Haha, this course is great for getting me to write more. Wasn't expecting to get called on for this week, but something came up for someone else and I got an email asking if I could do something for Thursday morning. Fortunately Wednesday night had me brainstorming some ideas for a longer piece I've been wanting to write, ended up amending it to fit the short story mould. Had to cut out two characters which kinda dramatically changed the feel of the whole thing, but I think it still works well. It's quite different from the last thing I posted - a lot of dialogue and not a whole lot going on, to be honest. Still, I had fun with it.
The Veranda
It was a little after two in the afternoon. The sky
was blanketed with sheets of white cloud, and the forecast earlier had warned
of the possibility of snow. Two men sat in a lounge with a television that was now
showing a selection of the same old tired Christmas classics. The older of the
two flicked through the channels idly in search of something worth watching,
while the younger man languished back on a sofa, his eyes half-closed. The
house was filled with the comforting smell of roasting food, and a faint murmur
of chatter and clatter of assorted pots and pans could be heard emanating from
the kitchen.
The doorbell rang three times in quick succession,
its harsh sound breaking the tranquillity of the scene as it resonated through
the halls, but bringing a smile to the lips of everyone present.
"That'll be Jade's lot," said the older
man, putting down the remote. He made to rise, somewhat laboriously, but the
motion was cut short by his companion rising first.
"Don't worry Fred, I'll get it," he said.
Fred nodded his head and sank back down into his chair gratefully. The young
man left the sitting room and strode down the hall towards the door, but not
before the bell rang out three more times. He opened it wide and stood framed
in the doorway, his hands on his hips. He glared down at the offenders - two
girls, identical down to their matching outfits and dark, bobbed hair.
"What d'you think you're playing at, you little
hooligans?" he growled, causing the twins to jump away from the bell and
turn towards him sheepishly. Any fleeting guilt they might have been feeling,
however, vanished the instant they recognised him.
"Uncle John!" they cried in unison, their eyes
lighting up as they mobbed him, causing him to stagger backwards. His face
burst into a wide grin and he swept them both up into his arms, causing them to
shriek with delight as he whirled them around. Their traditional greeting
completed, he rubbed his stubbly cheeks against theirs (despite their protestations)
before setting them down again, where they promptly collapsed onto the floor in
a giggling, dizzy heap.
"Where's your mum?" asked John, when they
eventually struggled to their feet.
"She's back with dad, maybe helping with the
presents," said one.
"Did you buy us any?" added the other, to
which the first nodded vigorously.
"I think your granddad said presents had to
wait til after lunch. Why don't you go and see if you can convince him to let
you open one early? Shoes and coats off first!" he warned, as they made to
rush into the house. They stuck their tongues out at him, but did as they were
told.
A familiar clacking sound made him turn around; the
girls' mother had been making her way up the drive, her slender cane tapping
against the ground as she used it to lightly support her left side. She waved
as he caught her eye, and he made his way down the slight slope to meet her.
"You made it!" she grinned back at him,
bringing her right arm up around his neck as he bent down to wrap her in a
gentle embrace. She smelt of summer berries and flowers, directly at odds with
the cold winter air surrounding them.
"Hah, as if your sister would let me skip out
on Christmas."
"True, Rose is
always looking out for you. Did you bring a date this time?" she asked,
giving him a sly look.
"We both know that you're the only girl for me."
"Hey now, what's all this?" Another
figure, laden with numerous bags and parcels of various sizes, walked into view
and made his way towards them.
"Nothing you need to worry about Dave; just
reminiscing about how your wife broke my heart when she fell for the first dashing
doctor to oversee her surgery and subsequent rehabilitation."
"Hah! Good to see you again John, it's been a
while." He set down the bags and John broke apart from Jade to clasp his
hand and get pulled into a hug.
"Same to you," John grinned back, then
gestured to the bags. "Anything in that lot for me?"
"You're as bad as the girls," said Jade,
frowning at his unshod feet on the gravel path. "Aren't those the socks I
bought you last year?"
"Oh please, I know you love it. I bet you've got
a whole new wardrobe in there for me."
She smiled wryly. "You know me so well. And if
I don't dress you, who will?"
"Exactly. Now let's get inside; lunch probably
won't be ready for a while, but Teresa will be wanting help with the dessert."
He picked up half the bags and ushered the two in out of the cold.
*
It was a little after dinner. John had offered to
clear the dishes away, while the twins commandeered the sitting room with their
pile of presents. After he finished rinsing and drying the last plate, he
decided to use the time to nip out for a quick smoke, ducking into the hall to grab
his coat off the rack to do so. He put on a pair of slippers (another gift from
Jade from a few years back) and went out.
The back door led on to a wooden veranda, dotted at
various intervals with assorted furniture. He placed his glass down on a table
and pulled a packet of smokes and a lighter from an inside jacket pocket. He
lit up, took a drag and let it out with a sigh, leaning against the railing with
his arms out in front of him as he gazed out into the garden. It had gotten
gradually colder as the afternoon had worn on, and sure enough small flakes of
snow had begun to fall, fulfilling the weatherman's promise. It wasn't yet cold
enough for it to settle; a flake landed on his sleeve and he watched it melt.
As he was raising the cigarette to his lips again,
he heard the door open behind him, and turned to see that Fred and Dave had
followed his example. They grinned at one another, as if to fellow conspirators.
"Shouldn't you two be nestling in the warm
bosom of your family?"
Fred gave a snort as he walked over to stand beside
him. "What about you? You're just as much a part of it as everyone
else."
"Agreed," said Dave. "The girls adore
your present, by the way. Said we could all learn a thing or two from
you."
John grinned at that; the time he'd spent poring
over gift ideas had been worth it then. He made to bring the cigarette back to
his lips, then paused halfway.
"You don't mind if I-" he began to ask. Fred
cut him off with a dismissive wave, so he took a grateful drag. "Thanks. You're
right of course - remember when we put this old thing together?" He rapped
on the railing he'd been leaning against. "I'm surprised it's still
standing, considering."
"Hah," chuckled Fred, "say what you
will about child labour, but it gets the job done. You must have been... fifteen?"
John nodded his agreement.
"It was the summer after Jade started working
for my parents full-time, when she first introduced me to Rose. God, that was a
long time ago."
"Aye, it's incredible the two of you have been
together so long. We used to think that, you know..."
"We'd end up together? Yeah, you weren't
exactly subtle about it. The anxiety of letting you down ended up stressing
Rose out a lot more than the thought of actually coming out!" The two of
them chuckled, then John added, with a concealed wink to Fred, "besides,
we both know I only had eyes for Jade."
They turned to look at Dave, who had sat down in one
of the comfortable chairs and was sipping at his drink, watching their back and
forth with amusement.
"You two really need to stop trying to get a
rise out of me," he said, calmly. "I'm very handy with a scalpel you
know."
"That we do, and we're grateful for it."
John retrieved his glass from where he'd left it resting and raised it in a
toast, which Dave acknowledged with a wry grin. After the three of them had finished
their drinks and John had finished his cig, the other two made to go back in.
Fred held the door open for him, but John shook his head.
"I think I'll stay out a little longer. Your
house always ends up making me feel nostalgic."
Fred nodded his understanding. "Alright, just
don't stay out too long, okay?"
"Sure."
After Fred had closed the door, John walked down the
length of the veranda, ignoring the chairs until he got to the corner, where he
sank down onto the wooden planking. He brought out another cigarette, but just
as he was about to light it the door opened again and Rose walked out, carrying
something. He wasn't immediately visible, but she made a beeline directly to
him.
"They told me I'd find you he- hey! I thought
you quit!"
"For the most part. I've been sneaking a couple
here and there," he admitted sheepishly, replacing them in his pocket.
"What've you got there?" he asked, in an attempt to change the
subject. She gave him a look that indicated that the issue had not been forgotten,
but her enthusiasm for the bundle in her hands was more pressing. She unfurled
it and he burst out laughing. It was an ancient blanket; dog eared, weather
beaten and smelling faintly of mothballs.
"Why on earth does Teresa still have that ratty
old thing?"
Rose grinned at him. "I found it upstairs in
your old room, folded on the bed. It's a little creepy in there actually? Everything's
tidy and untouched. It's like mum's kept a shrine for the son she never had."
"She's got you hasn't she?"
"Hey, I'm as girly as they come! Girlier even,
if you think about it."
"Yeah yeah. Come on, get over here." He
scooted over and shrugged off his coat, while she dropped down beside him. He
draped the coat over the two of them, at which point she swiped the cigarettes and
held them aloft triumphantly. He knew better than to press the issue. After
squirreling them away, she added the old blanket to the layers and laid her
head on his shoulder, in a comfortably familiar position.
They sat there for a while, with no sound but their
own breathing, watching the snow whirl about in eddies and the sky slowly
darken. He broke the quiet first.
"This takes you back, huh?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "We used to sit
like this for hours, back when... you lost your parents, and sis was still in
the hospital."
"This blanket's been through a lot with us. I'm
glad your mum kept it." A gust of wind swept past them, wafting the combined
fragrance of orange, jasmine and, of course, rose past his nose.
"Hey, you're wearing the perfume I bought you."
"Oh yeah, not bad! We got bored watching the kids
have all the fun, so we all started opening our own presents. Wanna go in and
see what everyone got you? Though I'm not sure you deserve mine anymore,
considering..."
"Yeah right," he said. He pushed himself up
and hauled her up after him, bundling his coat and the blanket together under
one arm. "Alright then, let's see what you got."
"You're going to love it," she grinned,
grabbing his free hand and dragging him towards the door.
1958 words
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