Lunch with the Girls

May 6th

Dana and I are standing outside a café on Acland Street in St. Kilda. While waiting for Kate, we've been perusing the various menus, in search of the optimal lunch deal. Dana is grumpy -- a highly unusual state for her -- and has just asked me what a "minute steak" is. My "not sure" artfully accented by shoulder-shrug response is entirely unsatisfactory.

"Ah-nee, English eez your mother tongue: why do you not know what this means?"
"Easy there, short stuff. I assume it's small, you know -- cooked in a minute?"

But I've already lost my cred.

When Kate turns up a little later and gives the same answer with authority, Dana nods, "Ah, got it."
"Hey, I just said that!"
Half-smile from Dana.
Kate: "Ace. Now luvs, where we going? I need a MA-ssive coffee..."

***

The three of us met at the Ghost House on Wellington. Kate and Dana were sharing a room, having arrived at our dodgy digs about two months before me. Kate moved out shortly after I did, and Dana a month later when the house was condemned (how awesome is that?!).

74 Wellington may have been a slum -- eg: Dana battled an unidentifiable skin ailment that sent her to the hospital 3 times, only to have it clear up days after leaving -- but add Gina and Ian to the mix (who now live in the suburb over from me) and that house introduced me to four amazing people I now consider family. I count my astounding good fortune every time I see them.
[Just writing this gets me a little verklempt.]

***

Since moving out of Wellington, we make a point of meeting up once a week, typically for a marathon-length lunch. As we sit chatting, I can't help wondering if any of the people around us pick up on our international flavor: Kate from Ireland, Dana from Italy, and me as the North American representative.

We could be at a café anywhere.

***

Kate is giving us a dose of celebrity sightings:

Lindsay Lohan out shopping with two huge bodyguards.
Dana, between drags of her cigarette: "I would like to have bodyguards... but no one bothers me."

Eric Bana buying a magazine bearing him on the cover.
Dana: " I would like to buy a magazine with a picture of myself on it."

[Upon a later retelling, I'm informed that Bana, an Aussie, has no publicist and does all that end of the business himself. Which would include buying articles featuring himself from the corner store.]