By Kerstin Lindros
Rob slumps against the faded armrest of the comfy chair by the window. He’s been still for most of the past hour. Their builder had predicted it would draw lots of moisture. The house would shift. Walls would crack. But Marilyn and Rob had decided to keep their tree. They would carefully back out of the new carport and work around it. Bloody pain. Rob chuckles. They only had a few close calls in all those years.
He looks down on his hairy fingers, tightly locked around a stubby, then drains the last mouthful and pulls himself up. He goes outside and drops the empty into the yellow bin on his way over to the ute. Then he sets up the big ladder with strong gloved hands, grabs the hired pole trimmer off the tray and starts cutting.
As the limbs crash down, Gary’s head appears behind the callistemon hedge. Rob turns and jerks up his head. Gary lifts his chin to greet back. He looks on as the chainsaw now bites into the trunk.
‘Marilyn away?’
Rob pulls his ear muffs down and cocks his head.
‘Marilyn gone?’
Rob shrugs.
Gary nods slowly. ‘Mate— Need a hand?’
Rob passes him the rope. Soon the first slice thumps to the ground. The men’s eyes meet and Rob says he’d go and get some beer.
They clink stubbies. ‘Bloody tree.’ Rob shakes his head.
Gary nods. ‘Always wondered why you didn’t cut the damn th—’
‘Marilyn—’
The chainsaw screeches intermittently. The men work together and the trunk becomes shorter. Rob cuts the last drum, close to the ground. Then he chisels away, to make it flush with the dirt. The bristles of the garden broom flick the chips away, scattering them, like pieces of a puzzle.
_____
Originally published in From the Inside Looking Out, 2020 General Anthology [Geelong Writers].
Awarded first prize in flash fiction.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kerstin Lindros writes short fiction, memoir and poetry. She holds a BA in Professional and Creative Writing from Deakin University. Her work has appeared in Meanjin, Verandah, Azuria, Gangway, page seventeen, Sächsische Zeitung and local anthologies. Kerstin writes in English and German to remain fluent in both languages as they evolve.
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