story 5.4

The family and extended family units sauntered down the road, with the exception of Atilla who was being grandly pushed in his stroller.

Phew but it was hot. He was beginning to sweat away his sunscreen and becoming very smelly. Cousin Amy promised that the Tentical Gardens was worth it. So he was being very staunch and stoic.

Brisbane was smelly of dust and exhaust and pushy people. It was very nice to receive the smiles from people, but he would much rather be at the Tentical Gardens right now.

Atilla stifled a whine. Now there was a long stretch of road ahead of them, filled with people and tables and chairs.

What's this? Oh, it was a shopping mall. With food! He perked up. Where there was food, there was the prospect of ice cream!

The air was much much much cooler in here. He wiggled his toes and luxurated in the crisp air. He looked around. There didn't seem to be that many ice cream places...how odd. That's Brisbane for ya.

Mum gave him a straw in a cup of juice. He made the best of it.

Uncle B- grinned at him with encouragement. "Look, we'll be having lunch at the Botanical Gardens in a few minutes."

Atilla smiled in return. "That sounds like great fun."

Cousin Amy took her turn in pushing his stroller. Cousin Qwerty walked beside them, keeping company. He pointed to the stands of bicycles on the side roads.

"There are bicycles at the Botanical Gardens, but not like those ones," he explained to Atilla. Atilla nodded knowingly, not knowing what he was agreeing to.

Mainly Atilla was keeping a sharp eye on the bag of lunch Dad had bought. It was swinging languidly from Dad's wrist, with the occassional precarious encounters with other pedestrians.