home or sleep in the cell. She would have to return back when sober. She had a bit of a struggle understanding the difference between impounding and confiscation and figuring how to get back to the tourist group as she was not successful in contacting her boyfriend.
Rose ended up offering to give her a lift to her hotel and as the situation was settled they were allowed to leave. Five minutes later while talking to Corinne and waiting for Antonella to return from the bathroom they were startled by the sound of the fire alarm. The very next minute people were running around trying to locate the fire. Apparently it was on their level.
Then it was quiet again but before they had the time to check on Antonella they were approached by the same police officer that interviewed Antonella a bit earlier. He looked apologetic but irritated. ‘Sorry ma’am, I’m afraid that you can’t take Antonella yet. Something else came up, ’ he added. ‘Would you please give us a few more minutes of your time? We need to talk to Antonella again. She is in the same interview room, ’ he added showing Rose the way.
Rose was surprised and looked at Corinne questioning. ‘How are you doing girl? Are you up to waiting some more? ’ Rose asked her with some remorse. ‘You must be tired by now, ’ Rose said.
‘I think I’ll have a coffee, ’ Corinne said rising to go to the coffee machine.
‘Thank you ma’am, very much appreciated, ’ the officer said to her. ‘You might want some tucker too, ’ he added.
‘Tucker? ’ Rose said to him.
‘Bush tucker? ’ he tested her. Rose nodded negatively. She had no idea what he was talking about and she could not care less. She just wanted to get back to her bed. They went back to the interview room. Antonella was holding another cup of coffee in her hands and was crying. A female officer was also present.
‘Miss Azarra I have to charge you with the possession of an illegal substance, ’ officer Curt said.
As Rose translated the words to Antonella she looked surprised to the officer. ‘That is marijuana that you were smoking in the bathroom and activated the smoke detectors, ’ the officer added. ‘We would like you to give us a urine sample ma’am and to allow this officer to conduct a physical inspection. Miss Roma is allowed to stay with you in the room if you want that, ’ he added.
Now Rose had a name for the smell she could not identify when she entered the room earlier. Another hour passed before they were allowed to leave. Antonella’s hair and clothes were a mess but her beauty was still striking. Somehow she looked defeated and Rose wanted to raise her spirits.
‘La vita e come le montagne russe’ (life is a roller coaster) Rose said to her. She just nodded and took Rose’s hand following her slowly. In the corridor they bumped into a well-dressed gent. He was wearing an elegant white twill shirt with a clean and sharp look. His tie was a woven blue geo lattice and when Rose raised her eyes to his face she recognized James. They were both taken by surprise by this encounter but he seemed to recover first.
‘Late night, huh? ’ was his line of inquiry. Saying that he had a big grin on his face and his eyes were lingering on them. Antonella by now was leaning on Rose’s shoulder and was half asleep. Rose suspected that he found the scene kind on the eye. ‘Need some help? ’ he sympathetically offered.
‘She’ll be apples, ’ Rose said in a hurry trying to get to Corinne.
‘Okey-dockey, catch you later, ’ he immediately replied and disappeared somewhere.
Corinne was trying to keep awake by reading a magazine. There were three empty cups of coffee near her and she seemed a bit jittery to Rose. Three cups of coffee can have that effect on people. They took Antonella to her hotel and then Rose left Corinne to her house with the promise to get her back to the police station the next day.
‘Girl, we are kindred spirits, ’ Corinne said when she departed.
Rose had to agree with that.
Dio Mio Aiuti
….
About 7 days later Rose was sitting in her tiny ornamental garden and sipping her morning coffee in the silent company of Target, her neighbor's big, beautiful orange cat. They were both mesmerized by the beauty of the place and the smell of the flowers. You could say that Rose was busy doing nothing.
I suppose a garden is always a work in progress and the one Rose had was no exception. Rose could imagine how the previous owner had to overcome budget limitations to create such a bucolic setting that enhanced the local environment and granted the passer by the enjoyment of the little things in life. By simply looking at this garden you would never have guessed that a man lived here till not very long ago. He must have had a gardener Rose thought. And I might need one very soon if I want to keep this place in a tip- top shape, she thought. The flowers, the leaves and scent mixed beautifully and were backed up by a sprinkler system, water tank and an intricate illumination system that probably needed some maintenance. Rose had minimal theoretical or practical knowledge in gardening but she was vaguely aware about the existence of such things like seasonal tasks. She was probably able to recognize the snails, aphids and grasshoppers but not much else. She was hoping that she would never see a snake in her beautiful garden. The fact was that she was living in the city and not in the wild outback.
Her neighbor Adele had lived in this area for many years and never came across one. Rose knew that Adele was using chili spray in her garden to keep the ants away and once she showed Rose a photo of the brush tail possum she found in her garden one night.
The sky was blue with no clouds in sight and the sun was up and shining. The sounds of the birds were music to Rose’s ears and as she peered at the cat she realized that Target felt the same. Rose wondered if he had a hidden agenda.
What a swell vacation she thought! Rose enjoyed remaining completely in the dark about the rest of the world. She kept the TV and radio turned off and generally kept to herself. She tried to avoid the newspapers too. Rose was giving her best shot to socking in the local atmosphere while avoiding the exposure to the recorded daily traumatic events in the world. Grinning sheepishly to herself she admitted to leading an undeniably impressive life style since the forced move to Brisvegas a couple of months ago. Maybe an extravaganza! Rose was intrigued by the beauty and wilderness of this place as she was starting to gain some understanding of it.
As she finished her coffee she decided to pick some roses for the living room table as Rose was waiting for her friend Corinne to come by later on that day. Rose knew that she would enjoy the roses and that by the middle of the day it would be too hot to stay outdoors. Rose brought a bucket half filled with water and her secateurs and she decided to get a few stems of the roses with a striped coloring of red and yellow. She was planning to let them soak in the bucket for an hour in a cool spot inside the house before placing them in a vase.
Adele, her neighbor, arrived at the garden’s gate as Rose was finishing cutting the roses. She was wearing a large brim hat that seemed to have seen a lot of sun in its life and was holding her pruners in her left hand.
‘Ha, here he is, ’ she remarked with satisfaction seeing her cat. ‘Having a lazy day? ’ She continued and Rose was not sure anymore if Adele was still talking to her cat. Target gave a meow in sign of recognition changed his position and plopped on the other side keeping an eye on his owner as if asking ‘Are we staying or what? ’
‘I suppose he likes you, ’ Adele said. ‘Just don’t feed him too much, ’ she added. ’ He puts on weigh easily’. Target blinked at them as if he understood that he was the subject of their conversation. ‘I came to tell you about the OGA events. Your uncle was very much interested in gardening and took every opportunity to learn more from other’s experiences, ’ Adele said.
‘OGA? ’ Rose said a bit unsure.
‘They publish the guide for the private gardens that open for public every year, ’ Adele explained. ‘Next week the one that Adrian liked very much will be open again and I wonder if you would like to come? ’
‘Of course, ’ Rose said think
ing it couldn’t hurt and she had plenty of time on her hands anyway.
‘Good then. We can buy the tickets right there at the venue, ’ she added. ‘You need sensible clothing and we need to take some food with us and plenty of water, ’ she added.
‘Sensible clothes Adele? ’ Rose asked.
‘Oh, you know, sturdy shoes, long trousers, a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, ’ she explained. ‘We are going to be outdoors for a couple of hours and the temperature could be quite high. We don’t want to get dehydrated or bitten by insects, ’ she added. ‘I’ll also take my first-aid kit. I keep one in my car for emergencies, ’ she explained.
‘Snake repellents? ’ Rose suggested. Adele sighed, rolled her eyes up and ignored her question. They had multiple previous discussions about snakes and she was aware of Rose’s phobia.
‘You’ll enjoy the gardens and we can also do some bird watching, ’ she reassured Rose. ‘Kookaburra, blue wren, rainbow lorikeet? ’ Adele tried to shake loose Rose’s memory. Rose recognized the first name mentioned because she would never forget their unmistakable laughing sound and she had bought some lively kookaburra tile coasters for her grandma.
‘Do I need to buy some binoculars? ’ Rose asked.
‘That would be good but not absolutely necessary, ’ Adele said. ‘You