Louise stands at the edge of her family’s aboveground pool, telling the narrator—her sister, Anna—that Mum wants her to get ready for the family’s Christmas photo. Dad has taken lots of photos of the family, but when Mum looked through these photos, she decided that they were all awful, so she hired a professional photographer to come.
The family lives in an Australian suburb, and every year they know that summer has begun when Dad mows the lawn and sets up the pool. A few weeks later, he picks up a Christmas tree, although Mum wasn’t impressed by his choice this year. Mum spends her summers watching tennis and drinking iced coffee. She bemoans that Dad is “obsessed” with the pool and wishes it were in-ground. When Anna agrees, she feels like a traitor.
Every morning, to avoid provoking Mum, Anna and Louise try to sneak outside without her noticing. Even though Mum complains about the kids next door always coming over unannounced, Chris and Leanne don’t come to the front door these days—instead, they stand by the fence and wait until Anna and Louise invite them to swim. The four of them love to play Whirlpool. This consists of running around the pool’s perimeter to create a current and then throwing oneself in the middle to enjoy the spinning sensation. Chris doesn’t like to be in the middle, but the girls force him in anyway.
When Anna heads inside to prepare for the photo, she finds what Mum laid out for her to wear: a sundress that doesn’t fit anymore. Louise is wearing a sundress too, but she’s thin enough that it looks okay. The sundress strains over Anna’s developing breasts. Not long ago, she asked Mum for a training bra, but Mum replied that Anna is too young and that it’s normal to be self-conscious about her weight. Louise notices Anna pulling at her dress and she calls Anna fat.
Downstairs, Mum arranges roses on the mantel with the Christmas cards from Canada and England—cards from friends that Mum and Dad met on their Tahitian honeymoon 14 years ago. Anna can tell that Louise is Mum’s favorite child today, and when Mum arranges the family around her, she makes Anna sit on the floor. Dad nudges Anna and quietly says that he put the hose in the pool, but Mum stiffly asks that they not talk about the pool. When the photographer tells everyone to smile, Anna quickly glances at Louise and is shocked that Louise meets her eyes. Something passes between them and they both smile “robot smiles,” hoping that when Mum’s friends see the picture, they’ll realize that Mum is manipulative. But in an instant, Anna realizes that Mum is mean and controlling for a reason: she is afraid, especially of her daughters growing up.
Once they’re done, the photographer offers to take some pictures of just Mum and Dad, which seems to catch Mum off guard. Anna can see Mum plotting her next move as she adapts to this new development. Holding back tears, Anna races to change into her swimsuit and heads for the pool.
