The weather was calm, the sun shone brightly as the
evening started to draw in … the three siblings had finished sorting the old
family home out … and were having one last evening together reminiscing about their childhood …
Their mother had died a while ago, but had made sure they’d all look after their father til his time was up … he had been a frail figure …
… usually dressed in a large shirt, a moth-eaten jumper, his trousers held up with fraying string, keys dangling from his right pocket’s belt loop, or tucked inside … and, when the sun was out, with an ancient floppy hat perched on his head …
He’d spent his last years wandering the garden tidying, pruning, happy to have one of his children over to mow the lawns …
… the property had been sold and in another week the new owners would take over, but for now – they’d made their plans … a quiet evening with a game of monopoly out on the veranda as the sun went down.
All had worked out peacefully … their parents had been
at home to their last … so that the only thing left to do was a final tidy up before they closed the door on the family home …
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| Lasagne |
They’d all brought something for the evening … the daughter had made one of the family’s favourite dishes – lasagne … rich, full of tasty mince, covered with a delicious cheesy sauce … served with herby bread, then …
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| Herby bread |
… all fresh ingredients from their gardens made the salad – lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, baby carrots … baked potatoes were in the oven …
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| Blackberry sprig ... |
… they’d had one last walk round the garden picking blackberries for dessert – Cornish cream had been brought … there was cheese: Cornish Yarg and Cornish Brie to nibble as the sun finally set on them and their life at this house …
There was red and white wine … to enjoy pre-supper and
after as that golden orb let the cool air start to chill them down as night
set in.
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| Monopoly board |
Then over the evening they had decided to have one last game of monopoly … as children with their parents they’d all enjoyed this sort of evening – so it was felt that one final turn with the familial set would be just the right closure for them and the house.
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| An American token wheelbarrow |
… he’d gone off to his workshop … and come back with a
wooden wheelbarrow, painted red … it stood out on the board, so was our most
favoured token … as children we’d had to take turns.
The early evening was drawing to a close … we drew up our
chairs, relaxed with the wine, chatted in familiar tones, set the monopoly
board out … and decided there’d be four players … the three of us and, using
the little red wheelbarrow, we’d surrogate for our parents by playing a fourth token ... reminding us of those early years as the family grew.
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Roses in garden with white five bar gate ... |
Supper was got ready … the play continued … the tokens we used were the thimble, the boot and the top hat …
... we went to Jail, took our Community Chest or Chance cards, purchased our London properties … got cross with the penalties we needed to cough up to the banker … our parent’s little red wheelbarrow was bringing them luck as the banker …
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| Cornish Yarg covered with nettle leaves |
A new chapter was about to begin for the little Red
Wheelbarrow …
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
