My New Kona

 

Welcome to The Spot Writers. The prompt for this month is to write something “summery.” This time, it’s Cathy MacKenzie’s turn. And, alas, she’s three days late! That’s summer for you!

Cathy’s writings have been published in over four hundred print and online publications.

Check out her website (www.writingwicket.wordpress.com) for more information.

 

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My New Kona

by Cathy MacKenzie

 

Gleaming bright in the afternoon sun,

I want to protect it—my new car—

as I would one of my babes,

for the sun fades colours, leaving

them not-so-gleaming.

 

It won’t happen immediately. No, it

takes time. How much, I do not know.

But the couch and bedspreads in my house

have faded, and fade is something you

don’t realize until long after it happens,

and then it’s too late.

 

I loved the unique orangey comforter in the

guest room, the two once-matching shams

now a different shade than the rest.

I loved my blue-grey couch in the TV room.

I still do—love them both—but both bear the

unforgiving intrusion of sunlight through glass.

 

I need low-E glass with a high block against

UV rays and infrared light.

Who knew?

Not me.

Not that I built this house or had a choice.

But next time—

if enough summers are sent my way.

 

So… I worry about my new car, about “mirage

green” morphing into something I won’t like,

for I waited forever for this particular colour.

Didn’t matter the model or specs; it was the

shade that drew me across the car lots.

 

Originally, I told Hubby I’d leave the car out

for the summer, put it away daily in winter

against the weather. But who knew about the

insidious work of the sun?

Not I.

The car is a week old. How long before

the sun wreaks its havoc on the paint?

 

I’ve been treating it carefully, parking a

mile away from stores and racing through

rain to keep a stray door from banging against

it; forbidding snacks inside; admonishing

grands to keep grubby, inquisitive fingers

on their laps and dirty-souled feet flat and

unmoving on the rubber mat.

 

Yesterday, I suggested—discreetly—that if

Hubs ever needed to buy me a gift, he could

get me a dash cam.

Why? he asked.

To protect my car against irrational drivers,

I said.

He looked at me, bewildered, uncomprehending.

It’ll help our insurance, I added. We’ll have those

losers on camera. We can prove we weren’t at fault.

His face glowed at those words, bright as the sun

high above.

 

Oh, the summer sun. We crave it all winter, pray

for it through the rain, and then spend all

summer searching for a spot in the shade.

***

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/ 

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.ca/