No Big Deal

 No Big Deal

What you do for someone may seem like nothing to you, but it could have a huge impact on another. That situation can form or enrich a relationship.

In my novel, Baggage burdens., Joseph helps Susan, an elderly vender, who has a flat tire. To him it was no more a bother than a mother cleaning up supper dishes. To Susan his actions were life saving. Not only does she praise him the next time they go to market, but also she remembers the good deed a year and a half later.

 “Look at what the nice lady gave me,” Amber blurts out.

Joseph examines a black horse pendant carefully. “It’s beautiful.”

One of the books that Jill reads to Amber is Black Beauty. ‘Tomorrow I’ll ask her if she’d like to go out for ride,’ decides Joseph.

As Jill arrives, Joseph looks up. “Gave?” He points to the necklace.

“Yeh.” Jill glances at the table from where the necklace came. When she looks back at Joseph, she adds. “Susan said no charge. Something about you changing a tire. It’s the least she could do.”

About half a year ago, Susan, the sixty-three year old lady had a flat. She stood behind her open trunk and stared at the spare. It seemed to Joseph as if she were trying to wish the tire out. Her arms hung limp, as if refusing to pull the bulky weight. Joseph’s offer, “need help?” was greeted with such a sigh of relief. Changing the tire took less than ten minutes. She offered to pay him but he said, “no big deal.” He forgot about it the minute he drove away, but Susan made his gallant deed her lead story the following Saturday morning.

People are good. Such a portrayal may seem like uninteresting reading material. Without a struggle how can one rejoice in the triumph of the human spirit? However, good people don’t always have an easy life.

Also, since the reader isn’t expecting tension, now is the time to introduce seeds of conflict either in the middle of a tranquil period or shortly after. By gently tossing in a developing concern a reader can understand how a character in the story can miss the tell tail signs. Why?––because the reader more than likely missed the sign too.

In the excerpt above it may seem that Joseph is struggling with a perceived problem. In reality the ticking bomb is inside Jill.

“Something important happening tonight?” asks Thomas. He points to Joseph’s watch. “You’ve checked it several times.”

“No. No. Nothing,” answers Joseph. He commits to stop checking the time. “Just looking forward to Jill picking me up.”

He’s plagued by an impression that Jill was on the verge of saying something to him as he drove to market in the morning. At first he suspected it was his imagination, but as they entered Camrose Jill started to say something and then stopped again. He guesses Jill is seeking Ann’s advice, like he often does with Thomas and Rebecca.

‘Maybe on the way home,’ he thinks.

“I haven’t seen you this anxious since the last time Jill was pregnant.”

In a peaceful setting a writer plants a conflict grain.

Tucked in a normal everyday activity Joseph struggles with a perceived problem. Like an innocent leaf poking its head above ground is a sign of a weed. Jill’s unspoken question.

haiku capsule:

              No! Not a flat tire!        

                               Joseph’s rescue remembered.     

                                Thanks, insufficient.

Next blog: Gender Conflict    

Loaded with Value

 Loaded with Value    

When Jill arrives home with the children, she brushes the silent wind chime pipes. Their ringing paints a smile on her face.

“Why’d you do that?” questions Amber, looking back at her mother.

“Because I’m happy!” says Jill, thinking about the Camrose United Church’s bells ringing Sunday morning. Mary’s comment comes to mind: It’s like they are announcing good news. Jill’s good news is she doesn’t have to feel guilty about pursuing her education. Rebecca’s advice lifts her. “Don’t let those women dictate your life. Be true to yourself.”

 The wind chimes echoes Jill’s joy. But why does wind chimes need to be the mechanism to show Jill’s bliss?  Couldn’t she dance or sing? Jill’s answer to her daughter, while true, misses a deeper meaning, a meaning with which Jill doesn’t recognize until much later.

The first time that Jill felt truly happy was the summer she lived at her grandmother’s place in Brampton. She was furthering her education, pursuing her love of drama, and feeling completely safe. The soothing setting that is buried deep in her memory is sun tanning on the balcony of her grandmother’s house. In the tranquil atmosphere wind chimes rang.

While the first setting connotes a free spirit, being responsible and being loved, another setting with wind chimes occurred when she sat on a restaurant balcony at the Family Conference in Chicago. There, her listening ear comforted a distraught Bill. His wife was dying of cancer. He, a university educated man, appreciated her words of wisdom. As a person Jill, a high school graduate, felt important.

For Jill the sight or sound of wind chimes brings a nostalgic meaning. For others perhaps a treasured memory is about a particular practice––hugging family members or guests when they come to visit. The value associated with the meaning of a memory far outweighs its cost or utility.

No wonder, at times of downsizing, older people struggle with what should be discarded.

haiku capsule:

              empty wind pipes sing        

                                a peer group's grip is broken      

                                a loved diamond link

Next blog:  No Big Deal    

Misreading Another's Motives

Misreading Another’s Motives

What’s he up to?

Why did she do that?

Unanswered frustrated questions leads to increased tension in any relationship and in a family setting can eat away at commitments to love and support each other. This observation is at the heart of strained relationships between Jill and her husband, Joseph, and between Daniel and his mother.

In moments of anxiety questions are often left unasked. Instead suppositions substitute. Fabricated answers in a negative setting intensify delicate relationships.

A picture of Daniel blowing air into balloons for his party while Joseph ties them grows a smile on Jill. ‘If I continued working at the bakery I wouldn’t have had Daniel.’ She reads the caption below the photo. Joseph’s words, My New Thomas, burn. Stories of how Daniel is a big help like Thomas surface.

‘That’s why he spends all his time with Joseph.’ A deeper more disturbing impression rocks Jill. ‘If I was a good mother, he’d have spent more time with me.’ She swallows as if there was something in her mouth she couldn’t chew. ‘I always wanted to be with my mother, but Daniel doesn’t. Why?’

Jill searches for ways to be involved in Daniel’s life. Missed opportunities frustrate her––the December tractor rides to look for a Christmas tree. Joseph’s no big deal did little to sooth her. Nor did his explanation later–– “the tractor-seat only had room for two. You would have had to ride in the trailer alone.” Board games contributed to a distancing between her and her son. Jill didn’t share Joseph and Daniel’s love of competition. She chose to watch them play.

‘It was only a game. I should have played.’

‘With Daniel going to school now, I’ll even have less time with him.’ Jill concedes she isn’t going to be any closer to Daniel. ‘I should have been more involved with Daniel. It’s time to try for another child. I’ll do better next time.’

While sitting in the airport Jill expects to be very busy when she returns home. With only a week before Christmas there’s preparing all Joseph’s Ukrainian dishes for Christmas Eve and decorating the house. ‘She remembers Joseph’s invitation to go out for a sleigh ride with Daniel and him to cut down a Christmas tree. She remembers I’m not tramping around in that deep snow. It’s too cold. Jill reconsiders her response. ‘Daniel loved it. He acted like he and his father shared a special mission. Even though he was only six it seemed like they swore a pact to always be there for each other. Maybe I should have gone.’

Momentarily she drifts back to her childhood searching for shared father-daughter events. None come to mind. ‘Doesn’t matter. I survived.’

Jill’s analysis returns. ‘Why can’t I be as close to Daniel as Joseph is?’

Jill doesn’t give up on trying to be more involved in her son’s life. After setting up homeschooling for her daughter, Amber, she tries to convince Daniel to join his sister. Daniel refuses. He likes being with his friends at school. Jill can’t accept being in second place for her son’s affection. To her she feels she’s like her father, disconnected with her child. Jill’s persistence to change Daniel’s mind about homeschooling creates a hostile environment.

Daniel rushes to his bedroom for his heavy black socks. After frantic searching, “Mom” rings out like an unwanted morning alarm. It is punctuated by slamming dresser drawers and another angry shout, “Mom.”  

Jill hurries to Daniel’s door. She no sooner steps into his room then he demands, “Where are my socks? You know. The ones I wear in my skates?”

In a restrained voice Jill answers. “In your skates, which are in the closet.”

“What are they doing there?” demands a frustrated Daniel.

“Waiting for you,” answers Jill. Her voice is a little higher. “I knew you would want them so I thought I’d put them in the skates so they would be handy for you.”

“You always put them in my drawer. How am I supposed to know that you put them in a different place? Can’t you do anything right?” He brushes by Jill.

Daniel mounts his horse and looks back at Thomas, who is still standing by the table. With a quick smile and a second wave Daniel rides to Eve’s at a fast trot. With each minute that passes he fights the impression that his mother is a selfish person. How could she not see what her desires are doing? How can she be so single minded? How could his father not see how unrealistic she’s being? By the time he reaches the Wicksberg residence he’s boiling. He has to do something about it.

How do you over come an antagonistic environment? Bill, Jill’s friend, coaches Jill on how to bridge the gap between her and her son, and later between her and her father.

haiku capsule:

              new Christmas practice        

                                going out to cut a tree     

                                father and son bond

Next blog: Loaded with Value    

Kindness Jackpot

Kindness Jackpot

You can never tell where an act of kindness will lead. Naturally an act of compassion is done without any expectations. A caring act can spark another one, sometimes with surprising results. In the excerpt below I played with a response to Daniel’s kind act by adding a twist––his perception of Eve’s loving response lead to unexpected rewards.

“I think this year was the best. I doubt next year can beat it.” Eve proudly extends her left hand, wiggling her ring finger. “Today Daniel asked me to marry him.” She bounces up and down like a rubber ball. Jill catches her hand to get a better look.

After they finish admiring the ring and congratulating Daniel and Eve, Amber asks, “Why now?” Amber looks at Daniel for an explanation.

“Exactly two years ago Eve let me kiss her. She made it a special day for me, so I wanted the same day to be special for her.” Daniel wraps his arm around Eve’s waist.

“What about the rest of the story?” interrupts Eve. Before Daniel can start she says, “Two years ago a bunch of us from church got together for a New Year’s Eve party. Late in the afternoon Martin Shopka hitched up a couple of his horses and took us for a hayride. I was pushed off the wagon. Half buried in cold, powdery snow I watched the wagon pull away.”

“Everybody was laughing so hard that Mr. Shopka didn’t hear her call to stop,” says Daniel.

“So Daniel jumped off to help me,” cuts in Eve. “Another burst of laughter erupted from the wagon.”

“I think the others thought I too was pushed off,” adds Daniel.

“Anyway, Daniel rescued me.”

“That’s when she kissed me,” explains Daniel.

 “We walked back to the church,” continues Daniel. “It wasn’t that cold.”

“For the rest of the night Daniel was the target of my affection. “I thought I’d make some of the other guys jealous,” says Eve. “How was I to know that Daniel would take me seriously? After that he never quit calling me. Eventually he convinced me he was worth hanging on to.” She looks at him and plants a kiss on his lips.

Daniel’s chivalrous action resulted in expressions of affection from Eve. What an unexpected reward! While Eve’s affection that New Year’s eve was motivated by a different interest, Daniel perceived it as acts of kindness. It encouraged him to pursue a relationship with an attractive girl that he never thought was possible.

It seems to me that we do not hear often enough how beneficial it is to be nice to someone else. In this case Daniel is doubly blessed. He not only saw the gratitude of Eve when he walked through the snow trail with her but he also found a soul mate.

haiku capsule:

     girl falls in snow bank        

                                                                 young knight jumps to her rescue     

                                                                 fast attraction built

Next blog: Misreads,   T  e  n  s  i  o  n