The Window
The jacaranda tree shaded the driveway, but I still had a clear view of number 88 Thurlway Crescent. Today, it seemed to be a quieter day. At 8:15am, there wasn’t the usual sound of shouting, “….get out of bed! Don’t do that! Get that bowl out of the sink! Put your shoes on!”
Ever since George Moloney had lost his job due to company restructuring, the 'trouble' at home started. Evelyn had had enough. She had three boys under ten plus her husband to manage. No easy task for the faint hearted. Luckily, Evelyn was a strong person. Strong but calm, kind, softly spoken and very attractive. George on the other hand was loud, always active, always in a hurry with a round belly. His dark eyebrows and receding forehead made him look like he was always angry. Which, he probably always was.
To make ends meet, George worked part time for a local insurance agency, twenty minutes from home, while Evelyn did freelance journalism, which was her profession before having children. She also modelled for a local designer for their thirties plus range. It was something she really enjoyed and was able to do when the boys were at school. Her writing was done after the boys went to sleep at night.
Well, this is what I had gathered myself from conversations in the past.
I stirred my tea and read the morning’s paper, when Mrs Watkins from number 86 emerged in her blue dressing gown. I observed her for a few minutes. It seemed she had come outside to pick up a parcel left for her. She was quick to disappear into her home with her parcel.
Reading the headlines, I noticed that there were a lot of storms causing tremendous damage to properties in areas not too far away. We were so lucky in this area to be somewhat sheltered from major storm paths.
My attention to the newspaper was distracted as I heard a truck screech its brakes. Old Mr Holloway from number 90 must have been receiving some sort of delivery. I put my newspaper down and repositioned myself to the right side of my window. Ahhh, now I could see better! It looked like a new refrigerator was being delivered. Mr Holloway was outside directing the removalists up his driveway, dressed only in a white singlet and shorts. His ruffled hair was sticking up and what appeared to be bedroom slippers. Quite a sight I thought as I had a chuckle to myself.
A few minutes passed. They must have been installing the refrigerator. I wondered what they would do with the old one, when out came the two removalists carrying the old refrigerator, which was put into the truck.
Old Mr Holloway had a big smile on his face as he waved to the truck driver. Lucky you, I thought. I could do with a new refrigerator. Oh well.
My lounge chair beckoned me. I moved my newspaper to the corner, put up my feet and started to read again. Movement from outside turned my attention to across the road again to number 88. The boys were lined up outside and followed by Evelyn, who swiftly ushered them into her car. I could see her lovely dress was white with silver and black leaf patterns. Her perfect figure would make a potato sack look lovely.
She strapped her two younger boys in, while the eldest looked after himself.
As she walked around to the driver’s side, I could see her lovely face was perfectly made up with immaculate make up and her brown shoulder length hair was shiny, bouncy and had been set in a sleek fashion with just a bit of curl to the ends. Nice.
She must be doing a photo shoot today, I thought.
Off they drove, calmly down the street towards St Ignatious school.
I wondered what George was doing today.
Back to my newspaper. My cat, Regi, who was a huge ginger and white cuddly being jumped on to my lap. Ahhh, the feeling of being laid on and kept warm soothed me. Further to my soothing, he began his rumbling purr, nice.
‘Oh, the Nicks won! Woohoo!’ The sports pages weren’t my favourite, but I did keep in touch with everything, and secretly I had my favourite teams. The Dodgers, Broncos, Nicks were in my eyes the best.
It was then that an odd occurrence took my attention. George had emerged from number 88, dressed in a dark grey suit, white business shirt and silvery tie. He walked down the jacaranda shaded driveway, down the footpath and entered number 86, where Mrs Watkins was waiting his arrival at the front door.
Strange. What could he being doing over there? Dressed like that?
Regi took my attention as he purred and rubbed himself into my chest, face, stomach and anywhere else he could manage. His loving eyes showed the appreciation he felt for such a lovely patting. I continued my healing therapy. That’s what I called it, healing therapy. The best medicine in the world is to pat a cat and have their lovely purring heal you.
Lost in my cat’s world, I noticed fifteen minutes had passed and I hadn’t even noticed. Regi was now lying right across me, with his head perched on my bumpy stomach.
Aha! George emerged. This time holding something in his hands. Could it be that the parcel Mrs Watkins picked up was delivered for George?
I slightly shifted, not wanting to disturb Regi. He sleepily re-settled himself conforming to my new position. George waved goodbye to Mrs Watkins, who incidentally had changed from her blue dressing gown into some grey pants and a loose casual pink top.
George placed the parcel in the boot of his car, took his suit jacket off and carefully hung it on the hook at the rear of the car and then proceeded to drive away down the street, the opposite direction to where Evelyn had driven.
Strange.
Scratching Regi under his chin, he politely accepted the gesture and then placed his head gently down again. This time tucked in between his paws.
By now, the bathroom called me. I carefully shifted Regi onto the lounge. His large body was like a cuddly bear but he still thought he was a kitten. Not worried by his change in seating arrangements, he continued to sleep.
Whilst showering, the citrus smell of my bodywash reminded me of a meditation I once did. I imagined myself walking through an orange orchard, blissfully smelling the citrus smell that wafted through the air. Each step I took with my bare feet on the rich dark brown soil grounded me just a little more. I could see my feet, with toenails painted in bright orangey pink, my favourite, and then my vision of each tree and each leaf was like experiencing something new each time. I continued walking down the rows of the orchard when I saw what looked like a cave.
My curiosity was in overdrive, so I headed towards the cave. There were some boulders blocking the entrance and for some reason, I found it relatively easy to move these boulders.
As I entered the cave I was in awe of what I saw. The cave walls were covered in crystals. The beauty of the cave excited every sense in me. There were amethyst crystals covering most of it and on the other side was my name made from rose quartz crystals and surrounded by amethyst. The vibrations that the crystals emitted just astounded me. I felt so much love and yet my senses also seemed to be heightened. I felt that the amethyst made me feel this way.
There seemed to be a light which shone at the end of a passageway in the cave. It felt like it beckoned me to walk through it. So I did. As I got closer to the light, there was a beautiful treasure chest in the corner. It too, was covered in beautiful amethyst crystals with my name carefully placed with rose quartz crystals. Out of nowhere a key appeared to unlock the chest.
Inside, was the most beautiful leather bound book I had ever seen. Something confused me though, all the pages were blank. Oh well, I thought. I will have to fill all of those pages when I get home.
I took the leather bound book, closed the chest and proceeded to walk back up the passageway to the front of the cave. I felt that my mission was complete, so I exited the cave and put the boulders back where they were.
The orchard still had a beautiful aroma of citrus. It excited my senses even more now. I carried my book through the orchard where I came from.
The noises coming from next door startled me. It sounded like hammering, drilling and loud male voices. The unwelcome noises brought me back into the present and I finished my shower, changed and took my position in the lounge room.
Moving to my favourite window, I peeped around the corner and was just able to see that my next door neighbour, number 83, had tradesmen doing some sort of renovation to their house.
Regi rubbed my leg in the hope that I would put some fresh dry food in his plate. I gave in. We walked to the laundry, as Regi weaved in and around my legs. Happy with his treat, I took my position again.
It seemed that Jack and Barbara at number 92 had a bit of spare time and were gardening. Jack attended to the lawns and Barbara tended the garden beds. Their garden was one of my favourites as it emulated a beautiful tropical paradise. With the frangipani trees along the front border, hibiscus along the sides, palms scattered throughout, agapanthus lining the driveway and anthurium in the shade of the trees. Just at that moment, a plant nursery delivery truck stopped in front of their house and Jack greeted the driver.
My interest was piqued. As I shifted my sheer curtains and virtually wedged my face against the cold glass, I could see that a pond like structure was being lifted out from the truck. How lovely I thought! A water feature! In my mind I could picture where this lovely water feature could go and the relaxing flow of water would create a peaceful space. Perfect for such a serene garden setting.
Happy with what I had discovered, I decided to retreat to my lounge chair. My face was still cold on one cheek after being pressed against the glass for so long.
Regi meowed at the front door, so I opened the door, then the screen door and let him out.
My front verandah was in need of sweeping, so I decided to sweep away all the leaves and dust that had accumulated. No sooner had I started, when Evelyn pulled up in their driveway. She still looked immaculate and as she walked to the trunk of her car, she saw me.
“Hello Brigitte! Nice day isn’t it?” she asked me as she got an object out that was the same shape as the parcel that was delivered.
“Yes, lovely day. You look lovely!” I offered.
“Oh, thank you. I had a photo shoot. George came along too. It took some persistence to get him to agree, but he did in the end.” Her voice was trailing, attempting to yell this across the street.
I moved closer, to the edge of my front yard. Regi joined me, weaving in and out of my legs.
As she closed the trunk of her car, old Mr Holloway appeared in her driveway.
“How’s it going Ev?” he asked as he spotted me directly opposite.
I waved to him. Before I could even think, my mouth started off and I had no control.
“How’s your new refrigerator?” I asked.
“Oh! How did you know? Did Marcy tell you?” asked Mr Holloway inquisitively.
Marcy? I thought. Who was that?
“Who is Marcy?”
“You know! My girlfriend.” He said, with a wink and gesturing with his chin in the direction of Mrs Watkins house.
“Oh! Mrs Watkins? No, I didn’t hear from her. I saw the delivery truck.”
He became bored with the chatter and excused himself. By chance, ‘Marcy’ emerged from her front door.
“Oh Frank! I wasn’t expecting you until tonight!” She was clearly not ready as her hair was pinned up in curlers.
“Not a worry Marcy. I was just dropping by on Evelyn. She is going to give me part of the…”
A siren started just at that moment, probably coming from the main road.
‘The what?’ I thought. Damn, I missed it.
“Hi Marcy!” offered Evelyn,
“How was the photoshoot? George looked very smart this morning. Were you happy with the package?”
“Thank you, yes, it is lovely.”
My curiosity was killing me. I wanted to ask what was in that package, but I couldn’t. They would know I was spying.
“How is the new refrigerator? Does it fit nicely into your kitchen?” asked Evelyn.
I was getting a bit agitated by this stage. Regi wanted to go in and so did I. Why is it, everyone knows about everyone else and I don’t!
“I’ve got to go in.” I told the three neighbours who were now gathered in a circle discussing something that didn’t include myself. Hmff, I thought.
“Bye Brigitte.” Said Evelyn
There was no word or look from Marcy or Frank.
I retreated to my lounge room where my window awaited. The visit outside had made me very restless.
Regi sensed my agitation and proceeded to rub my legs around and around before jumping on to my lap. I patted him and began my healing therapy once more. He purred as I reflected on these events.
Everyone else knew what was happening with each other. I only saw the face value. Hmmm.
My mind suddenly reflected back to my meditation, where I was presented with the leather bound book with blank pages.
‘Perhaps I should start to live my own life, rather than watching everyone elses. Maybe that was the point of my meditation…’ I thought.
Regi purred louder and louder.
© Gillian Du Caurroy 2016
The jacaranda tree shaded the driveway, but I still had a clear view of number 88 Thurlway Crescent. Today, it seemed to be a quieter day. At 8:15am, there wasn’t the usual sound of shouting, “….get out of bed! Don’t do that! Get that bowl out of the sink! Put your shoes on!”
Ever since George Moloney had lost his job due to company restructuring, the 'trouble' at home started. Evelyn had had enough. She had three boys under ten plus her husband to manage. No easy task for the faint hearted. Luckily, Evelyn was a strong person. Strong but calm, kind, softly spoken and very attractive. George on the other hand was loud, always active, always in a hurry with a round belly. His dark eyebrows and receding forehead made him look like he was always angry. Which, he probably always was.
To make ends meet, George worked part time for a local insurance agency, twenty minutes from home, while Evelyn did freelance journalism, which was her profession before having children. She also modelled for a local designer for their thirties plus range. It was something she really enjoyed and was able to do when the boys were at school. Her writing was done after the boys went to sleep at night.
Well, this is what I had gathered myself from conversations in the past.
I stirred my tea and read the morning’s paper, when Mrs Watkins from number 86 emerged in her blue dressing gown. I observed her for a few minutes. It seemed she had come outside to pick up a parcel left for her. She was quick to disappear into her home with her parcel.
Reading the headlines, I noticed that there were a lot of storms causing tremendous damage to properties in areas not too far away. We were so lucky in this area to be somewhat sheltered from major storm paths.
My attention to the newspaper was distracted as I heard a truck screech its brakes. Old Mr Holloway from number 90 must have been receiving some sort of delivery. I put my newspaper down and repositioned myself to the right side of my window. Ahhh, now I could see better! It looked like a new refrigerator was being delivered. Mr Holloway was outside directing the removalists up his driveway, dressed only in a white singlet and shorts. His ruffled hair was sticking up and what appeared to be bedroom slippers. Quite a sight I thought as I had a chuckle to myself.
A few minutes passed. They must have been installing the refrigerator. I wondered what they would do with the old one, when out came the two removalists carrying the old refrigerator, which was put into the truck.
Old Mr Holloway had a big smile on his face as he waved to the truck driver. Lucky you, I thought. I could do with a new refrigerator. Oh well.
My lounge chair beckoned me. I moved my newspaper to the corner, put up my feet and started to read again. Movement from outside turned my attention to across the road again to number 88. The boys were lined up outside and followed by Evelyn, who swiftly ushered them into her car. I could see her lovely dress was white with silver and black leaf patterns. Her perfect figure would make a potato sack look lovely.
She strapped her two younger boys in, while the eldest looked after himself.
As she walked around to the driver’s side, I could see her lovely face was perfectly made up with immaculate make up and her brown shoulder length hair was shiny, bouncy and had been set in a sleek fashion with just a bit of curl to the ends. Nice.
She must be doing a photo shoot today, I thought.
Off they drove, calmly down the street towards St Ignatious school.
I wondered what George was doing today.
Back to my newspaper. My cat, Regi, who was a huge ginger and white cuddly being jumped on to my lap. Ahhh, the feeling of being laid on and kept warm soothed me. Further to my soothing, he began his rumbling purr, nice.
‘Oh, the Nicks won! Woohoo!’ The sports pages weren’t my favourite, but I did keep in touch with everything, and secretly I had my favourite teams. The Dodgers, Broncos, Nicks were in my eyes the best.
It was then that an odd occurrence took my attention. George had emerged from number 88, dressed in a dark grey suit, white business shirt and silvery tie. He walked down the jacaranda shaded driveway, down the footpath and entered number 86, where Mrs Watkins was waiting his arrival at the front door.
Strange. What could he being doing over there? Dressed like that?
Regi took my attention as he purred and rubbed himself into my chest, face, stomach and anywhere else he could manage. His loving eyes showed the appreciation he felt for such a lovely patting. I continued my healing therapy. That’s what I called it, healing therapy. The best medicine in the world is to pat a cat and have their lovely purring heal you.
Lost in my cat’s world, I noticed fifteen minutes had passed and I hadn’t even noticed. Regi was now lying right across me, with his head perched on my bumpy stomach.
Aha! George emerged. This time holding something in his hands. Could it be that the parcel Mrs Watkins picked up was delivered for George?
I slightly shifted, not wanting to disturb Regi. He sleepily re-settled himself conforming to my new position. George waved goodbye to Mrs Watkins, who incidentally had changed from her blue dressing gown into some grey pants and a loose casual pink top.
George placed the parcel in the boot of his car, took his suit jacket off and carefully hung it on the hook at the rear of the car and then proceeded to drive away down the street, the opposite direction to where Evelyn had driven.
Strange.
Scratching Regi under his chin, he politely accepted the gesture and then placed his head gently down again. This time tucked in between his paws.
By now, the bathroom called me. I carefully shifted Regi onto the lounge. His large body was like a cuddly bear but he still thought he was a kitten. Not worried by his change in seating arrangements, he continued to sleep.
Whilst showering, the citrus smell of my bodywash reminded me of a meditation I once did. I imagined myself walking through an orange orchard, blissfully smelling the citrus smell that wafted through the air. Each step I took with my bare feet on the rich dark brown soil grounded me just a little more. I could see my feet, with toenails painted in bright orangey pink, my favourite, and then my vision of each tree and each leaf was like experiencing something new each time. I continued walking down the rows of the orchard when I saw what looked like a cave.
My curiosity was in overdrive, so I headed towards the cave. There were some boulders blocking the entrance and for some reason, I found it relatively easy to move these boulders.
As I entered the cave I was in awe of what I saw. The cave walls were covered in crystals. The beauty of the cave excited every sense in me. There were amethyst crystals covering most of it and on the other side was my name made from rose quartz crystals and surrounded by amethyst. The vibrations that the crystals emitted just astounded me. I felt so much love and yet my senses also seemed to be heightened. I felt that the amethyst made me feel this way.
There seemed to be a light which shone at the end of a passageway in the cave. It felt like it beckoned me to walk through it. So I did. As I got closer to the light, there was a beautiful treasure chest in the corner. It too, was covered in beautiful amethyst crystals with my name carefully placed with rose quartz crystals. Out of nowhere a key appeared to unlock the chest.
Inside, was the most beautiful leather bound book I had ever seen. Something confused me though, all the pages were blank. Oh well, I thought. I will have to fill all of those pages when I get home.
I took the leather bound book, closed the chest and proceeded to walk back up the passageway to the front of the cave. I felt that my mission was complete, so I exited the cave and put the boulders back where they were.
The orchard still had a beautiful aroma of citrus. It excited my senses even more now. I carried my book through the orchard where I came from.
The noises coming from next door startled me. It sounded like hammering, drilling and loud male voices. The unwelcome noises brought me back into the present and I finished my shower, changed and took my position in the lounge room.
Moving to my favourite window, I peeped around the corner and was just able to see that my next door neighbour, number 83, had tradesmen doing some sort of renovation to their house.
Regi rubbed my leg in the hope that I would put some fresh dry food in his plate. I gave in. We walked to the laundry, as Regi weaved in and around my legs. Happy with his treat, I took my position again.
It seemed that Jack and Barbara at number 92 had a bit of spare time and were gardening. Jack attended to the lawns and Barbara tended the garden beds. Their garden was one of my favourites as it emulated a beautiful tropical paradise. With the frangipani trees along the front border, hibiscus along the sides, palms scattered throughout, agapanthus lining the driveway and anthurium in the shade of the trees. Just at that moment, a plant nursery delivery truck stopped in front of their house and Jack greeted the driver.
My interest was piqued. As I shifted my sheer curtains and virtually wedged my face against the cold glass, I could see that a pond like structure was being lifted out from the truck. How lovely I thought! A water feature! In my mind I could picture where this lovely water feature could go and the relaxing flow of water would create a peaceful space. Perfect for such a serene garden setting.
Happy with what I had discovered, I decided to retreat to my lounge chair. My face was still cold on one cheek after being pressed against the glass for so long.
Regi meowed at the front door, so I opened the door, then the screen door and let him out.
My front verandah was in need of sweeping, so I decided to sweep away all the leaves and dust that had accumulated. No sooner had I started, when Evelyn pulled up in their driveway. She still looked immaculate and as she walked to the trunk of her car, she saw me.
“Hello Brigitte! Nice day isn’t it?” she asked me as she got an object out that was the same shape as the parcel that was delivered.
“Yes, lovely day. You look lovely!” I offered.
“Oh, thank you. I had a photo shoot. George came along too. It took some persistence to get him to agree, but he did in the end.” Her voice was trailing, attempting to yell this across the street.
I moved closer, to the edge of my front yard. Regi joined me, weaving in and out of my legs.
As she closed the trunk of her car, old Mr Holloway appeared in her driveway.
“How’s it going Ev?” he asked as he spotted me directly opposite.
I waved to him. Before I could even think, my mouth started off and I had no control.
“How’s your new refrigerator?” I asked.
“Oh! How did you know? Did Marcy tell you?” asked Mr Holloway inquisitively.
Marcy? I thought. Who was that?
“Who is Marcy?”
“You know! My girlfriend.” He said, with a wink and gesturing with his chin in the direction of Mrs Watkins house.
“Oh! Mrs Watkins? No, I didn’t hear from her. I saw the delivery truck.”
He became bored with the chatter and excused himself. By chance, ‘Marcy’ emerged from her front door.
“Oh Frank! I wasn’t expecting you until tonight!” She was clearly not ready as her hair was pinned up in curlers.
“Not a worry Marcy. I was just dropping by on Evelyn. She is going to give me part of the…”
A siren started just at that moment, probably coming from the main road.
‘The what?’ I thought. Damn, I missed it.
“Hi Marcy!” offered Evelyn,
“How was the photoshoot? George looked very smart this morning. Were you happy with the package?”
“Thank you, yes, it is lovely.”
My curiosity was killing me. I wanted to ask what was in that package, but I couldn’t. They would know I was spying.
“How is the new refrigerator? Does it fit nicely into your kitchen?” asked Evelyn.
I was getting a bit agitated by this stage. Regi wanted to go in and so did I. Why is it, everyone knows about everyone else and I don’t!
“I’ve got to go in.” I told the three neighbours who were now gathered in a circle discussing something that didn’t include myself. Hmff, I thought.
“Bye Brigitte.” Said Evelyn
There was no word or look from Marcy or Frank.
I retreated to my lounge room where my window awaited. The visit outside had made me very restless.
Regi sensed my agitation and proceeded to rub my legs around and around before jumping on to my lap. I patted him and began my healing therapy once more. He purred as I reflected on these events.
Everyone else knew what was happening with each other. I only saw the face value. Hmmm.
My mind suddenly reflected back to my meditation, where I was presented with the leather bound book with blank pages.
‘Perhaps I should start to live my own life, rather than watching everyone elses. Maybe that was the point of my meditation…’ I thought.
Regi purred louder and louder.
© Gillian Du Caurroy 2016