“What’s Dad doing? He’s always out there in the shed! You sure, he hasn’t got another woman stashed out there?”
Pam had no idea. It was his space. A no go zone. She left him to it.
However, the deeper Brian tunnelled into retirement, the less he came out, and Pam was starting to wonder whether she should be concerned. Surely, it couldn’t hurt to peek? Not that Pam was complaining. She hadn’t burned her bra in the 70’s, to end up cooking hot lunches for hubby now. Indeed, with or without Brian, she was setting sail on a cruise, and breaking free.
……
This has been another contribution to Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wishoff Fields. PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook
Best wishes,
Rowena
Beyond the Flow 
The Brian and Pam I know are approaching 90, and both practically housebound, though they each have mobility scooters and weather permitting have races down their drive!
Gritty and entertaining. I would have liked to have spent more time with Pam
Love the line ‘the deeper he tunnelled into retirement.’
Go on the cruise without him, Pam. He’ll never notice that you’re missing 😉 Nice one.
Sadly, as Trent said, I don’t think he’d even notice that she’s not around.
Nice story! 😀
Happy cruising to Pam!
I don’t think I will ever go on a cruise but if I do I want to go with Pam!
She does seem like quite a character. I hope I’m like her when I get older and my husband would be on the cruise in a flash too.
Sadly, you’re right Trent. He’s become too fixated on his pet project. I could see him having an extensive bottle top collection.
BTW I posted an article I found last night about my grandmother, which I absolutely loved. Here’s a link: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/an-almighty-juggling-act-concert-pianist-mother-eunice-gardiner/
Best wishes,
Ro
Thanks. She’ll send you a postcard.
Best wishes,
Rowena
“extensive bottle top collection” OK, that got a giggle out of me 😉 I’ll check out the article in a little bit.
Awesome! 😀
Oh, if she leaves, I hope she realizes her value. Sometimes a person’s absence make you understand the love.
Well crafted story, Rowena, with some great lines: the deeper he tunneled into retirement, stood out. Shame you couldn’t use: “they’re looking for a nurse or a purse”. Brilliantly done!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
I enjoyed that story, Rowena, not least because of the variety of sentence length, which is rather rare in flash fiction. It gave your story a lovely flow. I also liked ‘tunnelling into retirement’ which is a great way of describing what Brian is doing.
I wonder if Brian will even notice she has gone. Perhaps when he finds the food has run out!
Perhaps. He might also be self-sufficient in that regard too. He could be one of those people with a couple of years worth of tins stashed away in the shed…a bit of Spam.
Thank you very much, Penny. Now that my parents are retired and I’m hearing what they and their friends are up to, it’s a lot more complex than I thought, especially with people aging at different rates and one spouse being much fitter than the other. Or, the effects of an age gap can be exaggerated. I’m not quite of an age where specializing in writing about retirement is my scene, but there’s plenty of fodder there.
Best wishes,
Rowena
Thank you very much, Meha. I think perhaps each of them could do with appreciating each other a little more. That while they both enjoy their own space within their marriage, that there comes a point where the elastic band might need to snap back a bit and more intimacy and shared experience is required. Always good to keep tweaking your close relationships.
Best wishes,
Rowena
Thanks, Susan. I appreciate the encouragement. Best wishes,
Rowena
Have you heard of Sean Tan? He wrote a little illustrated boo called Eric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOva6bevBjY
I love his work. He recently put out a book called “Cicada”.
Thanks, Kelvin.
I think Pam might be keen…
While being housebound is no fun, I love the sound of racing in their mobility scooters. As the saying goes: “there’s life in the old dog yet”.
These two have always had spirit!
The illustrations look familiar, but i don’t think I know it.
I wonder if she’ll leave her bras at home 🙂
Loved ‘tunneling into retirement’. So evocative. One can almost feel the blinkers being drawn on.
Dear Rowena,
Ah what rebels we were back in the day. Only to find that we’re the retired establishment of today.
Nice story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks, Rochelle. I’m gone from being the id or young person in the story to the Mum…not too sure about that shift either. I might go and join Pam on that cruise.
Best wishes,
Rowena
Thanks very much, Sandra. I am quite prone towards tunnel vision myself and it’s only having the family that keeps extending me sideways. At the same time, left to my own devices, I might get some of my writing projects finished but I also prefer things the way they are.
Best wishes,
Rowena
She might be packing her bikini…
I suspect some of our Australian works don’t get recognized overseas but I’m sure you’d like his work.
Spirit…I like the sound of that. I’ll have what they’re having!
Yeah, people here are more attuned to American authors, illustrators, etc. As for me, I don’t pay as much attention to books aimed at younger people. If they didn’t make Harry Potter into movies I might have never known of the existence of the books. Unless i follow their blog, I doubt if I could tell you the name of a single still active children’s author.
Will he even notice she’s gone?
She should just go on the vacation, then keep on going. He won’t notice anyway.
I think she will feel better after the vacation….
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I think the advantage of putter around the garage type men is that even in retirement, there is a chance to pit some space between the two, a chance to have different experiences, and therfore, room for discovery and reconnection. Not everyone prefers a claustrophobic in your face relationship every minute of the day. The cruise, whether together or apart, may refresh them both!
Entertaining!
I’d glad you picked up on that angle, because my characters liked having their own space, but also liked coming back together as well. Living in each other’s pockets is all very well when you’re dating, young and in love but it’s hard to sustain for the long haul, particularly if you want to get something done and you’re not into exactly the same things.
Bets wishes,
Rowena
I’m not sure. I think she needs to go on that cruise so he comes to realize what she means to him and that you can’t just leave people at arm’s length and expect them to be there. This couple does seem to like their own space more than some other couples but it seems that need to review things a bit.