Enid Petherick: Artist and Observer of the Wilds
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I am relaxing and silently congratulating 'us' on the successful installation of the new chimney and transfer of heater into the living room. The room is more inviting --cozier. I hear the stove purring as warmth permeates all corners, even to the couches along the north wall. Layers of plant filled shelves cover the south window and a sunflower painting (inspired by our summer garden) blooms on the wall beside.
I remember the day we first tested the chimney and I smother a giggle. "Does it look O.K.?" We were in a celebratory mood. The last piece of pipe connecting chimney to stove was about to be fitted. I craned my neck and gave a cursory look up the chimney. Dark in the middle - the rain cap - but light around the sides. "Looks O.K. to me."
A few minutes later, we stood back beaming and surveyed the heater finally installed, ready for whatever the winter offered. Satisfaction.
Later that afternoon. Warm outside, but in high spirits I was going to give the new chimney a trial run. The first tiny flames went out and I went through several matches before success. Finally, the kindling took and I closed the door-- from around which smoke immediately began to ooze, soon spreading to come out the vents at the top…??? I shut the air vent and opened the door to check. The interior was roiling in smoke, which immediately billowed out. Quickly closing the stove I ran to open doors on either end of the house. Squelching a feeling that something was wrong, I told myself the atmospheric pressure was heavy and must be causing a downdraft. Besides, I was out of practice. I let the stove go out.
Meanwhile Ralph came
in from digging rutabagas, commented on the smoke--said "I'll light
it tomorrow."
December
12
Tomorrow. I watched while Ralph carefully set the fire, lit ht and closed the door. Both watched in disbelief as smoke seeped from around the door, out the top vents - even between the chimney sections - worse than yesterday! NO! It was 5p.m. - a dull day, with a light rain sprinkling - getting dark early. "I'm going up on the roof to check." I watched uneasily as Ralph climbed from balcony to roof, rope around waist, and attached to a nearby fir in case of emergency. He carefully straddled and inched along the peak, bare feet giving tentative traction on the damp metal. Traveling the length of the roof he reached the far chimney, crouched and began to maneuver the screws on the now hot rain cap. "Ouch! #$*!” The rain cap came off. Ralph turned it over, then reached in, pulled from the top a crumpled dark lump, and wordlessly flung it over the roof in my direction. I picked up the offending object as Ralph replaced the rain cap and retraced his way off the roof. In my hands I held a slightly melted black garbage bag.
I remembered the plastic bag we had stuffed in the bottom of the pipe to keep warm air from escaping in the days between connecting chimney to heater. During that time we had had a strong wind and one morning Ralph picked up a plastic bag from the floor near the stairwell, noticed the bag in the pipe was missing and assumed it to be the same. We realized now that the bag in the pipe had been sucked up the chimney and the plastic bag Ralph picked up had fallen from the studio above.
I remembered looking up the pipe to check that all was well...We looked at each other. 'No comment.'
"The Kiss"
Enid Petherick
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