Kylie and Bruce were in full house-packing mode, getting ready for their big move to the country. They’d asked Kat to help out with the garage sale and she reluctantly agreed. It hurt her to see people handling the items, haggling over the price and trying to make money off the hard work of her family.
Clearly Kylie was moving on, leaving things behind, including Kat herself. That hurt too.
In between the visits from bargain hunters, Bill tried to distract her with the absurd suggestion that they might also make a move. “A tree change might do us some good too Kat”, Bill said.
“What on earth are you talking about Bill? I’m perfectly happy where I am. That house is where we brought up the family. It’s part of us.”
“Well, we could be with the family all the time if we moved near them.”
“What? And leave all the memories behind?”
“You could have a new kitchen. You’ve never liked the one we have.”
“There’s nothing wrong with our kitchen. It just needs a little more storage. And anyway, I don’t like those modern kitchens.”
“I’m sure there are kitchens you’d like in the country. Don’t you think it would be good to start fresh?”
“But I couldn’t leave my friends. I feel so sorry for Tiffany, she’ll be all alone there.”
“She’ll have lots of friends in no time. And you never invite your friends over anymore. When was the last time Violet came over?”
“I’m not speaking to her at the moment. I’m pretty sure she took some magazines from the hallway last time she was here.”
Just then Bruce made a sale to a crafty looking man who’d come with a trailer. Bruce seemed pleased but Kat was appalled to see Tiffany’s cot being loaded into the trailer. “You can’t sell that!”, she shouted.
“We just did”, Bruce replied.
Oh, was she the only one who valued family memories? It was all right for them, just picking up and moving on, like they had no responsibilities. As usual, it was going to be all left up to her to look after the family heirlooms.
On the drive home from the garage sale, Bill persisted. “Come on, Love. Wouldn’t it be good to be able to see Tiffany grow up in the country? We have time on our hands that we could be spending with her.”
“No. I said no. We’re an important part of the community here. So many people comment on the house and all it’s decorations. We can’t leave.”
They arrived home and Bill parked the car while Kat checked the letterbox. There were some catalogues she would get to later, but there was also an official letter from the council. Kat was shocked. It said there had been neighbour complaints about their yard. It said they had 30 days to clean it up, or there’d be a fine. They called it an “environmental nuisance”.
“Well, Love, maybe this is a sign it’s time to move on?”
“No way, Bill. We can’t leave now. We have to stay and fight this.”
Kat had found her new purpose.
PREVIOUSLY
Catch up on all the past Adventures of Kat here…
