Johanna and Maxine

"There is security in a ring though," Maxine replied, "but I agree with you, a few of my friends have gone down that route already."

"So, you don't live with your boyfriend?"

"Um, no," she squinted at the table, "we're Christians... although don't worry," she eyed Jodie, "we aren't the happy clappy kind. We go to a local community church in Kilsyth, they're quite liberal but don't worry, I'm not a bible basher."

Jodie raised her eyebrows at that as Maxine leaned over to pot a ball but her shot was a bit off and the ball bounced off the cushion and knocked one of Jodie and Sue's balls into the pocket.

"Shit," she straightened up, "I thought I had that one."

"It was a good shot," Johanna replied.

Maxine nodded as she glanced over at her boyfriend who was getting trounced by Macca and a sly smile drifted over her face.

"So, if you don't mind me asking. Who wears the pants? If you know what I mean?"

Sue glanced at her and smirked.

"Um, we're both wearing pants but when it comes to making decisions we talk about it first before coming to any agreement, it's a mutual thing."

"Sounds very progressive," Maxine replied, "I wish Christian marriages were more like that."

"How long have you been a Christian?" Johanna asked her.

"Since I was seventeen, more or less," she replied.

"I went to the youth group for about eighteen months and kind of grew into it," she paused as Jodie pocketed a ball, "I was pretty much an agnostic at the time but the youth group was a safe place for me and my sister. Dad and mum were always fighting, they split up when I was only seventeen and mum was in a mess."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sue replied as Jodie potted another ball, it landed close to the pocket to set her partner up for the shot after Johanna.

"Yeah, me too. I love my dad but he's a pain in the arse when he's been drinking."

"So religion was what saved you?" Johanna glanced at her as she lined up her shot.

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean I believe in evolution and science but it does give me comfort. I've got friends at the church and outside of church too, I'm a bit of a mixed bag to be honest."

"Interesting," Johanna replied as she pocketed the ball.

"Why do you say that?" Maxine raised her eyebrows.

"I guess I'm just used to the American version of religion. I lived in California until I was ten when we moved to Sweden. We never went to church but my mum's parents are very religious," Johanna moved around the table as she kept talking.

"They believed that the Earth is only six thousand years old, and they accepted the existence of a literal garden of Eden," she leaned over to line up a ball.

"And don't get them started on abortion and the LGBTQ community," she potted the white ball and frowned as she failed to pot the other ball.

"I came out when I was fifteen and my grandparents sent me a small book and a comic about the evils of turning gay. Dad did his passive aggressive routine and mum didn't know where to look, she was like, okay, let's just move on and pretend this didn't happen."

"They sound weird, if you don't mind me saying," Maxine glanced at her.

"I don't mind you saying that and they're very polite. Don't get me wrong, they'd do anything for you but they've got these weird beliefs. I remember when they came over for my eighteenth we had this odd conversation about God. They believe in Adam and Eve, and I asked if Cain killed Abel then where did Mrs Cain come from? Did Cain marry his sister?"

Maxine burst out laughing and Macca glanced over at her.

"Cool, what did she say to that?"

"She opened her mouth and shut it again. My mum giggled and dad just smirked, then grandma said that there were some things they didn't quite understand yet."

"I'll bet. We have a few people at church who believe that but most settle for Intelligent Design, the idea that God was somehow involved in evolution."

"Interesting theory," Sue remarked as Maxine lined up her shot.

"Until you get to the problem of childbirth and how to fit a baby's head under the pubic bone, my mum is a paediatric nurse and the number of caesarian births they do is astronomical. If God was an intelligent designer then he fucked up when it came to creation," she glanced over as Maxine took her shot.

Maxine stared at her and then glanced at Macca who was just putting his cue down.

"Wow, I hadn't thought of that one," she looked at Sue.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk so much about religion," Johanna frowned, "it's a faith thing."

"True, but I don't see anything wrong with talking about religion," she replied, "it's healthy to talk about religion, sex, and politics."

The conversation continued for the rest of that game and subsequent games as Macca and Brenda played Jodie and Maxine, and Mark played Sue. Johanna sat the round out and brought more drinks over. Maxine was drinking rum and Coke but Mark had a strict no alcohol rule and at first Johanna thought it was because he was driving. However she found out when she played him that he didn't believe in drinking, smoking or eating meat.

Maxine on the other hand liked eating meat and drinking, despite her father's alcoholism. She was a youth worker for Maroondah Council. She'd started youth work at the church and had done one of their courses but then she went to university and got her degree. There had been offers to come back and work for the church but on a part time basis.

"I do a bit of work for them but they only pay my costs, it's not going to put food on the table, what they pay me wouldn't keep me in food for more than a day."

Her sister, Rowena was two years younger and had just finished law school. She was casting around for offers and had applied for a position as a lawyer with a local family law practice.

"She found out about that job from me," Maxine glanced at Johanna, "Penny's the senior partner and owner I guess but her partner runs a dressmaking class at the church and when I mentioned it she told me about the vacancy. It's the third practice she's started in twenty years or so, the first one was in Kilsyth, this new one is in Lilydale."

"Not Penny Jones?" Johanna raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, why? Do you know her?"

"Not personally," Johanna replied, "I know of the practice though, we don't deal with them directly at Citizen's Advice, we deal with their subsidiary, Gardner, Fønsmark and Barnes."

"I haven't heard of them," Maxine replied.

"They handle our bankruptcies, some of our clients have so much debt they've got no option but to declare themselves bankrupt."

"Ah, I see," Maxine inclined her head, "I don't know much about her. I only spoke to Robyn, she's a lovely woman."

"You've got a gay women teaching dressmaking at church?" Jodie raised her eyebrows.

"She used to be a regular at the church back in two thousand but then she came out and hooked up with Penny. They run some women's meeting, women who talk."

"I've heard about them," Sue looked at her as she straightened up and glanced at Jodie, "remember that group I told you about last year?"

"Kind of," Jodie smiled crookedly, "isn't it all old bags though?"

"No," Maxine replied, "I was talking to Robyn about it, they've got women as young as eighteen, I've been thinking of going to one of their meetings."

That started another conversation about Women Who Talk, an organisation that had now spread across Melbourne and was quite vocal about women's issues, and when Johanna expressed a desire to come to a meeting at some point Maxine agreed to ask Robyn.

"I'm taking Rowena up there tomorrow, she's getting measured up for clothes."

The games continued, whittling down to the last pair, Jodie and Macca, and it was a close match as the two best players battled it out for supremacy. Johanna had only been the weekly champion once and this week she'd gotten through to the third last round before losing to Jodie.

"So, who do you share the house with?" Johanna asked her.

"My sister and her boyfriend," she replied.

"So who does your mum live with?"

"She's living with her boyfriend but he's a bit weird."

"Define weird," she replied, "and remember I'm from Sweden, we know all about weird."

"I know, I tasted that pickled herring, it made me gag before I had a mouthful," she chuckled,

"Bob is a conspiracy junkie, he's always posting links about faked moon landings, the Illuminati and his latest thing is the flat Earth theory."

"That is weird," Johanna stared at the table as Jodie pocketed another ball.

"Tell me about it, she loves him to bits and he thinks the sun shines out of her arse."

"Well that's one thing to be grateful for... so, do you still see your dad or is that a touchy subject?"

"It's not and I still do but it's only a couple of times a year, he moved up to Lightning Ridge to help out a mate with his opal mine and he comes down for Christmas and Easter."

"I've never been there," Johanna replied.

"Don't bother," she winced, "tell me something," she glanced at her.

"My auntie Margaret, mum's sister is in heaps of financial trouble, they just cut her gas off three days ago and now her Foxtel has been cancelled. How would she go about you know?"

Johanna frowned as she tried to think of a response.

"Sorry," Maxine blushed, "you've probably got rules about that kind of advice."

"We do but I can't give advice without knowing her situation but if she wants to come into the office then we can help her but she's got to want it bad enough. We get a lot of people who have some tragic stories but they aren't prepared to let go of the little luxuries like cable tv."

"She's not like that," she reassured her, "Auntie Margaret's worked all her life but the last divorce wiped her out when her ex husband took out a second mortgage to pay off gambling debts. That was what ended their marriage but she's been battling ever since."

"So, send her to us then," Johanna replied, "that company I told you about handle everything, they talk to creditors, arrange a repayment schedule and get the interest payments cancelled."

"She's mentioned it once or twice in the past. Her ex husband did apply but then he committed suicide and she had to take out a bank loan to repay some of his debts, it was messy."

"Sounds like it, I'm working tomorrow by the way, it's a half day but she just has to come in for an informal chat first anyway," she took out her phone and unlocked it.

"Put your number in there and send yourself a text, she can phone me at home if she can't come into the office."

"Thanks," Maxine took it from her and by the time they'd exchanged numbers Jodie had pocketed the eight ball and Macca laid his cue down on the table.

"Who's the champ? Who's the champ?" Jodie grinned.

"You are," he reached for his wallet, "looks like it's my shout."

"We do this every week," Johanna informed her, "the loser of the last round has to buy the last round of drinks, it's pretty casual though. If you don't have enough money we'll chip in."

"How many are you?"

"Eleven counting me but most Friday and some Saturday nights. I won't be here tomorrow because I'm going out with Jodie and Sue to a movie out at Knox City."

"I'll be at the coffee shop. It's at the church. Mark's more into it than me but I do get along most Saturdays. They wanted to put me on the actual team but I can't commit to it and besides, I do youth work all week long, I do need a break."

Mark leaned over to put his arm around her and Johanna noticed the shift in her eyes, he didn't see it because she was looking at Johanna but it was obvious that his sudden move wasn't reciprocated and she stared straight ahead as Macca approached them.

"My shout," he announced, "what're you two having?"

"Just a Coke for me," she replied.

"I'll help you," Johanna rose.

She glanced over her shoulder as they headed to the bar, just in time to see Maxine stand up and walk to the table. The white ball was still on the table and she proceeded to punt the ball against the cushions.

"What's all that about?" Johanna asked Macca.

"I dunno, but she was checking you out before she started playing with us."

"You're kidding?"

Johanna turned to look at her whilst Macca ordered the drinks. The fact that Macca had noticed it first surprised her but was he just imagining sex between two hot woman or was Maxine really into her after all?

The answer to that question however came half an hour later when she went back to Sue and Jodie's place for coffee and cake.

"She was checking you out," Jodie confirmed, "it wasn't half obvious, especially when you bent over to take a shot, she couldn't get her eyes off your arse."

"Oh," Johanna smiled crookedly, "maybe Mark is not a serious boyfriend."

"That's what I reckon too," Sue replied.

***

Maxine got up from the couch when her Auntie Margaret answered the phone, she sounded as if she'd been drinking but she wasn't slurring her words yet.

"Maxine, what a surprise."

"Hiya," she replied, "how are you?"

"Well I can still afford a bottle of cheap wine but only because I managed to get some out of date food from Not Quite Right."

"That's what I'm calling about," Maxine stepped into the kitchen, "I met up with a woman at the pool hall tonight, she works with Citizen's Advice."

"And?"

Maxine hesitated before speaking again. She felt as if it should have been her mother having this talk with her own sister, not her niece but perhaps because Margaret was a little inebriated she listened to her for the next few minutes.

"Bankruptcy sounds like such a, like such a, you know?"

"I know but it'd give you a bit of breathing space, I can't tell you to go but it can't hurt to at least talk to this woman."

Margaret didn't reply for about ten seconds.

"And you didn't mention me by name?"

"She knows you're my auntie but she doesn't know your name."

"What the hell," Margaret sighed, "it wouldn't make any difference anyway, all right, I'll go and see this woman tomorrow, just don't tell your mum yet. I'll tell her in my own time, I love her dearly but sometimes she rubs me up the wrong way if you know what I mean."

"I do," Maxine bit her lip, "look if you want to speak to her directly I've got her number, she said I could pass it onto you, her name's Johanna."

"No that's fine," Margaret replied, "but maybe I'll ask for her by name tomorrow."

"Whatever, it's up to you."

They talked for a few more minutes before ending the call and when she returned to the living room Mark had just finished his Big Mac. They'd detoured to McDonald's in Lilydale after the pool hall before coming back to her place.

"Everything all right?" Rowena asked her.

Maxine relayed the basics including the information about the company she was going to try and get referred to and that led to a conversation about Women Who Talk, much to Mark's obvious discomfort. The conversation moved from the upcoming job interview to football, the women's meeting and then onto plans for the weekend. Rowena had to put her car into the garage tomorrow to get it fixed and Maxine was taking her to Penny's place to get herself measured but acquiesced to Mark when he said he was going to coffee shop but once he'd gone home she sighed.

"I should come out with youse tomorrow night," she announced.

"Do you have to go to the coffee shop?"

"No," she replied, "I just said that to keep him happy."

"Well if you wanna come that's fine," Rowena shrugged, "Dave doesn't mind either."

"Nice of you to speak on my behalf," he opened his eyes blearily.

"It's only out of love," she pinched his knee.

Maxine closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift back to the pool parlour and the woman she'd met there. There was a possibility that they might bump into her at the cinema but then again it was a long shot and eventually she resigned herself to coffee shop.

***

The Citizen's Advice Bureau is a community organisation that offers different services from advice about welfare and benefits to referrals to mental health professionals, and financial counselling. Johanna's remit involved assessing a client's needs, making phone calls on their behalf to creditors or referring them to a private law firm who could initiate bankruptcy proceedings. Johanna glanced at the woman sitting opposite her. Margaret was forty nine and had asked for her specifically this morning. She had fair hair that fell to her shoulders and blue eyes, her face was roundish and when she smiled she exposed teeth that were obviously well looked after. She had a full-time job as a psychologist and worked at a practice in Lilydale.

Her financials were pretty bad, sitting at $38,900 in the red. Not only had her gas been cut off, which meant she couldn't cook or heat her home, she was two months behind on rent, she had a total of three credit cards that were maxed out and a bank loan that was taking up a good chunk of her wages. Surprisingly enough, the straw that broke the camel's back was when the cable company cut her off after missing a regular payment.

"What I can do is contact the credit card companies and request that the interest be frozen but all that will do is reduce you to making minimum payments. You're essentially just chipping away at a brick wall with a hammer. You'll eventually knock out a few bricks but the rest of the wall will still be standing," she glanced at the gas bill.

"Or, we can put you in contact with a legal firm who can declare you legally bankrupt."

"Bankrupt," Margaret bit her lip, "that's bad, isn't it?"

"Yes and no," she leaned back in her seat, "you can't take out a loan for seven years, you can't apply for a credit card and you will have to agree to a regular monthly repayment but the good news is that all the begging letters will stop and they negotiate on your behalf."

"And what about things like," she glanced out the window, "food and gas and electricity?"

"You'll have plenty of money for that. They work out what you need for food and they overestimate it to take inflation into account. We can set up a monthly direct debit for your utilities, I can issue an emergency cheque to pay the gas bill today so that'd reconnect the gas for you but you need to make a decision in the next two weeks going by your paperwork."

"They'll demand a reconnection fee," Margaret replied.

"Not if I make the phone call," Johanna smiled slightly, "we carry a bit of weight."

"Okay," Margaret replied, "I'll do it."

"All right then," Johanna picked up the phone and glanced at the number list on the wall in front of her, "let's see if we can book you an appointment today," she started tapping buttons.

"You're under no obligation to go through with it of course, you can always seek other companies out but the one we use is pretty much on the ball."

Margaret fiddled with her phone while Johanna waited for someone to answer.

"Gardner, Fønsmark and Barnes, Melanie Gardner speaking."

"It's Johanna from Ringwood CAB, how are you?"

"My out tray is bigger than my in tray, how can I help you, Johanna?"

"I've got a client here, Margaret Spencer... she's got a total of," she glanced at the notepad, "thirty eight thousand and nine hundred dollars in bad debt. She's got a full time job that's secure but she doesn't have a house that anyone can take, she's renting."

"Okay, who're the creditors?"

Johanna read out their names as she went down the list and Melanie chuckled.

"That's a real rogue's gallery and you say she's with you now?"

"Yes, do you want to speak to her?"

"If you wouldn't mind," she replied.

"Melanie Gardner," she handed the phone over and sat back to await the result and it wasn't long in coming when Margaret straightened up and nodded.

"You can do that? Wow, I should've done this twelve months ago. Sure, sure, let me write it down," she glanced at Johanna who had just pushed a business card towards her, "Johanna has just given me a business card... yep, hang on, let me get my diary," she pulled a phone out of her handbag and opened up a calendar app.