Stingaree Bay – Chapters 1 & 2
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Chapter 1: Watch Out for Bears
The insistent, rhythmic buzz against his thigh broke his concentration. With one hand he flicked the power switch on the bandsaw to ‘OFF’ and peeled off the mask. The other dived into the pocket of his overall and plucked out the vibrating phone.
‘Tony.’
‘Hey, Dad. How’s it going?’ The crackly voice sounded all of its 13,253 kilometres away, but he saw the grin, the dimpled cheeks, as clearly as if she were standing in the same room.
‘Ella! Aww, not bad, not bad, love … You?’
‘Yeah, pretty good.’
‘To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?’
‘Just thought I’d give the Old Man a call. You’ve been a bit quiet on social media recently.’
‘Yeah, well … Nothing much to report, I guess. Saw your Instagram from Whistler. Looked like fun.’
‘It was sick. Perfect snowboarding. Bad sunburn now, though. Bit embarrassing for an Aussie chick in Canada, in winter …’
‘Sunblock, love. You don’t want a melanoma.’
‘Yesss, Daaad. Nooo, Daaad.’ A perfect parody of the sulky teenager she’d once been. Astounding to know that his daughter was now a twenty-six-year-old postdoc in charge of her first big forestry project.
‘Okay, okay. Point taken. How’s work going?’
‘Pretty good. We’ve got a quarter of a million tubestock ready for hardening off. We’ll be prepping the new site as soon as it thaws. The vollies are a good bunch, young and keen, not too stupid.’
‘Nobody eaten by a bear, yet?’
‘No, Dad. What is it with this bear fixation of yours?’
‘Fear of the unknown, I guess, love. Like when tourists come over here and fret about spiders and snakes. And sharks.’
‘Fair ’nough … Mum around?’
‘At work, as usual. These days. Lot of events out there that need managing, apparently.’
‘Oooh … You sound a bit pissed off.’
‘No, not really, love. But …’
‘So, there’s a but?’
‘I guess I was kinda hoping that when I stopped work, she might wind down a bit, too.’
‘Yeah, well … women make their own career choices these days, Dad. You may have missed that memo.’
‘Ah, right. Noted.’ Tony swallowed his hurt.
‘Sorry, Dad. I know you’re not like that. Not really.’ Then brightly, changing the subject: ‘Anyway, how’s the life of a handsome young retiree?’
‘Pretty good. I’m playing a lot more music these days, also getting back in the workshop. Just working on a baritone uke right now, as it happens.’
‘Nice! What timber?’
‘Walnut neck, walnut sides and back, spruce top, ebony fretboard.’
‘Lovely! Send me some photos when it’s finished?’
‘Will do.’
‘Sailing much?’
‘Oh, just the odd daysail. Pottering around the bay. Can’t seem to get crew for racing these days. Everyone wants to crew on the big boats.’
‘Shame. You and Mum used to love your Saturday races.’
‘Yeah, well … You know, she even calls it “your boat” these days? It always used to be “our little boat”.’
‘I’m not going to take sides, Dad.’
‘I know, love. I’m not asking you to. Just venting.’
‘Okay. Gotta go.’
‘No worries. Take care. Watch out for bears.’
‘Haha! Will do, but they’re hibernating right now. Don’t let the sharks get you. Bye!’
‘Love you, Ella.’ But she was gone already.
Tony tried to turn his mind back to the task in hand. Cutting the sound hole required concentration: one slip of the bandsaw and days of careful work would be ruined. Not to mention a beautifully figured piece of timber.
No, it would not do. He turned the machine off again and sighed in frustration.
Is this all there is? he wondered. Pottering in my workshop like a fussy old bloke? Making instruments for nobody to play? Contemplating membership at the Men’s Shed?
He had been looking forward to this so much: finally having time for his hobbies. So why the dissatisfaction? Why had life’s colours faded so suddenly?
Maybe something new was needed: an adventure to make living fun again. There was life in the old dog yet, surely?
Life in the ‘handsome young retiree’, he corrected himself with a wry grin. Ella knew how to appeal to his vanity. She was right, though: sixty-two was no age to be winding down. No age at all.
He thought about that ad. The one that kept popping up on Facebook. The one that he was careful not to let Kate see.
Chapter 2: In the Summer Garden
