“It’s a beautiful day, outside!” Nicki announced as she forced open the bedroom door and strolled in.
“Agh,…go away!” Will grumbled.
‘Come on, Will. Let me just open these …”
Will heard her stumble towards the curtains. He bolted out of bed, tripping on his gym bag as he scrambled to beat Nicki to the window. “Don’t touch them,…just don’t!” He stood defiantly in front of her. She met his glare with a compassionate smile.
“It’s been three weeks. Don’t you think it’s time to go outside and get some fresh air?’
“No,” he grumbled. He strode back to bed wearing and dragged the covers over his head.
‘Okay, love. I’ll come back and check on you later.” The bedroom door closed with a soft click.
Most 19-year-old males, couldn’t care less about their curtains being opened or closed by somebody else. Most 19-year-old males had progressed from childish-themed patterns to modern colours and designs. But not Will. The dinosaur-printed curtains remained a staple of his bedroom, despite the rest of the décor changing over the years.
She’d offered to redecorate his room for his tenth birthday. They sat together and scoured through the catalogue pages, searching for the perfect design. And there, at the bottom of page nine, he saw it; Dinosaur printed fabric – $12.49 per metre. “That’s it, Gran! That’s the one I want.”
He even remembered the trip to the fabric store. They had fish and chips in the park after they’d pick out the material. She took him home and they measured out the curtains, on the top of the dining table. Will played on the sewing room floor with his triceratops, while Gran hemmed the curtains to the right length. When they were finished, they toasted their success with apple juice served in champagne glasses.
Will remembered the excitement he felt, when Gran had hung them up in his room the following week. They held hands as they stood back from the window, admiring Gran’s handiwork. It felt like time had stood still.
Will swallowed the lump forming in his throat. The day after they hung the curtains, his grandma died. It was unexpected, overwhelming and Will’s whole world caved in.
Through his teenage years, the dinosaur curtains were the topic of teasing by many friends. Those friends didn’t stay around for long. Will didn’t defend himself. He didn’t invite them back. Will’s close friends knew there was some important reason why he didn’t update his curtains to something age appropriate as the years went by. None of them asked why. They accepted it as part of Will’s quirky and quiet nature.
Amy was the one he’d confided in. “Oh, Amy” he groaned as turned his face into the pillow. His best friend. His love. His everything. He told her the story of the dinosaur curtains and his Gran, a week after she told him that she loved him. “I think its really sweet, Will,” was all she said tilting her head to the side. And then she kissed him on cheek.
He stood at the window and watched her walk to the car after their break-up. At 3:15pm on the fourth of June, Will gently closed the curtains so he wouldn’t have to watch Amy back out of the driveway and out onto the street for the last time.