Friday 1 November 2013

Friday, November 01, 2013 -

Passion Reawakened

by Rue Chapman
Published: Sep 22, 2013
Words: 21,380
Category: romance
Orientation: M/F
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OPENING EXTRACT
Passion Reawakened

I bent over the keyboard and made sure I looked busy as my immediate superior walked past, talking to his immediate superior. They both smiled at me, and I gave them a quick grin. Both of them under thirty, I could give them fifteen years or more. I straightened my shoulders a little and tossed my hair back, it was nice to know I was still worth the once-over.

Ten minutes later I was grabbing a quick cup of tea in the luxurious staff common-room (which doubled as the broom cupboard). I'd pushed the door almost-closed so that I could grab my cuppa in peace, but I could hear the chatter outside. Little Boss and Big Boss wandered down the corridor nattering away, I ignored them until I heard my name, then I tuned in automatically. Nice to know I rate a mention.

"Oh well, Laura is the perfect employee."

Ah yes, they know quality when they see it.

"She fits in alright in the office? I would have thought she's a bit long in the tooth compared to everyone else, she's no spring chicken, is she?"

"Actually, she's the perfect age. Too old to get pregnant, too young to be totally doo-lally yet, and too married to be ambitious."

"Well, that's true. And there's something to be said for the stolid mummy types, they do the work of three other people and keep in the background."

"Yes, she's a good old girl is Laura, and she knows her place. Never any trouble, she just potters along. You need a few of those staid middle-aged middle-class types. They add ballast."

"And it takes the pressure off, doesn't it. Less competition on the ladder. Now, time for a nice long working lunch I think."

I poured the Earl Grey down the sink. Mummy type? Good old girl? Staid? Ballast? I'll give that little pipsqueak ballast. I'll tie him to an anchor and drop him off Circular Quay. And where the hell does he get off calling me middle aged? Middle aged? I'm not middle aged. Old people are middle aged, that's not me! And staid? Staid? I've got a good mind to tell him a few things about me. I'll show him who's staid.

I lost my virginity in the back of a ute when I was 15. At least I think I did, the ute was moving at the time, and with all that bouncing around... but the thought was there. I smoked pot when I was 16. It made me throw up, but that's not the point. What was that patronising little worm doing when he was 16? Making model aeroplanes probably.

And at University - the sit-ins I organised, the protests in the streets, I was in the front row, I had a voice! I fought for women's rights, land rights and peace (and for better service at the university cafeteria, but that was a private protest of my own). I edited the newspaper for the Women's Collective.