Short story by Chesney Bradshaw
“Isn’t it just wonderful to be in a place like this? It’s just fantastic. Imagine living up there against the mountainside and having the sea down here and coming to this harbour. It must be fantastic. I wish we could live here,” said Janine Bennet to her husband, Jack.
Running in front of them were their two daughters, Emma and Amy, enjoying the walk on the Kalk Bay Harbour breakwater. They were coming back from the red lighthouse.
“It is fantastic here for a holiday,” said Jack. “I don’t know about living here, but it’s nice to come down here for a holiday. All of this is relaxing after all our work — all my work — in the big city.”
“That’s all you think about,” Janine said. “Work, work, work. Anyway, let’s go enjoy supper at that wonderful little fish restaurant there at the harbourside. I’m sure the kids are hungry.”
“No, we’re not!” said Amy. “We want to play more. It’s lovely walking around here. I want to have fun with my sister. It’s lovely. I want to have fun with my sister.”
“Come, come now, girls. It’s supper time. We’re going over there to the restaurant now.”
Jack trailed behind his wife and daughters, off to Kalky’s at Kalk Bay Harbour. They waited in the long queue because, at this time of day — being a public holiday, 16 December — the restaurant was packed. They placed their orders, found a table outside, and waited for their food. The girls left the table and roamed around in the nearby vicinity, pointing their mobile phones at boats, seals and gulls.
“This is wonderful. What a place to eat outdoors at a harbour like this. You know, Jack, if we lived here, we could come here any time we want. It would be lovely. The girls love it down here. I think I could find them schools. Shouldn’t be too difficult. I could bring my art business down here,” said Janine.
“Whoa, whoa,” said Jack. “Aren’t you running a bit ahead of things here, wanting to find schools for the children already? I mean, you know, we’ve lived in Johannesburg — Bryanston, actually — most of our lives. You know I’m from Johannesburg. I was born there. I love it there. And you are from there too. What’s the attraction with Cape Town? Yes, everybody’s coming down to Cape Town now, but you’ve got to think of work. I’m in mid-career here. To find a job in this place would be very difficult. It’s a very tight market. Maybe you could do better with your art, but I’m not so sure about that.”
“What do you mean you’re not so sure about that?” Janine asked. “I can start my business in art anywhere. Look, I’m just teaching people to do art. And I can sell my art. I don’t need a studio to begin with. There are a lot of artists here all over Cape Town. It’s an art community.”
“That’s what you say. But you need to check things out. It might not be so hunky-dory as you’re explaining. If there are so many artists here, it’s competitive. You need to look at some galleries, speak to people,” said Jack.
“I could come down here and live with the kids while you’re still in Johannesburg, and I can set up my art studio and teaching here. It won’t be too difficult to find some students. Art is booming at the moment. Art is thriving down here. And I can easily find enough people to support me. And I can sell my paintings. You know I only work in oil, so people want oil paintings and they sell much higher than acrylics. And watercolour — please don’t tell me about that. No, I’ll stick to oils. That would mean I’d be away from you, but you could come visit us while we’re down here, and you’re trying to find a job here in Cape Town,” said Janine.
“I don’t know about that, Janine. You’re running ahead of yourself here. You know it’s not so easy in Cape Town. It wouldn’t be easy for me to find a job, I can tell you that. It’s best to come down here when you’re retired. The main jobs are in Johannesburg — that’s where all the work is. Even though Johannesburg has got its problems at the moment, it’s still where people work. It’s the big economic hub of the country. And it would… I mean, if you had to come down here, it would be lonely. I know you’ve got your parents out there, and if you want to stay this side it’s going to be a lot more difficult. And you can’t stay with your parents — their place isn’t big enough for you and the kids. I don’t know. I’m not even entertaining this thought. I don’t know about this. Here we are, we’re on holiday, we’ve just come down — let’s enjoy ourselves.”
Across from where they were sitting, two young men — one in his early 30s wearing a T-shirt and a peak cap over his black hair, the other about the same age, blonde and muscular, a windsurfer perhaps — found a table and started a conversation. They were eyeing Janine and other women sitting outside the restaurant. They seemed free and easy, and snatches of their conversation drifted across with the wind.
“Wow, there’s a lot of talent here,” the one with the blonde hair said.
“Not too loud,” the other murmured, though he kept looking.
Jack’s eyes flicked towards them, then back to Janine. She hadn’t noticed. Or perhaps she had, and simply didn’t care. The men laughed at something private, relaxed in a way Jack hadn’t felt in years — not with deadlines, commutes, and the weight of Johannesburg on his shoulders.
“And you know another thing people have told me — look at Bill and Karen. They came down here, you know they’re best friends of ours, and it’s two to three years and they haven’t made any local friends with any local people. The only people they know are from Johannesburg who moved down longer ago. Cape Town people are nice and all of that, they’re friendly, but they won’t invite you to their homes. Bill and Karen haven’t been invited to one person’s home here in the Cape, despite knowing people now for already two or three years. It’s like that. It’s a closed circle. They used to say Cape Town is cliquey — well, it is cliquey. Anyway, we should just concentrate on having a good time while we’re down here, having a great Christmas with your parents in Somerset West, and let’s go back and think about it more when we go back home. It’s a big thing. It’s a big decision.”
“Jack, you’re always saying this. You’ve always been the responsible one, never wanting to make a move, never wanting to take a chance. I hear everything you’re saying and it all makes sense, but it’s got no heart in it. It’s not something that’s exciting. I’d love to live in a place like this. I know what you’re saying about friends — I mean, I feel terrible for Bill and Karen — but that’s what it’s like, yes, people aren’t forthcoming, it’s not easy to make friends. No wonder they are friends only with the people they’ve known from Johannesburg.
“Well, you know, we’ve got to make a decision sometime, and I suppose you’re right, it’s not something that we can make overnight. One of my oldest friends came down here and she seems to be doing pretty well, but you’re right, it was hard for her to break in. But when you’ve got a choice, it’s different. She didn’t have a choice. I think she was running away from an ex-husband, wanted to get out of Johannesburg and start a new life down here,” said Janine.
“Well, I don’t want to dampen your spirits about this. You know I need to think with a logical head. Yes, if I come up with something and we could move down and we could all move down together at the same time, then fine. But until that happens, I wouldn’t want you to rush into anything. And how could I live without you? I’d be very lonely there without you and my children — Amy and Emma — I love them, I want to be with you guys. Yes, I know sometimes you need to make sacrifices, but it’s very difficult. Look, it’s a week before Christmas. Let’s just enjoy our holiday here, keep it in the back of the mind. Anyway, here come the girls, and yes, I see our food’s arriving.”
“Well, that’s what you say. I’ve heard you out. But I still want to explore it and see what I can find out while I’m down here. I’ll go have a talk to Veronica — I think you’ve met her. She’s that artist who used to be so successful in Johannesburg and she’s doing well down here. I’ll ask her what it’s like. Perhaps you can drop me off at her place, at her studio, one of the days while we’re down here, and I can have a nice long chat with her. You can take the girls to the beach. I don’t want to let this thing go. You know, time’s running out, Jack. Before we know it, these children are going to be big and out of school. Then what?”
“The girls are not even in school yet. What’s this rush all about? I can’t believe it — when you get your head around something, when you start like this, you won’t stop. It’s worse than having a dog chewing on a bone. No, I think that’s the wrong thing to say. It’s probably like that seal we saw earlier — it’s worse than one of those seals hanging onto a snoek carcass and thrashing it about on the surface of the water.”
“Oh, Jack, you love pouring cold water on things, don’t you?”
