Here's the Thing: Short Stories

By John Gordon Smith

John's second book of stories, some not so short this time, delves again into the consequences of some ordinary, and some extraordinary, events involving otherwise ordinary people in mid-life. Some face ghosts of their past and contend with their own character traits and flaws. Some fall in, or out of, love; some form unexpected friendships; and some deal with a variety of aspects of death. Other stories are idiosyncrasies of family and neighbour relationships, with unexpected tensions and outcomes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Aug 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780228856702

John Gordon Smith

A retired lawyer, John Gordon Smith enjoys meeting and observing people, and engaging them in conversation. He has a strong interest in what motivates ordinary people, creating a foundation upon which to create stories that readers can relate to and enjoy. In addition to writing, reading, participating in discussion groups and walking the dog, John is a life-long choral and orchestral music lover, both as a listener and as a participant. John has three children from his first marriage, and five grandchildren. He has been married to Sue for twenty-seven years. John and Sue live in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island with Brooke, their Newfoundland dog.

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Here’s the Thing

Copyright © 2021 by John Gordon Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-0-2288-5669-6 (Hardcover)

978-0-2288-5668-9 (Paperback)

978-0-2288-5670-2 (eBook)

Table of Contents

A Canadian Welcome

Buddies

Mowing Mondays

The Piano Lesson

Bennytoo

Casual Day

My Kid Sister

On Your Own

Thanks for Coming

The Other Side of the Fence

The River Cottage

Ripple Effect

A Guy With A Dog

Performance Evaluation

Blind Man’s Bluff?

The Scribe

Hummingbird

A Canadian Welcome

Steve sounded relieved. I just heard. They will be arriving at five.

I felt a rush of excitement. It was finally happening. OK, I’ll be there. D’you want me to phone any of the others?

No, thanks; Ellie and I have contacted all of them.

Steve and Ellie were the leaders of our church group sponsoring a refugee family from Syria. After months of preparation, the last couple of days had been hectic and confusing. The family had, as far as we knew, got as far as Toronto, but then there had been an unexplained delay, and they had been put into a motel overnight.

For hours Steve hadn’t been able to find out when they were to arrive at our town’s airport. We had visions of our refugee family arriving, and none of us there to greet them. We had been told it was important to be there for them. They would be tired and nervous, meeting their hosts for the first time. We were the people who would be their supporters, guardians and, hopefully, become their friends, for their first year in Canada.

Big Brenda, who was in charge of Welcoming, had us all organized, with plastic Canadian flags and a sign that said Welcome to Canada in Arabic – at least, that was what we hoped it said. So she was particularly and loudly fussed about making sure we were all there.

I arrived at the airport a bit late, and hurried to Arrivals, feeling flustered. It was crowded, noisy and hot; not the best circumstances to welcome our family. Having a large car, I was designated to drive them and our interpreter to the little house one of our parishioners had found for them. A couple of the women would be there to show them everything, but the rest of the team was to be here at the airport.

At first glance, the Arrivals area seemed to be teeming with people I didn’t recognize. Finally I spotted our group, huddled around Big Brenda, and wedged near the end of the roped off pathway through the crowd from the sliding doors for deplaning passengers. I began to walk over to join them when I saw a couple nearer the doors leave, so I slipped into the vacant space.

I had seen the family during our Skype talks with them, aided by our interpreter, but I really didn’t have much of an idea what they really looked like. All I knew was their names, and that they were a family of four, the children four and two years old. It came to me that, because they were always sitting when we Skyped, I had no idea how tall the parents were, let alone how they would be dressed, and what luggage they had. I knew they would be anxious, and I knew I was.

I was standing at the barrier when I heard some shuffling behind me. I turned to see a tall woman standing there holding the handles of a wheelchair in which sat a shrivelled old man with wispy silver hair and wrapped in a blanket.

C’mon, squeeze in here. I gestured next to me.

Thanks, she said with a quick smile.

I moved aside, and the woman, puffing a bit, pushed the wheelchair to the barrier, right under the ‘Arrivals’ sign. My son’s coming in from university. Her voice was tinged with pride. And his grandpa wanted to be here. The old man clawed with a wizened hand at the blanket. His eyes darted up at me, then away.

I looked over to the church group. Big Brenda saw me and did a wild beckoning wave, gesticulating for me to come over there to join them. I shook my head and pointed downwards to indicate I was staying where I was. Big Brenda turned away. She didn’t take kindly to not having her way.

There was a sudden silence as the doors slid open. Two roll-aboard-toting businessmen came through, texting, and the doors began to close behind them. Then the doors stopped and shuddered back to fully open, and a motley collection of passengers surged through, hurrying by, some looking at the crowd, and then finding and waving at their loved ones.

The doors slid silently shut. I could feel my stomach tightening.

A moment later, they parted again, revealing a biblical tableau.

Framed in the doorway was a gaunt eyed man, the father, carrying his sleeping two-year old son, and pulling an overflowing two wheel fold-up shopping cart. Behind him the mother in shawled exhaustion led her four-year old daughter by the hand, the child pulling, and anxiously looking back at something I could see on the floor in the hallway through the open doors.

Goddam terrorists! Startled, I looked down at the old man’s virulent face staring at them.

But they’re refugees! I heard my voice sounding shocked and petulant.

I fought to save this country from enemy aliens, he quavered, raising his head and glaring at me. "And now we invite them to come." It was, it seemed, his mantra.

Now Dad, don’t get het up. The woman patted his shoulder, and glanced apologetically at me.

I looked up to see the family moving forward uncertainly. The doors slid together behind them. The child pulled at her mother, pointing to the doors, and began to wail pitifully.

At that moment Steve and Ellie rounded the end of the barrier and hurried towards them, together with Big Brenda, who was booming "We’re from the Church," and brandishing her flag. The little boy buried his head deeper into his father’s neck, and the girl, weeping, stretched her empty hand toward the closed doors.

Suddenly they slid open again and a sloppily dressed teenager came through, dragging a back pack in one hand with something else in the other – I couldn’t make out what it was.

There he is, said the woman beside me, waving.

The youth stopped by the crying girl and, bending down, held out a little rag doll, worn and frayed. The child shrank against her mother. I watched as, in an indelible moment of infinite grace, the young man went down on one knee and proffered the doll. Hesitantly, she reached out and, taking it, clasped it to her, and shyly bestowed on him a grateful smile.

The boy’s mother called his name, and he looked up and across. He waved, and, standing, glanced down, it seemed to first ensure that all was well, then, with the guileless beauty of youth, came to the barrier.

Hi, Mum. Hey, Gramps.

I looked down at the old man’s joy-lit face, and found myself putting a hand on his shoulder in benediction, or was it absolution.

Over his head I saw the family, the little girl now enfolded by her mother, taking their first steps together along their new life’s pathway.

Then I walked with eyes opened, through the thinning crowd to my group to join them in welcoming the family to our complicated country of Canada.

Buddies

Denver guided Belinda onto the trail through the trees into the park. She snuffled around, found a place to pee, did so gratefully, and then sat down.

That’s it? Denver muttered, looking down at his twelve year old Bernese Mountain Dog, her once glorious coat now looking a little mangy with age. Belinda sighed, and carefully flattened herself in the middle of the trail, signaling that she wasn’t going anywhere.

But this is your favourite walk, Denver said, sounding simultaneously pleading and frustrated. Belinda’s response was to remain immobile, save for a shift of her rheumy eyes to look in the direction of his voice.

Well, you may be going blind, but you can still hear, Denver chuckled.

Squatting beside her, eighty-four year old Denver, still, he liked to think, as strong as a mule, gathered his frail companion in his arms, and, staggering a little as he straightened, carried the old lady back to the car, laid her in her bed on the seat beside him, and drove the five minutes to home.

It was time to call the vet.

Denver was seventy-two when one lady died and another came into his life. For forty years, his wife Dulcie had been his for-ever love. Before meeting each other, they had both blundered through the ecstasies and disillusionments of too-soon first marriages. The resulting children were long ago and far away, leaving them to celebrate the exclusive joy of each other, untrammeled by tedious obligations and reminders of disappointments.

Dulcie had been five years older than Denver. They had taken comfort from the statistics about men’s and women’s life expectancies, believing that they would grow old together, and that neither would ever leave the other alone.

The C word had, suddenly, it seemed (although it actually had taken six months), changed all that.

The memorial service had been bittersweet. Dulcie’s church family, and a long-gone daughter who looked both out-of-place and panicked throughout, had seen to it that she was sent on her way in glory. Denver hadn’t been part of Dulcie’s church-going – it was pretty well the only thing they didn’t do together, other than, of course, Denver’s annual fall hunting trip with his next-door buddy Cam. On one of those trips, Denver had vouchsafed to Cam that he figured that the only person in competition with him for Dulcie’s love and affection was God, and I think I have the inside track on Him, so I don’t have to check out what they’re up to at church. Cam had laughed at that, and told him he was a very lucky man.

Cam was a bachelor – not what you would call a confirmed one, but more of a wistful one. Soon after his retirement from his job as foreman at the warehouse complex down the highway, Cam, encouraged by his workmates at his retirement party, had tried out on-line dating. He had soon abandoned that in favour of television shows and the crossword puzzles in the daily paper. At least they don’t jack you around, he told Denver.

For a couple of weeks after the funeral, Cam watched Denver fold into himself, and decided something had better be done about it. There was no point waiting for the church people to deal with it.

It so happened that Belinda was one of a litter of five that was born on Denver’s birthday, April 1. One fool for another is what Cam thought. Dulcie had died near the end of April, and the church had been bedecked in May blossoms for the service. Towards the end of May, Cam went to the Mainland to take delivery of what he hoped would be the solution to Denver’s doldrums. And he was right. That evening he delivered the squirming nine-week old, together with some puppy food, a sleeping basket (which was abandoned in exchange for Denver’s bed as soon as Belinda worked out how to jump), and puppy-pee carpet spray. Belinda took to big Denver in about the time it takes a puppy to eat a treat. The establishment of Denver’s devotion for Belinda was only a nano-second behind.

They were inseparable for twelve years. Denver, who had retired from his furniture transportation and delivery business to look after Dulcie in her last months, had landed a part-time job with a food delivery outfit that catered to seniors. After a bit of haggling about whether he could have a dog beside him in the truck when there was food in the sealed compartment in the back, Belinda, to the delight of pretty well all Denver’s customers, became an active participant and official greeter-at-the-door.

And then there was Belinda’s love affair with Cam, who lived the other side of the wall, in the next-door duplex. Although she wasn’t allowed on the guys’ annual hunting trip (though she thought she should be), she thought the world of Cam, and perhaps tried to compensate for the lack of a woman in his life. It seems that Belinda somehow figured out that television shows and crossword puzzles were not sufficient daily fare for the brain. Each morning, after her breakfast, Belinda would squirm through the hole in the hedge between the two back yards and scratch insistently on Cam’s back door until Cam let her in for a snuggle and a couple of treats. After a while, Belinda would ask to be let out, and she would trot off home, ready to assume her responsibilities in Denver’s meal delivery business.

Of course, the bottom of Cam’s back door got all scraped, but when Denver apologized and offered to pay for a repaint, Cam declined, saying that the marks were Belinda’s signature, and that if they were removed, Belinda might not know how to find him.

When Belinda was ten, Cam, in his seventies, began to have serious difficulties with diabetes. So, Denver and Belinda got Cam involved in their daily walk, figuring that it would help the circulation. There were also weekly visits to the off-leash dog park, where Denver and Cam would sit on a bench while Belinda went socializing. Notwithstanding these efforts, the prospect of amputation began to be discussed, and the annual hunting trip got cancelled, which may have pleased Belinda, but was hardly a good omen.

A year later, in what was described by his doctor as more as a precautionary measure than anything, two of the toes on Cam’s left foot were removed. After a while, Cam got pretty agile with a sturdy walking stick, saying, at least it’s my left foot, so I can still drive. Belinda learned to stay out of his way when he lurched around, but, after a couple of fruitless attempts, joining in the daily walks was out for Cam.

Next, it became Belinda’s turn to slow down – after all she was well into old age for a Berner. The daily walks got shorter and slower, meals were greeted with less enthusiasm, and the vet visits became more frequent. Then the day came when she sort of gave up.

By dog years, being seven years for each human year, Belinda, at twelve, was exactly the same age as eighty-four year-old Denver. For the second time in his life, his assumption that his lady would never leave him alone was shattered. Cam drove them to the animal hospital, and sat in the parking lot in his truck. Denver asked him if he’d like to come in, but he said no. With Denver holding her in his arms, Belinda was gently put to sleep by the vet. It was the day after she had lain down on the trail into the park.

It was almost as if Cam’s deterioration was planned to prevent Denver from pining too much over his loss of Belinda. He took to watching out for Cam. The disease attacking Cam’s body was proving to be relentless, even with all the dietary changes he scrupulously followed. Already, walking any distance, and getting up and down stairs, was a challenge. It sure puts a spanner in the works, Cam told Denver.

Only a month after Belinda’s passing, the decision was made that Cam’s left foot had to be amputated. This involved planning for some radical changes to his lifestyle. Denver went with Cam to two consultations, first with the surgeon about how the operation would go, and then with a prosthetist, where they talked prosthesis options, and how long it would take after the amputation before Cam would be ambulatory. Arrangements were made to rent a wheelchair for the period of a temporary prosthesis, and the time it would take for the permanent prosthesis to be fitted, and for Cam to get used to it. Ultimately, that would be followed by a four wheel walker with a seat. All that took some negotiating with Cam, who wasn’t used to all this fussing over him.

Eventually, Denver got Cam to face the issue of where he would live after the amputation. Cam was all for staying where he was. But in a discussion with the doctors, it became obvious that Cam wouldn’t be able to manage the stairs in his house anymore, and even the steps up to the front door would be a challenge. And you don’t have a family member to be your caregiver, the doctor pointed out. There had been a short discussion about installing a ramp, and a somewhat scornful chat about those television ads promoting stairlifts.

Finally, common sense prevailed, and Denver and Cam visited a number of care homes. The eventual choice was HarbourView, somewhat ostentatiously called An Assisted Living Residence in the big town up the highway. Cam said the name was wildly optimistic – you need powerful binoculars to see the harbour, such as it is. The decision was partly made because a room was immediately available, rather than going on a waiting list.

While on the subject of waiting lists, Cam discovered that there was considerable demand for his type of home, being an affordable duplex near to a bus route and a shopping centre. So the realtor made her commission quickly and easily. Cam’s furnishings were pretty frugal, some of which he was able to take with him to HarbourView. The new owners wanted the dining table and chairs, and the washer and dryer went with the deal. The rest was disposed of, first by a garage sale, which was actually a front yard sale, at which Denver also got rid of some unopened dog food and a ‘seldom used’ dog bed. The rest of Cam’s stuff was taken away by a junk dealer for a ridiculously small amount, paid in cash.

So everything went pretty smoothly, as did the amputation, followed by the fitting of the prothsesis. During his time in the hospital’s palliative care unit, Cam first got the hang of the wheelchair, and then, as the move to HarbourView approached, the four-wheeled walker arrived, which, after practice, Cam vanquished.

At HarbourView, Cam’s life style changed. He had always said that aloneness doesn’t necessarily mean loneliness, but now he was experiencing new levels of both. The other residents were either older or sicker or both, and a bit cliquey, Cam told Denver. And, if the truth be told, Cam was missing Belinda as much as Denver was. Denver did consider getting another dog – Maybe a smaller one, his doctor suggested, but Denver said, They’re yappy.

Then the new owners of Cam’s duplex next door added a wooden fence on their side of the hedge, and refinished the scuffed and pockmarked back door, so that somehow put an end to any thought of another dog.

In the first few weeks of Cam’s residency in the HarbourView, Denver would call by to say hello quite often after his food delivery run. Cam was in a ground floor room, so Denver could either come in to sit with Cam in the lounge, or they could just chat through the window. Both of them felt vaguely dissatisfied with the way things were going. Often, when Denver came to see him, Cam would, almost reluctantly it seemed, turn off the TV or put away the crossword, to chat. Denver noticed that the puzzles were not the easy crosswords, but the cryptic crosswords.

Denver always checked in with the front desk at HarbourView when he visited Cam, and got to know a couple of the staff, especially Marley, an efficient looking woman with, Denver figured, a heart of gold. One day he said to Marley, How’s Cam doing?

Well, he’s taking his time to fit in. She looked at him, and seemed to decide to confide a bit. It’s funny how bachelors who come here either have had no life structure at all, or they have self-conformed to rigid schedules. Whichever they are, they find it frustrating to adapt to our routines, which actually are quite flexible.

And which is Cam?

Marley laughed. A bit of each, actually. He’s pretty cavalier about meal times, but he’s almost obsessive about watching a couple of TV shows, and, of course, setting aside one hour after lunch to do the daily crossword puzzles. One day the paper didn’t arrive, and I thought I might have to give him something to calm him down.

Denver thought back to his tough change of lifestyle when Cam had surprised him with Belinda, and figured that, in the end, one good turn deserved another. But, in HarbourView, a dog wasn’t the answer, nor even, God forbid, a cat.

It was the middle of the night that the solution came to him. He had been thinking of Dulcie and then he remembered the winter evenings when there wasn’t anything good on the TV, and the game they used to play.

The next day, after his food run, Denver drove to the big town up the highway and went to Chapters. He bought the deluxe version of Scrabble, and the ‘official’ Scrabble dictionary.

Sitting with Cam the following afternoon, Denver said, I’ve brought you a present.

I can see that, grunted Cam, gesturing at the wrapped package.

I’ve been watching you do those cryptic crosswords, and figured you like playing word games, so – He handed over the package.

With a bit of a frown, Cam unwrapped it. "Scrabble! I’ve heard of it, but I guess there’s never been anyone around to play it with – do guys play this? I mean, isn’t it sort of like Bridge? And don’t you need four players?" He looked at Denver doubtfully.

You bet guys play Scrabble, and although it can be a game for four, it can be played by just two. Why don’t you look at it, and the next time I’m here, we’ll try it.

Denver felt nervous as he left. Perhaps this wasn’t going to work.

After a couple of days, his curiosity drove him to pay Cam a visit.

I’ve reserved us a little table in the corner of the lounge. I can wheel my four-wheeler to the table and sit there to play. I told Marley what you brought, and she said I should try it.

So, they played a game of Scrabble. It was slow going, and there were some checks with the rules and a couple of references to the Scrabble dictionary – How do you spell ‘aurora’ anyway? And Cam won, but only because Denver was left with the ‘Q’ with no ’U’ to put with it. A couple of the other residents watched, which Cam quite enjoyed, especially when he put down ‘AFFAIR’ and one of the old ladies giggled.

Denver and Cam got into the habit of playing one game of Scrabble on Saturday, another one on Sunday, and often a third game during the week. They played a couple of threesomes with a lady, but she moaned and groaned about how one or the other of them had ruined her chance to play a really good word. They found they were closely matched, and that, as they got more skilled, the scores moved closer to the 250 - 300 range, and sometimes even exceeded 300. They became artful about using the multiple word squares, and blocking the other’s opportunities, and making the most of the use of the higher scoring letters.

After a few weeks, they worked out that each of them had won nine games. Then they began to keep track. After a while, Cam was in the lead by five games, but then Denver had a winning streak, so that, after a couple of months, they were pretty well neck and neck, with Cam at eighteen, and Denver at nineteen. So they agreed to play to fifty games, with the loser having the honour of buying the winner a bottle of scotch. The word got around, and a few of the residents started betting on the outcome. Marley kept an eye on all this, but decided that, overall, it was good for morale.

It was a Sunday afternoon