Page 105 of The Side Road
A LONG RIDE
Oliver had promisedto read a draft of Tash’s art essay on Howard Arkley. The Australian artist painted post-war suburban houses in fluorescent colours. Studying pictures of the artworks online, Oliver said, ‘Mr Arkley liked empty yards and garage doors. Why aren’t there any people in these paintings?’
‘Because they’re all inside, dying of boredom,’ Tash said.
Oliver smiled. He held out his hand and she passed him her draft.
‘Want to watchAntiques Roadshowwith me later? Nan lovedAntiques Roadshow.’
‘Sure. Give me half an hour,’ he said, shuffling the papers of her essay.
‘We’re going to needsnacks.’
Oliver looked up. ‘Healthy snacks, like carrots.’
‘Ollie, if I eat any more salad, I’m going to turn into a bunny.’
His spirit was the consistency of golden syrup; he was too tired to argue.
A short time later, they were on the sofa watching TV. A middle-aged, grey-haired man wearing a grey suit and tie was interviewing a grey-haired woman wearing a pleated tartan skirt and a beige jacket. Her double chin an odd complement to her coral lipstick.
‘How old is this episode?’ Oliver asked, wolfing a handful of popcorn. ‘It might predate my birth.’
‘We have to guess the prices,’ Tash said.
The first item for appraisal was a pair of chocolate figurines – a nurse and a soldier. From the 1920s, they lay in boxes filled with straw and the host deemed them inedible. Neither Tash nor Oliver knew what the one-hundred-year-old treats were worth. When the host said they might fetch fifty pounds, the owner was overjoyed.
‘Creepy,’ Tash said. ‘Why would anyone want chocolate you can’t eat?’
Oliver picked up Tash’s knitting and completed a row. As he watched the show, he finished a few more rows, then he passed the work to Tash, who knitted for several minutes, then passed the piece back to her father. This was the third pair of socks Tash had attempted. The most challenging, the wool was a finer two-ply yarn.
The next item to be appraised was a beautiful silver necklace, which was owned by an extremely old and frail woman, who looked both delicate and fierce. After a terrible argument, the woman’s husband had given the jewellery to her as a peace offering.
Tash guessed ten thousand pounds. Oliver guessed one thousand. ‘Stuff is never worth as much as you think,’ he said.
The host advised the necklace owner that she might get fifty thousand for the piece. ‘I should never have divorced him,’ she said.
When the sock was finished, Tash cast off the yarn andexamined her knitting. ‘Oh no, I have a hole,’ she said. Showing Oliver, she poked her finger through the heel.
‘Probably a missed stitch.’
‘Mia has a video.’ Taking her father’s phone, Tash checked Hook & Knot’s social media posts. She found ‘How to fix a slipped stitch’. It showed a hole in a jumper being repaired. Mia’s fingers weaved a needle threaded with cotton in and out around the damaged area. The sight mesmerised Oliver.
After watching the video a few times, he said, ‘Okay, I can do that.’
Tash handed him the wool and a needle. Oliver got to work. He caught the loose stitch with a new piece of wool, and Tash watched as he weaved the ends into the existing work. ‘Mia says if you put your heart into your work, then the mistakes are the holes where your love gets out,’ she said.
They locked eyes.
‘Sorry,’ Tash said. ‘Did that hurt?’
‘It did,’ he confirmed.
‘Do you need to go for a long ride?’ she asked. ‘Because if you do, I can stay with Leo and Blanche.’
‘What about Mary?’
‘She has too many brothers.’ Tash shuddered.
