MONKEY'S COUSIN

When I first came to these parts I started counting different things all the while on the drive up, only ceasing upon reaching the sign that stated I was now a thousand steps higher than the sea. Pulling in to fill up the car, I caught sight of the light on my hand still holding the steering wheel, shining on the sunless ring around my finger where an engraved band of silver used to be.

I was so far from home.

We had called the car Gloria on account of the song, filling the background as our bodies were first starting to get to know each other. Now though, no naked legs were catching the last of the summer's light on the front passenger seat. Instead there was a bag of clothes there, a couple of books, and a spare pair of boots in place of her feet.

Sol called ahead to get my foot in the manager's door at the retirement village. The manager, a Mrs Doreen Shearer, hastily explained the relevant duties to be undertaken around the grounds, in between calling out bingo numbers for the gathered residents. For the most part, the duties consisted largely of mowing the lawns and weeding and pruning the various garden beds around the place. 'It's Friday,' she said, after calling out another number, 'so why don't you come back Monday and show me what you can do.' So on Saturday morning I was scanning the library shelves for any volumes on basic gardening techniques, which at the very least added a few extra words to my vocabulary, such as mulch, and secateurs.