Zimmer: A Fine Spring for Nesting

14

The sun smiling benevolently on the fine Spring morning, Amelia prepared a breakfast of smoked salmon, steamed asparagus and a poached egg with a potato cake. She’d taken great delight in winter to celebrate dining for one with her nana’s lovely old china and silver cutlery. Each meal a marked occasion even when it was dinner alone. So she wasn’t about to change that.

But now, wishing to somehow truly earmark the early dawning of Spring, she surveyed her fiefdom. It could definitely do with some brightening now that the warmer seasons were encroaching. Finally, she decided a saunter down to the library for inspiration was in order. Whenever she felt confronted by a challenge she couldn’t quite wrap her head around, the library was her sanctuary.

Dressing in her sequined blouse again to mark the glorious day, for the cropped blouse had barely been worn all winter, she donned her flip flops to keep it semi-casual and her feet comfy for the saunter into town. Not long into the walk and she was lost to her own thoughts.

She thought back nostalgically on walks of days gone by with her grandfather down to the main library in town. They would wake to flapjacks with Golden Lion syrup and farm butter and cinnamon on a Saturday morning, her grandmother at the helm and the first to rise. Then the pair of them would take their sweet time moseying on down to the library, chattering idly all the way down the hill until they reached the bottom at the front steps of the library. Her grandfather, ever a patient man, would wait on a chair, while Amelia marvelled at all the choices before her, deliberating for hours to cherry pick the five for the day, rushed only by the bell that signalled the library would be closing by the morning’s end.

Such treasured memories.

Reminding herself that she was on a quest that morning, Amelia entered the library and found her way to the art books. There she selected a book on Matisse. Further along in the architecture and design section, she found a book on Art Deco and another on Bohemian interiors that she reckoned would serve her well. Contented with her selection, she made her way to the counter. But while she was waiting for the assistant, two books in the ‘New’ display suddenly caught her eye... TheMagic Pencil and Pinocchio, re-imagined with the illustrative talents of Sara Fanelli.

She had not read Pinocchio in years and it was a favourite of hers growing up.

Perhaps fulfilling her daydreaming of the morning’s walk, she added the two books to her choosing and was soon on her way back home to peruse her pickings.

Mulling over their pages on the patio out in the courtyard over an espresso, Amelia was enraptured by the design books. What if one were to think not only about filling empty spaces with art, but as the home itself as one sprawling blank canvas?

She had rented the home for many years now and she knew the owner was keen to sell it. It was on the market for a song. It had been a gift to the owner in her student years at a nearby art school. Now she was relocated as a graphic artist and had little need of the place as more than a bit of pocket money on the side each month. What if... Amelia pondered, paging and paging... What if... Should she?

And she had to face facts. She was tired of always feeling a bit the drifter, a supporting character in the story of her own life. She still had her inheritance which was all but untouched. The idea was evermore growing in appeal for Amelia. She had made friends. She had planted some beautiful specimens and rescued her mother’s carving from the dark recesses of the storage unit. She had begun the process of nesting in so many ways, why not take the final plunge and commit to the space? Zimmer... She thought on that German word she loved so much again. A space in a home.

There were many spaces to be remade if she were only to make it all entirely her own, with no fear of reprise. Nothing for it now, a swift kick of a couple of espresso’s to the head, but to set the deal into motion and put in an offer for the place. Was it the scent of Spring so potently in the air? Was it the chaffing off of the old Amelia for the new? She dared not question it before she got cold feet. 7 Saraphil Street would be hers. It was sealed with no more than a couple of phonecalls and the paperwork to come. There was no turning back now.

Utterly emboldened by her sudden decision, Amelia rushed to the hardware store before lunch. She chose a blushed pale earthy pink for her bedroom along with a copper metallic paint for a feature wall. For the lounge which was always filled with natural light, she chose a darker shade of aubergine purple, and finally a deep blue for the kitchen and bathroom. The blue made her think on an Italian expression, azzuro azzuro... So blue they named it twice. Along with the paints she obtained the necessary brushes and trays, a paint peeler and scraper for the woodwork, and some sanding papers.

Next, she stopped off at the printers to have some of the Matisse prints copied from the book. She’d selected Harmony in Red, remembering it well from her mother’s lounge wall. In addition she’d chosen The Window and The Cat with Red Fish, expressly for Ailuros, for who was she to deny her feline a little art in the home. Thereafter, she’d gone to the framers with her new prints to have them professionally framed as her mother had always said that half of the job sat in the hands of a savvy framer. There was just one final mission on the day’s agenda and it was a pit stop before home at the local antique shop.

This particular antique store had a prize selection of old convex mirrors and she’d always admired them in the past, never daring to purchase anything for her own home. But now that’s exactly what it was. Her own home. And to have a whole wall adorned with all these spectacular mirrors was something she’d always fantasised about. Perfect in the lounge. Needless to say, the shopkeeper was more than just a little shocked when Amelia professed she wanted them all, each and every one.

Thrilled with the events of the day, she’d barely unpacked the car when she phoned both Jack and Renate, telling them to save the date for the ‘re-homing’ party she would be hosting in a couple of weeks once all the work was done. Tal would be a different story as he had no phone to speak of. She would have to call on him personally to tell him the grand news. Perhaps she could put together a little late afternoon spread and go a’calling. He was lodged at a nearby backpackers where they allowed him free room and board as long as he helped intermittently with handiwork and the checking in of guests when the landlady had other work to attend to. She couldn’t wait to see him and share in the day’s momentous affairs.

Deftly she packed some leftover trout paté with some cold blini buckwheat pancakes and caviar and a bottle of sparkling wine in her picnic basket and she was off and out the front door, calling out to Ailuros wherever she may be to be home before dark. It had been staying light longer and longer these days, another catalyst that seemed to awaken a newfound vigour in her step. Enchanting as Spring could be....

***

She found him in the gardens outback watering the plants.

“Tal!” she called out to him.

Shielding his eyes to the glint of sunlight, he looked up quizzically at first and then smiled.

“Amelia, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, firstly, happy Spring!” She placed the picnic basket on one of the outdoor wooden tables. “Aaaaand... You’re looking at a new home-owner! I’ve set the cogs in motion and my place will soon be mine. I’m so very excited. I rushed off to the hardware store earlier and can’t wait to get cracking on the place, but figured, first a little Spring celebration, what do ya reckon? Have a moment to spare?”

“Sure. Just let me finish up with the watering and them I’m all yours. Please, take a seat so long. I’ll be all ears in a jiffy.”

She liked watching him, as he went from one plant to the next, caressing their leaves, sniffing their blossoms, talking freely in an intimate whisper to one and then another. She reckoned he’d get on swimmingly with the professor. Once all the work on her home was done, she eagerly looked forward to introducing them at her house warming. Two oddballs that they were, but underneath it all, such gentlemen.

Time flew by quickly and before she knew it, Tal was sitting down at the table opposite her.

“Would you care for a glass of sparkling?”

“Usually I might be reluctant so early, but this is such a fine day and you have such splendid news, why not?” He smiled again, wiping the perspiration from his forehead with a rag.

Opening up the basket, Amelia had to laugh when Ailuros popped her head out.

“So is this where you were hiding? No wonder it felt so heavy... Want some trout paté, eh? No surprises there,” Amelia jokingly admonished the cheeky feline. Always full of tricks. Tal, in turn, ruffled the fur on her little head.

“You know, Amelia, this is a fine thing indeed. To make so very full of love, an empty space. There is a special sanctity in these seemingly insignificant every day acts. When I water the plants every day. When you cook in your kitchen to nourish your guests. When one places a vase of flowers beside the bedside of a friend who is ill. When you fill an empty space on the wall with an artwork that hands have rendered with the sheer force of the imagination and a talent for exquisite composition.

"It is not just our own small attempt at nesting, but the source of something deeply spiritual, that which calls beauty towards us in our appreciation and gratitude in every waking hour when we take the time to appreciate it. Forgive me, I am rambling today. That said, I would very much like to help you in this latest endeavour if you would have me. My years of carpentry and odd jobs have not left me entirely useless and my hours here are flexible and it’s no trouble to me at all.”

“Oh I would love that! You would be such a help! Thank you,” Amelia gushed, trying to gulp down a swig of sparkling wine before she spoke, leaving her splattering and blushing.

“I’ll be hosting a dinner party afterwards for a few close friends and I do so hope you can come. Shoes are entirely optional.” She teased him, realising in that moment just how far their friendship had come and how familiar she felt around him.

This was certainly turning out to be a resplendent Spring day if ever there was. Sparkling wine and the accompanying nibbles all but polished off, the sun was slowly beginning to set and Amelia made plans with Tal for work to begin the very next day.

As many times as she’d read her mother’s letter over the wintery months, so she’d pondered her small to do list and now there was no time like the present to fulfil their sentiments, for all that it promised for the weeks ahead, weeks of hard work, but worth it, for it meant a striking transformation... One she felt she was truly ready for, more than ever before.

***

Tal, ever faithful, had arrived on Amelia’s front door the next day before she had even changed out of her pyjamas and was still busy in the kitchen whipping up breakfast. She answered it, apologising immediately for her attire.

“All good between friends,” Tal had reassured her. While Amelia was at work in the kitchen, he jumped straight into a job and began peeling away at the windows to restore the wood as Amelia had told him she wanted the day before. Some of the windows had even been painted shut so she would be able to finally open any and all windows once he was finished.

Quickly returning to her task in the kitchen Amelia opened the page to the recipe for Welsh rarebit which Bellamy assured that though relatively traditional as it was, there were about as many versions as there were cooks in the world. She scanned the ingredients to be sure she had everything at hand. Butter, beer, cheddar cheese, an egg, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, dry mustard, curry powder and 4 slices of bread to be toasted and spread with her farm fresh butter later.

First she melted the butter in the top of a double boiler and added the beer. Once the beer was warm, she slowly began to add the cheddar cheese, stirring consistently until that too was melted. Beating lightly with her wire whisk, she added the egg and Worcestershire sauce, then seasoned with the salt, paprika, mustard and curry powder before calling for Tal to come and join her as she poured the cheesy mix all over their slices of toast, two each.

“If you keep putting up meals like these, Amelia, I’m your free labourer for as long as you need!” Tal wolfed down the last slice of toast as if it were the best breakfast he’d ever eaten. Or perhaps he was simply ravenous, Amelia second guessed herself. But then again, who was she to doubt his compliments and question his sincerity?

***

Three weeks would pass between them in this way, with Amelia relishing in their morning ritual of sitting down to eat breakfast. From banana fritters, to plum crumble to granadilla mousse, to Sicillian almond granita, Amelia always tried to find something new with which to excite his palate before they faced the hard gruel of the work ahead, the woodwork proving particularly time consuming and labour intensive with all of that sandpapering, for a perfectionist indeed was her friend, Tal. It seemed somewhat a sad realisation though that the job, nigh its end, also meant an end to their mornings together.

But for some reason, having learnt that in life, opening up to one thing in her daily routines meant being open to all sorts of new and exciting things that would follow in their wake, she was not dismal, but thankful and filled with nothing but appreciation.

In the meantime, Renate and Jack had been busy with something for Amelia in the garden every weekend since the advent of Spring and hiding her surprise with a screen until it was time for the big reveal. Renate had been busy for some time on the finishing touches. Finally, once Tal and her with all finished up with the grand transformation, so too was Renate ready to unveil their special gift.

“Aaaand... Drumroll please... Presto!” Renate pulled back the screen, her English making Amelia giggle and the sheer delight of the moment getting the better of her.

And truly, she was dumbfounded, for there before her very eyes was a fountain above her river indigo that Renate had decorated in the most wonderful mosaic. From using everyday objects like cat’s eye marbles and old bits of seashell to broken glass from old bottles that glimmered all sorts of ocean coloured swirls and hues, Amelia found herself utterly speechless.

“Jack said you had a fountain growing up... So... I thought... Um... You like?”

“Oh, Renate, I like, I like. I’m utterly speechless. Thank you. Thank you to you and Tal. You two are something else, you know that. Well, tomorrow we feast and celebrate and you are my two honorary guests!” Amelia found the tears welling up again, those tears when she felt so very overwhelmed by the kindnesses of those who had been but strangers to her before her fledgling of a to-do list only months ago.

“Oh, dahling! Don’t cry! Don’t cry! You will make me all sentimental!” Renate quickly wiped her tears away and hugged her tightly. Amelia had once thought not so long ago that to feed a hungry friend was life’s easiest reward, but now she thought differently as she welcomed the warm embrace of a friend. Indeed it was as if it had all been as Bellamy had seemed to promise with her pages. That Amelia could have it all, if she’d only push herself beyond those niggling reservations, to go after her heart’s purest yearnings...

Perhaps, perchance.

Wasn’t Spring just a delight for the senses?

Of new life and rebirths and blossoms pushing up from the depths of the soil...

And oh all the things that still waited in jiggery anticipation in store!

Amelia was beginning to poke through the surface like the green tendrils of a young vine, at the tender though somewhat belated age of 35.

And it was a beautiful thing for all to see.

(If you would like to support a labour of love, you can purchase Zimmer here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Zimmer-Jocelyn-Fryer-ebook/dp/B09BCTYG9T)

The Cat with Red Fish by Henri Matisse