Cool Winds in the Summer

please read! i know it's a bit long but i worked hard on it. thanks.

Out on the terrace, a cold beer in my hand, INXS playing in the background, it was hot as eff. The whole family were having a good time, until Andy came around. I actually don’t mind Andy, but he gets on everybody else’s nerves ‘cause he gets drunk whenever he drinks �" which, to be fair, it’s not like he hits the bottle every day, but it’s often enough that people all start getting worried about it. But as Andy says, “It’s called alcohol, you drink it to get drunk.”  

It’s late afternoon, and it’s just Andy and me, the two of us, on the porch. He leans back on the couch that we have out there and I sink into my chair. Nothing’s said but I can tell he’s gearing up to tell me one of his stories; I don’t really mind listening to it. He just finished his fifth beer, and he popped open another.

 “You know, when I was your age, I wanted to be a boxer. That was back in the days when Jeff The Hitman was in his prime. Hell of a boxer, he got the belt - twice. I’ll never forget the bout back in ‘89. It was over in Atlantic City, he was up against Andries. Crocodile Dundee versus America’s reigning champion, a real underdog story. Hitty goes up for twelve rounds and he gets pummelled every time. Andries was a good fighter too and he’s striking point after point. But Hitty just takes it, he doesn’t dodge, he just gets it in the face one after another but does �" not �" back �" down. Then in the final round, HItty gets ‘im with a left hook. Oh, that left hook could stop a bull. Andries was dominating the entire time, and in the final round, he goes down for the count. A knock-out victory. The world was in an uproar, most of us couldn’t believe what we saw. This was before Internet so we just had to sit in front of the TV waiting for the replay. Jeff! Jeff! Jeff! We all kept chanting. It was incredible.

So naturally, I get interested in boxing and it’s all I can think about. I was a skinny kid and so I needed to train. I run five miles a day, bench-presses, eating raw eggs, all of it. I get jacked pretty soon and now I’m ready to start taking lessons. No one wants to let me train at their gym at first because I’m sixteen. Well, I kept nagging them and telling them I’m ready, I’m ready. They let me train in the end. I learn the stance, then the footwork, then I start hitting the punching bag, the speed-bag, and then with the trainer. I’m excited for every second of it. I wasn’t really a confident guy back then, but when I stare into the punching bags, arms-up, on the balls of your feet, doing everything the coach told me to do �" I felt unstoppable. 

Then, they put me in the ring. It was too soon, before I was ready. Well, I told them I was ready so it’s my fault. It wasn’t a bout, we were just sparring, y’know, just practising jabs and defense, just to get a feel for what a real fight is like. The other kid, he was a bit bigger than me, a bit older too. Also his first time in the ring, sparring. Well we were both doing pretty well. He had a few inches on me but I was faster. So I used that to my advantage. He tried to force me into the corner, but I’d sidestep out of it. He throws a few swings, I block, then swing back. Then I get a bit cocky and get in close for a few jabs, just tapping his chest. I score a couple of points, but then the other guy puts a bit too much power in his right hook and hits me right in the temple. Knocks me on my arse. I don’t actually remember it, but apparently I got up and walked around. Walked all the way to the carpark; my coach was gonna drive me to the ER. No memory of that though, I just remember waking up and ma-Mum’s right next to me. The doctor comes and talks to me later. He looks, a real serious look on his face. Young man, you just had a concussion. This can’t happen again. We can not let you continue boxing. Now, I would’ve just ignored the doctor, but the coach is in the room with me, ma-Mum by my side with tears in her eyes. Had to listen to my conscience, then. I went to hang up ma gloves.”

Andy popped open another beer. 

“So what next to do? I was no good at school, and I couldn’t do what I wanted to do any more. I mean, I felt depressed, really depressed, for a while. About a month, all I did was hang around the house moping. I kept thinking about that sparring. The other kid, I knew ‘im, we trained together, wasn’t a bad guy, but, he slipped up. We weren’t supposed to do hits. He swung, too much momentum in his arm, and as luck would have it, it hit me in the exact spot that would knock someone unconscious. Would’ve given anything for that not to happen. And if the doctor hadn’t told me so, and if m’Mum wasn’t there, I would’a got back into the ring the next day. But, no. I had to be smart about this. Once you get knocked unconscious it’s just too dangerous to get back in. The damage one hit can permanently do to your brain, kinda scary, eh? Well, I had to do the smart thing. To figure that out, it took months, for it to all settle in. Y’know? You can understand something in your head, but to actually understand a thing, you have to feel it in your guts. My guts wanted to tell me to get back in the gym and just start swinging at the bags again. So it took a while for my logical mind and subconscious to come together. All the while my parents just look at me, not sure what to say, they felt sorry for me but knew I didn’t want to talk about nothing. I barely uttered a word those couple o’ months. 

Around that time, my folks were talking to each other. Dad’s friend was willing to take on an apprentice. So I was gonna get myself a job. As a plumber. Well, I always pictured working with my hands, it didn’t sound so bad, so I thought why not and next thing I knew I was waking up at four in the morning again. Not for jogging, but to work.

It ain’t so hard if you’ve got someone to tell you what to do. There’s a lot of learning, sure takes a long time, but I got the hang of it quite quickly actually. A lot’v elbow grease, but thanks to boxing, I had muscles. But the hours were something else. You can work all day on a single job. Some days you had three or four jobs, I was working from sunrise to sunset. Y’know, it’s not like working in an office or a shop, you work until it’s complete. And that’s usually well after five, when all the others are heading home or heading to the pub. You’re there until the customers’ taps are working again. Sweat an’ tears, I tell ya. And after a big job, the morning after, oh, your whole body ‘urts. I mean, it wasn’t like with hitting the gym, you get tired after a workout, but working was something else. Exhausted, day-in, day-out. It was gruelling, but I nev’a complained. Anything beats being stuck at home feeling sorry for yourself. Those dog days were over, and not that life got easier, but after starting the job, I could go home feeling proud. 

It was when I was finished with my apprentice and Kevin, the boss, was willing to hire me as a full-timer. First day on the job, getting paid, we got a call. Kevin knew the customers, he worked for them before, they had a big clog in the pipes. A lot of digging that day. There was a bit of pressure on me, I wasn’t an apprentice no more so I had to think for myself and know everything that needed to be done. And Kevin’s watching me closely ‘cause I’m not an apprentice, I’m an em-ploy-ee. So I pushed myself real hard that day. 

The customers, real nice folks, didn’t know at first they had a daughter. She was my age too, actually a bit younger. I see her through the window. I’m busy diggin’ a two feet hole in their backyard, Kevin’s on my back and being a bit nasty with me, and so I’m covered in sweat and dirt and a little bit irritated ‘cause of Kevin. Then I catch a glimpse of her through the window. She’s staring at me. And our eyes meet, first she laughs and then she hides behind the curtains. I thought to myself then, no matter what trouble happens upon us, that day was gonna be a good day.

A few times after that, she checks up on me, always through the window, and I see her, I shoot her a smile. The rest of the day I pretend not to notice her, I just stay focussed on my job, but the truth is, all I’m thinking about is what I’ll say to her when the job is done. 

The job did get done. It was early evening, I was starving, and wanted to race home for tea, but at the same time I had to go talk to the customer’s daughter. She wasn’t around when we were in the kitchen. I ask the mother, ‘hey, so you have a daughter don’t you?’ ‘Yes, we do,’ she tells me. ‘Is she gonna come out?’ ‘No, she headed out to meet her friends an hour ago.’

Well that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Anyway, we get in the van and Kevin was gonna drop me off at home �" which was only ten minutes’ away �" and I ask Kevin, ‘what’s their daughter’s name?’ Janelle. That’s her name, Kevin knew. Well, I had to figure out a way to see Janelle. First, I thought I’ll have to wait ‘til the pipes start leaking again. But then I realised I already know her home phone number, Kevin’s got it in his contacts book. So I jot down the number go home and call Janelle’s from my home. 

 I call the house, ask for Janelle. She answers. ‘Hello?’ I get nervous all of a sudden, well I mumble her a hello and then an awkward pause, and I say: ‘we actually met, sort of. I worked on your plumbing. M’name’s Andy...’ ‘Oh, yeah. Is that your name? And, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?’ I said, ‘yeah, I just wanted to ask you if I can call you at your house.’ That was what I was planning to say to her all along. ‘But... you are calling me at my house right now?’ Well, yeah, I had your number ‘cause I worked at your house. I meant, can I call you from now on? Like, just to chat?’ She finally got what I was getting at. She sounded flattered but was hesitant to say yes, but she did.

We got talking. Janelle works at a beauty parlour in town. She even tells me the address. I’ll pop in some time, I said. But.. it’s a woman’s parlour. Oh, I don’t mean I wanna get my hair curled, I just wanna come in for a quick hello. She laughs at that. A real cute laugh, bit like a cackle. 

 First date, to the movies. Some other time we went shopping. And I took her on some drives, go visit some parks or down to the river. She’d come to visit my house, and then I’d visit hers. I met her parents eventually. I knew ‘em already of course, but I got properly introduced. 

 Magical days, they were. We did a lot of things, talked and talked. ‘You’re pretty as the sky,’ I said to her. Pretty as the sky. I thought of that myself, you know? She hears that and laughs, then replies, ‘hey, you aren’t bad-looking yourself.’ I knew she was lying when she said that, but I took it.”

He popped open another beer. His seventh.

“I forget how long it went for, it felt like a lot longer than it should. But then something changed all of a sudden. She begins acting a bit weird. First she comes up with excuses on me. She’s feeling sick or she’s got other plans. I call her and she doesn't answer. Always in the shower or gone out somewhere. Then a week and then two go by where I haven’t heard from her. It was all a bit confusing on my end. 

 Then, out of the blue she calls me. I could tell from the sound of her voice that she’d just been crying. I asked what’s wrong? Well, long story short she found someone else. What does a man say to that? Well, nothing. I had nothing to say about it then, and I still don’t. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, she kept repeating. I did say something eventually. I wanted to let her know how I felt. And we talked �" maybe three and a half hours. We went over everything that we did together frame by frame. All those memories, don’t they mean anything to you? It does, it does, she tells me. She tells me a lot of things but in the end, she had already made up her mind. And like, that it was all over. 

 Well, that was it for me. I never felt that way again.

 But life goes on. I just kept doing what I was doing before and soon I set off on my own. I start my own business, doing jobs day-in, day-out. Those years flew by, I don’t really know what happened. People walked in and walked out of my life in those days. Don’t really remember it all too well. When you walk around with a broken heart, everything just whizzes past you. But I did have my own business now. I did well, got a lot of jobs every week. Something’s always broken somewhere, ey? All I know what to do is fixin’ sinks, and that’s what I head out each day to do. I was about twenty-eight when the accident happened. 

I was driving in my van after a job complete, and I’m on the highway �" this car suddenly hits me in the rear, and that forces me to swerve and before I could hit the breaks �" straight into a telephone pole. The other driver just lost control, he was either tired or drunk, or something, I never found out. Technically, I was speeding too, so I can’t put all the blame on him. Well, anyway, I was lucky to walk out with my life. My van was totalled, the insurance paid out. But my back, it was busted and busted for good. Still hurts to move around. Now with a busted back, there’s no way to do this job. So the car crash meant the end of my life as a plumber. 

 So I started gettin’ disability cheques and that was how I got by. I did a few odd jobs now and then, but I really can’t stretch myself. On bad days I can’t even get out of bed, so basically no one’s gonna hire me if I tried. So, I’m at home most of the day, renting out DVDs. I go through all the Kubrick’s then Akira Kurosawa and Hitchcock and then some Tarkovsky. I always liked movies, but now I had a deeper appreciation for the art that goes into it. So I ask myself, why don’t I give it a go? First, I get myself a digital camera �" a video camera. Then, I get a computer and then all the software. I start shootin’ videos and then take it home and do a bit of editing. I recorded all these home movies about, you know, just things I see around the city, things like that. You know you can get a job in multimedia? Someone tells me one day. I thought, what? They’ll pay me to do this stuff? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Now it turns out you need a diploma to get that job. So I start thinking about enrolling in a TAFE course. 

 I mean, I can’t just live on disability the rest of my life. I gotta make Mum and Dad proud. So I talk to ‘em about it and I enrol and I start learning from the pro’s. I didn’t mind the course itself, but the teacher was a bit of a weird guy. He teaches me a thing, and I learn how to do it. And for the assignments, he tells us what to do. Make a movie three minutes in length, so I make a movie exactly three minutes in length. I do like he asked us to, but he’s just not happy with it. He was really weird about it. Never satisfied with my work, but couldn’t really explain to me why. Impossible to please some people. Well, I put up with it for about a year, but then I dropped out. It seems, whatever it takes to work in multimedia, I just didn’t have it.”

Andy finished his beer, a thoughtful look arose on his face. He continued.

 “That’s not my life. That’s just the bad stuff. There were a lot of good stuff too. In between all the bad, there’s always a lot of good. Life’s hard, sure, no one’s having it easy ‘round here. Always something crops up and takes away what you’ve got. But the Earth gives too. It gives more than it takes, always. You just have to not ignore it. Just look at all that you have and you’ll see how lucky you are.

 My one piece of advice is this. Give what you can, whenever you can. And, here’s the tricky part, don’t expect anything back. Thinking you deserve more than what you’re given, that’ll wreck ya. No. Don’t ask for anything in return. Just look around, see what needs to be done, help folks out, just do that and that’s a good life. That’s a good life, for sure.”

Author's Note

thank you for reading 'til the end. i know longer works aren't popular here, so i really appreciate you taking the time. let me know your thoughts, i'll get around to replying as soon as i can.

Reviews

[Soren]

A rather complex story of life and how I love on unequal levels does not work out how interests do not always pan out and how one’s abilities curtail one’s paths in life. Paint a picture of goods and bags and how one interprets them. Presented in a storytelling format, it is engaging and tell of every day experiences common most of us

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Soren. this little story is about how life is not fair and how our attitude defines us in the end.i'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Davidgeo]

pro tip: Most people who review writing this long only read the first sentence from every paragraph.

Most reviews on this site are useless and only meant to induce a return review.

If you interact with users who don't abide by this "formula" and leave universally fluffy reviews the algorithm will reduce your exposure (this is all about adrevenue to the site owner). There are good writers on this site... but they are not what gets popularized here. If you want to be popular here you don't have to write well, you have to kiss a*s. The pop writers here are pretty milquetoast and borderline awful... do not emulate their style, this site is not a good indicator of what good writing is (unless you really look).

[Neville]

There are those who say size is not everything, well as far as stories are concerned, I beg to differ .. I doubt you could have crammed so much detail into anything shorter than this little masterpiece .. I loved the ups and downs, the style and language used throughout .. Yes indeed, size doesn't matter until it matter .. Neville

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Neville. the story just kind of came to me and later on i realised how small yet epic this little tale was. thank you for your review, have a good day!

[Neville]

.................... 👍

[Samuel Dickens]

About the length--I used to think I should write long stories, and I did for a while, but many on this site just won't read them. They want writing to be like fast food, I guess. For my part, I say one should use as many words as it takes to tell a story.
I like this tale and found it enjoyable. It is believable and well told. My life has certainly been full of highs and lows, so I imagine it's the same with most of us. Andy's attitude is wise and is much like "Hope for the best but expect the worst". A fictitious story, I suppose, but I still hope Andy will find true happiness and purpose in his life.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

Tenessee Williams said, 'I present to you truth in the comfort of illusion.' Andy is a fictional character, but this story is true in a certain way. life is full of highs and lows, and no doubt you related to this hero. thank you for your review. i'll make sure to check out one of your stories too.

[Red Brick Keshner]

It”s this one, right? I’ll be popping back in after a few.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Red!

[Intuition24]

Hi Ern, The attitude that comes across with this story is really what carries it, in my opinion. A kind of tough, gangster not gangsta era. I was hurt when Janelle found somebody else but we get screwed around.
I had to keep scrolling backward to make sure who was talking but that's just me. I liked the ending...It's kind of like "In the end the love we make is equal to the love we take"...Give and don't expect anything back. It was really enjoyable and interesting. Thanks, love. Stay well whatever it takes.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Glenda. i'm really happy to see your comment.

[Intuition24]

Ern? Just remember to take many breaks all along...Don't wait to become so overwhelmed. We all love you

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

will do. love all around.

[emmajoygreen]

Your hero - because that was and is the truth. Like many people, he learned by experience seems his character held him back. BUT there again through his attempts to gain and sometimes lose, he proved self to be a man who persevered .. yes, except with love. But somehow I felt/feel there is more to come, the journey is not completed til a person gets off at his/her chosen destination. Andy seems one to do things in his own time, not self-pitying but moving on.. One day, he'll arrive, proud and happy.. because his mind is open - he will arrive because he WILL. Fine writing, fine tale with so much character in this Everyman called Andy.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thank you. yes the story will continue for our hero. he has faced many trials and just needs to persist. he's learned a lot already and now it's time he should apply it.

[Sapphus]

Mighty great advice and great story too.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thank you sir! i'm glad you came by.

[Ballpark Frank]

I like it Ern! Very easy to follow and an interesting story too. Well done!

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Frank. glad you came by!

[Thomas W Case]

You paint a brilliant vivid image—tremendous work.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thank you Thomas. Andy was a great character to work with and his world came alive as i wrote.

[Pryde Foltz]

I loved the way the narrative taught us about character and life itself. There is a deep wisdom in knowing to do what you can, when you can. and not expect return but rather forwards. Boxing is a hard metaphor for that but I am reminded of Muay Thai fighter ... I am sorry ... I forget his name. But he enters the ring with a smile, dances around, and remains pretty much untouchable. It is both his lack of attachment, but also joy at being that gives him a resilience and gift few others have the faith to obtain. Anyways that is where my mind went wtih this tale.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

do you mean Rodtang? he's a great fighter and a showman as well. Jeff the Hitman is also a real person. he had an interesting and hard life but was a jokester. his story inspried this work.

[Pryde Foltz]

No I think he is older.