The Quilt (27 page)

Chapter 24
             

“
As One Door Closes”

“I hear I will have to find a new manager.”

Paul finished drenching the lamb he was holding and then ra
n a dirty hand across his sweat covered forehead. 

“I guess you have been talking
to Sean?  I was going to call in to tell you after I had finished here.”

“I can’t say I am not disappointed.  I will be sorry to see you go.  But from what I have been told you have secured a very nice property
.”

“It isn’t a direction I would ever
have seen for myself, but I was looking for a change.  One thing I wanted to discuss with you is David, the young worker we have here.”

“The t
all, thin young man?”

Paul nodded
.

“David has worked for us from the time he left school.  He has always been a good worker and always reliab
le.  He helped out over at Kean farm after the accident, put in a lot of hours and didn’t ask for remuneration or complain about the extra work.  If it was me looking for a manager, I would certainly consider him.”

Blake studied Paul carefully
.

“No chance of you reconsidering?”

Paul smiled.

“No.  But I will s
tay here for as long as you need me.”

Paul had only walked over to the main house on one occasion after Jean and Sean had vacated.  He had found the walls were stripped and bare, waiting for new paint and the kitchen cabinets that Sean had made from timber felled on the farm had been removed and lay in a discarded pile of twisted hinges and broken doors. 

It had taken weeks
for Paul to accept he was now a tenant on Twin Pines and the future of the property was in the hands of its new owner. 

David took over the
position of manager within a week of their conversation.  With his appointment and the hiring of several additional farm workers, the Clarkes farming heritage in the King Country had come to an end.

“We could have driven you up to Auckland.  It would have been easier than flying with all that luggage and crating Jess.”

Paul eyed the bags
and large boxes as they disappeared on the carousel. 

“You may be right, but it is a little too late now.  Sid is meeting us at the airport with a car.”

Jess had been loaded in
to a travel crate an hour earlier.  The changes had unsettled the old dog and her tail had tucked between her legs and her eyes had become large and questioning.

“She will settle down once she gets out of that crate.  I think she knew it was her last duties as a working dog yesterd
ay.  She kept up with the huntaways.”

Sean looked up and saw a hint of sadness clouding Pauls face
.

“You know the other dogs are in good hands
.”

“Yes
, I know.  I’ll give you a call in a few days after we have settled in.”

Sean extended his hand
.

“You have done the right thing
, Paul.  Don’t doubt yourself now. Christmas is not far away and I would guess your mother is already planning a visit.”

The final boarding call was announced as Sean walked through the exit doors.

Jes
s greeted Sid with enthusiasm putting her paw up for a shake and melting the old man with her soft chocolate eyes.

He extracted himself from the long leash that had tangled around his legs and gave her a vigorous pat.

The two men were obviously comfortable in each
other’s company.  An onlooker would have assumed they were father and son watching them sit and talk easily as the car ferry made the short journey over to the island.

“How is that viticulture c
ourse going?”

“It is very comprehensive but I am almost half way through the assignments.   The farm’s new
owner increased his staff and that gave me more time to work on the correspondence each day.”

“Mari has
gone over to the vineyard to make sure you have groceries, probably a year’s supply,” he chuckled.

“She opened the house up this morning to air. 
It’s about time it was lived in again. The pool pump needs some attention.  I tried to fix the thing for you yesterday, but couldn’t get it working.”

Sid helped unload the boxes and cases that were packed tightly in the Range Rover Paul had purchased. He hesitated and turned.

“We have left the furniture and some other items that are not of use to us.  If you don’t want anything just let me know and I’ll get it picked up
.”

“I can’t possibly
keep your furniture.”

“Anything you want can be called a house warming pres
ent from us,” Sid was laughing. “Most of it was imported from Italy specifically for this home.  It would not fit into the beach house even if we wanted it to.”

Paul started to speak but Sid interrupted him
.

“Second
hand furniture is not worth the effort of advertising it.  I’ll leave you to settle in. I think Mari is planning to call in tomorrow morning.”

Fresh flowers had been placed in vases, a Reserve bottle of red sat on the kitchen bench uncorked and breathing, a note sat next to it.

“
There is a lasagne in the fridge.  Just reheat it until it is brown.”

“I hope you enjoy the first night of your new life.  We will see you tomorrow
.”

It was signed Mari.

He poured a glass of the deep
, silky wine and held it to the light.

“A cabernet s
auvignon,” Paul smiled and patted the old dog on the head.

They walked out on to the tidy mown lawn and Paul pulled up an outdoor chair. 

He watched as the sun dipped and the sea turned from blue and silver, to scarlet and orange and finally to black.  Paul fell asleep listening to the faint comforting noise of the incoming waves as they caressed the beach below.

The knock on the door roused Paul from a deep, restful sleep.  He battled up through the depths to consciousness dislodging Jess from her nest at the end of the bed.

Sid and Mari stood smiling in the entrance
. They carried freshly baked pastries and busied themselves making strong coffee while Paul splashed cold water on his face.

“
It must be the sea air.  I am normally up before daybreak.” 

Mari handed him a hot cup of good coffee and Sid pointed at the empty wine bottle.

“Perhaps that helped,” he laughed.

“I took the liberty of bri
nging up information about the club’s and groups available on the island.  You need to meet some people of your own age.  Maybe even a nice young lady, there was that waitress remember?”

Paul
rolled his eyes pointedly. 

He picked up the first brochure
.

“
Dance, art and pottery.  You can’t be serious.” 

Sid shrugged.

Fishing, shooting and rugby had some appeal.  Perhaps he would look into those when he had settled.

“Thank you
,” Paul smiled politely.  He knew it was important to make an effort especially in a smaller community.

“I am going fishing this morning.  The tides are right and I thought you might like to join me.  It would be a nice way to spend your first day here. I assume you have been fishing before?”

“We had rivers and stre
ams on the farm so my fishing experience is limited to casting a fly for trout.”

“That’s settled go and get ready
.  We will only go out for a couple of hours.  We need to go through a few things up here later this afternoon.”

It was Paul
’s time to listen not to guide. He had a whole lifetime of knowledge to learn off Sid and he welcomed the chance to be the student.

“Have you had a bite yet?” Paul and Sid were anchored not far from the shoreline below the beach house.

“No
, nothing.  Mari is going to be furious if we don’t bring home enough for tonight’s meal.” 

The men had been
fishing every Saturday when the weather permitted.  Sid was enjoying the companionship and it gave Paul a chance to get away from the vineyard.  Mari and Sid had grown increasingly fond of him and he had provided a new dimension in their lives.

“I submitted the last assignment yesterday.  No more evening study
.”

“That’s it!”

Paul looked confused.

“You got a bite
?”

“No, look Coastguard
.” 

Pau
l turned to watch the red and white boat slowly cruising past the anchored fishing vessels.

“You just told me you have finished your correspondence.  That means you will have
spare time.  You are too young to spend all your time associating with us or working at the vineyard.”

“Coa
stguard are advertising for new volunteers at the moment.  They make an important contribution, locally.  You will meet new people and from a business point of view that certainly wouldn’t hurt.  Waiheke Island is seasonal and the local population will supply a substantial part of your restaurant business during the other times of the year.  It might be worth at least looking at what is involved.”

Chapter 25

“Chloe
and Geoff”

The building consisted of one small dark room.  The large doors were open and several men in overalls were working on the boat’s twin outboard motors.

A middle-
aged man with thinning hair cursed loudly before looking up and noticing that Paul had entered the building and was standing waiting for an appropriate moment to interrupt. 

“Sorry
, this damned boat always seems to need maintenance.  How can I help you?”

“There is a
sign on the exterior wall asking for new volunteers.” 

“You must be Paul.  Sid rung to s
ay you were going to call in.  He said you had good mechanical knowledge.”

“I wouldn’t say that.  A farming background helps you to cope with the basics
, otherwise everything just stops.”

The man laughed and extended a grimy hand.

“I’m Geoff, come through and I’ll give you some information.”

They sat at a small desk covered in
log books, diaries and communication equipment.

“It
is quite a commitment when you live on the island.  The training modules are mainly held in town but if we get a few new trainees we normally organize for them to go in together.”

“
A lot of the training is practical.  As soon as you have passed your fitness and swim test and we have received the medical forms you would be able to start.  It takes a minimum of six months to become operational but we are always short on crew so the trainee’s do get on board if they respond to their pagers.”

He handed Paul the application
.

“Sid said you were going to open the restaurant soon
.”

“I wouldn’t say soon.  We are hoping to have it up and running in the first few months of next year.
I had hoped we would be ready before Christmas but there is still quite a lot to organize.”

Geoff nodded.

“Drop those forms back as soon as you can if you are interested in volunteering.  I can get your fitness and swim done next week and we really could do with some extra crew at the moment.”

“I don’t see as much of you now.  I was going to come up to the vineyard tomorrow if you didn’t call in.”

Mari looked slightly annoyed as she placed a tray of olives and warm bread in front of Paul
.

“Leave him alone woman
, he is busy with the training modules for Coastguard.  How are you enjoying it?”

“I am meeting a lot of new people, but the commitment is more than I had thought.  I will be glad
when I am operational.”

“You must be getting close by now.  How many hours have you
done on the boat?”

“I think I am almost up to 150 hours and
still have to cover victim recovery, marine medic and search techniques.”

“Have you met Geoff’s wife
, Chloe, yet?  She is a very talented and interesting woman.”

“No
, but we have a meeting there tonight.”

“So you aren’t staying for a meal
?”