Marigold

It was a lovely winter’s day. The sun shone strongly without a cloud in sight, but there was little warmth in it. The Autumn leaves were still falling from the trees outside (well past their due date) and Claire couldn’t help but marvel at the simple beauty of it, despite her circumstances.

“If you wanted to make this work, you would have made our lives easy”

She stood in the small granny flat outside her Aunt Mary’s house and glanced outside the window to a backyard that was full of trees, fallen leaves, uncut grass and potted plants. There were beautiful orchids, pansies and potted marigold that were blooming despite the cold and the season. They were bright orange and shone even brighter.

“That’s odd” thought Claire

Aunt Mary’s home was quite old and shabby and needed a lot of love and attention. It was located in the heart of Melbourne and was a simple 20 minute drive from the airport where Claire worked. She was grateful that she had had somewhere to go and in such short notice.

“I have no regrets about the past 6 months. I don’t regret seeing that girl…and at times I wish there had been another one”

Claire shifted her attention to the granny flat and looked at her surroundings. She had moved in 3 weeks ago but only now had the mind and focus to see what she needed to work on. The granny flat was a simple two-bedroom flat that had been built by her Uncle George over 15 years ago. It featured a lounge area, small kitchen and bedroom. If she needed to shower or use the toilet, she would have to go into the main house.

It had floorboards that were hideously outdated, a dark green feature wall (thanks Uncle George) and holes in the walls from the previous tenant (thanks Cousin Michael). It needed a good paint job in both rooms and perhaps carpet installed as this winter was already proving to be a dreadfully cold one.

Cousin Michael had left an old white leather couch behind and it gave the living room a bit of charm. A lot however still needed to be worked on.

“I gave you a home you ungrateful thing”

Claire got out a pen and paper and wrote down everything that needed to be done. She soon heard a knock at the door. The living room door peeled back open to reveal an elderly woman with a kind face and bright blue eyes.

“Hello, petal”

Aunt Mary appeared with a cup of tea in her hands. An sprightly woman nearing 80, she had been a dear when Claire moved in with her. Claire forced a smile and accepted the cup of tea gratefully.

“The maid has come to see if you’re hungry. Your uncle has made pumpkin soup for lunch if you want me to bring some up the back for you. Can also cut up some sourdough bread and toast it for you if you’d like”

“Thanks, but no need. I’ll come and join you guys inside soon. I was just figuring out what needs to be fixed in here”

“No hurry, Apple. We have plenty of time for all of that. When are you off flying again?”

“I go back to work tomorrow”

“Oh, goodie. Be good to see our air hostess back at work again. At least you’ve got still got work flying over at domestic”

Aunt Mary took great pride in her only niece who worked in the airline industry. An industry that had been crippled by the covid pandemic in 2020 and had affected the lives of thousands of flight attendants, ground staff and pilots around the world.

Once an international flight attendant with a solid career prior to covid, Claire’s world came crushing down beneath her when she found out she would soon stood down from her dream job.

She had been in Honolulu at the time.

Since then, a series of unfortunate events later led her to this very moment in her new granny flat at her Aunt Mary’s home in Sydney. Claire took a deep breath in. She had barely had a chance to process it all.

“The difference between you and I, Claire, is that I’m going to get on with my life and you are going to break down and cry. Go cry to your counsellors, Claire. You’re no longer my problem”

Aunt Mary soon left the living room and walked back into the main house, leaving Claire alone with her thoughts. Images of broken photos, furniture and of broken hearts soon flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily. She needed to let it go.

“I am not a victim” she thought bitterly. “I simply choices that were not in the best interest of my wellbeing and with the wrong person. I can be happy on my own”

She took out a pen and paper and made a resolve to write out a list of things that would make her happy again. This was her time to think about herself, her happiness and her future. A new gym membership…or perhaps even a puppy for company? Men were off the cards…at least for now. As she thought of things to jot down on her paper, she couldn’t help but notice the pot of marigold that shone brightly outside her window.

“If they can survive winter” she thought, smiling “I can survive this”