Meaningful Short Stories
The House of Stone - part 2
part 1
'Hello Chas,' said Crystal.
'G'day,' he said, doing his usual double take as he tried to come to terms with being much the shortest person in the group.
'I see you've hung the door then?' he ventured.
'Yes,' said Annie.
'Just the two of you?' his brow furrowed at the prospect. Middle aged he may be, but he could still lift bales of hay with one hand. No way could he have hung that door by himself, and he probably couldn't with the help of his brother either.
'Our sister helped us,' explained Annie. This news didn't seem to cheer him much.
Chas ruminated and chewed the end of his pipe. The sisters had never seen his pipe alight, but nevertheless it seemed to give him pleasure.
'What was it you said you did again?' Chas asked Annie.
'Writing,' she sighed.
'Well that won't keep the brambles in check or the pot full,' he grumbled.
'Chas, come and see our hens!' said Crystal, and gave Annie an eye signal to pay Pearl a visit.
Chas followed Crystal around the edge of the Circle and across a tussocky field to a small triangle of land bounded by an overgrown hedge. Crystal had trimmed the inside of the hedge and nailed some wire netting along to keep her hens in. Chas examined the fence as he entered and couldn't find much wrong with it, except it was only about five feet high. Best not say anything, he thought.
'They'll fly over unless you clip one wing,' he said. Crystal smiled at him.
'I've done that, Chas.'
The remaining small trees provided semi-shade for most of the run, and Crystal had divided it into three so the grass in two runs was always recovering while the hens pecked and scratched the third.
She'd filled an old marble cattle trough with shells and sea sand for the hens to peck for grit. Their house had a good door that was fox- and rat-proof in case unwelcome visitors arrived at night.
'Lovely light in here,' said Crystal, savouring the dappled sunlight through the leaves and blossom.
*
Pearl smiled sympathetically at Annie's tale. It didn't really serve any purpose being irritated by Chas, but all the same Annie was.
Annie wishes to develop her life in a meaningful way, Pearl thought, which Chas is undermining, without really intending to. Chas wishes to demonstrate his experience of country life, and possibly gain some sympathy for the hard life he has led.
'I'd say 'what an interesting idea, we'll write it down.' then give him a cake,' Pearl decided.
'It's worth a try,' Annie agreed. After all, she'd made them and they were rather good. Imagine, wholemeal flour, sunflower oil, local butter, our own eggs, toasted seeds, cashew nuts and sultanas in every bite.
'Welcome back!' said Pearl. Annie blinked, licked her lips and laughed.
*
'What an interesting idea, Chas. Have a cake!' said Annie.
'Beg pardon?' he said. He'd no sooner stepped back into the yard with Crystal than Annie had spoken and given him a cake.
'I've been thinking about what you said earlier; about brambles and food. We'll make a list!'
A walking stick, a cake and a pipe and only two hands to hold them in caused Chas temporary confusion which, it transpired, could be resolved by consuming one of the three articles, thus leaving two objects in two hands. One in each, as it were.
'Thanks for calling, Chas. We'll see you again soon,' said Crystal. Chas found himself leaving.
Halfway down the drive he dislodged a piece of cake from between his teeth and recommenced chewing.
'Bloody hell,' he muttered. 'That's good!'
*
The wholesaler had finally visited. A large diesel Transit van owned by a family in a village a few miles away delivered the goods, and everything could be ordered from them by telephone or letter. The sisters were celebrating with porridge, which contained orange juice and sunflower seeds.
Porridge may not sound like much of a treat, but they had been without any means of cooking, other than the solid fuel stove, throughout the six weeks since they moved to the house. No way were they inclined to light the stove first thing in mid-summer.
The wholesaler had brought sacks of oats, rice, beans, flour, tubs of oil and suchlike. And, luxury of luxuries, a bottle of gas for cooking. The house, having stone walls over two feet thick, was lovely and cool on even the hottest day, but the window was small. The sisters congregated on the far side of the large kitchen table, which had a bright cloth draped over it, so they faced the window whilst eating.
A beam of sunlight entered, coloured by its passage through the plum blossom. Several packages from the wholesaler caught the sunlight by the window. Crystal basked in the feeling of stone, the smell of the 300-year-old oak beam over the fireplace, the sunlight, distant birdsong, the cosiness of fresh supplies, the nearby clucking of her hens and was tempted to squeal. Maybe later, she thought.
'And what are you smiling at?' Annie teased.
'Hmm, just about everything, really!'
'Good for you.'
'The farmers' merchant brings the poultry food tomorrow or Friday, then we'll be set up for three months,' said Crystal.
'The couple from the wholesalers insisted several times that it is no trouble for them to call every month,' said Annie, the only one who'd met them. 'I got the impression they like to see everyone each month.'
Pearl and Crystal looked up.
'Best let them visit, then,' they said in unison.
'Another van,' said Annie. 'Look, it's the postman/woman/thing!' At the bottom of the drive a red van had stopped by the double gate. Annie went to collect their mail and dashed back mildly anxious.
'It's a letter from the TV licensing authorities. Someone is coming to inspect our lack of a TV,' she said.
'Do we have a TV?' asked Pearl. A few boxes still remained unpacked.
'What is a TV?' quipped Crystal.
'It sounds likely that we don't!'
'Do we have to have one?' wondered Annie.
'You're thinking in other people's rules, again,' laughed Crystal, and Annie smiled. All she really wanted was space for writing. Mental space. And that required an ongoing absence of interruptions from both officialdom and mass media.
'This is one for you to sort, Pearl. I think,' suggested Annie.
'What's their address?' Pearl asked.
'Wherewithal. That's about 20 miles away, at least.'
'Okay. I'll see the person if they visit.'
'Can't we just tell them that we don't have a TV?' asked Crystal.
Pearl looked at Annie who was radiating concern.
'I dreamed about this last night,' said Annie. 'We'll be getting letters for two years at least. I checked on the internet via that!' she pointed to the mobile phone that hung from a nail in the ancient beam over the stove.