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‘I do, but these ones are half the price.’ He held up an alternative but Ava didn’t consider it.
‘Tiles?’ she asked.
‘Yes. You want the traditional small, coloured triangle with the slightly larger white or off-white tile, don’t you? They’ll have stacks of those.’
Ava considered the tiles and went with a gorgeous, deep russet small red tile and larger rectangular ones in cream for the walls. ‘Do you like these, Duke?’
He grunted in reply.
‘Okay, I think we’re done. I’m so excited for these rooms!’
Noah tried not to grimace as the items were rung up and the figure was mind boggling. Out of character, Ava chatted in a garrulous manner with the shopkeeper. Noah couldn’t even recall their names.
‘Ava, see that corner shop?’ Noah stood outside, pointing. ‘The one that is shut and boarded up. It’s been like that for months since the owners returned to the city.’ He pointed across the street. ‘See the Chinese take-out, it used to be one of the most vibrant businesses, until it wasn’t and hasn’t been open for about six months.’
‘Yeah, but there’s another Chinese restaurant, competition will drive out business, too.’
He ignored the comment and kept pointing out examples. ‘We haven’t had a video store for twelve months and the local corner shop for last minute essentials after the grocer is closed, shut recently, about one month ago.’ He placed their purchases in the tray of his ute and secured them down. ‘It is an endless procession of opening and closing businesses’
‘Noah! Video stores died out ages ago. They’ve closed in Brisbane too. That is not a country thing. But the rest, well, isn’t that part of the essence of small towns and also isn’t it an unfortunate offshoot of the pandemic, many businesses lost trade and couldn’t survive.’
‘That didn’t happen here, we look after our own. These businesses closed because of poor planning, poor insight and some wishful thinking that a dream life in the country would hold the answers to their problems and it didn’t. That’s the one thing I don’t understand. The people living in those cul-de-sac suburban streets with the white picket fences and their square-foot patch of backyard grass are dreaming of the wide-open spaces here. They leave the city for a reason. But don’t realise living here is a commitment, it’s hard work and if you can hack it, it will pay off.’
‘You’re so harsh, Noah. There’s attrition in any place that people live. My family was born here, and we left but not because we didn’t like it. In the end it was a business decision for the welfare of my family and my father chose the teaching position in another town.’
‘Yep, another good example, the last teacher at the local primary school was forced to perform her country stint, did the time, made connections, friends, became part of the community and then up and left the moment her contract ran out.’
She had to see, didn’t she? On the short trip to his place, Noah provided another four examples. ‘The worst are the folk that come out here with an outlandish pipe dream—turning their land into an elusive estate, or bed and breakfast style accommodation or even thinking they’ll start a vineyard or apple orchard.’ He was aware his words were sour, and it saddened him to admit he was bitter at what was happening in his town.
‘Here we are.’ His house was a simple shack. It couldn’t compare to the house Ava was creating; Kinross Road was three times the size and double in grandeur. This was a cottage of three bedrooms, small living area and kitchen. It was cosy in winter with a fireplace that warmed the entire interior, with the stone-brick walls absorbing the heat and low ceiling capturing the warmth. In his opinion, those features also provided enormous character. But it was the view…
‘Oh wow! This is incredible.’
The view that always enraptured people. His simple little home backed onto fields of glorious verdant grass, always kept too long and ran away into the nearby hills, as far as someone could see. He didn’t know where his land started and the bush beyond took over.
They’d missed the sunset, but it had left the sky a violet hue, purples turning pink and orange. In the warmer months, the deck was where he spent most of his time. It was open with no railing, narrow but wide enough for chairs and a table and Lisa’s left behind potted plants that had not only survived but thrived.
‘Noah, it’s gorgeous. You must love sitting out here.’
His phone rang, the ringtone loud. He glanced at the screen. ‘I have to take this. The bathroom is down the hall and on the left. Fresh towels in the hall cupboard. Won’t be long.’ With his neck craned holding his phone onto his shoulder, he quickly poured a glass of wine and handed it to Ava before disappearing.
‘Hey Tom, what’s up?’ he answered as he headed inside. Through the windows at the rear, he watched Ava return to the deck after showing Duke the shower; she sat and sipped her wine. Otis kept dropping the ball at her feet until she got the drift and threw it for him.
‘Oh, no.’ Noah paced as he absorbed what Tom was saying. ‘Okay, thanks for letting me know, keep in touch, yeah.’ He opened the back screen door and let it flick back as he entered the deck.
‘Is everything okay?’
‘Not really. That was Tom, the leader of the father support group. Brady, another guy who’s had some trouble with his wife and kids, tried to overdose. It got too much and he couldn’t take it anymore.’ Noah hung his head, his eyes downcast.
‘Oh, do you need to go? Are you close to this guy? I didn’t know you were part of a support group.’
‘He’s in hospital being treated. Only family allowed, so there’s nothing I can do for the moment. I spoke to him a few days ago because his wife was being difficult and we talked through options.’ Noah’s voice cracked.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘The group has been invaluable to me since Lisa left with Emily. I didn’t know what to do, who to talk to and they were there to support me.’
‘Will he be okay?’
