daddydearest_ John is talking at the next GAMMA meeting on Wednesday, March 16 at 8pm. Visit www.gamma.org.au for details.
