The sweetest thing

Dr Chris Brown and I had lunch together once … just the two of us … at the Museum of Contemporary Art cafe.

#notasexdreamihadlastnight

I arrived early and was sitting at our table as he strode across the room looking like Roger Ramjet brought to life. Many heads turned and a few women shot me daggers looks.

It was quite the moment.

I was the editor of Woman’s Day at the time and was courting Dr Chris to be my Pets Editor. We had a lovely lunch, he was an absolute sweetheart and the deal was done.

Ten years later, Dr Chris is an even bigger deal than he was back then and DD’s cousin Denise – who is currently visiting from Hong Kong – adores him. Denise is an animal lover and his TV show Bondi Vet is apparently quite the hit in Honkers.

Denise mentioned that she was desperate to see Dr Chris’ veterinary surgery, so I offered to take her there yesterday.

DD arranged for his neighbour Gav – who had an errand to run near my house – to drop Denise to me around 11.40am. She arrived and we headed across town for lunch at Bondi Icebergs Club.

Confession: I was a bit blah about going to Bondi, despite living there for few gorgeous years, including nine months of my first pregnancy and the first six weeks with my bubba.

I have some wonderful memories, but the suburb is no longer my favourite. Too crowded, too hard to park, all that I’m-getting-old jazz.

However, the stars aligned on Sunday. I scored a great park close to the restaurant and Denise grabbed a sensational table on the balcony overlooking the ocean pool.

The view was beyond stunning. Really, really, really gobsmackingly beautiful.

We sipped wine and supped on mussels and barramundi and had a lovely time.

Afterwards, we headed to Dr Chris’ veterinary practice, where I took an extensive array of photos of Denise posing beside various signs and sitting on the famous steps of the veterinary surgery.

On our way home, I popped into my local shopping centre for some dinner supplies and sent DD a selfie of Denise and I beside the sea …

He replied: “Let’s return that selfie” …

I was a bit distracted and wondered why the hell he and Gav were standing all sweaty in a stranger’s yard when they were supposed to be relaxing with a beer on his deck … then it dawned on me that it was MY place.

The pair had hidden around the corner until Denise and I left for Bondi, then spent three hours clearing out the jungle that was my rear garden.

Here’s a sample of the before and afters:

 

I was stunned. How wonderful is that?

I’ve realised I would be no fun at all on a surprise makeover TV show because I went completely mute and just stared when I got home and saw the pristine vista in real life.

I wanted to cry, but my tear ducts were a bit drained from a tough week and I hadn’t drunk enough water at lunch, so they’d gone on the blink.

(I finally managed a few in the car when I drove up to the beach for a swim afterwards.)

It was such a sweet, sweet thing for DD to do. And I can’t believe that Gav gave up half a day to clear out his neighbour’s girlfriend’s grotty yard. What a kind man!

I felt very loved and very lucky.

Oh, and I totally recommend spending a sunny afternoon on the balcony of Bondi Icebergs Club.

Wow!

Song of the day: Madonna “Lucky star”