Write of Passage

By Kim Wilson

Gerald Wainwright is a self-obsessed narcissist, but never-the-less a world-renowned author who is murdered — and that’s just the beginning of his problems! Waking in a celestial half-way station, he needs to complete a series of tasks. These are designed to teach him some serious life lessons while at the same time helping others to find solutions for their own current crises thereby setting them on the road to fulfilling and happy lives. Helped along the way by his supervisor, Mr Smith, Jerry learns things he never knew about himself — nor wanted to know— but will it be enough for him to finally become the man he was always meant to be and in turn to earn his own ‘Write of Passage’?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398486157

Kim Wilson

Kim Wilson lives with her husband Wayne at the foothills of the beautiful Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. She started writing quite late in life having started her career as an advertising copywriter and then continuing for the next twenty years as a fashion buyer! She married for the first time at the tender age of 57 so the last ten or so years have a complete turnaround for her. When she’s not writing, she loves snow skiing, sailing, choral singing, her theatre group, reading (of course) and knitting! As well as copious amounts of tea wherever and whenever she can get it!

Book preview

About the Author

Kim lives with her husband in Penrith, New South Wales, at the foot of the beautiful Blue Mountains. Certainly a change of scenery having been raised in a beachside suburb of Sydney!

She started her writing career as an advertising copywriter and, after retiring, started writing sketches and plays for her drama group, taking her inspiration from life, love and a wealth of experiences — which she’s constantly adding to through the theatre-, music-, reading and her Shakespeare discussion group.

‘Write of Passage’ is her debut novel — with work continuing on her second.

Dedication

To Wayne – better late than never!

Copyright Information ©

Kim Wilson 2022

The right of Kim Wilson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398486133 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398486140 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781398486157 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

A huge thank you to Wayne, Maureen, Dianne and Michael. Your input and tireless support helped me beyond words.

Chapter One

Jerry

Come on, Rodney! Fourteen-year-old friends Jerry Wainwright and Rodney Faulkner are tearing around the empty soccer field in a frenzied attempt to beat each other in a ‘To the Death’ goal scoring shoot out. "What are you doing?"

Whooping your ass, that’s what! What’s the score now? 12–1? Rodney feels like he’s running on air, this is the best day EVER! For once in his life, Jerry won’t get what Jerry wants and Rodney’s elated at the thought of hitting the Glorious Golden 20 first! He lets out a loud Whoop! thoroughly enjoying his pending victory. He looks over at Jerry and sees a look on his face that tells him he’s definitely not going to get it today. The next words out of Jerry’s mouth tell him he’s dead right!

I’m hot! It’s too hot for this and I don’t wanna do it anymore! I’m goin’ home! Not again, Rodney thinks to himself, it’s not really that hot but what’s the use of arguing? He hasn’t changed since the first day they met; if he’s not winning he doesn’t want to play. He’s sick of it! All the other kids keep asking why he still wants to hang out with him but Rodney just shrugs and says Jerry’s his best friend, as if that’s just a fact of life. But right now he wants him to stay! He looks again at Jerry’s stubborn face and thinks, "What can I do? I can’t force him to run after the ball, can I?" Still, he can try to get him to stay on a bit longer; after all, he doesn’t want to go home yet!

It’s not that hot, Jerry! Let’s just have a break and a drink and then we can play some more! He looks up at the sky. It’s that sun-bleached pale blue that only comes in the middle of summer. The cicadas are providing a perfect backing to the usual summer symphony of lawnmowers and kids screaming around on their bikes. Rodney just loves it and definitely doesn’t want to go home and sit in front of the telly on a day like today! Go on, stay, I’ll even let ya get a goal if ya do!

"You’ll let me? You’ve got to be joking! I don’t need you to let me get a goal! I can get more goals than you any day of the week! The sun just got in my eyes, that’s all! Now, give me the ball, I’m going home!"

No way! If you wanna go, then GO! But I’m gunna stay here and get some more practice in. We’re playin’ the Tigers on Saturday remember! Anyway, it’s Chris’s ball, not yours!

Jerry couldn’t care less about that. Chris had just got a new leather ball for his birthday and Jerry thought that it was absolutely unfair for him to have two balls! Give it back to him? No way, he had no intention of doing that! His father had always told him, You want it, you take it, it’s yours. And that’s exactly what he was going to do!

Rodney realises what Jerry’s up to and scoops up the ball, keeping it out of Jerry’s reach. Oh no, you don’t! I’m keepin’ it and when I’ve finished with it I’m givin’ it back to Chris! He didn’t have to lend it to us you know and I’m gonna make sure he gets it back!

Jerry’s furious at this. Rodney’s just a bloody wimp! "OK! Keep the stupid bloody ball, Saint Rodney!" He yells back at him and stomps off in the direction of home.

*

The boys had been friends since their first day of school. Rodney took to ‘Big school’ like a fish to water but Jerry wasn’t having any of it! He didn’t need any school in his humble four-and-a-half-year-old opinion. He knew everything he needed to know so he just didn’t get why his mother had dumped him there at all! He sat down and started to cry in frustration. He didn’t want this, he wanted to go home! Rodney had come over to him, and in his usual calm and soothing way, had put his arm around Jerry’s shoulders.

What’s wrong, mate? Rodney mimicked his mother’s tone. Are you a bit scared?

Jerry looked at Rodney thinking What a doofer; a term he’d obviously learned from his father. But instead he just said, She just left me here! I wanna go home!

Don’t worry! Your mum ’ll come back later and get ya.

Jerry looks at him through wet eyelashes. How do you know?

Because my big sister’s in class and she comes home every day. She even gets home in time for the cartoons. He looks at Jerry struggling to get his crying under control and tries to think of something else to say that could help.

We can be best friends if you like! You watch we’re gunna have great fun!

*

Rodney knows as well as Jerry that they had, indeed, great fun together through the years but it was always when Jerry got his own way. Otherwise he spat the dummy and stomped off home which is what he was doing right now as Rodney ran around the soccer field on his own with the sound of the crowd cheering him on fully alive in his imagination.

As Jerry reaches the house, he hears sounds coming from the kitchen and smiles. He likes his house! It’s bigger than a lot of his friends’ dingy little places and his mum always keeps it looking great with the latest up-to-date stuff. None of his friend’s mothers even seem to care! He always feels a keen sense of superiority when he goes to their places for parties and things. Peasants, he always thinks to himself. And then…Peasants, ha, Dad be proud of me for that one!

As he bangs into the kitchen, slamming the door, his mother, Pat, looks up from chopping vegetables. What’s wrong, Darling?

He just glares at her. Rodney hogged the ball all afternoon and wouldn’t let me have a go at kickin’ goals!

Oh dear, that was terribly selfish of him! Not like Rodney at all! She’s known Rodney for years now and she fully understands what happened on that oval today!

Well, it was definitely like him today! He only kept it because he knew I’d get more goals than he would! It was bloody pathetic!

Jerry, I do wish you’d stop swearing! I don’t know where you’ve picked it up! Must be that school I suppose! Jerry sits at the table scowling!

This’ll cheer you up! Look I’m making your favourite for dinner tonight – a lovely cottage pie!

Big bloody deal! Jerry spits at her. Just then Doug Wainwright walks in from the lounge room where he’s been reading today’s paper and catches Jerry’s last comment.

Oi! Don’t speak to your mother like that! And what are you sookin’ about anyway? You’re not a baby anymore! Sit up straight and talk to me, Son! he barks.

Jerry recounts the shambles of a soccer game that afternoon, full of complaints about Rodney and justifications for his own bad behaviours. If he’s expecting any sympathy, he’s sadly mistaken. His father tells him for the umpteenth time that if you want something it’s up to you to go and get it. Why didn’t he just take the ball from Rodney instead of sulking back home like a five-year-old?

What? I couldn’t just take it, could I? He’s my best friend! Doesn’t his father understand anything?

"Well that sort of thinking won’t get you anywhere in life! He didn’t care that you’re his best friend when he wouldn’t give it to you, did he? Now get out of here and man up!" Jerry has a light bulb moment; his father’s right. Just what kind of friend is Rodney anyway? And what got into him just letting him keep the ball like that?

Jerry sneers. Well who wants that cruddy old vinyl ball, anyway? His father turns slowly frowning with contempt.

"Vinyl? You made all this fuss over a second hand vinyl soccer ball? For Christ’s sake, Jerry! That’s not a ball, that’s a toy!"

Yeah, you’re right, Dad! Who wants it anyway? He smiles at his dad like the cat who’s about to get the cream. Can you get me a proper leather one?

"Of course, I can. I’m not having any son of mine out in public kicking around a dirty old vinyl soccer ball! We’ll go to the shops tomorrow and you can have your pick! That’ll show Rodney, eh?"

They both laugh.

*

A couple of years have passed and the boys are both finishing high school. Jerry’s sitting on a desk in the student’s reading room one afternoon telling some other students another one of his stories. They love his stories and they’re all watching him with rapt attention, hanging on every word. That is until one of them says, Come on, Jerry, hurry up! It’s nearly time to go! Jerry slams his fist down on the table!

Hurry up? Hurry up? Would you tell Shakespeare to ‘Hurry Up’ and finish ‘Hamlet’? Or Gerhardt to ‘Hurry Up’ and finish ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’? Or, wait a minute! Maybe you did! Maybe ‘Bumblebee’ was supposed to be a ballad until you stuck your bloody nose in! Several of the others giggle but that only seems to stir Jerry up even more.

Oh, right! So you lot think it’s funny do you? The disrespect? The sheer unadulterated ignorance? Well, FORGET IT! Write your own stories from now on! You can ALL go to hell, ALL of You! Go on, GET OUT!

A few of the kids decide to go while the goings good, they’ve seen Jerry like this before, while others start trying to calm him down and plead with him to finish the story. Jerry looks at them with scorn.

No way! I told you, write your own ending; use your own bloody brains for a change! What are you waiting for? You heard what I said! I’m not finishing the damn story! Now GET OUT!

The rest drag out into the corridor but one girl stays behind.

What are you…? He looks around and sees it’s Leonie, the girl Rodney’s been daydreaming about all bloody week. Can’t get one bit of common sense out of him lately!

"Jerry, I just wanted to say that I think you’re a wonderful story teller! And I do understand how you felt just then. That was just plain rude! Maybe you could finish it tomorrow for anyone who wants to sit and listen and treat you the way you deserve!"

Preening himself and basking in her praise, he bows his head condescendingly. Well, if you think so.

I do! Please, please, please…will you do it?

Jerry shrugs. S’pose it’s the least I could do. His ego soothed. Alright then, I’ll see you tomorrow. You’re Leonie, aren’t you?

Yeah, Leonie Suffolk.

Jerry sees a chance to better Rodney yet again. Leonie, you probably know our formals on Friday night and…

At this moment, Rodney walks in the door and Leonie’s face lights up stopping Jerry dead in his tracks. He looks over nonchalantly and says, Oh it’s you!

Rodney walks up to him. Yep. Why?

Jerry looks at him. Nothing, I just wondered who it was, creeping around like that! Sensing the tension between Jerry and Rodney, Leonie goes across the room to pack her bag.

Rodney’s unsure what’s happened to put Jerry in this mood but he’s just on his way home and thought he’d offer Jerry a lift. Jerry refuses the offer saying his mum’s picking him up later and, as usual, Rodney’s unfazed and doesn’t see it for the lie it is. He walks over to Leonie humming an old Beatles song happily under his breath…

Hi, Leonie! Mum wants to know what colour your dress is.

Leonie blushes and says, It’s pink!

Good-o! See yas!

He turns to walk out but Jerry grabs him by his arm. "Your mother wants to know what colour her dress is. Why?"

Because I’m taking her to the formal on Friday night and Mum’s going to get her a corsage.

What’s a corsage?

Beats me but evidently that’s what you’re supposed to do. Who are you taking?

Jerry looks at his feet and says, Haven’t made up my mind yet! Too many to choose from.

Rodney smiles at this but has the sense not to answer, and walks out of the room with a noticeable spring in his step.

Jerry looks over at Leonie. She’s busily brushing her hair and putting on lipstick. He watches Rodney from the window walk up to his beaten old car, hop in and drive away. Now he’d have to ring his mother to come and pick him up! But he wasn’t going to go with Rodney and lose his chance to be alone with Leonie! He looks over at her like a shy little boy, something he’s been practising in front of his mirror for weeks and something he figures is a look the girls ’ll go for, and she stifles a giggle.

"Look, Leonie, when Rodney came in, I was just going to ask you to the formal. But he says you’re going with him!"

Leonie can’t believe her good luck; two boys asking her to the same dance? Not so long ago they wouldn’t even talk to her! She smiles apologetically at Jerry.

Yeah, he asked me last week. I’m sorry, Jerry!

Jerry’s furious because he hadn’t thought that Rodney would have had the guts to ask her and Rodney of all people had got a date first! Before him! Now he’ll have to ask someone quick smart. He knows all the best girls will have dates by now too, damn it, he’s left it too late! If worse comes to worse, he’ll just chuck a sickie and not go to their stupid dance, who wants to hang around with that bunch of losers anyway? He has no intention of keeping in touch with any of them once he’s left school, except maybe Rodney. He intends to be rich and successful and definitely won’t need any hangers on. He hadn’t even