The Boyfriend

Elle went to a party at The Royal South Yarra Tennis Club (or RSY as the young 'uns call it) a few months back. The Club holds this annual spectacular specifically for kids in Year 8. But not just any Year 8 students,  they need to be either fully paid up members or one of the lucky, but restricted member's guests.  'What's that about?' I asked my friend Penny who knows about such things.
'Oh it's to make sure they're mixing with the right people', she said with more than a veneer of irony. Yes, really!

So a few weeks later when Elle said she'd been to the movies with a boy, naturally my first questions, in a Prue and Trude voice, were; 'Are his parents members of the The Royal South Yarra Tennis Club and do they have a beach house at Portsea?' Just to be absolutely sure they're the right people.
'No', she snapped, 'Kooyong and Mt Martha'. Seriously, I laughed so hard my tea went up my nose - and I hate that.

'And are his parents aware that we have absolutely nothing to offer in that regard?' We are members of no club and have no holiday abode to speak of, aside from our tent. She didn't really care. I took that as a good sign.

She's always said she's going to get married on a boat - to Leonardo DiCaprio.

'Shall I book the boat?' I asked, cheerfully. 'No,' she barked and gave me what was probably a well deserved withering look. But this was just too tempting for a mother like me.

So how shattered was I, when asking about her BF at dinner last night, she casually mentioned they'd broken up? Damn. And I just told some friends at coffee on Saturday that she had a BF - I'd lied! Geoff and I pushed for details. 'Why do you want to know?' she asked. 'We just want to make sure you're being appropriate,' Geoff said. 'No we don't!!' I countered. 'We just want to know!!' She did tell us and it was pretty interesting to get an inside view of the 13 year old's relationship. I just hope she always feels so comfortable with spilling the beans.