BAZZY BO AND JOANNA

Alison Webb u3a Creative Writing Group

‘’John, is that Joanna’s new boyfriend?’’

Grandma peeked through the net curtains at her favourite grandchild who was wrapped around someone with Rasta plaits bundled up inside a huge pink and green knitted cap. ‘’Surely that’s not her taste in young men?’’

John sighed, pulled himself out of his comfy armchair and joined his mother at the window.

‘’Yes Mum, that’s Bazzy Bo, climate activist, green campaigner and conscientious objector….’’

‘’Bazzy Bo! What sort of name is that? When I was a girl, children had sensible names and my mother would have had a fit if I had a boyfriend without a proper haircut and who didn’t wear a shirt and tie. Climate activist… is that a job with good prospects?’’

John sighed again. ‘’Things are different nowadays, so please, just be careful what you say and don’t upset Joanna, she’s very sensitive.’’

‘’Well, you’re her father and you need to tell her that she can’t get herself all mixed up with people who are activists. They object to things and upset the status quo.’’

‘’Mum, please. He’s harmless. He’s searching for the meaning of life and a purpose for his own existence. He’ll settle down, eventually.’’

‘’Huh!’’ Grandma Grace sounded utterly disgusted. ’’Settle down? Not with my Joanna he won’t. When I was a girl, my parents decided was the right thing for me and I did what I was told.’’

‘’Really Mum? So, what happened then?’’ John gave his Mum a hard stare.

Grace pressed her lips together and glowered. That boy of mine knows too much, she thought, as a tense silence entered the room.