Part 7 (1/2)

'Bikini?' she asked me. I shook my head.

'Da,' pre-empted Olga.

Good grief.

'She needs make-up, a manicure and pedicure. I'll drop her off at your place in twenty minutes. Okay?'

'Da.'

'Sorted.' Debs hung up. 'She's real nice. She's Russian.' Not j.a.panese?

We soon pulled up at a rather grotty block of flats. 'Go to the first floor,' Debs said, 'press the buzzer and Olga will come and get you.'

'Right.'

'Daph told me to give you this map and keys to the apartment, but it's a bit confusing, so just call her when you get there and she'll tell you how to get in. I'll drop your bags off there this arvo. Gotta go, kiddo.'

Abandoned, I pressed the buzzer. Footsteps bounded down the stairs towards me and then a pint-sized blonde lady appeared. She looked like an Olympic figure skater.

'You must be Olga,' I said. 'I'm Ruby.'

I followed her into a sitting room. Olga took my handbag and reached into it for my phone, which she switched off. She handed me a robe and gla.s.s of water and showed me to one of the smaller rooms.

'I'm on quite a tight schedule,' I said. 'I need to be at Treasury Place by a quarter to twelve at the latest.' Olga looked at her watch. 'Da.'

'You want me to lie down?' I asked.

'Da,' she smiled.

Another woman joined her, and as they chatted incomprehensibly, they waxed, plucked, scrubbed, washed, buffed, dried, moisturised and painted me.

In two hours, I was a new woman. My spot had vanished, my hair bounced and my legs slithered.

Back in my dress, I grabbed my things and thanked them profusely. 'Da,' they said and showed me the door.

'Four Treasury Place,' I said to the cab driver.

'Righto, love, you off to something special?'

'I guess,' I said. 'I have an interview of sorts.'

The driver eyed me in the mirror. 'You'll get the job for sure.'

At Treasury Place a police officer appeared to be guarding a row of white Edwardian buildings.

'Press?' he asked.

'I have an appointment with Luke Harley in the Leader of the Opposition's office.'

'Right, I'll call and find someone for you. As you can appreciate, it's pretty hectic in there at the moment.' He picked up a radio and said, 'G'day, is Luke Harley there? Yeah, there's a lady here to see him; she reckons she has an appointment. Let me ask. Are you Ruby Stanhope?'

'Yes.'

'Yep, that's her. I'll escort her in.' He put on his hat and stepped down from his post. 'This way please, ma'am.'

I followed him down a narrow pathway to a nondescript office where a receptionist who could have auditioned for Golden Girls sat at a cluttered desk.

'Ruby?'

'Yes.'

'I'm Beryl. Did you get our messages?'

'No,' I said, remembering Olga had silenced my mobile. 'I've been in appointments all morning.'

'So have we, mate,' she said. 'We've been trying to call you to reschedule. Things are pretty fraught in there.' She pointed towards a pair of heavy oak doors.

'Big day?'

'You haven't seen the news?'

I didn't have the heart to tell her there was lipstick on her teeth. 'I haven't had a chance to read anything this morning,' I bluffed, smoothing a wrinkle in my dress.

'There's been a spill,' she said.

'Oil?'

'No, mate, a spill in the government.'

'Is someone...er...cleaning it up?'

She laughed. 'The PM's been toppled by the Treasurer and the new PM's on her way to Yarralumla.'

I longed for subt.i.tles. 'I've just been down at the Yarra Valley,' I hesitated, 'it's a beautiful place.'

'No sweet 'art-Yarralumla. The GG's place. She's gonna be sworn in and we're being told she's calling an early election.'

I was still lost.

'How about I put the telly on and get you a cuppa?'

'That would be lovely.'

She turned on the antique television on her desk and swivelled it towards me, ushering me to a coffee-stained office chair. 'Voila,' she said. 'How do you have yer tea?'

BREAKING NEWS: PM PATTON OUSTED-BRENNAN TO BE SWORN IN AS PRIME MINISTER, streamed across the news ticker at the bottom of the screen. 'I'm standing here on the road to the Governor-General's residence at Yarralumla,' said an elegant, almond-eyed journalist, 'where, any minute now, the new Prime Minister, Gabrielle Brennan, is expected to be sworn in to her new role. At this stage, we are unsure who will take her position as Treasurer. Peter?'

'Thanks, Anastasia,' said Peter, back in the studio. 'Do we have any idea whether Prime Minister, sorry, former prime minister Hugh Patton will be standing again in his inner-Sydney seat at the next election?'

'At this stage, Peter, we don't, but it's highly unlikely that he would serve under his challenger and successor. This was a swift and seamless move on the part of Gabrielle Brennan and her co-conspirators. Very few people expected this day would come quite so quickly, if at all. Everybody is stunned. Peter?'