into overdrive. Maybe she felt she had something to prove to him. Maybe she just loved the money. She did love money, and the business made good money … so that’s what we did. Even if I hated it. Even if I knew that the only way to ever please her was to show her that I could make money. So I made lots of it, always trying to get her approval. Never managing to. Falling apart at the seams without her ever asking what the matter was. Even after the invasion the business flourished. Yeah, the taxes went up – but people always need houses. Mum had been on my back all week about going to listen to the ‘nice young man’ who everyone was talking about. I didn’t get it. Mum hadn’t been in the Temple since she got married and she was about as interested in God as she was in politics. But she knew that something was wrong with me and I’m sure she’d guessed about the drugs, but she clearly had no desire to talk about it with me. I guess she just hoped that this travelling, crazy, God fella would sort me out. I’d had another big night and we’d had another argument and there was no point me hanging around for more angst. I grabbed my leather jacket and helmet and headed out to the Triumph Speed Triple I was riding then. I’d had a car – a flash one to impress clients – but it was no fun. My bike was bright orange and loud. Mum hated it. That was enough for me to make it my preferred form of transport. She’d said he was due to talk to a mob of people at a footy oval, up in the hills. That was the other reason I went. The ride up was fabulous. I rode like I didn’t care, and I didn’t. Speed, risk, fun, fear. That got my heart going. Natural highs. I was a bit stunned when I got there. It was like a pop-up festival, people everywhere. All sorts. Young, old, city-folk, rural, invaders, priests, ‘sinners’ like me. All just sitting and standing, chatting and waiting for something to happen. The ubiquitous coffee van was there along with a few smart food stalls whose owners had heard there was a gathering. I parked the bike in the shade, whacked my jacket on the ground and sat. The oval was ringed with gum trees and I remember there were birds everywhere. Maggies, cockies, parrots, kookaburras. In the trees and on 115
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