Chapter Three: City in the South
The dinner couldn’t have been more successful. Sandy smiled contentedly, sat back, and threw his hands behind his head in a sign of total satisfaction.
‘That was fantastic, Felicity, thanks a lot. You’re really a fantastic cook.’
‘My pleasure.’ replied Felicity, beaming with joy.
She was warming quickly to Matt’s friend. Compliments always helped with that, and Sandy was the master of ingratiating compliments. Especially where women were concerned.
‘It’s a far cry from some of the fare I have been subjected to lately.’ Sandy’s caustic level was turned up to its highest setting. Those ingratiating compliments of his were best served out sparingly. And usually just to women.
‘Fancy coming on a road trip?’
Felicity laughed, as pleased as punch, and then turned her attention to Matt.
‘What did the two of you do all day? I’m so sorry there was no one here to let you in. I told my flatmates to let you in if they saw you, but they are nowhere to be found today. As usual, really.’
Matt shook his head.
‘Hey, don’t worry. We parked the van outside here, and went off exploring on foot. Actually the directions you gave me were really good. We only had to ask one person for help. Not bad for a town the size of Dunedin, and a couple of hopeless bodgers like us.’
Sandy hadn’t finished, he was on a roll with his compliments, there would be no holding him back.
‘It’s a really nice town, Felicity. Incredibly diverse architecture. I love it. I could walk around for days. In fact, I probably will.’
‘Thanks Sandy, I’m glad you like it. It really is a lovely place. It’s a good size, not too big, and not too small. The student population keeps the place lively, as well.’
Sandy’s interest was piqued.
‘Is it a university town?’
‘For sure. We have one of the most important unis in the country down here. The place is absolutely flooded with students. Good for me, it makes it easy to keep a steady flow of students coming through the house. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay the mortgage.’
‘I love your house,’ said Matt, ‘it’s got real character. It’s a good old New Zealand, well-built abode.’
Felicity sighed.
‘It looks good, I agree, but actually, unfortunately, it’s got a lot of issues. The plumbing sucks, and there’s plenty of rot as well, hidden away in the walls. These old houses all have problems, but it was all I could afford. Eventually I’m gonna have to find some money to fix it up.’
‘Hey, listen, all in all you are really doing well.’ replied Matt. ‘You’ve bought your own place, your job seems to be going well. You’re really flying up that ladder.’
‘I know. Although, I sort of have to keep reminding myself of that. It’s just that I really would like to open my own restaurant, but that dream doesn’t seem to be getting any closer. For one thing, I would have to sell my house, which would mean paying rent, and..’ she sighed, ‘it all just seems to be endless.’
Sandy pointed at himself and Matt. He almost couldn’t hold himself back any more.
‘You see us two? He’s got a clapped out old van with no reverse gear, and I’ve got nothing but the clothes I’m wearing. You are waaay ahead of us two bums.’
All three of them laughed. The two bottles of wine they had consumed with the dinner Felicity had cooked went a long way in helping with that.
‘I should count my blessings then.’
The laughter was contagious. The mood was good. Felicity addressed the two of them.
‘Hey, you know, you can stay as long as you want. I hope the couch will be comfortable enough for you Sandy. Other friends that have passed through have found it alright.’
Sandy reached in deep to find the suitable level of sarcasm.
‘I doubt that it will be the equal of sleeping scrunched up in the back of Matt’s van, but you can’t have everything in life can you?’
‘Actually you can,’ laughed Matt, holding out the key to his van to Sandy.
Sandy roared with laughter.
‘I might just keep that as a back-up plan for now. But thanks.’
Matt continued to dangle the key. Felicity yawned.
‘I’m so tired. I’m just gonna clean up, and hit the sack, I think. Tomorrow morning I’m off work, so we can go down to a coffee shop for breakfast, and maybe start looking for some jobs for you. What do you say?’
Sandy stood up.
‘Listen, you two head off to bed, I’ll sort out the dishes.’
Felicity was delighted.
‘That would be wonderful! Thank you! I’ll show you where everything goes. The plates…’
Sandy stopped her in her tracks, by placing an arm on her shoulder.
‘Felicity, it’s a kitchen. I know how they work. I’ll find out where to put things. Don’t worry, off you go.’
Matt slapped his friend on the back.
‘Thanks, man.’
Felicity and Matt headed towards the bedroom. Matt called back from the corridor:
‘I’ll leave the key on the sideboard, just in case you change your mind. You can even have the long mattress.’
As Sandy was rolling up his sleeves, he smiled, and called back:
‘Tempting offer, good fellow, you have a heart of gold.’
The next morning, after all necessary sleeping had been accomplished, and morning ablutions completed, Felicity opened the front door, and the three of them walked out onto the wooden verandah which ran along the whole front of the house. A pallid sun was just rising above the skyline. The air was slightly misty, and rather damp.
‘Shit, it’s really cold in the morning!’ said Matt.
‘Well, it’s only really the end of winter, and we are in the deep south.’ replied Felicity.
Sandy pointed at the road, in surprise.
‘Hey look, there’s a layer of ice on the road! Matt, if you were to move the van even a bit you would move onto the ice, and it would just slide down the hill.’
Matt was slightly taken aback, looking at the thin layer of black ice on the road.
‘Bloody hell. How do people get to work in the mornings here?’
Felicity threw up her arms, laughing.
‘Very carefully! Although, luckily I’m in a pretty good spot here. You can walk just about everywhere. I’ll point everything out to you as we go downtown.’
As they carefully navigated their way down the slight hill Felicity’s house was on, towards the main road, Felicity pointed out the principal directions.
‘Ten minutes straight on down, and you are in the city centre. From there down to the port it’s only about another ten-minute walk. Straight across to the right from here there is a lovely park. Over there on the left, is the hospital. Actually they are quite often looking for casual workers. That would be worth a look. They hire direct, so you just need to go to the reception, and fill in an application.’
‘Hey, I like that.’ said Matt. ‘I will pop in there this arvo. Not sure if I would like wheeling around dead bodies, but I could probably handle working with the soon-to-be dead.’
Felicity laughed.
‘Just put that right there on the application form. I’m sure they will snap you up straight away.’
Matt turned to Sandy.
‘What about you, Sandy? Give it a try with me?’
‘Not a chance. Those places remind me too much of my mortality. When I was visiting a dying aunt in hospital she warned me to steer clear of those places. I’m sticking with her advice.’
Matt in response went philosophical.
‘Well, we know where we come from, we may as well know where we are headed.’
Felicity decided it was time to put an end to all such morbid talk.
‘Listen, you two, any more of this and you will put me off my breakfast. Can we change the topic, please? Oh hey, Matt. What’s the story with touring the South Island in a van with no first gear, or reverse gear? That sounds a bit optimistic, don’t you think? You do know it’s all hills and mountains down here, right?’
Matt acted surprised.
‘What? New Zealand hilly? I didn’t get that memo.’
Sandy felt it was time for him to intervene.
‘Actually, that’s where I come into it. When he gets himself into a tight spot, the Aussie puts his shoulder to the wheel, his nose to the grindstone.’
Matt smiled, and nodded towards Sandy.
‘He’s my reverse gear.’
‘OK, then, if you think that will work. Do you think you will conquer the Haast Pass like that?’ asked Felicity.
‘What’s the Haast Pass?’ asked Sandy, his curiosity aroused.
Matt shrugged him off.
‘It’s just a rugby expression. A sort of way to pass the ball.’ replied Matt, signalling to Felicity to keep quiet.
Felicity laughed.
‘So, I will expect to see you back this way before too long, then?’
Matt raised his arms.
‘Why on earth would we not return to such a fair town?’
Sandy knew he was being misled.
‘Secrets have a habit of coming out in the end, you know.’
‘I’m sure you can push through them, you know, with your shoulder to the wheel, etc. Noses to grindstones.’ laughed Matt. ‘Hey, this looks like a good place for breakfast. What do you say? Guess what Felicity? Sandy loves our Kiwi pies.’
Felicity stopped in her tracks.
‘What? I thought you were both vegetarians.’
‘Oops, yeah that’s right. Long story.’
Each time that Matt would feel he was just about finishing to sort out the monstrous pile of dirty dishes and pots, someone would roll in another trolley full of yet more of them to wash.
‘Here’s ward three, Matt. Enjoy.’
‘Thanks, Susie, I owe you one.’
‘Oh, my pleasure.’ she laughed. ‘And just in case you thought that was the last one… it isn’t.’
The money was reasonable, but the work was absolutely mind numbing. Only a few days had passed into Matt’s new job as the official washer-upper of the lunchtime gig at the Dunedin hospital, yet somehow it already felt like he had been there for months. In truth, he had wanted a job, needed a job really, but he had been hoping for something a bit more interesting, if not even slightly challenging. Still, his travelling fund was low, so he had been forced to accept the first position going. To make matters worse he, and all the others in that Edwardian Workhouse, were always under the watchful, indeed hawkish, eye of Mrs. Watson, the stout omnipresent woman in charge of the kitchen. Nothing escaped her beady roving eye, and her booming voice could always be heard, chastising someone, or barking commands to someone else. Charles Dickens would have had a field day with her. It almost seemed like a mini-miracle when Matt would finally realise that he had actually finished for the day. In fact he would rush to clock out, secretly fearing that someone would turn up with yet another trolley load of tears, and Mrs. Watson’s thundering voice would call him back to his requisite place of humble servitude. He had quickly fallen into the almost necessary habit of stopping off at a pub on the way back to Felicity’s place, to wash away all memories of the slavelike conditions of the hospital kitchen.
That particular evening, the house was quiet when Matt arrived. The daylight had long since given way to the dark of night, even though it was still relatively early. In reality it was already starting to get dark when he would leave the hospital. The late winter days were incredibly short. He knew that he wouldn’t see Felicity until late that evening, as she was doing the dinner shift in the vegetarian restaurant where she worked. He had half expected to find Sandy there, but he wasn’t, so he decided to just have a shower, and go back to the pub for another couple of beers. He needed them, badly. He wasn’t sure if he could handle the sight of any more food that day, after all the bedraggled leftovers he had been obliged to scrape off the eternal flow of plates returning from the wards. Although, probably he would have to force down something. Maybe there would be something to eat at the pub? Just as he was making his way up the stairs the phone rang. He raced back down.
‘Hello?’
‘Oh, finally! I’ve been ringing for ages.’
‘Hi Sandy, yeah I stopped off for a few beers. Where are you?’
‘I’m downtown. Hey, I’ve found a great looking Indian place. Are you up for a curry?’
‘Yeah, sure. Is it licensed or BYO?’
‘What does that mean?’
‘BYO means you can take your own booze, literally ‘Bring Your Own’, and they just charge you an opening fee, rather than actually buying the booze from them. That can get expensive.’
‘Hang on, I’ll see if I can see anything written out the front.’
The line went quiet for a couple of minutes, then Sandy returned.
‘Well, they have BYO written on the front window, so…’
‘Yup, that’s it. Where is the place?’
‘Well, you remember where the Salvation Army clothes shop is? Where I picked up that jumper the other day? It’s pretty much straight over the road from there.’
‘Nice one, not far from here then. Listen, I’m gonna jump in the shower, and I’ll see you there at about 7.30. What do you say?’
‘Perfect.’
‘I’m gonna pick up some beer. You want some?’
‘No, I’ll look for a bottle of wine. I saw a shop with some nice wines from Australia. A bit of a taste from home.’
Matt laughed.
‘You feeling homesick already?’
‘No, you idiot, I just like wine which happens to come from my part of the world.’
‘OK, OK, I’ve got the idea.’ said Matt, still quietly laughing. ‘I’ll see you there soon.’
The long hot shower Matt had taken had not only succeeded in washing away the built up layers of fatty leftover food that almost seemed to seep into his skin, but had also managed to warm him up. He felt almost human again. The deep south was actually a lot colder than what he had been expecting. In fact he noticed on his way down to the restaurant that the streets in the city centre were almost void of people. Walking down to the restaurant was almost like walking through a ghost town. Although, it must be said, a particularly beautiful ghost town. He guessed that when the cold veil of darkness fell most people would be tucked up somewhere near a warm fire. Probably that would be a good place to be. In short time he found himself in the right location, and entered the Indian restaurant, six pack of beer in his hand. He quickly spotted Sandy at a table by the window, and wandered over.
‘Just what is it you actually do all day, anyway Sandy?’
Matt took a seat.
‘Hello to you, too. Don’t you worry, I fill in my days quite easily. Actually, I’m loving it. It’s a really nice place to discover, just by walking around. You know, it’s almost impossible to find two houses that have the same style. They are all so unique. Even Felicity’s place is really interesting.’
‘That’s true. All of New Zealand has a kind of Colonial style of housing. Sort of English style, but built out of wood. Dunedin, on the other hand, really has its own singular style. People put it down to the presence of the Scottish settlers, but whilst I think that did have a big influence, really I think that also the early city planners must have wanted to build something completely different from the rest of the country. Something unparalleled. They certainly achieved that. The architecture is definitely impressive.’
‘Plus I love walking around the harbour. To walk all around to the other side actually takes quite a while. There’s a boating club over there with a marina full of incredible little sailing ships. I’m keeping myself pretty busy, and doing a lot of exercise, too.’
The waitress came over to get their drinks from them.
‘I’ll put the beer in the fridge, and open the wine for you. Are you ready to order?’
‘Actually, to be honest I…’
Matt hadn’t even looked at the menu. Sandy had.
‘Hey listen Matt, there’s a special of the day for two people, with a bit of everything, from starters right through to a few mains, and a dessert. What do you say to that?’
Matt closed the menu, which he had only just opened.
‘Amen, brother. Bring it on.’
‘Great. I’ll bring you your drinks, and take the order to the kitchen.’
‘Thanks ever so much.’ Sandy was always the gentleman. Well, whenever women were involved, that is.
‘So, basically Sandy, you aren’t really even looking for a job?’
Sandy threw his head back with laughter.
‘Now, what on earth makes you think that?’ he replied, still laughing. ‘I am sort of looking, but, as you have so wisely observed, not with any great alacrity. Although, as it happens I am formulating a plan.’
That got Matt’s attention.
‘A plan? Now that sounds intriguing. Pray tell.’
They were interrupted by the waitress placing the opened bottle of wine on the table, and a can of beer, along with their glasses.
‘When you want another beer, let me know.’
‘Actually, I’m ready already. You don’t want to know the day I’ve had.’
The waitress giggled as she walked away.
‘So Sandy, tell me about this plan of yours.’
‘Well, this tour of the South Island would seem to inevitably end up in Nelson. That would be the logical conclusion, if we were to go all the way around the South Island. I’ve been reading a tour guide I picked up at a tourist information centre, and Nelson seems to be a pretty nice place.’
‘Yeah, it is. Also it’s a lot warmer than down here. I was there for a while before heading down to Christchurch.’
‘In fact it says that it’s the place with the most sunshine hours per year in all New Zealand, which sounds good to me.’
Matt seemed impressed.
‘Is that a fact? That does sound good. Well, I hadn’t really thought about it, but you are right. If we go all the way around the South Island we will end up back up north, pretty much in Nelson. The question is do you have enough money to get that far?’
‘Yeah, I think I can manage that. We aren’t spending much money staying at Felicity’s place, and eating here is pretty cheap. How long do you want to work at the hospital?’
‘If I can last three weeks total, I would be pretty happy. Our main expense will really be petrol money, when we get back on the road.’
‘Yeah, the Mulligory stew doesn’t set us back much.’
Neither could help himself from laughing.
‘Hey, don’t insult my veggie stew! It’s nourishing, tasty, and bloody cheap. What more do you want?’
Sandy was in full agreement, although ever so slightly playfully.
‘Don’t worry. It’s already my favourite meal. I’ll be eating this Indian food, but I’ll be secretly dreaming of the Mulligory stew.’
Matt’s demeanour turned momentarily serious.
‘Talking about food. You wouldn’t believe the amount of stuff we have to throw away at the hospital. I’m always tempted to eat some of it, but that is actually something that will get you fired.’
‘Shit, that is disgusting. What? Eating some dying patients leftovers? The thought of that makes me sick. How could that even remotely tempt you?’
‘Oh, for fucks sake listen, you idiot. Each day they have a choice of two main meat dishes, let’s say for example chicken breasts and lamb chops. Basically they cook enough of each one, in case everyone chooses that. In the end there are trays of food still in the oven that aren’t needed. When all has been decided, and all choices assigned, I have the onerous task of taking them from the oven, tipping the contents into the waste bin, and then washing the trays. No one has gone near it. It’s such a waste, and actually a real temptation to have a bite here and there.’
‘Have you ever succumbed?’
The waitress interrupted their conversation by placing their starters on the table, along with Matt’s second beer, and some sauces.
‘Thanks.’ said Matt, who then returned to the subject in hand. ‘I have, obviously, but you have to be really careful. The woman who runs the show is really vigilant. She’s everywhere, and she is not the sort of person you want to mess with. I’ve worked out a bit of a cover script. I sort of pretend to have dropped something, bend down to pick it up, and take a quick bite. Then I turn back to my sink and chew it slowly. You wouldn’t believe the temptation, especially with the aroma of freshly cooked lamb chops. Man, that kills me.’
‘Wow, what a waste. You would think they would at least donate it to dog shelters, or something.’
‘Yeah, some bloody stupid hospital hygiene rule that has gone way out of control.’
‘Anyway,’ Sandy raised his glass. ‘Cheers, my friend. I am absolutely loving all this. I’m so glad I came over.’
Matt also raised his glass.
‘Yeah, me too, mate. It’s so good to see you again, and you really turned up at the right moment for me. All the omens are looking spot on for a good trip. Cheers to you, my good man.’
The early morning chill had given way to a rather pleasant somewhat cloudy day, albeit still fairly cool. Luckily the walking they had already done had managed to warm them up slightly.
‘Was I right, or was I right?’
Felicity had a rather elated tone to her voice, and a sort of expectancy. Her long blonde hair was bunched up inside a rainbow coloured beanie, with just a few locks of hair falling down across her pretty smiling face.
‘Man, that’s for sure. It’s incredible out here.’
‘Plus, it’s just barely a few kilometres out of the city. When I need to recharge my batteries I can be out here in a flash.’
The rocky outcrops of Cape Saunders lay below them. The wild waves were being thrown by the strong currents against the sturdy rock formations. Behind them was the greenest of wild native bush, interspersed with grassy patches. It was raw, and wild. A rugged beauty that could be appreciated even on a not particularly sunny day. In fact, possibly its beauty was, if anything, even more enhanced on such a day. Felicity pointed down to Allans beach.
‘That is my favourite beach of all. It’s sort of in a cove. I don’t know, there’s just something about it that really appeals to me.’
‘Yeah, it looks really good. I must say though, at high tide it would appear that most of the beach gets covered.’
Felicity laughed.
‘Actually it does. You have to get the timing pretty spot on.’
‘It’s hard to believe that we are only about ten k’s out of town. It’s so isolated, and empty of people. It feels like it’s a million miles away from civilisation.’
Felicity nodded in agreement.
‘Just great for shooting out to let out a bit of stress. Sometimes my flatmates get on my nerves a bit.’
‘Actually, I’ve hardly even seen them.’
‘No, the two I’ve got now are pretty good. They spend most of their time over at friends’ places. To be honest, I think they look down on me a bit, because I’m not a student.’
Matt laughed.
‘Yeah, that’s typical of students. They think they’re God’s gifts. All done on daddy’s paycheck, of course.’
‘True. They always moan about the old plumbing, so I imagine they come from wealthy families, with lovely houses.’
‘Bloody North Islanders, eh?’
‘Yeah,’ laughed Felicity. ‘I think the deep south is a bit of a culture shock for them. They are definitely out of their comfort zones. Especially the ones from Auckland. They usually hate it down here.’
They sat down on a small piece of grass amidst the rocks. Felicity put her hand around Matt’s arm, and cuddled up to him.
‘Hey Matt, how would you like to go for a weekend down to Stewart Island? I haven’t been down there yet, and it sounds really nice. Just the two of us. I know I haven’t had much time for you since you’ve been here, but it’s just been so busy at work. We are a bit understaffed at the moment, but I think I can get a weekend off sometime.’
‘For sure, that would be great. Hey, don’t worry, I understand. It’s a bit my fault too. By the time I get home from my gig, you are already off at yours.’
‘Yeah, we are definitely on two different work cycles. How’s it going there?’
‘It’s a pretty insane place to work. Basically the kitchen is always working. Either preparing a meal, or cleaning up after one, then straight onto preparing the next one. All the patients seem to do is eat. Mind you, eat and sleep, that’s probably about all there is to do when you are in hospital. I quite like my hours, though. 10 till 4.30 really suits me. It’s nice to have a bit of a lazy morning. In Christchurch I was up and at it pretty early every day.’
Felicity tightened her grip on Matt’s hand.
‘I’m really sorry it all went belly up for you there. It sounds like you were really getting somewhere.’
Matt squeezed her hand.
‘Hey, no sweat. All part of the learning process. It won’t end there. Anyway, it’s all come right. I’ve always wanted to do a tour of the South Island, and with Sandy on board it really is working out. He’s a good mate, plus it’s pretty necessary to have someone to share the costs. That old van really chews through the gas.’
‘And when the trip is over? What’s the plan?’
‘Well, we are loosely thinking about staying up in Nelson for a while. By the time we get there, if we get there, I will be broke, so it will be time to fill up the coffers again. Wherever I’m staying, there will always be room for you, if you ever manage to get some holidays.’
Felicity laughed.
‘I wish! They really work me hard here.’
‘Sort of like fascist vegetarians?’
‘Well, let’s just say capitalist vegetarians. Let’s not get too carried away.’
Through their laughter Felicity continued:
‘Anyway, it really is good experience for me. Basically I’m learning all about running a restaurant. It isn’t just about being able to cook good food. There also is a lot of important stuff behind the scenes, so when the time is right I will be well placed to start my own place.’
‘Competition to the fascists?’
Felicity smiled at the thought.
‘Wouldn’t that be good? Hopefully I would be able to get a lot of the faithful customers to come to my new place.’
‘So, you are pretty keen on staying down here, then?’
‘For now, yeah. I really love it here. And it seems to be the place where I am finding my feet. I’m a bit worried that if I leave I will end up having to start all over again.’
‘Don’t be silly. You take your gained experience with you wherever you go.’
‘I know. That’s what logic dictates, but I just don’t want to upset the apple cart.’
‘Fair enough. I know what you mean. When you are on a roll, and all the ducks are lining up, it’s best not to change anything. Hey, what say we walk across to the other side? It gets a bit cold when you stop walking. That breeze can really cut into you.’
Felicity playfully punched him on the shoulder.
‘Bloody soft northerner. You need to spend a couple of years down here, to stiffen up your backbone.’
Matt laughed, as he stood up.
‘True, I’m just a big softie. That’s what my mum says, too. My father’s not quite so poetic. But that there is a long story.’
The days turned into a gruelling drudge for Matt, on the work front. Dishes, pots, never-ending mountains of filth that needed to be returned to an immaculate pristine state. After one mountain would be conquered, another would soon thereafter be built in its place. It was soul destroying. After the interesting, testing work he had previously been doing, it just all seemed incredibly mundane. Although, on a slightly positive note, because the work wasn’t particularly difficult, requiring little or no concentration, it did give him ample time for reflection. What he had come to associate as having been a total failure in Christchurch was in reality anything but. It had been a good learning curve. Maybe, well almost definitely, he had dived in too deeply too quickly, but there were many positives that he could take out of the experience. It was a base that he could develop, grow something out of. Not like his present position. There were no lessons to be learnt at the sink of never ending despair. The only thing he had discovered was that in the world there seemed to be a never ending amount of dishes to be washed, and then washed again. And that it appeared that he seemed to be solely responsible for that process of restoration. It was an infinite cycle of tedium. He had even started to have nightmares about washing dishes. Dirty pots had started to permeate his hard-earned repose.
That adverse day, that day of days, had started like all the rest, with a mountain of filthy pots and pans to wash, already waiting for him upon his arrival. The dishes would come down from the wards later on. He tried to think happy thoughts to get him through the shift. He had no one to