The Pohutukawa Tree

The sun was glistening on the water as the taxi drove over the harbour bridge. The yachts had their sails set with the spinnakers ballooning by the wind at full speed. No it was not for Gerard Bradshaw. He hated the ocean.  He hated the water and everything about the city.  It was a nightmare to think that he had lived there most of his life and now he never felt welcomed to be in the place he had once called home.  

‘It’s a great day to be out on the water don’t you think?’

Rex always liked to make some lighthearted conversation when he was on a long drive. It cheered him up to see someone having a nice time and going about their business, and he had some part in helping them to achieve it.  

‘No, its’s alright if you’re a yachtie or a yuppie, or whatever the hell they like to call themselves these days; it’s no good for the likes of me who wants to be able to do my own things and be left alone, but no I have to do this and take that. Utter rubbish.’

Rex felt it was going to be a long drive, but he was not one for giving up on people quickly. He persevered with two jobs and a hefty mortgage while his children were looked after by their grandmother and aunt most of the time.

‘Sorry you feel that way. I know life can be hard but I still enjoy the sunrise and the sunset. You got to admit that they are unbeatable in any city.’

‘Can’t sleep for the racket the neighbours make and then when I do I have to sleep during the only time the baby is sleeping next door. No thought for other people. I can’t see the sunset or sunrise from the building blocking my view.’

‘I would have thought that nice apartment building you live in would be soundproofed. I’m sorry to hear that.  It must be annoying. I know my two . . .’

‘Yes it is and it will never get better.’

‘Do you mind me asking Sir, do you have family?’

‘Why do you ask?’ pausing for a moment.  ‘Yes I do as a matter of fact, but they never seem to come to see me from one end of the year to the next.  Don’t even like Christmas anymore.’  He grunted and crossed his arms as he looked out the window.

Rex had always felt a need to help. It was something he had done since he was a child. His father had died from a diving accident when he was just twelve and he had to look after his two younger sisters, and then when his wife died in a car accident.  Again he was the one keeping the roof over his children’s head with the help of his wife’s mother and a sister of his father’s.  They always made Christmas a family affair.   It seemed almost impossible to think that his last fare of the day was a man who didn’t like Christmas.

‘Are you planning on seeing your family this Christmas?

‘They invited me but honestly I can’t stand the cold of Canada at this time of the year. Let’s be reasonable it damn cold there and I’m being polite when I say that. I know I know, they dress for the cold, but I don’t do cold.’

‘Right you are. I agree with you there. I like the summer Christmas too. You can’t beat the Pohutukawa tree in bloom. So where are you going then, if you don’t mind my asking.’

It was quiet in the back seat. Gerard Bradshaw gave a misty look out past shops and then overlooking the bays.  Next they were on the motorway, but he could still see Rangitoto Island and a few other places in the distance.

Rex drove on and watched his passenger carefully. He was sure he saw the man wipe a tear from his face. He decided to look away so as to not embarrass him.

Gerard cleared his throat. He had obviously decided that the question needed to be answered.

‘My daughter lives in Canada and my son lives in a cemetery.  I’m just going to go for a few days away to Queenstown and if I make it back the baby next door might have stopped crying.’ 

‘Queenstown is nice anytime of the year so I’ve been told. You have friends down there then.’

‘Nope. I don’t have anyone.’

Rex pulled up outside the Domestic Terminal of the Airport.

‘What about you driver? What’s your name?

‘Rex and you’re my last fare on this shift. Look I know you don’t know me and I have two children who love Christmas and we don’t have a lot, but here’s my address. If you change your mind this is my phone number and I, we, would love to have you to our Christmas lunch. See we aren’t a big family, but we love Christmas and I don’t want you to be spending it alone, any more than you want to be alone.’

‘It’s very kind of you’. He cleared his throat, ‘But you have a lovely Christmas and your wife and children too.’

‘My wife lives in a cemetery as well.’

‘Oh.  Sorry about that. That’s tough.  How old are your children?’

‘Eight and five, but they love what they have and that’s what matters.’

Gerard Bradshaw gave a smile. The first smile he had given all day.  He handed Rex folding, and told him to keep the change. Fifty dollars was a handsome tip by any stretch of the imagination. But still he would have liked his passenger to have accepted his offer of Christmas with them.

Gerard entered the terminal and keyed his name into the electronic ticket machine. He only had the one small cabin bag so he didn’t bother to check it as baggage. It would sit nicely overhead. There was a slight delay with the plane arrival so he had time to buy a coffee. He started to think about the taxi driver. Rex was a kind man and he hadn’t had anyone offer him an invitation like that since his wife left him when the children had grown up. She had moved on and so had everyone else, everyone else but Gerard. He began to realise he had become a bitter, twisted old man and he was only in his early sixties.  That was hardly old by today’s standards.   Yet somehow Rex had not worried about life.  He struggled but yet he was grateful.  He was teaching this old dog a gentle lesson, thought Gerard. Maybe it would be nice to have Christmas with a young family. A family thought Gerard.  He hadn’t been a part of one for years.  His daughter only rang when they were about to go on a holiday cruise with the grandchildren he didn’t see and the son-in-law was a waste of space, but they seemed to be grateful for what they had. Perhaps he could be a bit more positive. Perhaps he was a bit too harsh about his family.  He couldn’t bring his son back, he couldn’t win his wife back and his daughter would have to learn to live with the way things were and maybe he would phone her at New Year. 

‘Calling all passengers for NZ610 boarding is open now.’

Gerard rose from his seat and with his cabin bag on wheels went to the gift shops downstairs. He made a quick call and then waited near the drop off area.

They greeted one another like old friends.

‘I’m so glad you phoned.’

‘I have a little something for your children. I hope they are suitable.

‘You shouldn’t

‘Yes I should. I am a crotchety old git and if I want to spoil a child I can.’

Rex just grinned.

They turned down the long driveway to a wooden villa. Lights draped from every possible awning. Inside was festooned with tinsel on the door frames, around paintings and ornaments and the smell of mince pies freshly made came drifting out the door. Rex’s mother in-law and his sister both warmly welcomed him. He felt wanted. It was an amazing feeling.  But the most amazing sight for Gerard was not the tinsel, or the smell of freshly baked food.  As he looked out onto the backyard he saw a magnificent Pohutukawa tree and two children playing around climbing and swinging from every branch they could.  

Christmas had arrived and for Gerard it felt real for the first time in many years.