The ferry operator knew thered be a crowd on Saturday, waiting in a long, curly line of Fiats, Toyota Landcruisers and mini-buses for him to transport them in his small wooden car and passenger ferrycapacity 12 vehiclesacross the channel to the island.
Having the time of their lives
It was young Missys 21st and she and her arty friends from town had done the local hall up like a Tiki Lounge. Shed screamed down the road the day beforewith the back of her ute laden with bamboo sticks, plastic palm trees, a totem pole, and boxes of Hawaiian leisjust as he was about to pull up the ferrys ramp. Where shed got all that stuff from, he didnt know.
Time on their hands
And Des junior, an abalone diverwho only has to work three months a year to fill his quota, and earn an excellent living to bootwas getting engaged to Miriam Whats-her-name, a young American schoolteacher hed met when he was climbing a mountain in Africa. Weeks ago a huge white marquee had been erected on his parents front lawnwhich had terrific views of the waterand the side paddock had been mowed and car park signs attached to the fence. A new garden had been planted, and the house freshly painteda couple of times. The first colour had looked a bit like the colour of baby poo in the afternoon sun.
Time gentlemen
Charlie Shuttlebutt, whod won the regional lawn bowling championships 14 years in a row, had died on the bowling green last Monday. By Tuesday lunchtime every bowling club in the southern part of the state had a note stuck up on its information board, announcing his death, and asking his bowling friends and acquaintances to get together on Saturday afternoon at the clubhouse on the island, with a good yarn and a generous plate.
Time waits for no man
And Tina and Mark were tying the knotfinallyon the beach in front of the guesthouse. After being together for years Tina suddenly told Mark if he didnt marry her, she was out of here. Shed really meant it, her girlfriends said. And not long after, when the couple had walked into the bay and Mark had caught a perfect wave, hed asked her to marry him. His friends had told him he was an idiotyou never ask a girl to marry you after youve caught a great wave! Youre on a high you silly bastard! Youve got rocks in your head! But secretly, Marks friends were pleased for himand perhaps a little jealousTina was a good sort.
Running out of time
As lady bowlers, party boys, ancient aunties and Americans waited in the line of traffic to get onto the ferry, they began to get agitated. They kept glancing at their neat watches and car clocks, looking at their invitations and entries in their diaries. Their bottoms were getting numb, and they began to shift from one cheek to the other. Bowling whites were feeling crumpled, and cheese platters were beginning to run in the warmth of the car, giving off a decidedly ripening aroma. Party dresses were sticking to backs, and polyester slacks were getting itchy around the groin. Children needed to go to the toiletand were hungrystarving to death. But they didnt want the spare banana, they wanted the chicken-flavoured chips theyd seen at the service station theyd stopped at an hour ago.
In the nick of time
As the ferry let down its ramp, a car engine started andlike a sound concertina, or a sound domino effectall the other cars in the long line followed suit. The throbbing snake of cars was ready to spring into action. One car drove on to the ferry, and another, and another. Vehicles slowly began to make their way forwardbut unfortunately only the length of about 12 car spaces.
Passing the time of day
The engines of the long line of remaining cars were turned off, as the car occupants emitted huge sighs of frustration and annoyance and concern. Tell him weve come all the way from America, the Americans said loudly from a hire car to no-one in particular. Tell him were with the band, Missys friends shouted back from out the windows of a burnt-orange Kombi, parked not far behind them. Tell him were the bridesmaids, whiskered aunties chorused from out the window of a nearby mini-bus. People slowly began to climb from out of their vehicles, and make their way down to the wharf.
Running to a time-table
As the ferry ramp was raised, and the ferry chugged away from the wharf, leaving its trail of whitewash, the occupants of the cars on boardincluding Aerial Macintosh and her five children from the daffodil farm on the island, who were returning from a night in town and a performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Richard the mechanic, who had raced up to the airport to pick up some spare parts especially flown down; several lady bowlers on their way to Charlies farewell, and a couple of holidaymakersclimbed out of their vehicles and moved to the railingto watch the undulating surface of the water, and feel the breeze in their hair. One of the Macintosh boys turned to the people assembled on the ferry wharfa large group that had become not quite one joyful crowdand waved cheerily.
Theres no time like now
The ferry operator had known young Missy since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, and old Charlie Shuttlebutt deserved a rousing send-off. Young Des was a nice kid, and as for Mark and Tina
well she was a good sort. As he looked back at the people on the wharf, and the bumper to bumper cars snaked along the road, he decided hed scrap the Saturday time-table, and keep running return journeys until hed cleared the mob.