the last 8 boxes or so of james' things were finally cleared yesterday. james had earlier indicated he would be calling a mover to shift the things. and after ding donging for a while over a suitable time, we finally found last afternoon suitable for both sides.
i was at home clearing my email when heard someone called out to sapphie. and sapphie, in her usual response to familiar people, barked and ran around the house. it was james' dad. it took me a while to recognise him for i have not seen him since nov 05 (when i joined his family to celebrate james birthday at shangri-la). anyway, when he saw the stuff, he was caught off-guard for a moment. it was lucky that i was home for james' dad was not able to manage all the boxes. each weigh easily more than 20kg and rather heavy for the dad and the helper that came along. the helper was a lanky late 50s, 60 plus year old man who double up as the bus driver. i ended up helping them carry the boxes, one by one to the lift. and then from the lift to the bus. not easy due to the weight and the fact that i had sprained my back just hours earlier. we managed to do it in the end. we chatted as we carried. it was like talking to an old friend. we spoke of my dad, about james' mum, about old age, about arthritis, and so on. it was that old familiar feeling. kinda weird cos i had hardly interacted with his dad previously, but somehow, that half hour of interaction seemed rather warm.
when they left, the house again looked empty. but to me, it was more than that. it marked the finale and end of a chapter for me.
i was at home clearing my email when heard someone called out to sapphie. and sapphie, in her usual response to familiar people, barked and ran around the house. it was james' dad. it took me a while to recognise him for i have not seen him since nov 05 (when i joined his family to celebrate james birthday at shangri-la). anyway, when he saw the stuff, he was caught off-guard for a moment. it was lucky that i was home for james' dad was not able to manage all the boxes. each weigh easily more than 20kg and rather heavy for the dad and the helper that came along. the helper was a lanky late 50s, 60 plus year old man who double up as the bus driver. i ended up helping them carry the boxes, one by one to the lift. and then from the lift to the bus. not easy due to the weight and the fact that i had sprained my back just hours earlier. we managed to do it in the end. we chatted as we carried. it was like talking to an old friend. we spoke of my dad, about james' mum, about old age, about arthritis, and so on. it was that old familiar feeling. kinda weird cos i had hardly interacted with his dad previously, but somehow, that half hour of interaction seemed rather warm.
when they left, the house again looked empty. but to me, it was more than that. it marked the finale and end of a chapter for me.
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