The Tolling Bell

Daryl was on the phone with his wife’s brother, and they were discussing the value of a particular handgun. He jotted down some notes and agreed to do a little research. Then his brother-in-law abruptly changed the subject and asked, “You guys want to come over here tomorrow for New Year’s Eve?”

Caught off guard, Daryl stumbled his words not knowing if his wife had already made plans. “Um, I’m not sure. I’d have to see what your sister has planned if anything.”

“How about we let our wives figure it out?” replied his brother-in-law. “Better yet, let me talk to your wife right now. Never mind, I’ll just call her.”

“Okay.”

They both hung up. Daryl’s wife was just upstairs, and he heard her phone ring. It was his brother-in-law asking if they wanted to go to their house for New Year’s Eve. Daryl heard enough of the conversation to know they were headed to his brother-in-law’s house.

Daryl didn’t mind hanging out with his brother and sister-in-law, but he was certain there would be some kind of card game in his future. You know, something to draw embarrassment. No matter, it would just be the four of them, or so he hoped. He spent the next hour researching so that he’d have information for his brother-in-law the next day.

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You may have guessed that Daryl liked guns. It was just one of the many hobbies he had over the years. He had a wide array of guns and enjoyed going to the firing range. He mostly enjoyed rebuilding older revolvers, however.

You may have also guessed that Daryl hunted, but that was not true. He spent most of his adult life not hunting, or fishing for that matter. It wasn’t until his mid-fifties that he was convinced to try hunting.

In Daryl’s early adult life, he spent time playing sports and working. He worked a lot and sports provided a much-needed outlet from work. Slowly sports faded away and became replaced by family and house and property maintenance. In the early years of his children, he took a liking to video games—the old PlayStation2. He also was introduced to sports car racing (i.e., Nascar) and found himself travelling to different tracks a few weekends a year and watching it on television every chance he got.

As with sports, gaming and Nascar faded over time and gave way to personal training beginning with running, which slowly morphed into weight-training. Daryl was looking great and feeling great, until injuries began occurring. First it was his knee, which forced him to discontinue running. Then it was rib issues, which eventually led to discontinued weight training.

Not too discouraged, Daryl continued his search for another hobby, but work soon got in the way, as he accepted a promotion. He was buried in work again, but that time with no outlet. He continued his obligations to house and property, but it just wasn’t the same. It was mindless.

His wife suggested some reading, but Daryl didn’t read unless it was technical in nature and had something to do with his work. In fact, he hadn’t read a book for entertainment since…well…ever. He had read some fictional books in college, but that was required for a class. Although, he did like The Old Man and the Sea. His wife, an avid reader herself, recommended a series of books to Daryl and so he began plowing through them. He reread The Old Man and the Sea and became enamored by the work of Ernest Hemingway.

Daryl’s fascination grew larger as he read through other Hemingway works. At one point, after reading The Sun Also Rises, he began feeling the urge to write. It seemed lofty, but he began—he just sat down and wrote and wrote some more and began piecing together stories. The simple act of reading and writing had quickly become his new hobby.

By that time, Daryl was in his mid-fifties, and the kids were out of the house for the most part. He had developed a new hobby of cigars and bourbon—and it was around the same time he began hunting. The cigars quickly subsided out of necessity, but the writing continued. He had begun writing more than he read. The more he wrote, the more ideas he needed to get out of his head.

Strangely, Daryl found himself second guessing his life and discovered that he still had a void. Perhaps all his hobbies were feeble attempts at filling some void or perhaps there was some underlying void that was beginning to surface.

He was still working a full-time job, from home, and writing in his spare time and as such spending much of his time alone and isolated. While writing had become his hobby, it had also become his purpose—his therapy.

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Daryl awoke New Year’s Eve morning, but something was different. He had slept an additional hour than he was accustomed. Already the day seemed out of sequence, but he knew he’d be forced to stay up past midnight and for some time after. It was the beginning of a long day.

It was the last day of the year, and he hadn’t made a single new year’s resolution.

He drank his coffee, reviewed his research for his brother-in-law, and headed out to the garage. There were a handful of chores to be completed such as fill and hang the new bird feeder, consolidate some trash, and clean out the shop vac.

As the sky darkened near the end of the afternoon, Daryl and his wife crawled into their vehicle and headed out for the evening. They arrived at their destination to find they were the only visitors, which was fine with Daryl. They all talked a bit and while mixing a few drinks and eating some finger foods. Everyone bounced back and forth between the kitchen and living room to check the score of the college football game. Eventually, they all agreed to play a new card game at the kitchen table, which wasn’t all that bad but did reveal some things one might not have wanted to know or admit.

They played for an hour or so, but time was slipping away so they transitioned to the living room. The game was still on, and they watched it to completion.

The traditional television New Year’s Eve party shows were running and would certainly run through midnight. They all sat staring at the performances. It was ten till midnight, when the champagne glasses were presented, as was a bottle of champagne. Daryl’s sister-in-law filled the glasses and passed them out.

Ten, nine, eight…three, two, one. Happy New Year! They all toasted and clanked their glasses. Daryl’s wife turned and looked at him. He gazed into her big and beautiful brown eyes, which were gleaming with innocence, anticipation, and invitation. She leaned in and they kissed.

Daryl realized at that very moment that his next occupation would be…his wife.